Watch out for these mistakes when sparring!
Sparring should be a positive experience for both partners to improve. But if you’re not careful, you can exhaust yourself, grow bad habits, or get injured.
Avoid these mistakes so you and your partner can maximize your growth and skills!
Mistakes To Avoid When Sparring
Here are some mistakes to avoid when sparring:
- Not Warming Up And Getting Prepared
- Not Using Enough Jabs
- Following Your Opponent
- Aiming To “Win”
- Using The Same Combos And Techniques
- Taking Advantage Of Beginners
Not Warming Up And Getting Prepared
The first mistake to avoid when sparring is not warming up and getting prepared.
Make sure you are well rested and hydrated before sparring. If you are exhausted, you won’t spar your best.
It’s important to be hydrated before the spar so that you won’t drink too much water in between rounds. This can cause you to bloat and cramp.
Before your sparring session, prepare yourself mentally. Do some light shadowboxing and visualization to warm up your body and calm your nerves.
Finally, use correct, well-fitting gear. Along with your hand wraps and gloves, you’ll need a cup, headgear, and mouthpiece.
Not Using Enough Jabs
The next mistake to avoid when sparring is not using enough jabs.
No matter what your offensive strategy is, the jab is your foundation.
Don’t just throw power punches; you’ll exhaust yourself and your moves will be easy to predict.
Or maybe you’re throwing a lot of jabs, but you’re throwing the same type of jab every time.
Mix up the variety of jabs to measure your range, block your opponent’s vision, or end a combo.
Following Your Opponent Around The Ring
The next mistake to avoid when sparring is following your opponent around the ring.
As you struggle to get in range, eventually you’ll walk into a trap.
Instead, use your footwork to control the angles and perimeter of your opponent.
If your opponent steps backwards, don’t just step forward with her. Move at an angle to get outside of her lead foot. This can force her to lose her balance.
Another example is when you back your opponent on the ropes; they will try to escape to the left or right. Cut off the ring by shuffling with them or sliding in front of their escape route.
These strategies also have the advantage of saving your energy, as you will move with more efficiency.
Aiming To “Win”
The next mistake to avoid when sparring is aiming to “win”.
In sparring, there is no winner or loser; the focus should be on growth.
It’s not about ego or showing off. That’s how spars go out of control and people get hurt unnecessarily, especially if you’re sparring with people from visiting gyms who may misread your showing-off for disrespect.
Your coach should recognize this and stop the spar if he or she sees this happening.
One way to prevent this is to spar with someone you can trust and with whom you can discuss the spar before and after.
Using The Same Combos And Techniques
The next mistake to avoid when sparring is using the same combos and techniques.
Sparring is a creative process where you find what works best for you. It’s not drilling, the same way you jump rope or do push-ups.
Use techniques that you discovered during shadowboxing or that your coach showed you.
On the other hand, some techniques are bad habits. It’s ok to unlearn them. A good spar will reveal your weaknesses to work on and bad habits to get rid of.
Spar with different intensities and purposes to get familiar with different situations.
Most importantly, this will keep the process fun and challenging!
Taking Advantage Of Beginners
Lastly, don’t take advantage of beginners when sparring.
We all remember how terrible our first spars were.
(If you did everything right in your first spar, you’re lying.)
Beginners aren’t even thinking about throwing combinations or defense, they’re more focused on simple things like breathing properly and keeping their guard up.
If you go all out against a beginner, you’re setting a terrible example in the gym and discouraging other beginners from stepping in the ring.
We agree that there’s a good time to challenge a beginner and push him outside of his comfort zone.
However, this is to be decided between the coach and the beginner himself, not because you feel like beating someone up in the moment.
Instead, throw at half-speed, half-power just so they get used to the experience.
This isn’t to say to be careless. We all know a beginner who goes wild-eyed and starts throwing heavy shots out of nowhere.
Conclusion
Now that you know these sparring mistakes, you’ll be better prepared to step into the ring again.
Remember that sparring is process-oriented, not results-oriented. You won’t magically become the boxer you want to be when you wake up tomorrow.
So keep the process fun and be happy with the progress you made.
If you made these mistakes, don’t be discouraged! Keep at it and one day things will click.
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