broken spirits

[Son Goku the monkeyking]

about four or five days ago the assistant instructor made me fight a person in are academy, I did not want fight that person but he made me. I already new in the back of my head this was going to be a realy tough fight, but i had to fight . i got beat plane and simple really bad, to the point that i ( it pains me to admit this) i went into the basement and cried. manly because i thought i was a really good fighter but i lost soooo badly. to the point that i have kinda been in excile for the past few days. i have basicly have been confused and don't know how to fight anymore.

i dont know if i should use form techniques alot,

2. use tournament style fighting techniques( punch and kick combos esd.)

3. or if i should get in there and use alot more grapple and traping.

this lose has made me so confused please someone reply to one of the above. or tell me what u do keep in mind my style is Tan Tui style kungfu. respond

PEACE

[boxeador]

I know this sounds weird, but you should be happy that you got beat.

I use to spar against a now marine core boxer who now is going for his golden gloves. He was about 6 years older then me at the time (I was 15), he was also stronger, faster, bigger, and more experinced then me.

The way I always looked at it was, I'm probably not going to have to fight anyone better then him for awhile. So I just focused on seeing what worked and what he did, and guess what, it made me a much better fighter.

Don't think about what techniques you are going to use. This is a sparring match use everything and see what works. Try if it is at all possible to relax, you are much more effective when you are relaxed, you expend far less energy, and you can actually have more power.

Finally I think we've all been discouraged at one point or another. I remeber getting hit pretty hard in my temple while sparring and everything blacked out and I couldn't fight for the rest of the day. I remeber crying and the guy who did it to me came up to me and telling me not to feel bad because he remebers that happening to me before and That I'd get better. A year or two later he came back from the marines on visiting and we sparred and I did a whole lot better. Just remeber you are still improving and everyone has gone through what you have just gone through at one time or another.

[JusticeZero]

One other thing to remember..

Sparring in your MA club is not fighting, it is training. Don't do it to win, do it to experiment and practice. No-one cares if you can win your sparring matches by doing some velveeta snappy-flick, you are only cheating yourself that way. Go in expecting to lose - don't even pay attention to who won - but keep your head and study how the other person moves, how you react, experiment with new movements and study positioning and footwork.

[Sam]

Losing is an experience you cna learn more from than anything else... or just generally being beaten. Everytime i spar my instructor he beats me, but i learn a lot from sparring him, nad he's always one step a head.

Keeping calm is massively important, dont lose you head, and keep an eye on what the other person is doing - are there any telegraphs before they attack, do they repeat certain patterns.... probably going over old ground - but most of the time its the basicvs people forget....in sparring moves are generally limited to the basics as well.

[italian_guy]

Losing a sparring match is always a lesson, you learn more when you lose then when you win as long as you re-analyse your sparring after the match. No one is unbeatable.

What was your limitation during the fight?

Was either technical or physical or both? (this last option usually happens when you fight the opponent's fight like when you try to defeat someone with speed and he's faster than you).

Did you notice any weakness in him? Then try to exploite them.

For example I have someone in my dojo who is faster then me, more experienced then me, has better technique flexibilty and power, and he has also a good spirit and courage, he is about my same height and he is 20 years younger, I have no real chance to bit him but sometimes I land good shots on him do you know how?

I exploit the fact that he know so much he is better then me that sometimes he lower his attention and in this way I try so surprise him with something unusual and simple at the same time, like a backfist with some strange footwork, try to play with tempo or the most strange things he is not used to . It is a desperate match but my real satisfaction is when I land a shot and he immediatly try to overwhelm me with speed or agility in a somehow (agonistically speaking) furious reaction then I know that he wasn't just let me have a free shot.

[glockmeister]

Keep your spirits up. Back in the 90's my old boxing coach used to knock me down several times a match, he was much bigger, stronger, and more experienced than me. It helped me in alot of ways because when I was actually int he ring, people my size couldn't hurt me. Also I learned how to get int here and slug. By my getting beat, I have lost my fear of getting hit. and therefore learned quickly to work around other people's punches.

Hold your head high. You are learning.

[ItalianMuayThai]

Dont give up, Everyone gets beaten at least once in thier MA career. Just now you have something to strive for. Train Harder, and more Often. And then when you think your ready ask for a rematch ;-D

[Sabumnim]

Your instructor challenged not just your talent but your character.

The best martial artists aren't those who win easily and are worshipped by their fellow students, they are those who even after crippling defeat get up and go again.

[Kajukenbopr]

you learn more from losing than from winning.

from your fight, you saw what didnt work for you.

If you cant figure it out, you have been neglecting your sparring training. Find a friend and practice soft sparring(without hitting hard) and sparr, sparr, sparr.

Dont lose your spirit just because you didnt win a sparring session; if you dont get back on your feet and train again, that is when you are truly defeated.

[Sam]

or find someone much better than you to spar against.... that's have ive made most of my significant improvements.... you should learn relatively quickly from that