Poor pad holding

Croo67

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I got into an argument with a new guy at the gym today.

I basically told him that he really needs to either go away and learn how to hold pads correctly, or ask one of the coaches how to. In my opinion, someone holding pads poorly (for anything, boxing, Muay Thai, MMA etc) will decrease the striker's ability, technique and power by about 60%.

He argued that if you're good enough, it shouldn't matter how your pad partner holds pads.

What's your guys opinion on it? Can a poor pad holder make a good boxer/Thai boxer look bad? Or will their technique and skill override the poor pad holding?

It's a shame, but it appears in many gyms poor pad holders are common.
 
Well he is wrong, it doesn't matter how good you are, if the pad holder is bad then you aren't going to get much of a work out.

But with that being said, everyone is new at some point, so the more time you and others spend helping him the quicker it'll be for him to improve and then you will have another good pad holder to work with.

His comments was probably just him being defensive because he could see your frustrations. If you pair up with him again I suggest you give him a few pointers so he becomes a better partner for you and others in your club
 
if you have a shit pad holder chances are your gonna have a shit workout, if you want a good sesh partner up with one of the regs if you get stuck with a new guy that really cant hold pads id suggest just focusing more on his pad holding than your training so next time he knows what to do and doesn't waste more than one workout.
 
i only pair up with ppl i know are good padholders. i went with this one newbie, he was blasting the pads 100%, then when it was his turn to hold pads, i gave him 5 hard roundhouses then he said he didnt feel well and needed to sit down. LOL wth man. huge pet peeve that when u do something for someone, they dont return it in kind. Never again
 
In our kickboxing belt exams, the pad holding is evaluated as the striking.
 
It always gets to me, as I used to lose so much confidence as a newbie when I was paired with a poor pad holder.

I'd always end up convincing myself that perhaps I didn't do too well in the last training session (when I actually had a decent pad holder). This would then put me in a rut for a good few weeks.

I wonder how many promising martial artists have walked from whatever they were doing, after thinking they weren't good enough, only for it to actually be the fault of their pad holder.
 
If I have an inexperienced pad holder I'll walk them through one or two things and then focus on those things with them so we both improve, do a whole round on my jab, do a whole round just throwing teeps, sooner or later you'll get paired with an inexperienced person, who better than to learn from than yourself? the center of the universe........
 
No one is going to disagree the guy is wrong, but getting into an argument probably wasn't the right way to go about it. Just teach him how to hold them properly. He can probably be acceptable for basic drills in like half an hour or less.
 
Are we talking about a trainer, or another guy who trains there? Because as a guy who goes to the gym to train, i have no obligation to the others to be a good pad holder. Obviously I will try my best, listen to the preferences of my partner, but its not my job... In the end of the day, i don't give a fuck if i am not a good holder, i don't pay my membership for that. If you don't like it, just go find another holder, or ask your trainer to hold them.

But i agree in the importance of a good holder. Makes a huge difference.
 
Are we talking about a trainer, or another guy who trains there? Because as a guy who goes to the gym to train, i have no obligation to the others to be a good pad holder. Obviously I will try my best, listen to the preferences of my partner, but its not my job... In the end of the day, i don't give a fuck if i am not a good holder, i don't pay my membership for that. If you don't like it, just go find another holder, or ask your trainer to hold them.

But i agree in the importance of a good holder. Makes a huge difference.

So you think you can improve without the help of other students?
 
yeah the type of gym def makes a difference IE if you have a chit pad holder in a bkk gym you probably want to depart, if you're an ammy fighter you probably want to train with people of your caliber 80% of the time and be generous with your massive knowledge base, 19% so the rest of humanity may benefit...the last 1% is water break and staring at the hot girl's bums...mmmm bum bum
 
It is quite dangerous holding pads for strong newbie, I have to take extra care to prevent them from hitting me not the pads.
But it feels good to help people, everyone was newbie once.
 
I don't understand what some of you expect? A newb to be a good pad holder? I know trainers that aren't good at it... and you tell him to fuck off? Because we where all great pad holders from day one...
There are so many ways of holding pads:


Finding you half way with just a light touch for speed
Finding you half way with more force for more power
Have them near your chin without reaching (for straights)
Been in a fighting stance, meaning the back hand may need to move forward more than the front one
Moving forward pressuring him
Moving backwards let him do the pressure
Moving to your left like like a regular vs regular
Depending on your style, been in a distance for you to step in
Been close
If its not standard combination but free style what do you do?
Standard small combos?
Odd combination to train his eye coordination?
Do you throw counters? Few, many? inside the combination? at the end?
Fast for speed? Slow for power?
Do you let him breath after each combination or you pressure him till the bell rings?

So if i don't do the ones you like, you gonna tell me to fuck of?
 
I don't understand what some of you expect? A newb to be a good pad holder? I know trainers that aren't good at it... and you tell him to fuck off? Because we where all great pad holders from day one...
There are so many ways of holding pads:


Finding you half way with just a light touch for speed
Finding you half way with more force for more power
Have them near your chin without reaching (for straights)
Been in a fighting stance, meaning the back hand may need to move forward more than the front one
Moving forward pressuring him
Moving backwards let him do the pressure
Moving to your left like like a regular vs regular
Depending on your style, been in a distance for you to step in
Been close
If its not standard combination but free style what do you do?
Standard small combos?
Odd combination to train his eye coordination?
Do you throw counters? Few, many? inside the combination? at the end?
Fast for speed? Slow for power?
Do you let him breath after each combination or you pressure him till the bell rings?

So if i don't do the ones you like, you gonna tell me to fuck of?
Uhm, yeah, I'm surprised no one else really commented on the fact that the OP told A NEW GUY to "go away or learn how to hold pads correctly."

I too am annoyed with newbie pad holders, because they often revert back to holding pads incorrectly even after corrections, but they're new. It's not their fault.

Best advice in this thread was to stick to basics, like just working your jab.
 
I dont bother doing pad work if the holder dont know how to do it.

I will just work the bag or do something else instead of wasting my time.
 
Telling him to go away and learn to hold is a pretty dick move. You could have just tried giving him tips and correcting him.

Nothing more frustrating than a shitty pad holder though. Especially if they are just being selfish pussies
 
This is why I put newbs with newbs and more experienced people together for pad rounds. Everyone can work with people who have similar abilities and goals that way.

Also, if you have someone who is new and needs help, tell them to check out some videos of pad holding on youtube.
I made a quick one for my students (as the request of a more experienced student who was tired of constantly explaining how to do it) and it's definitely helped.

 
I'm surprised you got into an argument instead of just making adjustments. I assume he was less experienced than you and simply needed some pointers. Just show him how to hold pads correctly, that's the whole point of partners drills, you learn from eatchother. Sounds like one of you (dunno which one) brought a really shitty attitude to the gym that day.
 
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This is why I put newbs with newbs and more experienced people together for pad rounds. Everyone can work with people who have similar abilities and goals that way.

Also, if you have someone who is new and needs help, tell them to check out some videos of pad holding on youtube.
I made a quick one for my students (as the request of a more experienced student who was tired of constantly explaining how to do it) and it's definitely helped.


Sorry, but I disagree with the stepping back for the kick. I thought most everything else look pretty good but I'm not with that.

When you hold pads they should act as make shift body parts of an opponent. You mentioned about how when punching the pads that they should be close together rather than hanging them out. That's on the money because when your holding the contact points it should simulate all side of the head, ie jab forehead/face, hook side of the face..........

When punches land on the pads they are a ft or so in front of the pad holder, if you step back your creating another ft of space for the kick that doesn't exist in live sparing/fighting. If the oppo is in a common stance he'll be slightly hunched forward, chin tucked, the makes his body maybe 6inch's further away than his head. If the fighter is used to the pad holder stepping back for kicks, if his opponent doesn't back up from the punches he'll stuff his own kicks because he's used to that extra ft of space. During pad work this encourages fighter to charge forward to cover distance, or punch short so his kicks reach

I hold them a the same way as you but instead of stepping back i just twist my body. It's up to the fighter to maintain his distance. When the fighter gets to a certain level, then I might start stepping back after punches to simulate a retreating oppo, or stepping in to simulate and attaching oppo, but my general is to just twist and simulate and oppo that shells up or checks
 
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