(Striking) Why do some have timing and others don't?

[seasoned]

Not so. I have sparred someone who couldn't tagg me if his life depended on it and he was pretty technical on the pads.

Timing is one thing but timing under pressure is a whole new ball game...

 

[Tony Dismukes]

He has competed and won regionally. Bar room brawl level to those fights..he showed me on his phone.

If somebody who can't time a shot faces someone who can time a shot, guess what, they will land on each other because it's going to be a pig brawl

In that case, he does have timing as proven by his ability to land shots and win matches. Apparently his timing just isn't as good as yours.

Alternately, you might have some other advantage which has allowed you to dominate in sparring. Perhaps he has some specific tells that you have learned to read but his other opponents have not.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Proper range is what makes someone land a shot.. You see the opposite from mediocre fighters all the time. They can't land so they just throw and throw and throw and hope it eventually lands. So... What does this inability to gauge the proper distance have to do with their reflexes?

There are multiple things that make someone land a shot. My answer was about one of those things-timing.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

So you reject the fact fact some people have better timing than others if experience level is the same?

No, where'd you get that idea? I think if experience level is the same, then it falls on who has better reflexes, and is better at analyzing the situation.

A couple of things to bear in mind ...

First - quantity of experience isn't just measured in years of training. If two people start training on the same date, but one shows up for every class, takes every available round of sparring, takes every available opportunity for competition or extra instruction, and trains consistently on their own time while the other just shows up whenever they feel like it, then the former will likely improve much more quickly.

Second - quality of training experience counts for as much as quantity, if not more. Suppose student A takes every round of sparring as an opportunity to learn, to study optimal timing and distancing and appropriate tactics and reading of the opponent, then goes home and reflects on what they learned from that days sparring and plans for how to do better next time. Meanwhile, student B just comes out swinging on instinct and being only concerned with "winning" the round. In this case student A will likely improve much more quickly even if they have the exact same number of hours on the mat and rounds of sparring.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

In that case, he does have timing as proven by his ability to land shots and win matches. Apparently his timing just isn't as good as yours.

Alternately, you might have some other advantage which has allowed you to dominate in sparring. Perhaps he has some specific tells that you have learned to read but his other opponents have not.

Punching on instinct, blindly, in a brawl is not timing. Timing is going from point A to B. He is not going anywhere in a brawl and nor is his opponent. There is nothing to time.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

There are multiple things that make someone land a shot. My answer was about one of those things-timing.

I am asking how reflexes have any bearing on getting set and landing a shot. When you counter punch, yes, obviously that's reflexes...

 

[InfiniteLoop]

Alternately, you might have some other advantage which has allowed you to dominate in sparring. Perhaps he has some specific tells that you have learned to read but his other opponents have not.

You can replace his telegraphed looping punches with Foremans looping punches and Foreman would land on me. So it can't be technique

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

A couple of things to bear in mind ...

First - quantity of experience isn't just measured in years of training. If two people start training on the same date, but one shows up for every class, takes every available round of sparring, takes every available opportunity for competition or extra instruction, and trains consistently on their own time while the other just shows up whenever they feel like it, then the former will likely improve much more quickly.

Second - quality of training experience counts for as much as quantity, if not more. Suppose student A takes every round of sparring as an opportunity to learn, to study optimal timing and distancing and appropriate tactics and reading of the opponent, then goes home and reflects on what they learned from that days sparring and plans for how to do better next time. Meanwhile, student B just comes out swinging on instinct and being only concerned with "winning" the round. In this case student A will likely improve much more quickly even if they have the exact same number of hours on the mat and rounds of sparring.

Agreed on all counts. I was going with the apparent assumption that two people's experience is somehow qualitatively equal.

 

[seasoned]

Timing is one thing. It isn't until you internalize it that it becomes a reflect action. Where I come from it's called "no mind". Up to that point it is just a game that some play better then others.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I am asking how reflexes have any bearing on getting set and landing a shot. When you counter punch, yes, obviously that's reflexes...

You answered your own question...

 

[InfiniteLoop]

You answered your own question...

No I didn't. I am not reacting when I am take the initiaitive...

Maybe it's the ability to coordinate reading the opponent with moving at the same time. More specifically knowing when he is not going to strike. You can learn to read it, but maybe not pulling the trigger at the same time.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

Timing is one thing. It isn't until you internalize it that it becomes a reflect action. Where I come from it's called "no mind". Up to that point it is just a game that some play better then others.

Throwing a fast kick technique is a no mind thing for me. I can think for a split second before I launch it, but once it's launched it has a life on its own..

I space out and then return when the foot is on it's way down.

 

[seasoned]

Throwing a fast kick technique is a no mind thing for me. I can think for a split second before I launch it, but once it's launched it has a life on its own..

I space out and then return when the foot is on it's way down.

This is not the concept of "mushin no shin. Which translates to, the state of.......no-mindness. Those that have it may not even know it, Over the years you may have heard of it used by unknowing people that will say...(I don't know what happened, I just went blank and reacted)..... In Martial arts terms it separates the good from the great.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

This is not the concept of "mushin no shin. Which translates to, the state of.......no-mindness. Those that have it may not even know it, Over the years you may have heard of it used by unknowing people that will say...(I don't know what happened, I just went blank and reacted)..... In Martial arts terms it separates the good from the great.

That's what I'm saying. I have a complete zen-like state. There is no consciousness when I throw the technique. It's as if I die each time I cannot meditate however which is ironic.

 

[seasoned]

I can think for a split second before I launch it, but once it's launched it has a life on its own..

Your words.....

 

[JowGaWolf]

Unfortunately there is no easy fix for timing. Timing for throwing punches is not the same across martial arts system. Timing that is too fast can be just as bad as timing that is too slow. Sometime sync Timing is good and sometimes it's bad.

People may use different methods of Timing as well. The one thing that seems universal is that people who are good at it have a good understanding of movement which allows them to see movement that they can exploit. Fighting against unfamiliar movement can be a problem even for the best fighter.

 

[Buka]

Timing is one thing. It isn't until you internalize it that it becomes a reflect action. Where I come from it's called "no mind". Up to that point it is just a game that some play better then others.

Where I'm from, too. Mushin.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

Your words.....

You misread "can" for "need". I was making the point that I do have control over what I'm doing but I have a disconnect from reality when I throw an impactful technique and I don't know exactly how I did it.

 

[isshinryuronin]

the biggest factor probably comes down to experience. More specifically: experience in fighting, sparring, or other drills which are specifically focused on developing timing and distancing. (Timing and distancing aren't exactly the same things, but there is a huge overlap between the two in application.) Solo training such as forms or heavy bag work generally won't do much for your timing.

Mindset plays a part. Someone who can stay cool and collected under pressure while someone is trying to hit them will have a much easier time seeing and reacting to openings

Agree, experience is being exposed to possible situations and how they can unfold, but I think mindset, when developed, is at least an equal part. Staying cool and being perceptive of the opponent's position (Mind like water - a still pond accurately reflecting) is certainly key. But there are other facets to the mindset thing. Confidence is also key, having the mindset that you are the one pulling the strings.

I think timing has something in common with hang gliding or surfing. In both of these one has to read the waves and currents, feel the ebb and swell and fit their techniques within this framework. Many in these sports will say they become one with the wind or waves, blending with them. Timing works much the same way. Don't want to get too metaphysical or "Zennish", so I'll end here.

 

[Steve]

You know who has good timing? Tim Curry: