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Any advice on how to get over being glove shy? I go to fight class a few times a week and I normally the smallest guy. I am 5 ft 6 in and 155 lbs. I normally give us 5-7 inches in height and at least 20 lbs.
It is intimidating to go against bigger opponants and I do ok for the most part but recently whenever I step in I get rocked. Even if it is a glancing shot I normally take the next shot or the 3rd shot of a combo while trying to get to the inside. I am at the point now where my defense is ok and I can block/parry 2 of the punches in a combo but by the time I get to the inside I’m already pretty rocked and throw a few shots (some connect some get blocked) and then when I back out I normally eat one more shot.
This has made me realtivly timid when I go in for an attack (glove shy). I normally just move and wait for an opening or parry a shot and then go in firing everything I have (almost wildly).
Does anyone have advice on how to get over being glove shy?
When I go against people my size, I am not as glove shy even if they have more experience. It is only when I go against bigger people that I get a bit nervous.
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
Be Wolverine. Let the pain drive your own attack, let it really piss you off, so that you want to get in there and give a little for what you got. And as long as the hit ain’t killin’ you, that means you can still fight. Shrug off the pain. Fight. Not to sound all Zen and all that, but really what else can you do?
Another way to handle it is to be on the offensive: don’t wait for the attack; bring it to them. Smaller or not, you’ve got a responsibility to others who are counting on you to make the fight count in their favor, maybe to save their lives. The pain will pass. The victory is yours forever.Re: Getting over being glove shy?
I have tried that. But I normally find myself on the floor after I get knocked around like a rag doll and then get a front push kicked across the room….Might have to keep trying that tactic and see how it works though.
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
I once had a smaller guy jump on my back and rain punches on my ears and cheeks while I danced around like a screaming monkey. Not advocating that tactic, but it sure worked for him. HA!
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
I have the same problem being that I’m 5’3″ and 112lbs – everyone is bigger than I am. I try to get to my opponents dead side, give a few shots and get back out before I take too many. But no matter what, I’m going to take a shot or two on my way in. I try to focus on defending as much as I can, delivering a nice combo and getting back out as quickly as I can. You should always give your opponent a little love as you back out as well, better to have him/her eat one than you.
Smaller people will always take some on the way in, you’ll just have to get used to that, accept it, and overcome it. Keep training.
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
Any advice on learning how to get hit then? It seems like I’m going to have to take a lot of punishment to get to the inside.
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
I do a lot of thigh kicks that I follow up with combos to get to the inside. On some people it works rather well. I just have to make sure after the kick I start throwing since my momentum is going forward if they counter and I’m not already throwing I eat shots….I have eaten a lot of shots for not following up a kick.
I have also found that using a kick that misses can be a good opportunity to spin around and use a very hard spinning hammerfist. I have landed this a few times and caught my sparring partners by surprise. Some now know it is coming and I get caught with a hook instead….
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
if you are smaller you need to be quicker. also to learn at a faster pace you need to try and get with a higher level guy. they should be willing to back off and let you learn instead of just pounding on you.
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
Sometimes, to put a smaller person at ease with getting hit, I let them take a couple of good punches at my stomach or ribs, maybe even my face, if there’s a trust level. I try to show them by example that I won’t break and getting hit won’t kill them. And, yes, that sometimes will backfire and totally freak out the other guy.
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
Being smaller, you really gotta work on head movement and slipping punches to get inside. If you are focused on defending vs. slipping and taking angles, you will stay at the same distance vs. being able to get inside. One good method is to learn how to throw a kick simultaneously as you slip a punch. For example, if you are slipping a jab (RH opponent), slip to the right with a step diagonally towards your opponent with your right leg while throwing a kick with your left under the punch. Usually the kick will land and will create other opportunities for counters that you can take before your opponent can counter.
Another that I have seen to work is fast double kicks. If you can get your conditioning to a point where you can throw a leg kick immediately followed by a body or head kick, the second kick usually lands and can create an opportunity for you to get inside while your opponent gets his or her guard back up.
If you are not big on kicks, try coming over the top of a jab with a right cross. If your opponent likes to jab, and you see it coming, throw a cross and advance at the same time. If your form and timing are right, your arm will act like an inside defense as you are throwing the punch. This takes a ton of practice to get the timing right, ask your partner to let you work it at like 40% speed to build your vision. If you react late with this one, you will eat the jab and your right hand will be down, opening you up to more shots. I sparred with a smaller guy a couple of months ago who had this mastered and it was one of the most frustrating things I had to deal with!!! Everytime I threw a jab, he popped me with that da*& right hand! I soon found myself trying to get inside on him, and I had 4″ of reach on him! He showed me what he was doing in another class the next week, and I have used it since. Like I said though, if you try it in sparring without practicing it, you will eat the jab many times before you have it perfected.
I am not an instructor, so take my ideas for what they are worth. I am one of the bigger guys you are talking about (6’3″, 185) but those are the kinds of things that have worked against me when I am sparring with smaller opponents. If they stay at my distance and try to parry and defend, I will pick them apart, but if they slip, throw a simultaneous counter, and come inside, it usually has me backing up trying to create space again.
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
quote Happyloaf:I do a lot of thigh kicks that I follow up with combos to get to the inside. On some people it works rather well. I just have to make sure after the kick I start throwing since my momentum is going forward if they counter and I’m not already throwing I eat shots….I have eaten a lot of shots for not following up a kick.I have also found that using a kick that misses can be a good opportunity to spin around and use a very hard spinning hammerfist. I have landed this a few times and caught my sparring partners by surprise. Some now know it is coming and I get caught with a hook instead….
This works for me as I’m the same height and about 10 pounds heavier. I love throwing a lead leg inside kick to the inner thigh. Get used to throwing that with a hard snap a few times, and your training partners will have to honor it. The technique is incredibly quick and you’ll find yourself able to sneak in because of that kick
Remember the Randy Couture / Tim Silvia fight? It was the first technique Randy threw in the fight, and its a winner. 🙂
Keep your chin down and moving forward!
Mario
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
[quote=Happyloaf;38659]I do a lot of thigh kicks quote]
i saw bob sapp(former chicago bear and pro mma fighter in japan) get taken down in a tournament by thigh kicks (i dont think the other guy landed 1 punch) sapp won the fight but could not answer the bell for the 2nd fight so the other guy advanced to the next fight. on tv it looked like sapp had a knott the size of a grapefruit on his thigh!
if you kill a trees roots, the tree will die
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
[quote=Happyloaf;38659]I do a lot of thigh kicks that I follow up with combos to get to the inside. On some people it works rather well. I just have to make sure after the kick I start throwing since my momentum is going forward if they counter and I’m not already throwing I eat shots….I have eaten a lot of shots for not following up a kick.
I don’t know how good your sparring partners are, but i’m not that big and I love the #1 thai combo(jab followed by a right body kick)and it lands all the time. and when they start to block it use the#2 combo(1-2 punch followed by a switch body kick) that doesn’t land a often but it still does pretty good. good luck and let us know how it goes.
Re: Getting over being glove shy?
My advice would be to practice your bursting. Us short people do not need a lot of leg length to shoot us forward.
I know for me in my extremely novice level of fighting I am able to land several kicks/punches on my instructor. While we are both going at half speed I am constantly able to land on him when I burst to his dead side and then in. Of course he does reciprocate. He is about 6 foot and I am 5’6″.
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