Total rounds: 11
1. Jump rope - 2
2. Shadow boxing - 3
3. Mitts - 3
4. Speed - 1
5. Sparring - 2
I went in at 11am today, which is unusual for me. There was nobody there except the head trainer. I rode my bike about 35 minutes one way, so I was pretty warmed up by the time I got there. I asked my trainer some advice, and he told me that I have to fit my style. He said as he's watched me spar, my style is a standup style. It's a style that relies on jabs, uppercuts, but doesn't bend much (at the waist) and doesn't turn much. So he said I need to learn to move more forwards and backwards, rather than try to slip. So he showed me a bunch of really helpful techniques like:
- Jabbing, and then stepping back, and forward. Two forward, one back, etc.
- Doing combinations both forward and back, both stepping and just leaning.
- He also said to spin around more, since I'm a straight up boxer I don't want to be in the way.
One reason I'm a standup fighter is well, I'm old and not in boxing shape for sure. Another reason is that my best punch is my jab, so I want to counter with my straight right which means 80-90% of my punches will be jabs. My style is almost identical to Wladmir Kitschko, who never slips punches really. He stands straight up and jabs jabs jabs, and then 1-2, or 1-2-3. Of course I'm only 6ft and Klitschko is 6'6 with really long arms, so it's different. I have slow feet, which means I need to be well conditioned to have busy feet. (Kind like in basketball there are excellent defenders who are not very athletic or quick hands/feet, but they stick to their man like glue and are in great shape so they run as hard in the 1st quarter as the 4th quarter. I'm nowhere near this, but I can get there.)
It's good to know I have a style, and I already guessed at it, but having an amazing former undefeated pro tell me that after watching me confirms this is the style I need to work on more.
1. Jump rope - 2
2. Shadow boxing - 3
3. Mitts - 3
4. Speed - 1
5. Sparring - 2
- I was about to leave around 12:15, and another person showed up. He was only about 5'6 and 135 pounds or so. The trainer said he's really skilled, so told me to watch out.
- He was a very nice guy with a smile on his face the whole time. I have never seen a guy move that fast thus far, the fastest guy I've sparred with so far. His hands were like a blaze. He was like a little gnat in the ring, I couldn't do anything the 1st round really as I was trying to jab him.
- The 2nd round however, I changed up my style and worked hard to cut off the ring so he had nowhere to go. He also came in a bit more inside, got me a few times in the head (not easy since I'm so much taller) and several times in the body. B/c of my height however, I was able to get him in the face/head the same time. My nearly 90 pound weight advantage showed, one hit from me and his whole body rocked back. I guess size does matter, if you do get hit.
- He still came in to hit me, but once I got in a rhythm I was able to block or counter with a jab. Normally, I've hit almost everyone I've sparred with my jab - even MikeT who is an excellent boxer and even SugarRayL who is also an excellent boxer with great conditioning - but this guy was on another level. I didn't hit him once with my jab, and had to be counter puncher. He was so fast, he got me with a straight right, went for a hook which I blocked, and I saw it coming (rare for me) and so I blocked and fired off what I thought was a really fast jab and he slipped it so quickly.
- It was a good experience for me, and probably for him too. He never really got cornered or tried anything inside, he'd get hit pretty hard by me if he was trapped. Just one time I got him trapped in the corner, and he blocked a few times and I was about to him him with a right hook, and he slipped and just stepped away. It was kind like trying to fight a mongoose.
- Afterwards, he thanked me with a big smile. I bet I could have learned a lot from him, totally different styles and the size difference was too big, but wow it was great sparring with someone so skilled.
- Not many take-aways, b/c our sizes were so different and he didn't come inside at all/I was too slow to hit him and his punches didn't hurt even when they hit b/c he was too light. Cutting off the ring would be something I could work on. I doubt even Mike Tyson at his fastest wasn't as fast as this guy, how could he be when he only weighed 135 lbs.
I went in at 11am today, which is unusual for me. There was nobody there except the head trainer. I rode my bike about 35 minutes one way, so I was pretty warmed up by the time I got there. I asked my trainer some advice, and he told me that I have to fit my style. He said as he's watched me spar, my style is a standup style. It's a style that relies on jabs, uppercuts, but doesn't bend much (at the waist) and doesn't turn much. So he said I need to learn to move more forwards and backwards, rather than try to slip. So he showed me a bunch of really helpful techniques like:
- Jabbing, and then stepping back, and forward. Two forward, one back, etc.
- Doing combinations both forward and back, both stepping and just leaning.
- He also said to spin around more, since I'm a straight up boxer I don't want to be in the way.
One reason I'm a standup fighter is well, I'm old and not in boxing shape for sure. Another reason is that my best punch is my jab, so I want to counter with my straight right which means 80-90% of my punches will be jabs. My style is almost identical to Wladmir Kitschko, who never slips punches really. He stands straight up and jabs jabs jabs, and then 1-2, or 1-2-3. Of course I'm only 6ft and Klitschko is 6'6 with really long arms, so it's different. I have slow feet, which means I need to be well conditioned to have busy feet. (Kind like in basketball there are excellent defenders who are not very athletic or quick hands/feet, but they stick to their man like glue and are in great shape so they run as hard in the 1st quarter as the 4th quarter. I'm nowhere near this, but I can get there.)
It's good to know I have a style, and I already guessed at it, but having an amazing former undefeated pro tell me that after watching me confirms this is the style I need to work on more.
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