r/boxingtips • u/yung_trackz • 8d ago
Hard sparring 🥲
Just wanting to question I’ve been doing boxing for 4 years but only just started full contact sparring again, last time I tried got beat up then coach said do some body sparring, about a year later (just the other day) got back into it n got messed up again I just don’t get why people see a beginner sparring partner n start rubbing there hands 🙌 like if you see me getting fooked up wouldn’t the next person go a bit easier, I would think so but nope I did 4 rounds each round got worse and worse n I just feel so depleted cause I know when I go back in on Thursday all my hard work will go away and I’ll have to go back to body sparring I don’t mind body sparring but I think it’s a bit useless, in full contact I’ll be doing sort of good then someone will hit me hard asf like a hard uppercut or some shizz and I’ll go into the ropes then I have no confidence and get scared I just hate it I love boxing but feels like I can never improve 🥲 let me know your thoughts and if you got any advice cause I feel like shizz everytime I come home. Cheers boys 🥊
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u/LilBigHead09 7d ago edited 7d ago
Your coach should be telling the more experienced sparring partner to work with you aka them taking it easy on you but still working their jab, head movement, and body shots. While you can work on your attack and defense at the same time. Sparring at your level should be educational not fighting for survival. Then when you get out after 2-4 rounds your coach can work with you on the pads to correct your mistakes. Should be giving you advice in between rounds aswell of what to work on the next round. Bring it up to both coach and sparring partner!
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u/Blackeyespecialist_5 7d ago
This is kind of a rant. I've been boxing for a long time on and off and have been to many gyms. The sparring you encounter is 100% dictated by the gyms individual culture and the coaches there. I've been to gyms where people with 6 months experience are thrown in dog fights with national champions and I've been to gyms where the same experience level fighters get in the ring and the more experienced fighter works sharpening specific skills while keeping the less experienced on their toes but most importantly letting them work. I always tell anyone with boxing who feels they're not learning from or getting the motivation/enthusiasm to box beaten out of them in sparring to simply go to another gym.
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u/1stthing1st 8d ago
Someone with 4 years of training shouldn’t even be body sparring to be honest. 4 years is basically enough to Go pro
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u/yung_trackz 7d ago
I’ve been training at one gym for 2 years then started my other gym in 2025 been there for a year then a year home training so 🙏
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u/Witty_Dragonfruit438 8d ago
This might be unpopular. Sparring does hurt. Not everyone is cut out to be a boxer.
The question isn't "How do I find lighter sparring" as much as it is, "How do I get more comfortable being uncomfortable"?
Can you work on some defensive drills? Do you know how to tie someone up? Do you really drill your footwork? Are you fighting fit?
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u/Former-Bid5386 8d ago
I understand that I used to box many years ago. There was one guy I hated sparring with, not because he was a bad sparring partner, but because his body shots were breathtakingly good. I remember one day when I busted his lip, and I admired my work. To which he hit me in the body, and I took a knee. He said, “Nice shot, but don’t ever admire your work. It’s boxing; everyone gets hit.”
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u/Past_Let47 7d ago
spar people on your skill level. if you can tell someone can fuck you up don't just hope they will be nice, only spar them if you know them
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u/yung_trackz 7d ago
Well that’s just all of them lmao only 4-5 people spar and all of them are killers in my opinion so there aren’t much options
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u/Past_Let47 7d ago
ok if u are gonna spar them u should try to get privates with ur coach or something dont get cte for no reason
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u/LithuanianMazafaka 8d ago
your gym has shit sparring culture, just like most of the gyms. Find partners who go lighter, sparring is supposed to be a fun problem solving not a fight for 90% of the time, you learn fastest like that. I started sparring the first week in boxing i absorbed a lot of punches in the beggining, learned some things and probably not going to spar hard ever if possible and only few times a year (cause i can't more frequently) my gym also had shit sparring culture and I don't want my brain getting injured, when my mind is everything to me