Sparring Defense Advice Please

[proteusuk]

Hi,

I've been training Thai boxing for a number of years, I used to belong o a club that rarely sparred. After an injury lay off of a year I'm back training at a new club that holds regular sparring session.

I'm humble and know I have much to learn in sparring, the ability of the new club is good, so I'm excited to learn from the guys and they pointed out some points to me straight away, which was great.

Anyway the two most expirenced got in the ring (both boxing back grounds and boxed in the army etc) anyway they sparred pretty hard but seemly not really hurting each other, they both threw slick combos. However these largely seemed to fall on the guard then the other would fire back.

So my question really relates to what happens when it's like this, they seemed to be constately moving twisting leaning ducking, are they just moving randomly to make the shots land on the guard while waiting for a shot opening or are they reacting to the punches seemly being able to see them despite the high volume and speed?

I got in with one of the guys and was just overwhelmed by the sheer volume of punches, I tried to keep guard up but really just felt like a sack of potatoes standing in front of him lol, I managed to land a couple of shots back, but my combos don't really flow great or make much sense at the moment it's just random clusters of punches where as there ones all seemed to flow into each other.

When you under fire are to pull your guard up tight, are you meant to duck weave with the guard tight to make it harder for them to land clean? While trying to spot an opening?

Next guy weren't as good as him and was easier to parry return punches and slip a bit but his style wasn't really aggressive or a volume of punches so I enjoyed picking shots off and catching his jab.

Any advice with dealing with aggressive volume punches would be greatly appreciated, ways to improve Defense or how best to respond to a flurry of punches?

Any help would be great, I'm eager to improve because it looks much more fun when they were sparring each other

Many thanks

Jon

 

[j123]

I usually interrupt their combo with my own. The longest I'd wait is for 2-3 hits, anymore than that and something bad is going to ocme my way.
So when they're throwing punches, I interrupt with a leg kick, then hands.

Give it time, you're new and it'll come eventually. The important thing is not to bail on your offense if they throw something. Say you aim to throw 1,2,3,kick. Follow through, even if you get hit with a jab on the cross, its important to follow up and finish the combination.
Also, don't shell up for more than 3-4 strikes (ideal if you can interrupt at 1-2 strikes), the longer you wait, the more chance you'll end up eating something bad, like a hard knee / liver kick or something along those lines. Another way of thinking of it, is if you decide to compete and you shell up for a long time, the judges will see the other guy having good aggression, and possibly ring control if you're backing up while shelling up, and thats not good.

So long story short, do your best to get the techniques down, don't stop your combinations midway when you're hit or interrupted, and don't let shell up too long. Look to be busy and more active. Even if you feel your attacks might be weak when shelling up, throw it anyways. Interrupting and not shelling up is a habit you should build on.

Anyways all the best.

 

[wilddeuces]

Hi,

I've been training Thai boxing for a number of years, I used to belong o a club that rarely sparred. After an injury lay off of a year I'm back training at a new club that holds regular sparring session.

I'm humble and know I have much to learn in sparring, the ability of the new club is good, so I'm excited to learn from the guys and they pointed out some points to me straight away, which was great.

Anyway the two most expirenced got in the ring (both boxing back grounds and boxed in the army etc) anyway they sparred pretty hard but seemly not really hurting each other, they both threw slick combos. However these largely seemed to fall on the guard then the other would fire back.

So my question really relates to what happens when it's like this, they seemed to be constately moving twisting leaning ducking, are they just moving randomly to make the shots land on the guard while waiting for a shot opening or are they reacting to the punches seemly being able to see them despite the high volume and speed?

I got in with one of the guys and was just overwhelmed by the sheer volume of punches, I tried to keep guard up but really just felt like a sack of potatoes standing in front of him lol, I managed to land a couple of shots back, but my combos don't really flow great or make much sense at the moment it's just random clusters of punches where as there ones all seemed to flow into each other.

When you under fire are to pull your guard up tight, are you meant to duck weave with the guard tight to make it harder for them to land clean? While trying to spot an opening?

Next guy weren't as good as him and was easier to parry return punches and slip a bit but his style wasn't really aggressive or a volume of punches so I enjoyed picking shots off and catching his jab.

Any advice with dealing with aggressive volume punches would be greatly appreciated, ways to improve Defense or how best to respond to a flurry of punches?

Any help would be great, I'm eager to improve because it looks much more fun when they were sparring each other

Many thanks

Jon

Experience.

Slow sparring will help. You and your opponent go at about 20% power in order to train the right habits and familiarity. Those guys looked good because they probably are good. There's no shortcut. Just train hard and train smart. Ask for feedback. Shadowbox lots - visualize the situation.

To answer one of your questions, when you are under fire, the best block is to not be there (Karate Kid 2), or, if keen on counterpunching, catch and shoot when he punches. You can't be upright. You gotta collapse into your defense and move your head.

 

[proteusuk]

Thanks for both your posts and the time to reply, the advice is great and I'll take all them points on board.

J123, I completely get the interrupting after a couple of punches, that's what they seemed to be doing, then the other one would.

Cheers