How to get better at sparring?

Question

Alright, so I've been a blue belt for awhile now and I can't seem to get up a rank because of my sparring. We spar every thursday in my class and everytime I take in a lot of hits. We don't do points most of the time since we're working on our technique and combinations

I've been working on my combinations but I can never get a good hit and end up getting beat up. It's come to a point where I've been conveniently forgetting my sparring gear and/or injuring myself so I don't need to spar every time. But I'm getting tired of making excuses and I actually do like sparring a lot because I find it fun. It's the whole fear of getting hit very hard thing that's probably making me choke.

Basically I need tips on how to improve myself. I find my main problem is losing stamina at the beginning of the fight and then I find it very hard to defend myself. ANY SORT OF TIPS WILL HELP. PLEASE HELP!!!

Answer 1

You'll get better at sparring by sparring. Just be aggressive in the fight and stay calm and watch your opponent and wait for him to leave himself open and BAM!

Answer 2

For a lot of relatively new people it's the fear of getting hit more than the actual hit that messes them up.  How do you get over it?  Stand there and take one good clean punch to the face. Once you realize it doesn't hurt that much you can relax.

Your loss of stamina is probably from holding your breath.  Tension and nervousness makes that happen.  Try forcing your breaths OUT when you hit or get hit - your body will inhale on it's own.

I'm also betting you look away from your sparring partner or close your eyes and you don't see what's coming at you.  Make it a point to know where every punch and kick is coming from - then you can at least expect it.  It doesn't hurt as much if you know it's coming.  If you "turtle" and close your eyes anyone can hit you at will.

I would recommend you work on counter-punching, too.  Defend a shot then BAM - hit back.  Use the opponent's confidence against him.  He punches, you take it and hit him back.  It's not an ideal way of sparring for everyone, but it will get your mind off getting hit and make you think - "one for me, one for you".  Rather than "What if I get hit!?!?"

Getting punched with a pair of 16 oz gloves won't kill you - it WILL train you to not freak out when you get hit for real.  Think of sparring as a training tool, not a fight.  

Answer 3

Try to get some private lessons with your trainer and tell him what you want to improve.

Answer 4

Sparring is basically the same as any other weapon based fight.. the best thing for you to do as i see that your opponents use your lack of stamina against you is to tire them out. Just get in to a defense stance and block all the hits your opponents throw at you. Occasionally there will be openings so use it. You don't want your opening knowing that your just waiting for him to lose stamina. So occasionally hit him a bit. But when you see him breathing hard .. just go all out. But do it smartly, keep switching attack points and your surely to prevail.

Answer 5

In free sparring the goal is to fight without hitting the other person. I do not know of any dojo which has full-contact or partial-contact sparring. Free sparring aims to come close to hitting your opponent. That said, accidents happen all the time and students are always getting hit or kicked.

To get better at sparring get yourself some gear -- head protection, boxing gloves. Then you'll need a friend to engage in a real fight. Not full contact, but rather half contact. You can work your way up to almost full contact. This will get rid of your fear of getting hit and you'll become much better at free sparring.

Answer 6

do sit ups to help your body absorb hits better.  to improve punching power do knuckle pushups.

Answer 7

You get better  by..... sparring.

Practice will make you better, if stamina at the beginning is an issue, it might be your adrenaline, which gives you that rushing sensation, but ends up draining you later on. Try to keep calm to avoid this.

Ask your sparring partners what you can do to improve, and your instructors.

good luck!

Answer 8

the best way to improve at tennis is to PLAY TENNIS

the best way to improve at golf is to PLAY GOLF

the best way to improve at running is to RUN

the best way to improve at s*x is to HAVE s*x

the best way to improve your acting ability is to ACT

the best way to improve at piano is to PLAY PIANO;

not to be a wise-*** but do you see a pattern here?

spar- spar some more, listen to your instructors, they should be correcting you and giving you advice when you do- if they arent' they are bad instructors and i would find a new school.

Answer 9

take a couple of hits, no one's there to hurt you, keep breathing. at your level, most people just get beat up. that's the joy of being a colored belt. eventually you'll find a style that works. keep practicing. the fact that you like sparring is very good, i teach some kids that dont even want to try sparring. remember, just keep going

Answer 10

go against people that will kick ur ***

this way u learn from mistakes and get better

Answer 11

The only way to truly improve your sparring is by sparring. It is perfectly natural to get a little nervous or scared, but don't let it overwhelm you. What I tell my students is the same thing many of my teachers told me; better to get your butt kicked in class where no one is really out to hurt you than in the streets where someone could pull a knife or a gun and end any considerations of a fight instantly.

You have protective gear on and at blue belt level I'm sure you aren't going full speed or full power, so trust what you have learned and trust your protective gear. Also keep in mind that this is a controlled set of circumstances and an opportunity to improve yourself and then seize it.

Try to clear your mind and don't think to much about the fact that you are going to be hitting someone and that they are in return going to hit you back. Try to think of it as another type of drill. I have had several students who have had this problem several girls and a few guys. I think guys just by nature are more rough and tumble and spend out childhoods beating up the younger brother or getting beat up as the younger brother and so they adjust to it much better and much faster. When I have had students they have had this kind of problems I have often had them do simple 1 or 2 step sparring. Not like set pattern 1 step sparring, but rather just throwing 1 or 2 techniques at a time back and forth. It helps in y opinion because it kind of slows the whole thing down to something you can wrap your head around eve when you are a little scared.

Also try to control yourself, keep your focus on the task at hand with out letting it make you scared or nervous, again keep in mind that this is a classmate and not someone who really wants to do you harm. Adrenaline and nerves are sapping your energy right at the beginning and leaving you defenseless shortly there after. Control your breathing and remember to breath out as you strike. You may also want to do more footwork, if you are more elusive target then that means your opponent is chasing after you which gives you the opportunity to choose when to engage and when not to. It also allows you to get in and back out before you get hit back.

You will get over the nerves with time and experience, don't put too much pressure on yourself and try to enjoy the whole experience.

Best of luck!!

Answer 12

My instructor told me if you remember your techniques and keep moving around and keep your moves coming you can get some good hits. Eventually, it should become to go in Slo mo so you can see the moves coming.

Answer 13

practice sparring outside of class. just keep training wiht other people so leanr to read people. also fight people who are a lot better than you if they are a lot better then you will have more of a reason to defend yourself and you will also start to have to move a lot faster. better people can also give you a lot of tips on how ot improve.

Answer 14

if you spar the same classmates. they learn your moves and are ready for them.so change them. to something they dont except.