Saturday, August 24, 2013

Workout #10

I was expecting a lighter workout focused on technique, but the trainer had me spar today again which is great. I have to travel for the next week so I won't have access to a gym, so I hope to do shadowboxing and lots of walking if I can.

Total rounds: 9.5 rounds

1) Shadow boxing 1.5 rounds

2) Light Sparring - 2 rounds
  • I sparred a new guy today. He's a really gentle nice man, about early 30's, 5'10, and maybe 190 pounds or so. He's never been in a match, but has been working out for about 3 years just for exercise, sparring very irregularly. He has no interest in being in a real match so doesn't really like to spar. 
  • The 2 rounds went by fast. He was already tired and was in much better shape than I was, but I just got there so I had more energy. 
  • Overall it was a good session. He got me with a bunch of body shots, but since he doesn't spar much he didn't keep his hands up very much so I got him a number of times with my jab. 
  • Since he's a beginner like me, when he went for a body shot he went too low so he got me but I was able to get him in the head almost every time. 
  • My jab came out much better today since I read this article on using my hips to launch a jab: 
http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-basics/boxing-tips/boxing-tip-7-drop-the-hips
  • I think I'll have to work on the drowning style but I think it'll work for me even though my reach isn't very long. I have to move and try to use conditioning to go in and out, in and out with my jab since that's my best hit. 
  • I still got hit a number of times on my head and body, but for the most part I was able to get him with my jab whenever he came in. 
  • I think just the few times I've been able to spar has given me a bit of an advantage with another beginner, since I haven't panicked so far and tried to go for aim. 
  • I notice that if I'm relaxed then I can be a lot more accurate, and in amateur boxing I know it's not about hitting hard but being accurate. 
  • He got me with a lower body uppercut a number of times, but I was able to hit his head only b/c he wasn't defending it very well. I think for better boxers, they'd protect themselves more while trying to go for the body shot. I think I have to give up body shots to some degree since I'm not sure I can avoid them all, but overall I think my presence in the ring is getting better. I do have to work on moving around more, I'm kind of like a statue just sitting there and blocking mostly b/c I'm too tired to move. 
  • My opponent said that my jab was really strong even in the 2nd round. He said when he tried getting in to do some kind of combo I would just jab away at him really hard. I didn't feel like I hit him that much, but I was surprised at how calm I was when he was trying to hit me with combos. (My previous sparring match, however, was totally different. The 20 year old strong guy nailed me really hard and I couldn't even see where his hits were coming from after a while.) 
  • Overall the best session so far I've had in sparring. My left arm and shoulder are hurting quite bad. 
  • I've ordered boxing shoes, so I think it'll make a difference when I start using those in a real match. It's hard to slip using my gym shoes.  
3) Mitts - 2 rounds
  • I didn't expect to go hit the mitts right after the sparring session. I was pretty exhausted. The trainer said I still need more counters, I was just avoiding and doing just offense. 
  • The trainer has been really trying to help me do as much sparring as possible. 
4) Speed bag - 2 rounds
5) Double bag - 1 round
6) Shadow - 1 round

The last time I felt like this was when I was 14 years old and won my very first wrestling match with a pin. Of course this is just a light sparring match, and we weren't hitting very hard. However, I could tell what it would have been like if we went the 3 rounds at 2 minutes each. With someone my own level, someone who has been doing this less than a year, I think I could actually stand a chance.

Today I felt half my age. It has been a good 10 workouts so far.

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