There are two types of sparring, Hard Sparring and Soft Sparring. I go into more details about this in my article "All A-BOUT Boxing" on Triond. To put it simply, Soft Sparring is used for coaches to judge a boxer's performance. Participants do not throw full-power punches, but concentrate more on technique. I have been doing this for a while. However, once you are ready, the coach will put you into the ring for Hard Sparring, also called Open Sparring. With this, full-contact punches are thrown, as if in a match. This is a boxer's first step into the "real-world" of boxing. It prepares you for what it is like to be in an actual competition. Let's face it, in an actual match, your opponent is not going to throw baby punches. He is going to want to knock you onto your ass.
As I mentioned before, the coach has to be confident that you are ready for this kind of activity, of course. Well, this past week I was ready.
The coach stuck me between the ropes with Antonio. Antonio has only started at Kingsway three months before I, but does not really have any previous boxing experience.
I did three grueling rounds. Three minute rounds, which I may add, are longer than actual competition rounds. The Master's Division has only one minute rounds.
Anyway, Antonio is...good. I appreciate that, because just like with any sport, you learn from people who are better than you. I am not saying he's better, but definitely has a different style. That is what makes boxing the sport it is. Two different guys, with different ways of doing things, trying figure out the other person's way.
I found that I have a "Getting punched in the face" phobia. So, guess where my defense was all the time? Well, it did not take long for Antonio to pick up on it. Remember last week, at the Camp, when I went nuts on Phil? This was the same, except it was my ribs being pounded. Now I know how those sides of beef must have felt when Rocky trained in that meat freezer.
The good thing was, I didn't get hit in the head. Well, I wasn't letting anything though up there, but my body was a different story. Can you say: "Open season on Paul's ribs"? My coach kept on yelling, "Paul, you're leaving your body open!" Yes, thank you Coach! I never noticed!
I was also told to circle to his left, not his right. So, what did I do? I circled to his right! I kept getting nailed by his right cross. Although, it didn't get through, still...
My coach said that I did fine, but I feel I could have done much better. That is a good thing. Once an athlete gets cocky, it is not a good thing. You should always have a goal in any sport. Always find something that can be improved. In my case: Body defense. I will definitely work on that. My bruised ribs are telling me that.
I am looking forward to the next Open Sparring. I like it. It is a great exercise, and a great--although sometimes painful--way to learn.
My next scheduled match: [TBA]
My current division and class: Master's Novice 92 kg [Super-Heavyweight]
My current record (Kingsway): 0 - 0 - 0 //0 (1 Open Sparring)
Paul "The Comeback Kid" / Paul "The Brick" Brec
