BoxRec

nobleart1978 wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 10:54 Yes.
A proper fitting gumshield is very important. Best to have one fitted by the dentist rather than a boil n bite.

Coco wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 16:03

nobleart1978 wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 10:54 Yes.
A proper fitting gumshield is very important. Best to have one fitted by the dentist rather than a boil n bite.

Even in the pro's I bought a cheap one from the sports shop.

Of course you have to mold it well, but as they were always quite bulky I felt I could hold a shot better than the perfectly fitted lightweight ones from the dentist.

I dunno if it was better for my teeth but I def got buzzed less.

nobleart1978 wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 17:00 Did some sparring at Nobby Nobbs gym in Birmingham cos i wanted to turn pro.

Sparring with Peter Buckley and Anthony Hanna was tough going.

It was then that I realised I was never going to be a top boxer because people like Naz and Duke McKenzie outclassed these guys and I was struggling to keep pace with them.

It makes you appreciate how good you really have to be to get to the top.

Coco wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 16:03

nobleart1978 wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 10:54 Yes.
A proper fitting gumshield is very important. Best to have one fitted by the dentist rather than a boil n bite.

Even in the pro's I bought a cheap one from the sports shop.

Of course you have to mold it well, but as they were always quite bulky I felt I could hold a shot better than the perfectly fitted lightweight ones from the dentist.

I dunno if it was better for my teeth but I def got buzzed less.

coneye wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 17:41 First sparring experience , LOL , Was 8 years old , sparred another kid and was doing really well , Then he punched me on the nose and gave me my first nose bleed , I seen the blood and burst in to tears LOL ,
After the coach stopped the bleeding , told me i was real good , because you can't be a boxer unless you have a broken nose ,, me and the other kid walked home , with our arms around each others shoulders , stopping to brag to all the other kids , LOL

Me bragging look at me , showing off what i said was a broken nose and the blood on my shirt , him bragging he done it to me LOL

Grilling Machine wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 18:41 For any newcomers, one of the most common mistakes I see is guys raising their front knees when they're taking a hammering. If you feel it, fight that instinct as hard as you can, because it's one of the worst things you can do.

Make your arms cover body and head at the same time by bending at the waist, never trying to use a knee to fill a gap that shouldn't be there.

asdfjkl wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 14:32 The first time I sparred I was shocked about how tired it made me, I fought like 4 guys in a row and the fourth one I just gave up even without beïng punched at all. And that was against a guy I could normally easely get with one arm on my back. We weren't allowed to punch in the face somehow back then.

PredatorHayds wrote: ↑15 Feb 2018, 12:46

asdfjkl wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 14:32 The first time I sparred I was shocked about how tired it made me, I fought like 4 guys in a row and the fourth one I just gave up even without beïng punched at all. And that was against a guy I could normally easely get with one arm on my back. We weren't allowed to punch in the face somehow back then.

Ok I will bite.

In your FIRST Sparring session you went back to back with 4 fresh partners?
Where did you train, The Kronk.

rubberneck wrote: ↑15 Feb 2018, 10:52

Grilling Machine wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 18:41 For any newcomers, one of the most common mistakes I see is guys raising their front knees when they're taking a hammering. If you feel it, fight that instinct as hard as you can, because it's one of the worst things you can do.

Make your arms cover body and head at the same time by bending at the waist, never trying to use a knee to fill a gap that shouldn't be there.

^^^^^
This happened to me in my first open spar. Some people have trouble fighting the flight reaction. I certainly did.

Coco wrote: ↑15 Feb 2018, 15:54

PredatorHayds wrote: ↑15 Feb 2018, 12:46

asdfjkl wrote: ↑14 Feb 2018, 14:32 The first time I sparred I was shocked about how tired it made me, I fought like 4 guys in a row and the fourth one I just gave up even without beïng punched at all. And that was against a guy I could normally easely get with one arm on my back. We weren't allowed to punch in the face somehow back then.

Ok I will bite.

In your FIRST Sparring session you went back to back with 4 fresh partners?
Where did you train, The Kronk.

So was it 4 rounds straight off? 4x3's? Experienced guys?
How would you normally get this guy with one arm behind your back if it was your first spar?

rab wrote: ↑15 Feb 2018, 20:51 i was early 30's , had been at gym 6 weeks and got asked if i wanted to have a go at sparring. i never did any pad work at the gym, didn't want to take the time off active boxers ,both the amateurs and the pro's.

i went in with a 15 year old novice, he was about 6 ft maybe a tad over that. i am 5 ft 6 and i think about 11 stone at the time and reasonably strong for my weight so was physically a lot stronger than the young lad. after 30 seconds i was blowing out my arse . he was a technically correct puncher, every punch landed straight with a bit of snap on it and i was sure afterward he was taking it easy. after that 30 seconds he landed a straight right on my nose that felt exactly like getting hit in the face with a brick(i know this as i have been hit on the head with a brick ). i was straight down on one knee with blood pissing out my nose.

think i lasted another round of further humiliation before i was totally done.
i sparred a fair few other lads after that and not one of them had that hard snappy smash feeling of that young lad, including
lads that had four or five stone on him and me .

he took a couple of gym beatings from older experienced lads including one that was stopped by another senior amateur stepping in that was also a proper hard case. they were supposed to toughen him up i think and make him see if he could take that from adults other lads his age/experience would be no problem. his next fight was with the hardest lad in his school that was also a year older than him and he was right there until the end of the second round and got stopped in the third. watching from outside i could see he actually hurt the other lad a couple of times but i think it was always in the back of his mind he would have to go back to school with this bloke and it took the edge off how he fought.

he used to spar regular with another lad his own age, shorter but similar weight that was regarded as a puncher. this lad also actually liked getting punched in the face i kid you not. they had some cracking spars that were great to watch. the funny thing was i was able to stay in for full rounds with that lad and he never put me on my arse. his punches were heavy, but it was a thudding heavy like getting hit with a brick wrapped in cotton wool, not that hard smashing feeling.

anyone i sparred that had any ability at all usually put me on my arse. i have bad balance and poor spatial awareness (i don't think my hands were ever where they were supposed to be, trainer was always shouting hands up when i thought i had them up), not a good combo for boxing. the only attributes i had was a thick skull and stupidity that kept me having a go without getting knocked out.

the only time i ever did ok was when i managed to stop smoking for 9 months and was out running on top of the gym and got a bit of fitness. i was sparring another lad that was having his first fight in a few weeks. i think there were only a few of us in that night and instead of swapping partners we did 3 rounds on the trot. both of us were knackered and it was the first time i actually noticed what was going on as the pace slowed down. i could see how he was moving in and being really tired was keeping my hands up and only throwing to keep him off as he came in. i actually managed to time a jab that it felt i put nothing into but as he was moving forward it actually stunned him. i could feel the shock of how it hit run up my arm.

when i saw him wobble and the pro running the spar said you hurt him there ,what did i do. i stopped punching and put my hands down to wait til he was ok to continue. weird feeling hurting someone for no reason even though that was the point and i never had bother when scrapping outside the ring.

i once got punched clean across the ring by a mate that was four stone heavier than me. he was there for fitness as well and used to throw huge windmill punches. i boxed his head off for the best part of three rounds before walking right onto one. he also said he never felt he put much into it and was amazed how far i went across the ring

still didn't knock me out but i must have been a bit dazed as the next round with a novice that threw nice hooks i got clipped on the jaw when not biting down on my gumshield and chewing anything for the next 3 months felt like the left part of my jaw where the joint is was full of cornflakes crunching.

the last spar i had i spat the dummy as i had been there a while and got put on my arse by someone that was fit and strong but had only been there a few weeks and was having his first spar. just frustration i felt i wasn't progressing much at all. horses for courses and i just had to admit i had little chance of learning even the basics. i still loved the time there ,the training and even getting my arse handed to me on a plate. i learned a bit of humility and being fit calmed my bad temper right down outside the gym. in the gym it would soon have been knocked out of me anyway.

so that is the perspective of sparring from someone that hadn't a clue and even less ability. sorry for the ramble but it was a question that brought back some interesting memories.
i already held amateur and pro boxers in high regard before having a go. the level that respect moved up to subsequently was off the charts.
i also think i know why some people are susceptible to body shots and others aren't. for those that are i don't think there is any training you can do to change it over and above what they do anyway.
quite a few times i had people say they had caught me with really good body shots and did i feel them ? i used to say ye they were really sore just so they wouldn't hit me harder the next time when in reality i never even felt them land