Sparred a boxer today...

[straight blast]

And it gave me a real appreciation of how hard I need to train :D . Admittedly I've only been doing WC for about a month and a half and I haven't been able to train for over a month due to financial hassles, but I found that sparring in oversize 16oz gloves just makes everything so much harder.

I also found it tremendously difficult to "friendly" spar. About the only way I could save my ass from a good kicking (figuratively speaking when sparring a boxer :) ) was to set out to destroy him from the start. I didn't last very long if I traded punches but if I just went like a maniac trying to take control of his elbows I seemed to go alright...and he was really put off balance by a good chain punching, like he told me later.

I think I've learned a few lessons (and gained a few bruises) and I will apply myself a lot harder in future training. For those who say it's too early to spar, I couldn't agree more after today, but once a Thai boxer, always a sparring fanatic....:D

[sphynx]

well im on about the same level WC wise. im hoping to put off sparring for a little while yet, since this is my first ma, and i want to get some movements like stepping in down and stuff, and also to take out a loan to afford sparring gear:D
btw, anyone use the jeet kune do gloves at all? im just wondering if it matters at all what type of gloves i get. i think in my school we can use standard boxing gloves or the Jeet Kune Do ones.

and whoever was the one who said they do 1000 puches a day. thanks alot...my shoulders are useless now. ;) but come chi sau and sparring time, it aughta help. thanks


jeremy

[Sharky]

1000 punches isn't that much.

good experience, how long had the boxer trained? no offence but i would think fightwise, a 2month boxer would kill a 2 month wing chunner - especially seeing as you were BOXING him, you weren't sparrin him.

[dezhen2001]

i agree with Sharky... it's sure as heck fun though :) I find you have to work on footwork a lot more when training with a boxer. Also defences from hooks and uppercuts ;)

a good lesson: do what you do best, never try and do what your partner does (boxing etc.)

1000 punches... good training!

david

[stuartm]

Sparring with a boxer after 2 months - your sifu should know better.

No offence meant and i hope none taken.

Rgds, Stuart

[straight blast]

Sharky...

good experience, how long had the boxer trained? no offence but i would think fightwise, a 2month boxer would kill a 2 month wing chunner - especially seeing as you were BOXING him, you weren't sparrin him.

The boxer in question has trained for about a year. I agree wholeheartedly about the 2 month thing too. However I was sparring him, just not using my kicks. I used every hand technique I know from WC (which isn't really a great deal) and tried to stay away from using my boxing skills. I concluded that boxing is by far the best art to use when wearing gloves and sticking to certain safety rules :) . BTW, how did that breathing thing work for you?

Stuartm...

Sparring with a boxer after 2 months - your sifu should know better .

:D My Sifu knows nothing about it :D . It was just me and an old buddy I used to do Muay Thai with. He came up to see me and we got talking, and as we always used to spar everytime we got together, it seemed like a good idea. I've got my own protective gear ('cos I got sick of using the club gloves and shinpads that had about four years of other people's sweat in them :eek: ) and we just rumbled in the backyard. It was good environmental training actually. There's a huge bindii patch in the yard right now and maneouvering each other into it was definately part of the strategy of the fight! :)

[Sharky]

"The boxer in question has trained for about a year. "

Uh oh. You musta got your arse kicked. Or he was bein nice. Or he was confused as to why you were hitting like a girl.

"I agree wholeheartedly about the 2 month thing too. However I was sparring him, just not using my kicks. I used every hand technique I know from WC (which isn't really a great deal) and tried to stay away from using my boxing skills".

nah, you were boxing him mate, you can't spar in wing chun with boxing gloves on. sparring gloves, thin ones, open palmed are the way to go for wing chun.

"I concluded that boxing is by far the best art to use when wearing gloves and sticking to certain safety rules."

So, in boxing, it's best to box? :)

BTW, how did that breathing thing work for you?

Wassat?

[straight blast]

Uh oh. You musta got your arse kicked. Or he was bein nice. Or he was confused as to why you were hitting like a girl.
:D Very funny! :D

He's an old mate who I have sparred for almost all that year. I know him pretty ****ed well and like most boxers with only a little experience he has those little signs that give him away. God knows I sometimes do too. We weren't trying to break anyone's head but we weren't going softies either. Two years of Muay Thai plus boxing on top has made me fairly savvy when it comes to sparring.

So, in boxing, it's best to box?
Yes indeed it is :D .

The breathing thing? In another thread you said that you always breathe through your nose & I recommended not doing that 'cos one little punch suddenly makes your nose useless to breathe through. I recommended a Thai technique and you said you were going to try it out. Obviously all those spiders have freaked you out a bit :)


nah, you were boxing him mate, you can't spar in wing chun with boxing gloves on. sparring gloves, thin ones, open palmed are the way to go for wing chun.

Generally speaking, yes. But you can apply a sleeper hold (taught to me by my WC Sifu) in 16oz gloves. Trust me!
And that aint boxing.

[Akuma]

so what sorts of wing chun moves were you using against the boxer and was it tough to apply the WC? What is your opinion of WC against boxing?(do you think that you need to know boxing as well in order to make the WC effective?)

[straight blast]

Indeed a good question. I found it really difficult to apply WC techniques, though I believe that this is more due to my lack of skill and familiarity with WC than any inherent weakness in the style. Also as mentioned before the gloves. Sharky was right when he said "...in boxing, it's best to box". I wouldn't mind trying it with those open hand gloves that allow grabs.

As for what I used I found tan sao to be too hard to apply in large gloves. I've been taught to take the strike just behind the wrist and it is almost impossible with the 16oz's on. I concentrated mainly on pak sao with simultaneous punch and tried to use drop my striking hand after the pak to trap his arm with mine against his body while I struck again. Worked Ok if he had committed himself to his attack fully. It sorta knocked combinations (I'm very wary of hooks!) on the head because it's hard to keep combo-ing when you're being pushed off balance by constant fast repetitive strikes to the face. Also like many boxers he liked to engage fast and disengage fast. I tried to engage and not let him disengage..."Escort what leaves"...If I could do it this worked well too.

That said, when he came in warily and "felt me out" as the saying goes I found that if I didn't take the fight to him (and quickly) then I was rapidly going to get creamed. I also found that bong sao (which I saw a pro boxer do a little while ago...another thread) was good to diffuse the big hooks when he went switch on me.

As to my opinion of WC against boxing if you are wearing gloves and playing by boxing rules then boxing is vastly superior. It also conditions you a lot more 'cos you learn very early to take a hit. But mind you I know other MA's that do this to, and WC is one of them...well some lineages anyhow :) . Under no rules and a skilled boxer vs a skilled WC practitioner? I'd have to go on the opinion (I'd like to emphasise that word "opinion") of putting my old boxing teacher (who had a title or two) against my WC teacher. To be honest my WC teacher would rip him another one for sure. But he has trained against boxers (& Muay Thai) and is an exceptional fighter.



?(do you think that you need to know boxing as well in order to make the WC effective?)

It sure helps...:D

[Akuma]

Thanx for the feed back straight blast--most informative :)

[londoner2001]

Wing Chun is not an art for semi contact sparring, pads have no place, you want to test it thenjust put on semi contact gloves and go full out, include kicks below the belt and the boxer is screwed. Just fight bare knuckle that is the best test of all but you WILL end up injured the pair of you.

[straight blast]

Wing Chun is not an art for semi contact sparring, pads have no place, you want to test it thenjust put on semi contact gloves and go full out, include kicks below the belt and the boxer is screwed. Just fight bare knuckle that is the best test of all but you WILL end up injured the pair of you.

As tough and macho as that sounds bear in mind that I was sparring a good friend . I had no desire to have my teeth knocked out, and moreover I had no desire to bust the side of one of his knees in. Both he and I have KO'd each other in sparring before when I was boxing. After you've been KO'd, you have to stop for a little while :rolleyes: . I'd rather spar a little smarter, for a little longer.

I'll save the bareknuckle for people who deserve it.