critique me pls

[danno]

i've decided to begin a campaign to improve my striking and cardio, which are my two weakest points.

in aid of this, last sunday i recorded a light sparring session to help find errors in my game. i'd appreciate if you guys could point out anything that i might need to change and whatnot.

one thing i can really see is how low i keep my hands, something i've been trying to get out of.

i'm the taller non-asian with the rash shirt.

YouTube - Sparring Rd 1 - me and Kevin.

YouTube - Sparring Rd 2 - me and Kevin.

i'll add more videos here as time goes on, and i hope to see some improvement.

[GHemmer]

Well, first off you look really tense relax sparring is to get better there is no winning or losing in sparring. Next sometimes you see your sparring partner "kevin" is about to make a move and you just stay where you are and wait for him to do what he does so you can block it for ex. :07-:10 of the second video, if you see him standing there dont wait for him thats your chance to get in some kicks and punches. Next always hands up hands up, your combos are good. Finally i didnt see you block any kicks which isn't always a bad thing but every once in a while try checking one of his kicks since your wearing shin gaurds and come back with a counter. Other than that everything was great, sorry for this long novel haha.

[danno]

thanks.

yeah, i don't tend to block kicks much, which is a problem. though i also tend to land them quite often.

as for being tense, i think i had an issue before of relaxing too much. lately i've been trying to pick up the speed and aggression a little. if i seem tense, that might explain why.

regarding the pause when kevin closes in, i'm working on trying to gain composure when someone flurries on me. i'd like to be able to throw more counters and not close my eyes when they get that close. i guess i'm still trying to figure this part out.

[Happy Panda]

If you're going to spar light, you still need to hit the person. Most of your punches were out of range. You really need to spar harder to get used to it.

[tideliar]

Nice vids.

You throw a lot of your jabs and straights at his chest, not his face. Maybe this is how you had it set up, but that'd be weird :) If you jab at his face he's more likely to be on guard, instead of brushing them aside and charging you.

Also, a couple of times he gets in nice and close and he's working your head and body. That's a good chance (when the timing is right) to clinch him. once you've clinched him a couple of time and worked his ribs with your knees (cos we're only sparring right!), then he'll be less likely to come charging in.

I like these vids though. Maybe I need to do the same thing....

[Torakaka]

First and foremost... there appears to be a ring by you, why aren't you using it? For real, start sparring in that damn ring, it will help you in many ways.

Your biggest problem right now is you're very very timid. You don't commit to anything, which leaves you seriously open and off balance for counter attacks and you back off and cover up when attacked. The latter problem is something that working in the ring will help you with greatly. Right now since you can just back up to get away from your attacker, you rely on that as your defense. When sparring in the ring, your opponent can keep constant pressure on you and you HAVE to do something strategic to get out of harm's way. Of course, this means you have to have a sparring partner that will NOT be nice and will go after you even when you back into the ropes.

The former problem of your not committing is primarily a confidence issue that you're going to have to try and get over through sparring. Right now your pace during sparring is much too lax. Upping the pace doesn't mean hitting harder, but it does mean upping the intensity and making it a seriously competitive battle between you and your sparring partner. You should be putting constant pressure, going kick for kick, and coming back with a combination immediately upon defending any attack, always trying to be the first to engage and trying to make sure to put as little time between attacks as you can possibly manage.

When going up against a shorter person, don't stand tall when you attack. Drop your level so that your jabs come at an upward angle. This way you're really making the most of your reach and not putting your head out their for over hand shots. Step hard with the jab and extend your arm fully so that you're really getting that long, hard penetration and really utilizing your reach.

Along similar lines, your feet are typically way too close together. You want to bend your knees more and have a wider, more solid stance. Right now every time you engage you're getting knocked around very easily because your stance is flimsy. Occasionally you do drop your level, but your legs are still narrow and you're a bit off balance.

Remember you're tall, use that long jab to constantly put pressure on your opponent, circling to your left and constantly jabbing. If your jab is always in their face, it's much harder for them to engage. And I don't mean lazy little pawing jabs, Stiff long jabs. Pawing with the jab will get you countered.


When ending a combination DO NOT think of that as a break in the action. Currently, every time you throw a combination and he doesn't immediately come back with something, you just stop and chill out. End the combination and circle out with jabs to set up your next combination. Everything you do has to be a strategic maneuver to set up your next attack. Don't take this to mean that you should be perpetually throwing punches, but you need to be either putting pressure on your opponent or maneuvering yourself around to set them up for something.

Also, push kicks are your friend. Use push kicks when your opponent is squared off to you to put them on the defensive and make them worry about how to get inside. Tag with that front push kick a lot to frustrate them, and slam them with a penetrating rear push kick from time to time to really make them worry about engaging. This will also cause them to lower their guard.


Your punches and kicks are all pretty good, it's really just your ring strategy and confidence that needs work right now :)

[Kilbourn]

Here’s my two cents. Your punching technique looks great you just need to remember to use your arsenal and don’t limit yourself to just jab and cross punches. As for your footwork when you push off with your back foot your stance tends to get huge and it leaves your front leg vulnerable but like KS said when you’re in-between attacks your feet are close together. Try to take small slides to close a distance as opposed to one giant step.

[tideliar]

Remember you're tall...push kicks are your friend. Use push kicks when your opponent is squared off to you to put them on the defensive and make them worry about how to get inside. Tag with that front push kick a lot to frustrate them, and slam them with a penetrating rear push kick from time to time to really make them worry about engaging. This will also cause them to lower their guard...

+1 (I meant to say this too dammit!). A wise(r man than I) once told me that the push kick (teep) is the most under used kick in "Western"* Muaythai and kickboxing. We don't train it enough and we rarely use it. For lanky gits like you (and me!) it's a wicked good weapon when used right.

*couldn't think of how else to say it...sorry....

[alex]

well youre a fucking aussie for one thing

[Whathappened]

You need to put more hip into those kicks. This gives the legs an optimal angle for striking against what I'm seeing in the vids, where the power pretty much petters out by the time the strike reaches the opponent.

Aside from those, as kidspat has said, there was no pressure put on by either side. It was more of "Let me try this combo and see how it works out".

Some of your strikes were good, the rest looked pretty half-hearted/try-my-luck kind of strike. A good partner can really put the pressure on you, thus vis-a-vis leading you to learn to do the same. Keep on rockin'.