BoxRec

Hello , Ive just joined but have been a member in the past (cant remember user name so had to do another one)

I used to box amateur as a kid but was never offered any fights by my club despite training for 6 months so i quit .

I really want to give it another shot despite me being in my late twenties , Ive started training at a small gym and spoken to someone about fighting white collar , hes got a night in april but i am unlikely to make weight in time as im now 13 stone and want to be down to 11 stone 7 , so some hard work to go .
The advice im needing though is probably based on Psycology , Myself and my coach seem to think that im descent enough but when i spar i have a natural reaction to flinch from opponents punches , its annoying as ill be sparring people who i know im better than , and shouldnt have a problem with , but i think this flinching is detrimental as im not able to learn properly on how to deal with certain situations in sparring as im not allowing them to happen , my coach keeps saying that it will just stop with plenty of sparring as he thinks its a case of learning to be hit , but its getting to me as i want to push on as i know ive got the ability , ive shown it in the gym .
Any advice on how to stop myself doing this, is hypnotherapy an option ?

Karl Leverton by any chance ??

sorry if not , just sounds like someone who ive had contact with lately .

Undisputed wrote:Hello , Ive just joined but have been a member in the past (cant remember user name so had to do another one)

I used to box amateur as a kid but was never offered any fights by my club despite training for 6 months so i quit .

I really want to give it another shot despite me being in my late twenties , Ive started training at a small gym and spoken to someone about fighting white collar , hes got a night in april but i am unlikely to make weight in time as im now 13 stone and want to be down to 11 stone 7 , so some hard work to go .
The advice im needing though is probably based on Psycology , Myself and my coach seem to think that im descent enough but when i spar i have a natural reaction to flinch from opponents punches , its annoying as ill be sparring people who i know im better than , and shouldnt have a problem with , but i think this flinching is detrimental as im not able to learn properly on how to deal with certain situations in sparring as im not allowing them to happen , my coach keeps saying that it will just stop with plenty of sparring as he thinks its a case of learning to be hit , but its getting to me as i want to push on as i know ive got the ability , ive shown it in the gym .
Any advice on how to stop myself doing this, is hypnotherapy an option ?

I still remember the first time I sparred - its a natural reaction to lean back, chin in the air and lean away from the punches when you get hit as opposed to crouching forward and tucking your chin and meeting the punches/blocking/parrying/ducking. I kept doing that when I first started but in my humble opinion your coach is right mate. You just need to get used to getting hit and get rid of that "fear" of getting hit which will only go after regular sparring.

I also used to throw "don't hit me punches" ie when sparring guys better than me I'd be afraid to get stuck in for fear that they'd batter me if I got a good punch in. But again that went with time as my confidence grew. Confidence is a big thing with boxing. My advice would be to go for a bit in sparring - not trying the knock the other guy out of course but competitive sparring is important. That way you'll end up getting hit a few times too as you'll leave yourself open more in order to land your own punches. After while call me crazy but I actually used to enjoy getting hit! Wouldn't feel right in sparring if didn't take a few solid licks to my chops!

Apologies if I wasn't much help, best of luck with training and hope you can secure a fight.

try doin more technique work with other people from your gym get someone to throw certain punches at you first singles then one two then combos ect, start slow get used to slipping parrying rolling taking them on the gloves ect then bring in counter punches take it in turns eventually it will be like a technique spar. then wot you learn bring it in to the real sparring sessions you do, wont work overnight but will definatly help. the problem with flinching is if the other boxer notices it they just gonna throw faints and open you up that way. hope this helps

Advice for a fighter? Keep your hands up! Lol

Get as much expierience of your sparring partners throwing shots at you, this will help you become more confident and relaxed then after a while you will get a good rythem of being able to slip and roll, block etc and reading what your opponent is about to do and just naturally relax under pressure. I also read Thai fighters have their coaches throw water at them to stop them flinching???

Get as much expierience of your sparring partners throwing shots at you, this will help you become more confident and relaxed then after a while you will get a good rythem of being able to slip and roll, block etc and reading what your opponent is about to do and just naturally relax under pressure. I also read Thai fighters have their coaches throw water at them to stop them flinching???

matko wrote:Get as much expierience of your sparring partners throwing shots at you, this will help you become more confident and relaxed then after a while you will get a good rythem of being able to slip and roll, block etc and reading what your opponent is about to do and just naturally relax under pressure. I also read Thai fighters have their coaches throw water at them to stop them flinching???

i heard you like having baby oil thrown on you while your training, is this true?

Ginger's advice is good. There is no real shortcut it's natural to flinch and turn away from punches until you have confidence in your defence and can relax.

Like he said pratice blocking/slipping two punch combinations with a your coach. The confidencence will come easier if you know what's coming and when. Once you're comfortable dealing with all the different punches coming with warning you'll be able to halfway to dealing with it in an open spar.

Good luck

I wouldn't try to put pressure on yourself to make a particular date for a fight. just concentrate on getting fit, start building up the sparring bit by bit and the flinching will stop naturally.
if your coach is decent, he will let you know when you're ready for a real contest. good luck