Q/A: What to do when you have a bad experience sparring.

You are gonna have bad days and experiences when you spar. Here is a really good question about dealing with a bad experience and how to remedy it in your boxing training workouts.

Hey Rob, just writing it with an unfortunately bad experience i had last night. I was sparring this guy last night beginning of the first round i was winning against this guy, then i get hit with a straight left(he was a southpaw) and went down on my ass. I got right back up and fought the rest of the round because it will take more than that to put me down. The thing is my whole body felt like it was vibrating and i just really felt more f'd up than I've ever felt in my life. So then for the second round i came out still kind of dizzy and buzzing (they only use 30 second breaks at this gym so i couldn't fully recover) and i went after him basically kicking his ass but he kept countering me with these straight lefts and I got dazed again and the people stopped it. I was fine i was still fighting back but they said my eyes looked messed up. Now today i feel a little bit like a hang over and i have a head ache. Basically although i still think i landed more shots and could've finished out the 3 rounds its was a big blow to my ego and confidence and i am really pissed off. i am better than this kid and just really pissed. whatever you have to say on stuff like this happening would be appreciated man, i know ill come back stronger. i gotta wait a week tho my trainer wont let me spar for another week.

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Justin, Good times isn't it bro getting buzzed experiencing shit you never felt before! That's boxing. Many run from it and never come back. Sounds like you have the right attitude in wanting some get back and improvement.

There is NO need to feel ashamed and bummed. It's great you experienced what you did. That's what sparring is about, it's your grade card. Sounds like you need to go back and work on your footwork and using angles to punch in, move to the left against that south
paw next time so you move away from his left hand. Learn to use your jab to set up lead right hands. Fast lead rights work very well on southpaws. Bro I still spar with them and they can be a pain in the ass if you allow them.

Why the fuck did they have you resting 30 seconds after you got dropped in that round while still boxing hurt?! At least they stopped the sparring session and didn't allow you to continue for round 3.

Swallow that shit, swallow it good, think about that experience when you shadow box while working on what you didn't do and need to do as I explained. Visualize him in front of you when you're shadow boxing and do what you will do to him next time you spar.

Get a fellow fighter at your gym and break down what was hard for you to deal with... What I mean is, even if you don't have a south paw fighter there have a fighter turn south paw for you and work on moving to your left. Work on timing and slipping the left hand that caused you problems. Just break it down and master what was difficult.

I can't tell you how many times I was upset at my performance in sparring especially with someone that shouldn't have done much. That bad taste and hard work practicing what you need to allows you to come back even stronger, and you will if you work. Getting tagged good and yes I've seen white lights, couldn't feel my legs at times, didn't remember finishing the sparring session several times.. all that creates a strong backbone so in future sparring sessions against better and stronger fighters it should take a lot more to phase you. Mike Tyson was knocked out many times in sparring Justin. IRON Mike... That's right much worse happens to elite fighters. Behind closed doors. This is boxing, you're going to continue to be tested, challenged with painful experiences, anything can happen. That's the sport.

Be glad that happened in the gym Justin as I tell my guys. Better experience it in the gym than in a fight where you DON"T know how to deal with it. Good sparring gives you experiences like that so you can learn to deal with it and overcome it then when you fight if you get tagged and hurt you know how to handle it. Again, good sparring that you are READY for teaches you so much and gives you blessings like what you felt.

Let me tell you something, I had this 28 year old big dude step into the ring last week, he got tagged with a decent, not hard but decent right hand. He melted in there. He couldn't handle it and quit sparring while tearing up sobbing. He said he couldn't do anything, nothing was working. 28 years old and big. Doesn't mean jack. He hasn't been back.

That's a fucking pressure cooker in there that at times makes aspiring fighters crack from that pressure.. Many don't enter the ring for those reasons. The pressure and heat. Good for you for experiencing it and wanting to improve and learn from it.

Buckle up bro... You ain't seen and experienced shit yet! It's only going to get better and so will you if you stay with it!

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