Workout #37

Total rounds: 14

1. Jump rope 1

2. Shadow boxing 3

3. Shadow footwork 1

4. Double bag 2

5. Speed bag 3

6. Mitts 2

7. Sparring 2

I sparred a new guy. He's in his early 30's and has been boxing for 7 yrs but took a 2 yr break and is coming back.

He was small but thick and quick, maybe 5'7 and 155 lbs. Really strong punches for a guy his size. 

In round 1, I went really light but he started hitting hard to the body so I hit a bit harder w/my jabs. He got me a number of times to the body, I got him w my jabs when he came in but unlike previous partners he was able to get in and out quickly. Still my height, length, and jab speed gave me a significant advantage. I got him multiple times w/my jab and my backsteppping worked. I was able to avoid most of his hits. 

In the 2nd round, he was much more aggressive. He came in a lot but after a while I kept on double jabbing so he was a bit more tentative. Still out of the smaller guys he had great aim and timing and was able to get me a number of times. I was surprised at how hard he hit for a smaller guy, but overall my size was too much for him even though he was much more skilled than I was. Once I got him in the corner, just putting my body next to his allowed me to push him so it was kind of unfair. 

I really enjoy sparring, if I could just avoid getting hit in the head! Even w/my headgear, I can still feel the blows and that's just from sparring. Smaller guys like this guy are OK of course, but if anyone is near my weight their punching power is quite strong even if we spar at only 50%. Of course I spar a lot more than the avg person there since the head trainer wants to prepare me for my match.

If not for the hits to the head, I wouldn't even think about going something else but I'm thinking about cross-training with another combat sport maybe MMA/BJJ, in particular BJJ/grappling allows someone to spar at full speed with less/minimal injuries for the older person. (People still get injured of course, but it's not like boxing - which is the very same reason I enjoy it so much but know the dangers for a beginner/older fella like myself.)