help with sparring please?

Question

when sparring with body armour and helmets, when i get hit it makes me all dizzy and i lose my target if you know what i mean. also when sparring with no armour i tend to shrug away from hits and focus mainly on the legs.
any tips to stop getting so dizzy and stop shrugging from hits. i never had a problem before with the legs but i do now

thanks bluto! your right about the chest arnour kinda except it covered the whole torso and the headgear had a guad over the face, sorry for any confusion!

im not actually a new starter ive been going 3.5 years now but only just started trying torso gaurds and face things. i dont normally use it because it makes me uncomfortable

im not actually a new starter ive been going 3.5 years now but only just started trying torso gaurds and face things. i dont normally use it because it makes me uncomfortable

Answer 1

This is probably going to sound really bad....but don't get hit. Seriously, the reason you are feeling dizzy is because getting hit in the head is SUPPOSED TO make you dizzy. If you didn't have on that head guard, you would be waking up on the floor! That's what Martial Arts is teaching you- how to put someone on the floor if you have to. However, is should ALSO be teaching you how to defend against that technique that is smacking you in the head.
Focus on your defense- not just blocking but also moving away from the techniques and turning yourself away from them. Simply twisting your torso and/or head away from a kick or punch will lessen it's effect on you- it's called "rolling" with the punch. If you do get hit, you have to consciously try to re-focus yourself as quickly as you can. If your body gear has a "spot" on it- a target area in red or black usually- focus yourself on that. If not, try focussing on your opponent's belt knot, or just his/her hips. Find something to concentrate on other than the dizziness.
As for shrugging away...that is a natural reaction for many newer students. Most people will "shy away" from contact. It's probably worse now for you since you know that getting hit equals getting dizzy. You need to know that the light contact from getting tagged without gear on will not make you dizzy. It shouldn't feel much more than a slap. The same is true for your opponents- you won't hurt them if you are using good control. Don't worry about hitting them back, just use control and go for it.
All in all, you should work defense- movement and blocking. This will help you gain confidence and stop getting hit so often.
Hope this helps...
Sensei Cox

Answer 2

my training is just me and my teacher, and we don't have any body padding of any kind (can't afford it), so I've never done sparring with anything blocking the punches ( except for me! :) ) Now I did find it scary at first but I soon found that my fear of getting hit was worse than the actual blow, and by flinching or shrugging I was actually making it easier for my opponent to hit me. The more you get hit, the easier it is, because you know whats coming - its not so scary after all, and you will get to the point that if someone hit you in a real fight it wouldn't phase you much at all. Now the dizziness is something else.... I wonder if maybe you are too tense? If you are all anxious about being hit and your body tenses all up, the impact would affect you a lot more. Its important to stay calm and relaxed, even though you are sparring, cause it also slows down your reaction time if you're all in knots too. We call it being "light and floaty". If you're relaxed you can flow with the punches more and recover quicker.
hope my ramblings help!

Answer 3

Hi there

A strange post but one of the better ones :)

Here are my view on this one although it may seem strange. I think the dizziness is a mild form of travel sickness. What I think is happening is that your body isn't comfortable with the Armour and the head gear makes you feel disorientated. I have had similar experiences wearing gum shields of all things and i once went scuba diving and that did the same. I couldn't cope with not being free and all the equipment just made me feel sick. There are many different brands of hear gear and some made especially for woman so try a few to see if it makes any difference.

As to being afraid when not wearing any Armour don't worry that's a natural feeling but it really makes you train much harder and helps you focus. Don't try to shrug away from hits and don't try to dodge them either. Sometimes its better to think outside the box and move in a natural way and not as a martial artist.

Regards

Idai

Answer 4

Bluto has many good points on this one. I just want to add that being hit with bare knuckles adds the element of tearing skin this adds more pain and the chance of being knocked out. Also, there is the chance to get blood in your eyes which further disorients you.
Practice making your self dizzy and doing things. Spin around until dizzy then tear into a heavy bag. It seems impossible at first but with repeated exposure it becomes easier which is what training is all about.

Have fun, stay safe.

Answer 5

The Head gear and body padding is probably giving you a false sense of security, which makes you lazier and less likely to work your defense 100%, So you absorb more hits harder, the "sense" of urgency is not there. When you spar without padding, not only do you and your partner go softer, but you also work your defense better. I do mixed martial arts, (full contact) with rules similar to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and have been hit hard, i have never been knocked out, but i have come really close.

Answer 6

this is probably because you are sparring hard contact with headgear and light contact without and without headgear and just going light the hits aren't registering as you don't have to deal with the force of the strike.

you need to just keep sparring and focus on not getting hit in the head to make you dizzy (improve your defence) and now you know what it feels like and what will happen when you get hit in a real fight.

you are bieng hit with strikes that disorient you because they are hard, that is how it will feel in a real fight- only harder as you won't be wearing headgear.

EDIT: by "body armor" and "helmets" you do mean headgear and padding and not actual "body armor" and "helmet" right?

more along the lines of this:
http://store.titleboxing.com/title-competition-headgear.html

or this:

http://store.titleboxing.com/titleboxing-everlast-female-training-protector.html

Answer 7

Timing, Speed, Movement.

Answer 8

sparring

Answer 9

not sure but maybe in the armour your getting over heated and not gettig enough oxygen?get rid of the armour it's for girls.lol.