Gain weight or get faster

[Fish]

In sparring I tend to get battered by other people who are heavier than me. I'm 6 ft, and weigh 174 lb.

Should I try to gain some weight, or should I try to get faster - so I can get out of the way? Or is it possible to do both?

[kenttiensankari]

If you do sparring with full contact then weight is only good. Though getting faster helps also. But speed is useless without power. Gain some muscular, but not too much, so you can be rather fast, and rather strong.

[JusticeZero]

Weight will not help your power. Strength and structure will help your power. Speed will help your power. Weight is just weight, and not synonymous with any of those things. In fact it might even make it harder for you at this stage to achieve the relaxation you need to perform well.

Also, don't think of sparring as something to be "won". Think of it as a lab to experiment with your techniques and find how to make your untested moves tested and functional.

[Grenadier]

In sparring I tend to get battered by other people who are heavier than me. I'm 6 ft, and weigh 174 lb.

Should I try to gain some weight, or should I try to get faster - so I can get out of the way? Or is it possible to do both?

Welcome to the club. I'm the same height, but 10 lbs lighter. Unfortunately, it's not unusual to be paired with someone of equal height, but much more mass.

Getting battered by heavier people generally means that you're trying to go toe to toe with them. You're going to be on the worse part of the exchange. A better way is to simply not get hit. There's no shame in circling your opponent, attacking when the opportunity presents itself, and using superior speed / footwork to sidestep, etc. If anything, it's certainly better than trying to soak your entire body in a bathtub full of hot water and epsom salts!

Start working on footwork drills, speed drills, and especially combining the two, so that you can get a burst of speed when you advance and retreat (actually more of a side step).

Gaining more muscle mass can help, but this is always a tricky thing; you would need to gain the mass, while maintaining flexibility and speed, and putting on that kind of quality pounds is a difficult matter, indeed. This is not really something that can be done in a short period of time; we're talking about years of work and conditioning.

I tried this route a long time ago, trying to gain 15 lbs of muscle mass. In the long run, it did help, but in the immediate time, it was much more of a burden, as I was feeling sluggish and slow, and the footwork wasn't nearly as good as it was before I had started on the muscle mass gain project. Either that, or maybe it was the sheer weight of those horribly thick protein shakes that would give me acetone breath in the middle of the nights.

It took about three, maybe four, years to get used to the weight, and to properly condition the muscles, so that I wouldn't lose any flexibility, while constantly working on footwork and speed drills. Looking back, I don't regret what I have done, since I've gone from a sub-150 lb beanpole, to a more healthy shape, but it wasn't easy, or particularly pleasant, getting this way.

[Fish]

Thanks for the hints. Actually, I'm not skinny as such - I'm pretty well toned. Its just that the heavier guys are able to overpower me.

What sort of footwork drills could I use to improve my speed?

[Grenadier]

Thanks for the hints. Actually, I'm not skinny as such - I'm pretty well toned. Its just that the heavier guys are able to overpower me.

What sort of footwork drills could I use to improve my speed?

Advancing / retreating drills will help your ground speed, and give you a burst. Practice the movements, whether it's by stepping with the lead foot and sliding (ori-ashi) or closing the gap by stepping with the rear foot first, and then propelling your front foot forward (tsue ashi?). Make sure that your first movement is in the direction in which you want to move, since many folks inadvertently step back a wee bit before moving forward.

Try going 6 movements forward, and then 6 movements retreating. This will also build up leg strength and endurance, while making you lighter on your feet. Also, you'll be able to close the gap or retreat better than someone who has not practiced such drills. Remember, even if someone is inherently faster than you are, such pure speed doesn't necessarily equate to combat speed. At first, go at a moderate pace, so that you can get the footwork down.

As you get stronger, and better conditioned, then try improving your burst of speed when advancing and retreating. Remember to maintain good posture while doing these drills, and don't let the shoulders and hips stray from the same vertical line.

Also, practice side stepping drills, so that your burst of sideways movements will be faster, and more responsive.

As a bit of relief / enjoyment, I would even suggest playing the old children's game of "hopscotch," just to further emphasize the importance of footwork and balance.

[JimmyNewton]

look how big muhammid ali was...he was quite fast

[SevenStar]

Weight will not help your power. Strength and structure will help your power. Speed will help your power. Weight is just weight, and not synonymous with any of those things. In fact it might even make it harder for you at this stage to achieve the relaxation you need to perform well.

Also, don't think of sparring as something to be "won". Think of it as a lab to experiment with your techniques and find how to make your untested moves tested and functional.

weight will indeed help is power, so long as he's adding usable muscle mass and not fat. speed is only increasable to a certain degree. who punches faster - tyson or mayorga? who do you think punches harder? Why?

excellent point about sparring though.

[SevenStar]

good posts, grenadier. On the flexibility issue though, unless you are freaking huge, then that shouldn't be an issue. that myth has been disproved for ages. flexibility has never been an issue for me or a few other big guys in class.

[shotochem]

Getting battered by heavier people generally means that you're trying to go toe to toe with them. You're going to be on the worse part of the exchange. A better way is to simply not get hit. There's no shame in circling your opponent, attacking when the opportunity presents itself, and using superior speed / footwork to sidestep, etc. If anything, it's certainly better than trying to soak your entire body in a bathtub full of hot water and epsom salts!

I'm in full agreement. I have the opposite problem. I used to be a lot heavier and I used to be able to out muscle my opponents. Muscle makes up where you are lacking in technique to a point. Now years later

I find I can't out muscle people as easily anymore but the quickness and better technique I've developed seems to make up for it. Another benefit is the greater endurance and conditioning when you keep the weight down.