Sparred under mma rules for the first time last night
against some giant wrestler kid. Standing I was much
better, and on the ground I was at least comfortable
from having done a little bjj. What totally threw me
was the clinch.
I got in some good quick combinations, and even
resurected my old kickboxing days to throw a leg kick
or two. I moved in after stunning him with a hook,
and next thing I knew I was being tied up and dumped
on my back. I couldn't seem to get my head out of
"hitting mode" when we were clinched. I took the body
shots because he was open for them, but I wonder if that's what led to the takedown.
Anyone have any suggestion on what changes need to be
made in your thinking when sparring under these rules?
We were doing light contact striking. Still had a lot
of fun.
Actually, I should say I had a lot of fun until this
270lbs+ kid landed me and then stacked me on my head. It got a lot less fun after that.
strikers are always going to look to strike first and grapplers are always going to try to grapple first.
Try holding him behind the head in kind of a plum clinch with one hand and hitting him with the other. If you can control his head or neck the takedown will be harder for him.
Light on your toes, don't move head so much, forget planting and throwing committed driving blows. Throw snappy jabs on your toes to keep him off balance. Hit on weird angles. Stick and move, don't be a bobbing, weaving and hooking boxer against a grappler.
Practice your sprawl
yeah, planting is what got me caught. I stunned him,
then stepped in to throw a long combination. I hit
enough times that if we were really going at it, I
might have hurt him enough. But in this case he
clinched. I threw a couple of body shots, but then
got dumped on my back.
Once you get grabbed, is there a way to spin out of
it or should you pretty much just expect to get
dumped on your ass at this point?
Alright, I gotta tell you I'm not a very good boxer, and a shitty grappler to be honest. I'll give you what I feel is my best advice and take it or leave it.
There are a few defenses against leg pick-ups like for single legs and etc when your opponent has already got your leg, learn them. Learn the whizzer as well, that will help you in the clinch. Learn to sprawl fast and well. The only way to learn to deal with a grappler or learn 'anti-grappling tactics' is to learn how to grapple first.
I think when dealing with a grappler you throw out the old boxing golden rule which is 'never back up'. Your rationale for not backing up in a boxing match is that the other boxer can put tremendous forward pressure on you and knock you out or smother you with blows. When you are dealing with a grappler and you are a boxer it is assumed that you are a better striker, so what you don't want to do is put tremendous forward pressure on him, because by closing that distance you are giving him the clinch. I think by backing up you are giving yourself the opportunity to check him on the way in, either by sprawling or checking him with your arm.
Just my $.02 and again it's probably not worth much, but if I were facing a superior grappler and there were no way to get out of it my first priority would be to: 1) Jab A LOT to keep him at bay, and off balance, 2) use lateral and retreating footwork, don't try to pressure him, 3) don't plant, stun him, confuse him, and ALWAYS try to be more mobile than him, 4) extend your arms a bit, not enough for him to grab them but enough for you to check his head/top of his shoulder if he shoots. Again he is not a striker he is a grappler and you don't have to worry as much about your guard as you do when dealing with a boxer. His priority is to get you on the ground. 5) Don't get cornered (you're probably saying 'duh') 6) learn to grapple, or at very least if nothing else learn escapes from the bottom, so if you end up there at least you can get him off and try to get back to your feet.
Well, that's my rant. TTT for others!
Mark
I know this is strange to ask the boxing forum, but
wtf is a "whizzer?"
I did angle off but I got a little too happy throwing
punches and didn't move when he did.
nottheface, a whizzer is a term to describe a shoulder/arm throw and it can be done either a)over the shoulder/arm trapping the arm and stepping inside to throw, or b) grabbing the arm with both hands and spinning (over rotating really) underneath the arm to the outside of the body while falling to your stomach..either way the opponent will fall...
as for the question, it is a good one, i am a grappler who studied some basic boxing and the hardest part i find is when they move and jab...i tend to be heavy footed, linear and try and stalk and corner my opponent, ducking like crazy with my guard up to not get hit..when boxers unleash a flurry of punches and move around i find it very hard to say focused on the clinch...once i am in though, it is very comfortable...
i am most uncomfortable at a distance when they stick and move...i am like a fish in a shark tank there...
wayland