QUESTION
As per the title, I'm one of the larger students in boxing/kickboxing (80kgs). The next heaviest is merely 55kgs.
WHenever I'm paired up even for touch/light sparring, I feel scared that I might cause injuries coz of our weight differences.
Any advice to help me with this anxiety? I end up punching less and I do want to help them with their defences; I end up focusing on them drills on how to avoid me clinching.
PS: I guess its natural for my lighter/smaller sparring mates to "appear" faster as I tend to chase them down alot?
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Keep your fists loose. Imagine that you’re trying to touch their face as fast as possible while holding an egg.
It’s a combat sport and people know what they are getting into. As long as your sparring partner doesn’t hit the canvas, you’re fine. If you think a shot was too hard, show him your palm and ask “you good?” If he nods yes, fist bump and get back at it.
I’ve had plenty of bloody lips and noses and I’ve never been mad at the guys that gave them to me. I would be more upset about a guy trying to baby me.
Ps. Lighter guys usually have better speed and agility
hmmm.
"touch while holding an egg". i like that thought :)
thanks for the tip. I guess the plus side of training with lighter enthusiasts is that I'm prepared for the "what if you have a faster opponent?" scenario :)
Yeah. I'm 260, and I do the same thing. I never wrap my hands and keep my hands open underneath the gloves and try to touch lightly. I got a few warnings when starting out, scared away a few people and almost got kicked out, so that is how I need to roll in class.
Honestly the only real solution is to train at a gym that has a higher population of heavyweights. There's gyms that basically specialize in training the big fellas cause it's just less drama and more meaningful reps being had
might be a tall order but I'll do what i can.
the ave. weight for the ave. filipino my height is at most 140lbs (~60kgs).
I was wondering where you were to be the largest at 80kg. That's... Very mid for a lot of places. Now we know!
How tall are you?
I'm 5'6"
honestly bro you could probably just stand to lose like 10-15 kg at your height there's dudes competing as low as 52kg
Damn, I was like 87kg at 5'7 during Judo earlier on. Unless you're a literal brick shithouse, it wouldn't be so bad to shed some weight.
I'm like 81kg now after an odd month, and I'm still short for my Judo division.
80kgs is 176lbs dafuq bro thats not heavyweight.
You're doing the right thing. I'm heavyweight at 118kg, and I will only touch spar against lighter guys at my gym but focus aggressively on my defense. If you have 20lbs plus on your sparring partner, they WILL feel the weight difference. You're doing the smaller guys a disservice if you decide to match their energy. If the smaller guy is going 60-70%, you go 20-40% and focus on defense. Your 50-70% intensity will possibly knock them into the shadow realm, and they'll never want to spar with you again, which is how gym wars start. You clearly know your boundaries. Now, it's just finding others in a similar weight class to spar at a higher pace, which would mean hitting up your other gyms for sparring sessions. Don't be the dickhead weight bully in the gym.
It's a double-edged sword because smaller guys will think you're being cocky but once they get a taste of the power in weight difference, they'll ask for mercy through the sheer look of terror. Just make sure to communicate always before a spar on intensity
thanks.
now i feel a bit better; in my last sparring session (+50lb weight difference; I was the heavier guy), he was peppering me with a LOT of punches and i did a sidestep+check hook to the head. i stopped the punch just before the glove even touched his cheek.
PS: amazing how you ~110lb-ers can let loose 5-6 punches by the time I throw 1 or 2 :D
PSS: my math sucks. i'm 180. he's 115lbs.
Whoa. 55kg is the next heaviest? I feel like one of the smallest adults at 68 kg/150 lb.
the ave. weight of in our gym ranges bet. 115 to 120 lbs
i'm just....heavy and i often joked that in a competitive match, i'll prolly turn it into a sumo match by clinching on the opponent and let him carry my weight :D
Are you at a kids gym? The average American male weighs 90kg/200 pounds.
I'm not based in the us 🤣
Ah. Mea culpa
Yeah I'm the smallest at my gym at 62kg. 80kgs would be pretty much average.
Eventually you will have enough control that you are not afraid to hurt your partner.
How does it go when you spar with more advanced partners?
they (including my coach) often tell me that I should at least "try" to hit as hard as I would on the mitts/bag.
my last partner is a seasoned boxer (28 fights) who also told me the same.
Then do it with them, they can take it. And stay cautious with more "fragile" partners. Eventually you will feel confident that you can control your hits.
where do you live that 80kgs is a giant?
I understand in the West, I'm considered "puny" but in the Philippines, I'm considered a heavyweight :D
How tall are you? Are you a lot taller than your training partners too?
Height diff is just 1-2 inches at most
Give what you get go at same power. You might be over estimating your power. Just because they smaller, also you doing them out of feeling it, they might overestimate their abilities if ou always go soft.
On the bright side, you can really focus on defense/head movement. Don't clinch or but tag them a little bit to let them know you got em. Control comes with time. I used to do the loose fist thing bc some people complained about me. I try to go 80% speed 20% power at first...if they amp it up, i match em (but do take into consideration I'm heavier handed)
Karate background, I was always the bigger (6’1” 300lbs) students physically compared to the others, I’ve never been one to be very light on my feet, for my size I always felt I had good footwork and movement. Obviously you don’t want to go 80-100% with your training partners but to not push them your doing them a disservice as it’s just as important to know what it feels to be hit hard as to know how to hit hard, in the real world the bad guys aren’t gonna take it easy on someone because they are of smaller stature.
Honestly bro, us lighter guys don’t want you to be soft on us, we aren’t made of glass. Get loose, let your movements flow, let us respect the power…It’s all good, and part of combat training.
The only alternative is to find a gym with more heavies, but seriously, training with lighter faster guys can do good for your game, if you aren’t scared of yourself.
Warms my heart reading this. :)
Are the sentiments the same if the weight difference is at minimum, 60lbs apart (sometimes, literally twice as I see a couple of 90 lb classmates here).
I’m 5’8 (160lbs) so I can only speak on my experiences, but for people weighing 90lbs I assume they are either children, or small woman, in which case i’d just be going through the motions, and if that’s your only option at your current gym, I’d recommend changing gym.
I’ve almost always had 50+ pounds on sparring partners but I found it to be advantageous because you become accustomed to the speed of smaller dudes then when you face someone your own weight they feel incredibly slow. Mind you I am 280-300lbs out of fight camp usually and my main sparring partner was my brother who is about 220-230lbs so he is not as fearful of being hit as smaller dudes and he ain’t gonna take shit from his younger brother(me) haha. I have sparred with fighters as small as 120 and it is a huge advantage for you being the bigger guy sparring smaller dudes than it is smaller dudes sparring you.
Also for me not only did my reflexes become better but my speed and accuracy improved as well because having to hit smaller faster targets. Learn to defend the peppering shots then work to counter then work to be more offensive.
Id find another gym with some people your size or larger
I've Oftenly Trained With 100kg Guys, Those Monsters Are So Damn Hard To Beat!
I'm 110kg I spar like right on the edge of my distance so I rarely land hard, I work on timing and counters a lot cuz that fits how I like to fight, but it comes with time and practice
How tall are you? Because 80kgs isn't particularly heavy, I'm 92kgs at 5ft 7. I really doubt you're going to be as dangerous as you think.
I'm "just" 5'6". I was concerned coz in our class/club, the next guy heaviest to me is at 55kgs. And I'm at 80 kgs (~180lbs).
In my last sparring, there was a 60 lb difference, with me the heavier person.
Find bigger gym. 80kg is small by the way
largest student with 80kg?? are you 12 or training in a gym for dwarves lol.
i'm 95kg and i do boxing,when i do light sparring with lighter people you can hit them fast without hitting hard,dont make a fist and keep your hands open inside the gloves and when you "punch"them try to do like if you were flicking them with the back of your fingers and try not to put your weight behind your punches like leaning towards your opponent if that makes sense ,basically trying to focus on speed and form but not on power
for the kicks it's harder to not put your weight into it
it comes with practice as you get better and better at boxing you'll be able to hit fast without hitting hard
Keep your fists loose.
Im almost 100kgs and its the same thing. Fight people similar to your size too if possible.
80kg is a giant? Where you at, North Korea? 😁
Just emigrate to The Netherlands lol. I'm 86kgs at 182cm and I'm basically middle of the pack.
You aren't as strong as you think you are, and your sparring partners aren't fragile. This mentality will set you free.