http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55QipTy9WIs

Just me and my pal doing some light sparring. Don't mind the little cuts or whatnot. It's just the camera was stopped for a sec because of intervening traffic and stuff.

Info
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Me - White T-shirt, navy blue w/ white stripe shorts

Size Gloves - 16oz.

Weight Division - Featherweight (128lbs)

Height - 5'6 1/2

Friend - Black T-shirt, Orange w/ white stripped shorts

Size Gloves - 12oz.

Weight Division - Welterweight (156lbs)

Height - 5'9/ 5'10

Don't mind the commentary. My friend is just weird like that. Any and all criticism is appreciated.

I normally leave these to the other but I thought I'd give it a shot.

Okay, first off I think you head hunt too much, on your way in your friend was expecting you to go for the head and you did, so that's why he was dodging your punches a fair bit.
Secondly, You should vary your attacks, this ties in with the headhunting problem, you seemed to always open up with head shots, vary the heights of your attacks some more (That "bid bahdy bloow!" could have happened alot more often ).
And lastly, use your head movement on the way in as well, not just when he's throwing back, this way you could have got past the jab he likes throwing alot quicker (And have the hand your not throwing just a little higher also).

Now for the good points:

Good head/upper body movement, nice evasive skills, you dodged quite a few of his attacks, especially in the beginning.

I also liked the way you kept tracking him and kept on his tail, you closed the gap pretty good too despite the fact he had the whole street to maneuver into (which is why rings or enclosed spaces are ideal for power players, especially when fighting against people who back peddle alot).
And nice foot work, I noticed the distance between you two changed fairly quickly when you retreated.

dcm

Could you maybe post this on video.google.com or photobucket.com?

I can't view youtube.com because the ministry of communication and information has blocked youtube.com

-Taison out

Is there any reason why they did that?

There were some decent things in there such as some good rolling to avoid shots from both of you. Some other points though:

i) Guards need A LOT of work. They are far to low for both of you. And althought you both displayed flashes of aptitude in other defensive techniques (e.g. ducking the shots) it is not so good yet that you can get away from not having a guard. Hands should protect the head in the first instance.

ii) As has been said, went to the head too much. It is a small target. Attack the body more. You both fought on the outside a lot. If you or your friend got on the inside, then you could really work the body a lot more. If you want to stay outside, jab to the body more. It makes the opponent worry about defending the body, and it is a good way to make their guard drop.

iii) Too many single shots. Punches in bunches. In amateur boxing, you through three or four shots at a time to land a scoring shot. As an example:

(From orthodox) Jab to head, straight right to head, left hook to body.

Now, only one of those shots might land, but that is the one that counts. The jab straight hand will keep the oppoenents guard high, or force them to move to avoid the punches. While they are defending, you can step in behind the first two shots (step in is part of the combo too) and deliver the scything left hook to the body. That could be the shot that gets you the point. Or maybe the right hand could catch them... or even the jab!!!

The point is that in order to land shots in boxing, you have to throw combinations or time your oppoents movement. Try this next time you are sparring to see what happens: Double and treble up on your jab i.e. throw two or three jabs in rapid succession at the same target quickly. You will not believe how effective this can be. Even people who have boxed for years or who have done martial arts for a long time can have nightmares in dealing with this.

iv) Too linear in some of the movement. Too much going back in a straight line. Circle more, a bit to the left, and a bit to the right.

These are some basic pointers. There is a lot of good stuff going on in there. With a bit of polishing, you and your friend could be pretty good in no time. Keep at it!

My first thought was that you looked pretty good against him. He looked tentative though like he wasn't as experienced. Your head and upper body movement suggested training??

Clearly you pushed the match and were using a lot of good forward pressure along with that evasive movement. All good. I would have awarded you the round.

Look for more experienced guys to circle off and counter punch. Also look for the tie ups. Your friend never really did much of either.

Looked fun though.


-John

Hey Chronic, thanks for posting the video. Love to see the members in action!

Overall, I thought you looked pretty sharp. Hand speed and head/upper body movement were good. Your friend's commentary was hilarious, and he was spot on with the "combinations" comment.

I am withholding any footwork critique in lieu of this recommendation - find a smaller area to spar in. Instead of the street (which is dangerous with the traffic, anyway), use someone's driveway or a section of the yard. A smaller area to move in will help with your footwork. When my friends and I started working on our hands, we didn't get the full benefit until we greatly reduced the area in which we could move around in. Give it a try sometime.

Overall, very nice.

like Matt says find somewhere better to spar like the gym, that way you can use the ropes and start to learn ring craft.

You can also vary your opponents you were the aggressor in this but sparring a more experienced fighter will bring out the best in you and show you what its like to be on the other end.