Nerves Sparring

[Youthman]

A bit of background: With little boxing experience I signed up to a beginners Corporate/White Collar boxing show, where you train for 12 weeks then have a fight in house with one of the other (30 or so signed up) boxers.
I signed up because I want to get good at boxing and I intend to carry on with it after the show.

We can train most nights of the week and every session is about 80% sparring, Heavy sparring in the ring and (supposedly) lighter sparring on the floor.
I find myself getting quite nervous before sessions and especially when all kitted up ready to spar.

I find sparring stressful but I do ultimately enjoy it. I come to that conclusion after the sessions as all I can think about in the sparring is trying to remember all I've been taught,trying to not get clobbered, and attempting to come out feeling like I've got some good shots in etc

I think we may be sparring more than other amateur/hobby boxers do of a usual week, so as to prepare us for the fight at the end of the 12 weeks.

I suppose what I'm asking is........do others get the nerves before sparring? If you do how have you learnt to overcome it?

It may sound like I should pick another sport to participate in but although it wracks my nerves, there is nothing quite like trading blows in a controlled manner, it fulfils a sort of base aggression I have in me that has no other means of escaping.

[Richard P]

A bit of background: With little boxing experience I signed up to a beginners Corporate/White Collar boxing show, where you train for 12 weeks then have a fight in house with one of the other (30 or so signed up) boxers.
I signed up because I want to get good at boxing and I intend to carry on with it after the show.

We can train most nights of the week and every session is about 80% sparring, Heavy sparring in the ring and (supposedly) lighter sparring on the floor.
I find myself getting quite nervous before sessions and especially when all kitted up ready to spar.

I find sparring stressful but I do ultimately enjoy it. I come to that conclusion after the sessions as all I can think about in the sparring is trying to remember all I've been taught,trying to not get clobbered, and attempting to come out feeling like I've got some good shots in etc

I think we may be sparring more than other amateur/hobby boxers do of a usual week, so as to prepare us for the fight at the end of the 12 weeks.

I suppose what I'm asking is........do others get the nerves before sparring? If you do how have you learnt to overcome it?

It may sound like I should pick another sport to participate in but although it wracks my nerves, there is nothing quite like trading blows in a controlled manner, it fulfils a sort of base aggression I have in me that has no other means of escaping.

More you do it the more you will relax.

The white collar things are good and it's good you are sparring a lot. I know people that have done it, do the training, (with very little real sparring practice) and then on fight night, quit in the break after round 1 because they are shocked the other guy is trying to take their head off, as they thought it would be like all the mitt training they did.

I always say, their is bag/mitts fighting, spar fighting is the next step up, then proper fight night is another level.

I have trained fighters who are great on the mitts and bottle it on fight night. I've worked with average guys on the bag/mitts and then fight night, they bring this aggression and are a machine in the ring.

As long as you feel your sparring is safe and people aren't being ****s trying to club you, then get more and more practice.

Ultimately it will improve your sharpness, control breathing and then on DDay, will not be so much of a shock.

Use your sparring to practice, don't tell your opponent but in your head think, right, next 30 secs don't throw anything and work on slipping and defensive, then maybe another 30 secs just keep moving around the ring, make yourself evasive, then finish the round as normal. Next round have a normal round, third round go back to dense and moving.

Remember sparring gives you a chance to practice things your not so sure or good at

[Rockin']

A bit of background: With little boxing experience I signed up to a beginners Corporate/White Collar boxing show, where you train for 12 weeks then have a fight in house with one of the other (30 or so signed up) boxers.
I signed up because I want to get good at boxing and I intend to carry on with it after the show.

We can train most nights of the week and every session is about 80% sparring, Heavy sparring in the ring and (supposedly) lighter sparring on the floor.
I find myself getting quite nervous before sessions and especially when all kitted up ready to spar.

I find sparring stressful but I do ultimately enjoy it. I come to that conclusion after the sessions as all I can think about in the sparring is trying to remember all I've been taught,trying to not get clobbered, and attempting to come out feeling like I've got some good shots in etc

I think we may be sparring more than other amateur/hobby boxers do of a usual week, so as to prepare us for the fight at the end of the 12 weeks.

I suppose what I'm asking is........do others get the nerves before sparring? If you do how have you learnt to overcome it?

It may sound like I should pick another sport to participate in but although it wracks my nerves, there is nothing quite like trading blows in a controlled manner, it fulfils a sort of base aggression I have in me that has no other means of escaping.

Every fighter at every level deals with nerves. Either you make them keep you sharp and alert or you let them destroy you. Train your eyes to 'see'.

[Mr.MojoRisin']

Sparring often helps.

[SalimShady1212]

I have my first fight in 4 week and I stil get nervous every time I spar. The first 30 seconds are always a bit hectic but then I just focus on my breathing and try relax which is also when I start to enjoy it. Just practice, practice, practice and it will soon start to feel like a natural environent.

[AddiX]

Nerve are normal, the more you do it the less you have, but they never go away completely.

The best thing to do is remind yourself of your technique, and when your warming up think of your technique and do warm ups that help you "pull the trigger".

And what worried best for me is to simply accept the fact your going to get hit and tell yourself it doesn't hurt that bad. The more scared you are to get hit, the more you brace for impact, making it hurt much more.

[Richard P]

Remember every punch doesn't have to be a killer ko. Trying to smash everything will tire you. Mix it up, throw quick jabs just to find your range, work hard 1st 2 rounds and concentrate more on output than power. If your tiring in round 3, throw less, get on your bike but keep your hands busy to stop them coming forward.

Really important to start strong, the white collar stuff often boils down to aggression over technique or picking your shots as fighters are very evenly matched technique wise.

[Youthman]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful. The last few times I've been I have been purposely trying to relax and not tense up, and it is helping. I'm obviously still getting nervous but I'm thinking of the things suggested and a few seconds into the sparring the nerves go as I'm concentrating hard. This is where I have been trying to remember to BREATH! ha and relax my body and arms.

I was finding my arms feeling strained and sore, which I think a lot of it comes from being so tense and trying, to put power into shots, which resulted in me throwing punches quite stiff and tense.

Incidentally the attendance at the sessions plummeted when the sparring and heavy sparring ramped up, so I'm doing better than some by going 3-4 times a week. I have contemplated going more but I find it both physically and mentally demanding.

[Richard P]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful. The last few times I've been I have been purposely trying to relax and not tense up, and it is helping. I'm obviously still getting nervous but I'm thinking of the things suggested and a few seconds into the sparring the nerves go as I'm concentrating hard. This is where I have been trying to remember to BREATH! ha and relax my body and arms.

I was finding my arms feeling strained and sore, which I think a lot of it comes from being so tense and trying, to put power into shots, which resulted in me throwing punches quite stiff and tense.

Incidentally the attendance at the sessions plummeted when the sparring and heavy sparring ramped up, so I'm doing better than some by going 3-4 times a week. I have contemplated going more but I find it both physically and mentally demanding.

Sounds about right, everyone thinks they are Muhammad Ali on the mitts, think they are real slick and can box, but guess what, mitts don't throw back, mitts don't cut the ring off and make it feel like a cardboard box with no escape

[Youthman]

Ha yeah definitely. I've seen some guys attacking the heavy bag and thought uh oh they look handy.......but then spar against them and it doesn't always transefer well to a moving target that hits back.
It works both ways too.........I feel great sometimes working on a specific combo on the bag....but when it comes to putting that into practise its a different story!