11: Nuthin' But a Thang

It came to be that time again - I'm recovered from the ringworm and was cleared to get back into Muay Thai class and sparring (yessss!). In my world, there is an atmosphere of relief and excitement. I'm back sooner than I had expected.

I sparred for three, 3-minute rounds this past Thursday with a 1-round break between each session. I have no injuries to report - only a sore nose and forehead, which I can feel each time I put on a pair of sunglasses. That is great news, because it means I was keeping my chin tucked!

I didn't get rocked at all this time, and I held my own for most of the sparring (though I was totally gassed out by the third round).

Each round, I sparred with a different opponent. The thing I noticed most was difference between everyone's styles of fighting.

Guy Number One was taller, bigger, faster, stronger, more experienced, and I think just generally meaner, than me. He peppered my face with jabs and combinations. He was hard to hit, and he was slightly intimidating. It will take me some time to get used to sparring with guys of this caliber.

Any sports psychologist will tell you that the psychological aspect of fighting is just as important as actual fighting skills. I have more confidence on order, but it arrives in installments.

The second guy was someone that I also expected to dominate me, but that didn't turn out to be the case. Partly this was because I had just sparred with Guy Number One, and had survived without getting rocked. This boosted my confidence, which allowed me to become more offensive in my game.

Guy Number Two was taller and skinnier than me, and after seeing him work the bags in Muay Thai class, I thought he'd be much faster as well.

While Guy Number One seemed to be more of a boxer/wrestler, the second fellow was strictly Muay Thai. He kicked me a lot more, but with the shin pads on, I really couldn't feel it. Shin pads totally work to the recipient's advantage when sparring.

A real fight would have felt quite different. Having his shin bone crashing against the sides of my arms and legs could have messed me up early. I did find some good openings for my punches and kicks, and I can say that he really didn't beat me too badly. He probably won on points, but in a real match, I think my power would have been my saving grace.

I was able to block a lot of his shots and get into a decent Muay Thai clinch, where I landed what would have been some devastating knees to the body, had it been a real match. Blasting someone with 16-oz padded boxing gloves is more forgivable during a sparring session than cracking somebody with knees or elbows with any real amount of force. That's simply too dangerous, and is reserved only for real fights and competitions.

Coincidentally, the Muay Thai clinch is where I'm most comfortable. I also noticed that the neck exercises I've been doing are really paying off. The clinch didn't wear me out like it used to, and at no point did anyone challenge my clinch with any real efficiency.

I went into round three already gassed out, but I forced myself to go in just for the sake of getting stronger.

Guy Number Three was clearly a boxer, but he knew how to kick. However, after realizing that kicking me while wearing shin pads didn't have much effect, he resorted to boxing and great foot movement, which made him seemingly impossible to punch.

Impossible to punch, but easy to kick. Whatever direction he started moving in, I simply kicked with that leg, and he ran right into it. In order to avoid my leg or body kicks, he would have had to not move more than one step in any direction. Without shin pads, I probably could have induced some leg damage, slowing him down. This is the kind of thing where style match-ups can make a difference.

It wasn't long however, before I was too tired to kick. About 30 seconds later, I was too tired to punch as well. I kept a good defensive boxing stance though, protecting my chin. Despite catching a few shots to the forehead and nose, I came out of it relatively unscathed. Tired as hell, but unscathed.

Hopefully my sparring sessions will continue to improve. I'm still not at the same level as any of the guys I've sparred with, but I added two more rounds and didn't get rocked this time.

I know it won't happen overnight, and tomorrow I plan on doing a lot of cardio and bag work to improve my striking.