Striking Sparing - Part 2 - Taking a hit

[crazydiamond]

With blocking you still have to get used to getting hit on the blocking surface, forearm conditioning is highly recommended.

Honestly don't have a concern about getting used to being hit on arms, or forearms - my sparing partners can go to town on those and kind have already in some sparing without gloves. I need to condition the noggin - its my weak spot.

I like the idea of light taps and working on it that way, but when I start sparing in a week, I imagine taps to the head will be part of the overall sparing experience - but head shots conditioning will not be a specific method. But maybe - my instructor did compete professionally in M.T.

 

[K-man]

Hmm! You might learn to live with the occasional smack in the face but you won't 'condition your noggin'. Worse still, if you try that sort of thing there is a fair chance you'll end up with ABI.

 

[drop bear104]

Honestly don't have a concern about getting used to being hit on arms, or forearms - my sparing partners can go to town on those and kind have already in some sparing without gloves. I need to condition the noggin - its my weak spot.

I like the idea of light taps and working on it that way, but when I start sparing in a week, I imagine taps to the head will be part of the overall sparing experience - but head shots conditioning will not be a specific method. But maybe - my instructor did compete professionally in M.T.

A lot of what we do is just volume of sparring. Eventually you just get used to it.

 

[ShotoNoob]

We call it 'conditioning' although we don't do it to the head. I think the the odd accidental smack to the head is sufficient to give you the understanding that the head needs to be protected.

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This is made plain in the structure of the traditional karate curriculum. Most everyone I've met in traditional martial art schools latches onto this right away....

EDIT: Picture above is ten thousand words.....

 

[Kung Fu Wang104]

Did your ability to take a hit and keep going - particularly a hit to head - improve with sparing experience?

I had gone through 8 months of serious full contact sparring training with 4 times a week and 2 hours each (2 x 4 x 34 = 272 hours). My opponent and I did try to knock down/out on each other. In those 8 months, I had body pain every day. After those 8 months training, my body pain was gone and I felt very "uncomfortable" as if something was missing in my life. I competed my 1st "golden gloves boxing" in Liberty Hill, Texas soon after that.

It's funny that in those period of time (I was young), if I didn't get hit on my head for 3 days, my self-confidence actually went down as if I didn't know that my opponent's next punch could knock me down/out or not. The way that I look at this is, if my opponent's 1,000 punches could not knock me down/out, the probability that his 1,001 punch might knock me down should be low. That's how I built my self-confidence when I faced an aggressive opponent.

IMO, if your opponent doesn't try to knock your head off your body, you may not be able to build up the right amount of "alert" in your training. It's like to deal with a blade that a fight should be like as if "your shirt is catching on fire". Of course there is always some risk involved there.

To avoid the head from being punched, the "rhino guard" can be useful. IMO, it's worthwhile to spend some extra effort to protect your head as much as possible.

 

[ShotoNoob]

...It's funny that in those period of time (I was young), if I didn't get hit on my head for 3 days, my self-confidence actually went down as if I didn't know that my opponent's next punch could knock me down/out or not. The way that I look at this is, if my opponent's 1,000 punches could not knock me down/out, the probability that his 1,001 punch might knock me down should be low. That's how I built my self-confidence when I faced an aggressive opponent.

IMO, if your opponent doesn't try to knock your head off your body, you may not be able to build up the right amount of "alert" in your training. It's like to deal with a blade that a fight should be like as if "your shirt is catching on fire". Of course there is always some risk involved there.....

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This is sport training psychology, IMO. I'm sure across all forms of fighting arts, you have much company, especially & particularly boxing. This is also very much the philosophy with modern Kyokushin karate practice.
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The mental training of traditional karate approaches the same issue from the perspective in the 1st thread I posted in. The philosophy of calm & peaceful as represented by the Heian kate in Shotokan karate, from the pinan kata, the Okinawan versions....
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There's also a middle ground in traditional karate where form, kata, is not to be practiced in isolation from the practice & reality of kumite....

 

[Shai Hulud]

Hmm! You might learn to live with the occasional smack in the face but you won't 'condition your noggin'. Worse still, if you try that sort of thing there is a fair chance you'll end up with ABI.

As a rule of thumb, it's always wise to assume that as a MA practitioner you're going to get socked in the head, but it's not a very good idea to make a habit of getting hit there. Those are two entirely different things.

 

[crazydiamond]

reaction to getting hit in the head has more than one response. Some people will "fold" and turtle after getting hit, some will stand dazed not knowing what happened or what to do next, some become in raged and charged with adrenalin. These reactions can take place in the gym, on the street or anywhere but learning to deal with whatever reaction you have and to move with control not flailing wildly like a mad man takes time and practice.

Do you ever get used to being hit in the face , maybe, can your reaction to it change over time, hopefully, but there is only one way to find out. I would ask that in 6 months or so after you start getting hit that you reopen this thread and tell us how it is going for you

Well I started sparing. Various types. Today we did boxing sparing, 16 oz gloves, mouth guards, no headgear. One of our exercises was to simply put out hands behind our back and let our partner (tap us) in the head face. Chin tucked down looking up - at chest area of partner - just let him jab/cross taps to the head. Get used to feeling of light contact. Later we did light (20% power) sparing with hits to body and head. When sparing with my instructor he caught a few times in the face and head. Again not hard, but perhaps harder then my fellow students were hitting me. I would say at worst I felt like I had a glass of wine after I was done. No pain or headaches at this power level. Well my back hurt a little - but that's just me and middle age - after an hour of sparing.

However up until this sparing class we had not connected to head/body. We usually stopped short or punched past our partners. I apologized to one of my partners when I felt I had gone up a bit in punch power and connected with a hook - and he said "no problem, the 16 oz gloves are nice and soft".

So ok... i can deal with this....getting used to taps in the head and body. Maybe sometime in future when I move up the power levels - I might change my tune, but this was not too bad. I see the necessity of light sparing to develop my skills, nothing says keep your hands up like a tap tap to the head or body.

 

[Tez31]

my body pain was gone and I felt very "uncomfortable" as if something was missing in my life

There is name for that and this is probably the wrong forum to expand further on it!

 

[namadesk]

What about the recent developments in the MMA community where there is being more emphasis put on not getting hit when sparring? There seems to be a trend pushing for little to no full contact sparring while training, and instead saving it for the fight itself. Kind of indirectly ties to this topic in the sense of "Should we condition to take a punch?"

Frank
North Augusta Martial Arts

 

[paitingman]

I second the idea of accepting a hit.

You just have to plain accept that you will get hit, and it can (probably will) hurt.

You will be hurt to some extent when in a combat situation.

That being said, I have done some conditioning and developed a good sense for how I can take a hit. Plus I've figured it out again and again in sparring.
I dont think it gets less painful, but you'll learn how to deal with/not dwell on the shock and panic. However, at the same time I've also learned plenty of times that like magic sometimes it just does little to no damage and you'll be surprised that you took a punch to the head somewhere and for some reason it just didn't hurt you like you feared due to so many different variables. There'll also be times it rocks you good.

You gotta learn to respect, but not fear the punch. Eating a few punches over the course of training will teach you both of those things.

 

[ShotoNoob]

What about the recent developments in the MMA community where there is being more emphasis put on not getting hit when sparring? There seems to be a trend pushing for little to no full contact sparring while training, and instead saving it for the fight itself. Kind of indirectly ties to this topic in the sense of "Should we condition to take a punch?"

Frank
North Augusta Martial Arts

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And the commercial MMA we know today got started in the early 1990's. And they are just getting the message now? Moreover, we should say SOME are just getting the message now....

 

[paitingman]

I think the trend toward light sparring or not getting hit in mma serves two purposes.

It's a great idea to have not getting hit a big priority in combat and also a good idea to train that. (pretty obvious)

It also serves to prevent injuries in training. When constantly training for competition and trying to reach top shape, what slows you down the most are injuries. Conditioning rather than sparring heavy training is the way to go for many gyms and professional fighters.