The mystery behind professional boxers’ incredible endurance and skill really isn’t a mystery at all. Boxers spend a substantial amount of time in the gym, and devote themselves to sparring. Sure, boxers run, hit the bags, and shadow box, but most all boxers agree that sparring is the most important and sport-specific part of their training sessions. Sparring allows you to hone your skills like no other exercise. This guide highlights various ideas for purposeful sparring.
Understanding Sparring
Contrary to common belief, sparring is not a contest of toughness. A pure battle of toughness would entail uncontrolled fighting that ends with one or both boxers injured. Instead, sparring is a test of technical ability and an opportunity to work on individual skills. The goal of sparring is always the same: To learn!
Trainers often supervise sparring sessions, sometimes stopping sessions to offer guidance and recommendations. Rounds in formal competition are two or three minutes in length with one minute resting periods between rounds. Sparring rounds vary in length, usually ranging from one to four minutes with rest periods of 30 seconds or one minute.
Safety
Safety needs to be a top priority during sparring sessions, no matter your experience. Although professional boxers compete without head protection, amateur competitors wear head gear during competition. All boxers wear head gear while sparring.
A no-foul protector, also referred to as a cup, should be worn to protect the groin area. It’s easy to neglect this piece of equipment, but you should wear a cup for precautionary reasons even during light sparring. A mouth guard will protect the teeth and lessen the likelihood of concussions. Lastly, sparring gloves should be at least 16 ounces. Heavier gloves slow down punches, so the probability of injury declines as glove weight increases.
Trainers sometimes have new boxers engage in “body sparring.” This type of sparring disallows shots to the head. “Open sparring,” on the other hand, allows punches to the head and body.
Spar with a Purpose
Boxing is a complicated sport where you artistically blend several skills into a single sequence. You find the perfect distance, feint a jab, throw a body shot, avoid an incoming hook, and respond with several counter-punches. Scenarios like this play out in seconds and can take place hundreds of times within a bout. Nevertheless, do your best to hone individual skills one at a time before you mix skills successively.
Parameters are often set prior to sparring sessions. Both opponents, for example, may agree that the first round consist only of jabs. Generally, as sparring sessions progress, the boxers are given more freedom. If the first round consists of jabs, the second round might include jabs and crosses. It’s imperative to spar with a purpose in order to improve your current abilities and learn new skills.
Sparring is an opportunity to learn, so take advantage and practice different techniques throughout your sessions. The best way to master a difficult skill is to practice it while sparring. The following sections provide ideas that you can apply to your sparring routine.
Offensive & Defensive Roles
During this drill, one boxer is on offense and the other is on defense. It’s much easier to practice new combinations on an opponent when you don’t need to focus on counter-punches. You will have a realistic moving target that forces you to be creative with your approach, but you don’t need to worry about getting hit as you practice your new offensive techniques.
For the most part, new boxers are 75% offensive minded and only 25% defensive minded. If you’re new to boxing, you will probably be on the receiving end of several punches before you land one of your own. This offensive and defensive drill forces offensive-minded fighters to improve their defensive techniques for an entire round. Move, slip, dip, bob and weave. At the end of the round switch roles.
Combinations
Muscle memory, power, and speed are the rewards of constant practice. Sparring enables you to practice combinations on an actual opponent as opposed to mitts or a bag. Balance and distance are essential to landing combinations on an opponent. Because every sparring partner has a unique style, you should be creative with your combinations and alter your technique depending on your partner.
Go into a round, for example, attempting to throw as many three-punch combinations as possible without getting hit in return. An exercise like this will force you to be quick with your punches, while also making you stick and move.
Amazingly True Story
Professional boxers exhibit elite skill in the ring. In preparing for an upcoming fight, boxers spar against a partner that mimics the tendencies of the boxer’s upcoming opponent.
Manny Pacquiao fought Miguel Cotto on Novemeber 14,2009. Pacquiao won the fight by technical knockout (TKO). Leading up to this fight, Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, hoped to prepare Pacquiao by having him spar aggressive boxers like Cotto. In fact, Roach promised $1000 to any sparring partner who could knock Manny down. The exercise forced Pacquiao to improve upon his defensive skills in the ring. Fortunately for him, no one could knock him down.
Style Boxing
The saying “styles make fights” rings true throughout the sport of boxing. Certain styles tend to fare better against other styles. For this reason, it’s beneficial to familiarize yourself with various boxing styles and techniques.
Pure boxers try to stay in the center of the ring and throw long, accurate punches. Try boxing one round without lunging in or getting caught against the ropes. Keep your feet moving and stay arms-length away from your opponent at all times.
Aggressive fighters push forward and trap opponents in corners or against the ropes. Spar for a round with a forward-moving mentality. Be wary not to walk into punches by incorporating simple defensive techniques. Move forward in a controlled manner, throwing precise punches to the body and head of your opponent.
Counter-punchers sit back and wait for opponents to provide openings. Openings arise when an opponent throws punches that leave areas exposed on the body or head. Go into a round with the goal of reacting quickly to your opponent’s movements. Watch carefully as your opponent throws punches. When you parry or slip be aware of your opponent’s vulnerabilities, and try to react with punches that take advantage of these openings.
Being aware of different styles from an offensive and defensive standpoint allows you to capitalize on your opponent’s distinct style.
Make the Most of Sparring
No other training tactic develops better overall conditioning than sparring. Sparring is the most sport-specific exercise available for boxers, and it requires use of the entire body. Nothing will be more fulfilling in your training than becoming comfortable in the ring. It certainly is encouraging to land a combination on a training partner or parry a power punch intended for your head. Mastering sparring sessions takes time, though. Be patient and do your best to improve during each session.
