How do you deal with a heavy puncher,

[TigerHeart]

Hi, i met a guy that have done kickbxoing and boxing and very expericed his been doing alot of running, and conditioning he is probely in his peak form.

I was going to ask him to sparr this week, he tends to hit people very hard, that theri mouth peice felt out in pads and sparring he has a boxing stances moved alot of his body to distract person and a good puncher, im mainly a kicker and my punch are okay...

So how can I deal with this type of oponet that moves alot that taunt you and very good puncher with good kicks, to me sparring with somone supior than you help you.

Edited April 21, 2005 by TigerHeart

[Ben Martin]

he shouldnt disrespect his opponents every fighter has to start somewhere so he should be helping and encouraging people who arn't as good as him, he sounds like a prick. what i tend to do if i am fighting some one who is better with their hands they i am is to keep them out of range with my jab and my kicks so they can't hurt me with them. i do the same tactic if i am against a kicker i will box and stay out of range of there kicks by sticking to the person like glue.

[SevenStar]

1. if he's disrespectful like that, then he's training for the wrong reasons - he may just be looking for people to beat on... you may not want to train with him

2. if he hits you too hard, there is no shame in asking him to lighten up - sparring is not an actual competition, it's a training tool to help you both improve.

As for tactics, you have to run.... move, dance around him and use your jab and front kick alot. the reason is that you need to keep him out of punching range so that he cannot be effective. also, boxers tend to put alot of weight on the front leg. use that to your advantage - quick lead leg roundhouses to the inside of his thigh. Since you say he kickboxes as well, he may not over weight himself like that, but you can always look for the opportunity.

[Mr Pockets]

Definitely what SevenStar said. If he hits too hard and you're new just looking to spar and learn, he should lighten up or you should not spar with him. Just to add to what Seven said, you need to come in with a combo, then get back out of range. If you're within his punching range too long you can be sure you'll get hit.

[Topic]

try to evade his punches, sidestep mostly, also use alot of teeps(front kicks) to keep him away if hes the agressor, if he gets in too close n starts doing body puncher since hes also a boxer go in for the clinch, u also mentioned that he has a boxing stance, so his legs r probably bent which will b hard for him to pick up and block your kicks so definately take advantge of that and set him up wiht some simple punches and end with a low kick, if hes standing side way go for both of his legs and swwep him, of course dont go hard just make the point that thats what u would have done to him. but def try to stay away form his punches and use alot of teeps keep him away.

[SevenStar]

he's only been training a couple of months- I wouldn't recommend sidestepping, as I'm guessing he's not that great at it yet.

[SoonerJohn]

The one thing I've learned about heavy hitters is that they aren't so much concerned about what you are going to do. They are mainly concerned with what their plan of attack is and tend to not pay much attention to your plan of attack.

I understand its hard to learn counters when you aren't that experienced, but ask your instructor for some specific advice.

[Topic]

good point, Sooner, as for not sidestepping i disagree, i think u should be taught that immediately at least i was, but he should becarefull not to get cut off by his low kicks, for example, if hes side sstepping to his right he might be comeing straight onto a low kick which is being set up by his opponent.

[silksword]

can you grapple? close the distance, boxers like to keep you at punching range. dont worry, you will get better, just keep training your hardest. dont be dicouraged when you come across a real challenge. thats how we all get better. keep it up!

[TigerHeart]

Thanks guys that is good advice,