Weight differences in Training/Sparring

[stupidnub]

I'm 160 and normally spar guys between 140-180. I've had to spar with guys around 220, and in my opinion, it's stupid. Big risk of injury for me and I don't see how the other guy is getting anything out of it.

Now if the other guy is inexperienced then I don't care what they weigh since they'll probably gas and I can do whatever I want. But still, I'm not getting much out of that other than having a mobile punching bag.

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

I'm 160 and normally spar guys between 140-180. I've had to spar with guys around 220, and in my opinion, it's stupid. Big risk of injury for me and I don't see how the other guy is getting anything out of it.

Now if the other guy is inexperienced then I don't care what they weigh since they'll probably gas and I can do whatever I want. But still, I'm not getting much out of that other than having a mobile punching bag.

^ agree.

 

[milkcarton]

It's easy when you have more than one person to spar with - the rest are cardio nubs, basically.

 

[Matt Hilton]

I'm 82 kilos and since I'm more experienced and decently large I seem to get thrown in with some monsters (guys up to 110 kilos). It sucks because they don't know their own strength, and they really have a hard time taking it easy since they usually freak out once they get hit and swing pretty hard. It sucks for me, but they have to learn too and it's better me then someone else even smaller, or a bigger less experienced guy that won't help improve their skills.

If someone ever goes hard to the point where it concerns me though, I let my coach know that they aren't ready to spar unless they can find a bigger guy. Not worth getting murdered to seem tough.

 

[chino0503]

as far as hard sparring goes. you should try and stay within 15 pounds at the most. i mean you can spar with bigger guys.. just know if they're at the same skill level or better, they're gonna hurt you.

its better to do hard sparring with someone your size because you both can tag each other hard. with someone bigger they gotta let off alittle on the punches and it wont be close to full speed.

thats just my opinion. nothing wrong with sparring bigger guys, i just feel you can get better work with someone your size. something more close to what you're gonna see in the ring.

 

[casper1kebab]

At my gym, im the smallest fighter in weight 55kg, the youngest in age 18, the smallest in height 5'6ish, and im 1 of the main fighters for my gym,i clean the gym, i help everyone who walks through the door with anything they need, i meet ppl early morning cuz THEY want to train, basically i do anything for the gym, yet, i still get soooooooo much abuse of everyone, even non fighters, ppl just training to get fit feel the need to have a dig at me.
and i dont just mean, hard in sparring, i mean anytime they wanna look good and make me feel like shit by bringing me down.
in sparring, every1 goes to knock me out, yes even my coach, hes 100kg of muscle and former world muay thai champion, so against him i just get raped, but me being my weight and the person with the closest weight to me is 70kg so i just get beat on by every1.
tbh, lately i dont even enjoy going, and i have been thinking of taking a leave and maybe focus on studies.

ahh well, life i guess

 

[EasternWind]

For training ill work with everybody. The bigger guys i deal with having a bigger and stronger guy. Smaller guys i deal with better cardio and speed. When training it goes both ways as well.

In training and sparring everything helps. However, as fight day comes the 3 weeks out i stay with out 1 level of my weight class.

+1
This is what I do. It actually helps in my opinion because it forces you to change your tactics on the fly for certain opponents. I'm currently sitting at 205 so I'm fighting guys anywhere from 160 to 265. on the heavier guys I have to rely on my speed an agility because I'm not going to be able to get as much weight behind my punches as they can, and with the smaller guys I have to rely on picking my shots and power because they are faster than me, but generally hit lighter. THe thing that doesn't change with me however, is my reach advantage over everyone. I'm 6'5" with a reach of 83". I mean no matter who I'm fighting they are going to be eating jabs and a good ole knee to the chest/head with little to no effort(if they try to clinch), so most guys will try to dip under the jab and go for body shots and finish with the overhand. Nobody will clinch unless it's for the takedown or to put me right against the cage. My wrestling/BJJ is the worst aspect of my game.
I'm a amateur currently, but I do spar with some of the pro fighters and I enjoy it immensely even if I get my ass kicked. At least I'm learning something. I usually train with 16 oz gloves and shin pads( if we're doing Kickboxing/mma/MuayThai).

I understand how you guys feel about someone going too hard, but it's part of the game. Just think about when you fight. Your opponent is not going to lighten up for you is he? You got to learn to either take the hits and dish it back out or to avoid them altogether.

 

[EasternWind]

At my gym, im the smallest fighter in weight 55kg, the youngest in age 18, the smallest in height 5'6ish, and im 1 of the main fighters for my gym,i clean the gym, i help everyone who walks through the door with anything they need, i meet ppl early morning cuz THEY want to train, basically i do anything for the gym, yet, i still get soooooooo much abuse of everyone, even non fighters, ppl just training to get fit feel the need to have a dig at me.
and i dont just mean, hard in sparring, i mean anytime they wanna look good and make me feel like shit by bringing me down.
in sparring, every1 goes to knock me out, yes even my coach, hes 100kg of muscle and former world muay thai champion, so against him i just get raped, but me being my weight and the person with the closest weight to me is 70kg so i just get beat on by every1.
tbh, lately i dont even enjoy going, and i have been thinking of taking a leave and maybe focus on studies.

ahh well, life i guess

I'm sorry you feel this way. You should enjoy what you do, if it's not fun anymore why are you doing it?

The thing I hate most about fighting is getting up in the morning and going to bed because of all the aches and pains

 

[casper1kebab]

I'm sorry you feel this way. You should enjoy what you do, if it's not fun anymore why are you doing it?

The thing I hate most about fighting is getting up in the morning and going to bed because of all the aches and pains

the reason im still at it is 1. because its habit, and the only thing i personally think im ok at
2. even after all the abuse im still stupidly loyal to my team and when they say jump i, for some reason always say how high
3. most important, my dream is to become world champion and i dont care what abuse is given, i would do anything to become world champion, in my opinon, if i become world champion all the abuse was worth it i guess

 

[Jeff822]

At my lightest (170) I sparred with our big guy a few times (265 even). We went fairly light probably around 50% maybe more but man that dude can throw a punch and make it count.

 

[thirteen]

I always aim to spar dudes roughly the same height.

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

I always aim to spar dudes roughly the same height.

yeah cuz we all know that's how fighters get classed by.

 

[thirteen]

yeah cuz we all know that's how fighters get classed by.

Well if there's two guys both weighing 70kg, one is 5 8' and the other 5'11
which one would you choose to spar?
When you spar a guy's height (and therefore his reach) will give
you a lot more problems than his weight.

And dudes with fast hands will give you more problems
than all others.

Make sense?

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

thirteen;42777509]Well if there's two guys both weighing 70kg, one is 5 8' and the other 5'11
which one would you choose to spar?

both.
What u gonna do when your fight is against a shorter guy ? you'll be so used to fighting an equal height guy that you wont know how to fight 'tall' . You'll be rattled at how much harder he hits and how much faster he is in the pocket. How , when he hits you, you're too close and how landing shots at his body/legs are harder cuz you're not used to aiming so low.
On the flip side , what are you gonna do when u fight somebody taller ? you wont be used to fighting small, how to get in, how much harder this skinny fuck hits u at the end of his punches.
you should be sparring all heights because in a fight you cant be guaranteed what height you'll get but you are guaranteed one thing...his weight.

When you spar a guy's height (and therefore his reach) will give
you a lot more problems than his weight.

really ? only if u have a habit of touch sparring.
A heavier guy can take your shots way better,counter better,walk through you better.
he can also wop u one a lot harder.
height is only a problem for beginners (easily intimidated, dont know its weakness) and IF the guy knows how to use his height (you'd be surprised at how many dont)

And dudes with fast hands will give you more problems
than all others.

nope , dudes with better timing or mental faculities do. Fast hands , just like long limbs, are easily dealt with.
If you're having trouble with somebody ...ask.
heres what u can do : Feint,fakes,lots of head movement,a good stiff jab,angles,pressure,short combinations,counter.
Any and all of the above will negate a faster opp.

Make sense?

 

[thirteen]

^^^ I'm only about 6-ish months into boxing (after 2 1/2 years kickboxing)
so at this point in my training hand speed & reach cause the most problems.
Obviously there are many times when I spar dudes different weights and heights,
plus all the other dudes are a lot more advanced and have records so it's
been a steep learning curve.

And I'm talking boxing sparring, so definetly not pitta-pat crap.
Will keep your advice in mind.

 

[chino0503]

dont listen to what your girlfriend says... size matters

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

^^^ I'm only about 6-ish months into boxing (after 2 1/2 years kickboxing)
so at this point in my training hand speed & reach cause the most problems.
Obviously there are many times when I spar dudes different weights and heights,
plus all the other dudes are a lot more advanced and have records so it's
been a steep learning curve.

And I'm talking boxing sparring, so definetly not pitta-pat crap.
Will keep your advice in mind.

in boxing if speed is troubling you u can follow my advice or to see it in action , watch Morales vs Paquiao 1. Frazier vs Ali 1&2
Morales/Frazier put those concepts to action against the faster,hard hitting Pacquiao/Ali to near perfection.
Dont look at their specific combos (Morales IS fighting a Southpaw) but their overall fight strategy and basic concepts they use.

 

[NuTzOnSwOll]

dont listen to what your girlfriend says... size matters

yup it does.

too many believing that TMA or Gracie BS.

If memory serves me , for all his BS about "size matter not" Royce's toughest fights (minus the beatdown Hughes gave him) was against a skill-less Kimo and Dan Severn.
He only survived (barely) by ripping Kimo's hair and hugging Dan to boredom.
Rumours are there was this massively powerfull power-lifter too that Rorion flat out refused to let compete.

and please dont bring up Bruce Lee , anyone. That guy almost never competed instead preferring 'demonstrations'.
He was a great martial art actor and a pioneer in some ways but hardly a great fighter.

 

[Logan M]

At my gym, im the smallest fighter in weight 55kg, the youngest in age 18, the smallest in height 5'6ish, and im 1 of the main fighters for my gym,i clean the gym, i help everyone who walks through the door with anything they need, i meet ppl early morning cuz THEY want to train, basically i do anything for the gym, yet, i still get soooooooo much abuse of everyone, even non fighters, ppl just training to get fit feel the need to have a dig at me.
and i dont just mean, hard in sparring, i mean anytime they wanna look good and make me feel like shit by bringing me down.
in sparring, every1 goes to knock me out, yes even my coach, hes 100kg of muscle and former world muay thai champion, so against him i just get raped, but me being my weight and the person with the closest weight to me is 70kg so i just get beat on by every1.
tbh, lately i dont even enjoy going, and i have been thinking of taking a leave and maybe focus on studies.

ahh well, life i guess

the reason im still at it is 1. because its habit, and the only thing i personally think im ok at
2. even after all the abuse im still stupidly loyal to my team and when they say jump i, for some reason always say how high
3. most important, my dream is to become world champion and i dont care what abuse is given, i would do anything to become world champion, in my opinon, if i become world champion all the abuse was worth it i guess

If you aren't getting proper training then you'll never be a champion in anything. That sounds like one of the worst training environments I can imagine. You should leave that place for another gym as quickly as possible. They are using and abusing you.

 

[Tempo]

I tend to pair up with anyone who wants to go about 70 percent with me.

Shit, ive sparred with guys around 100lbs heavier than me before. Im around 175lbs.