losing will in sparring

[Hieronim]

anyone else suffer form this? for instance if you get hit in the face real good you all of a sudden don't want to spar anymore or at least with that person? or if you get gassed real quick and dont want to spar? Happens to me often. One time I underestimated my opponent and thought he was weak casue I sparred with him before but this time he was fresh and he came in with a left which I blocked than hit me with a right so hard I just wanted to walk out right there, I mean the whole time I was practically dancing aorund the ring waiting for the round to end, on top of it I prayed I wouldnt have to spar against him again the enxt time we wer ein a group.

[David Jamieson]

because you are in a safe environment where the ego remains relatively intact, you will see this.

fight or flight doesn't really have much effect in a closed and safe environment.

competitive fighting, street fighting or other real situations will reveal your real face to you. Not that that is always a good thing, because for sure, there will be times when you show yourself a part of yourself that you are not gonna like sometimes.

But at least if you're willing to see, then you're willing to make effort to improve.

to make the will stronger, you have to test your will more. For that there are numerous methods, just don't bring harm to another in your quest to get in touch with yourself and it will come with time.

You'll still have some doubts of course, but that is healthy.

[jethro]

It is always beneficial to go against somebody who is bettrer than you in any sport. Keep going up against him/her until you have figured out their secret and move on to the next person who is better than you.

[WinterPalm]

I would say to work on your techniques more and train harder at the basics to give you more conditioning to last longer. A real fight might not end abruptly and you might have to depend on your lungs in other ways in a confrontation.

I've been hit before, quite hard by bare knuckles to the forehead, nose bridge area, it sucked, it startled me and I stopped, but after that you forget about it and keep on going...I've also sparred with people that take a good hit and want to sit down. I've been hit in the groin hard, not the full crushing type, but good enough, I've been kicked and punched real hard in the body as well, and kept on going. Put that warrior face on and don't let it faze you. If it hurts too much, because it is a safe environment, rest and don't be stupid, otherwise, find your spirit or heart and keep on trucking.

[Hieronim]

well when your outclassed and gassed while the other guy isnt or keep getting hit ahrd by him you either quit or you turn it into a real fight and do to him what he did to you and basically try to outbrawl him with full on hits.

[Chief Fox]

Well if you're trying to "outbrawl" someone then it ceases to be a sparring match.

To me sparring implys learning. You really have to check your ego at the door. You're supposed to get hit. That's how you learn. You're even supposed to get hurt sometimes. It happens.

I've sprained my ankle while sparring when my opponent tried to perform a takedown on me and fell on me. Black eyes, bloody noses, bruised kidney. Got the wind knocked out of me, took a round house to the jaw and totaly layed out.

What does all of this mean? It means that I did something wrong and my opponent took advantage of that and performed a successful technique on me. This is what he or she is trying to do. It's bound to happen sometime.

The best thing to do is say nice shot and try to realize what you did wrong.

Certainly if you don't feel like sparring a person then by all means don't. But you also can't just spar people that you are better than.

Try to slow things down a bit when sparring. Try to control the pace of the round. Also, try to focus on one or two techniques during a round. Just work the techniques. See if you can make them work. Find out what situations they work in. Experiment, learn and when you get hit, take it in stride.

[waterleopard]

I've sprained my ankle while sparring when my opponent tried to perform a takedown on me and fell on me. Black eyes, bloody noses, bruised kidney. Got the wind knocked out of me, took a round house to the jaw and totaly layed out.

I just had my ACL and medial meniscus taken out in a similar way. Guy tried to take me down, stepped between my legs and pushed me in one direction (to the side), while his leg pushed the inside of my knee outward in the other direction. It was an accident - stuff happens.

I once had a much lower ranking student grab one of my kicks and hold it. While he was holding it, amazed that he actually caught it and wondering what to do next, I started tapping him lightly on the head, counting outloud "1, 2, 3, 4, 5...." trying to send the message that in a scored sparring match, I was the one scoring points. He was clueless as to what I was doing and nailed me with a hard straight shot to the face (while still holding my leg) that sent me to the mat. So the lesson that was learned, was learned by me. This kid is very aggressive and doesn't care about scoring points. He wants to take heads off. Which is fine. When I spar him now, I try to take his head off.

[Chief Fox]

I just had my ACL and medial meniscus taken out in a similar way. Guy tried to take me down, stepped between my legs and pushed me in one direction (to the side), while his leg pushed the inside of my knee outward in the other direction. It was an accident - stuff happens.

I once had a much lower ranking student grab one of my kicks and hold it. While he was holding it, amazed that he actually caught it and wondering what to do next, I started tapping him lightly on the head, counting outloud "1, 2, 3, 4, 5...." trying to send the message that in a scored sparring match, I was the one scoring points. He was clueless as to what I was doing and nailed me with a hard straight shot to the face (while still holding my leg) that sent me to the mat. So the lesson that was learned, was learned by me. This kid is very aggressive and doesn't care about scoring points. He wants to take heads off. Which is fine. When I spar him now, I try to take his head off.
Aren't people like that great. At my old school I would spar this guy who thought very highly of his sparring ability. He would come in very fast to strike. The problem was, he had no control and he telegraphed everything so I knew exactly what he was doing. So this one day he and I were sparring and I tell him that he needs to slow down and gain control. He says "what, am I going too fast for you?" I laugh and say "noooo, but you're going to force me to go fast and you're going to end up getting hurt". Of course this goes in one ear and out the other and he continues to move fast... He ended up getting hurt. Not badly but I think he got the point.

That day I learned that even though I'm a little p!ssed off I can still maintain control and fight my own fight.

[PangQuan]

well first off, if you get hit and want to stop right there, question your seriousness in your art.

Do you REALLY want to learn to fight, doesnt sound like it.

if you get hit, and it doesnt ko you or break down mechanic's so as to not be able to physically perform, DONT show your opponent your hurt. Keep fighing, suck it up. Learn how to breath.

six months ago i got 2 ribs broken in a match agains a senior student, first 10 seconds of the round, i took it, and finished my round and then fought another right after. No one knew till the next day i fractured my ribs.

you have to really be willing to get hurt, cause it may just happen. if you are in a real fight, and you get hurt, if you show your opponent it is a deturrent to you or is hurting you, he will capitalize on your weakness.

practice 2 man body hardening/conditioning drills. you will become comfortable taking hits from another man, and strengthen yourself at the same time.

its all about pain management.