This may sound weird, but do you guys feel like someone can get real good in striking without hard sparring (or at least minimize hard head shots) for a while? I ask this cause Im dealing with a neck issue, and headshots will be an issue until things get resolved which may take awhile. Or anyone with head/neck issues still training standup got any feedback? Or does everyone in here pretty much agree that to gain good progress in striking that you need consistent hard sparring. I haven't trained standup in 2 years by the way.
Sparring w/o hard headshots?
- Thread starter lightw8
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Yeah, you definately don't want the injury to get worse. For now I would go light in sparring, and would mention to all of your sparring partners that you have a neck injury. Focus a lot on your technique when you spar (counters, setting up angles, etc...). This is just my opinion though, I'm no doctor but I know what it's like to have trained injured. You don't want to have any regrets if you do get injured in a hard sparring session.
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You can definitely get good, eventually you will need it if you where looking at competition, but if you are looking at that your neck would have to be better anyways.
Just be careful and only work with people you really, really trust. Even when going light the occasional shot is going to land heavy by accident.
yea, when I was practicing sanda, the memories of a couple headkicks and escalated exchanges are still fresh in my mind. Ive been doing just jiu jitsu last couple years- removed takedowns completely, but its been getting a little worse, and I dont know if I should keep doing it- disc issue that is. I figure at least if I go back to striking, there will be days where I can choose not to have any contact at all, but wondering if Im fooling myself thinking that I can progress a good chunk of the time spent on bags, shadowboxing and mitts while skipping the hard sparring.
idojiujitsu
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That's alright man! As long as your training.
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My opinion, you can get very good at striking by using light sparring, mitt work, bag and pad work. I think light sparring is a very useful tool in developing good technique and learning to practically apply it in the ring. That said, you can get very good technically and in the ring while sparring light, but without sparring consistently (once or twice a week) at a more intense pace and with heavier contact you will not be able to transition what you apply in lighter sparring nearly as effectively as someone who does spar at a harder pace. There is a BIG difference in defending, countering and absorbing shots thrown at 50% or less, than there is at doing the same when someone is throwing at 70% or greater. The balance and timing while defending or countering is much different, breathing and pace changes significantly as well, and the biggest hurdle is the mental/physical adaptability when getting hit with shots that really do damage and genuinely hurt! In light sparring you have to have the mentality when getting hit with shots, that even though those shots don't hurt or cause damage, the same shots thrown at full power will! Truth is, the only way you can really grasp that concept or have that understanding is to experience it first hand, by getting smacked good n hard a couple times. Then you can put light sparring into a realistic perspective.
If your injured though, light sparring is a much better option than no sparring. Just know that things will change when you do go harder and try to keep that mentality while working your offense and defense in light contact. The only issue i see with too much light sparring is that it develops over confidence, and that can get ya hurt.
spar light to the head, hard to the body.
Learn to hit the body shots - biggest difference between novice and good strikers is how much they go to the body, and you'll find the better level of opposition you get, the more you have to set up head shots by going to the body first anyways. So why not just pick up that skill NOW, rather than LATER?
That's what I do. There's no real harm in banging to the body so I go fairly hard there regardless of whether it's "light" sparring.
Learn to hit the body shots - biggest difference between novice and good strikers is how much they go to the body, and you'll find the better level of opposition you get, the more you have to set up head shots by going to the body first anyways. So why not just pick up that skill NOW, rather than LATER?
That's what I do. There's no real harm in banging to the body so I go fairly hard there regardless of whether it's "light" sparring.
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agree 100% The only issue i would see is that if the TS has a genuine neck injury and is sparring against novice or beginners, It is difficult for a novice to have the control in there strikes to go light to the head and hard to the body....... even more so in exchanges! If he is working against a more experienced guy than that is an excellent sparring strategy!
I got mri'd a few years ago and found a bulging disc in my neck, but if I really think hard, symptoms went back over ten years ago...nerve damage to my right tricep. They wanted to fuse my neck of course, and I said Ill get back to them. Being a seasoned personal trainer (one that actually gets results), I wanted to try my hand at trying to rehab myself, etc but its not going the way I want. I dropped doing standup cause I didnt want to get hit in the head too much, took a little time off and continued with just grappling. Its just frustrating because I cant stay consistent with any training other than the weights (which I love but doesnt help my game). I have to play the cards Im dealt...its just been a long time since I wrapped my hands and my 18oz Fairtex gloves are just collecting dust haha. I wish I was tall with a great jab to keep guys away, but of course not, I got the Yamamoto build at 5'8.
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Agreed with most on here.
Tell your partners you have an injury.
Go hard to the body, light to the head.
Most partners follow your pace, set the pace for light and work on technique. They'll usually and hopefully do the same.
Tell your partners you have an injury.
Go hard to the body, light to the head.
Most partners follow your pace, set the pace for light and work on technique. They'll usually and hopefully do the same.
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Learn to jab at the body! dip or slip the taller fighters jab and throw yours right underneath it!
I usually go against training with something as serious as neck injuries.however, spar with a purpose for each round e.g 1st round stipulate to your partner you want to try and amd catch or parry his light jabs and counter with combos or your own jab. so have a goal for each round where you want to work on some aspects of your game. this way its controlled and you lessen the chances of getting injured more.
Tito just had it done. He is my ONE hope. Chris Horodecki is another guy with the same problem, but not sure if he got the surgery. Fused as in take the damaged disc out, and fuse the two neckbones together. I noticed one day that I was slowly losing power in my right....if you're orthodox, flip your stance, and throw your left as hard as possible...that's how my right feels- unsteady and uncontrolled. Either way, I never ventured much into the Standup section, stayed mostly in Grappling. But I'll be spending more time here apparently.
How the fuck did you grapple with a neck injury?
My neck gets waaaayyy more jacked up getting stacked by a 200 pound dude than it's ever been being hit.
I never get stacked, I avoid it at all costs...and I actually do the stacking alot. I love grappling, but I think I was better at striking. But as time went by, I got heavier, stronger and lost speed and explosiveness as I spent all my time on the ground. There's just a lot of things I don't let myself do- like post or push too much with my head. I'm quick to tap even from a bad position that I feel may be too close to being injury possible. I got partnered up with 2 bigger guys last week for side control drills- one was 6'8 285, the other my height at 230lbs, and I got tossed alot (I'm 200lbs). But I can live with that more than ducking into a hard hook by accident haha.
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If you're having an injury issue, you don't wanna hurt it more, train with whatever you can still do though.
I fucked up my left wrist in boxing one time, holding mitts and doing planks was annoying as fuck for a while but I got over it by not pushing it too hard.
I fucked up my left wrist in boxing one time, holding mitts and doing planks was annoying as fuck for a while but I got over it by not pushing it too hard.
