Workout #21

It's always hard to go back after taking Sunday and Monday off.

Total rounds: 11

1. Jump Rope - 2
2. Shadow - 3
3. Footwork - 2

• The tough trainer had me work on a few things. 
• First, we worked on the jab-left uppercut combo. He said I need to raise my hand higher so that my elbow is close to my mouth. The idea is that it automatically acts as a block if you miss, but if you hit you end up following through/preventing your opponent from going over the top of you. This was hard to do, but I can see how it's effective. I'm going to put this into my sparring. 
• Second, we worked on jabbing and then slipping/advancing to the right while putting my forearm/elbow under my opponent's left arm/pushing it up/lifting it up. Then I could do a right hook or upper cut. It's not something I can just do intentionally, but if done quickly it's like a missed jab. This could be really effective if I can get in, not sure I'm fast enough. 
• Third, we worked on doing a wide open palm slap on the side of the body. It's done quickly and lightly, so the person thinks it's a body shot. Then when he relaxes, one can come in with the hook or uppercut. I want to work on this on the inside, it looks powerful but again I'm not very quick on my feet. 

4. Mitts - 2

• I always have a hard time slipping and then coming back with a strong punch. 
• This tough trainer always pushes me/insists that I use my body on my punches. I always feel like with him I have to turn my hips which is what I need to do. I tend to use my arm for punches, but he won't let me get away with it. He's a great trainer even though he's tough. 

5. Sparring - 2

• I was finished with my workout and about to leave and the head trainer asks me to spar. He's a young southpaw. He looked about 25 or so, and was about 6'1 and weighed about 170 lbs. He totally looked like a boxer. He was lean, and I could see muscular definition on his arms and legs - not the bodybuilding kind but the kind a boxer would have, not ripped but definitely lean muscle from lots of exercise and activity. He jump roped effortlessly and so I thought I he was really skilled. 
• Turns out he's more a beginner like me. 
• In the first round, I wasn't used to fighting a southpaw. I couldn't hit him very well with my jab from afar, but most of the times he came in I was able to tag him fairly hard with my jab. I don't have a long range, but I can advance fairly quickly and using the drowning style he was able to block a lot of my jabs or get out of the way, but whenever he tried to advance I was able to just sit and tag him with the jab. 
• He got me a few times in the body, but I was able to get him with an uppercut or jab almost everytime he came in which made him more hesitant. He had a really powerful left hand, and got me really hard once. I remembered my last sparring match, and even though he got my hard I tagged him with an uppercut. Since I had my faceguard, if we had the open face headgear he would have damaged my face for sure. Of course, if we had open face headgear then my jabs would be getting him in the nose as well so it works both ways. This is why sparring is great to learn, but it's not a real match. It's much more controlled and lighter. Once I got him with my jab, I think we were going pretty hard about 70%. 
• I would say I won the 1st round for sure. He probably got me with a few body shots, one overhand left, and whiffed on a bunch of uppercuts/hooks b/c I was getting him with my jab. I got him at least 5-6 times w/my jab and one right hand + a few uppercuts when he came in. Once he came in, he tended to look down a bit so if I just moved a bit I was able to get him with my jab. The more I jabbed, the more hesitant he was about getting in. 
• During the 2nd round, he figured out how slow footed I was and started to use footwork to get around me. He got me with at least 2 or maybe 3 straight lefts. Once of them was hard enough that my lips were bruised (and still hurts a bit) even with my mouthpiece and even with my full faceguard. If I didn't have the full headgear I would be hurting for sure, definitely my lips would be real bloody. Of course he'd be bleeding too with my jabs. 
• Once he figured out I was having a hard time breathing, he was able to use his superior speed/athleticism/footwork to get me a number of times in the body. He still has a habit of looking down, so I was able to get him almost at the same time he hit me with the bodyshots with either an uppercut or jab. I would say he won round 2, but not by much. I did remember to consistently fire my jab even if I was so tired since I knew he got hit a number of times/was hesitant. 
• If there was a 3rd round he would have won that for sure, probably won the match. He was in really good shape, and I had already done mitts by the time he came in. I really really need to get in better conditioning. My trainer said I was doing really well and was winning when I got tired b/c I had no stamina. I think he was kind of surprised, since this guy was much younger than me/a bit taller/and a southpaw - which means he's much more used to boxing righties. 
• I think compared to my opponent, I was much more relaxed in the ring. I'm not sure if it's b/c I'm used to sparring, but my heart rate didn't spike and I didn't get anxious. Maybe it's b/c I know it's just sparring, but I was calm in there. I also know that I have an accurate jab/was able to throw a variety of jabs both strong/weak/fast and I know I have a decently strong right. An advanced boxer could easily beat me with footwork mostly b/c I can't move well, but a beginner can't move very well either and so it's a) conditioning, and b) accuracy. My opponent and I were roughly the same heigh, similar body frame, but he was a lean 170 while I'm an overweight 230. Those 60 lbs wouldn't help me one bit against someone like him since it's all fat. It's not like I'm a really thick and powerful 230, but rather an overweight one who is slowed down by my fat. 
• My lips hurt as I'm typing this. I think if my boxing skills stayed the same but I was in great condition, I think I have a good chance in my match. Once I lose weight, that should only increase my speed (in theory.) 
• Things to work on for next time: 1) keep on working on the jab-L hook quick combo and the jab-L uppercut combo, 2) drowning style go in and out, 3) be patient and wait to use my right hand. I'm not sure I can do any of the moves my trainer taught me today, I think I'm just too slow. Also my opponents get a bit weary b/c of my jab and so think a bit more carefully about coming in since I get them. I have a feeling some of them will just want to rush and brawl with me since I could tag them with my jab, so I have to be prepared to shoulder roll and the like.