Back To Basics

The one requirement for which I continue to let my numbers slide little by little is sparring.  Although I've had a couple opportunities to work on this at open training, I still have very little experience.  And I'm sure I've mentioned previously that I can't really seem to get myself hyped up to do this at home.

The biggest failure with my approach thus far is that...well...I don't have much of an approach at all.  I'll typically just say, "ok...I need to do some sparring"...and because I have no plan of any kind, it turns out to be pretty dull...the times drags...and I tend to do more thinking about what to do, then actual doing.  My motivation towards it continues to lessen and I really don't feel I'm getting much out of it.

I recently decided I needed to just come up with a plan and start making sparring a priority.  I've also decided to go "back to the basics" and start simple in order to generate some momentum.  I think part of my issue is I threw myself into an arena where I didn't really know what I was doing, or how to approach things...and found myself lost and confused.  And so I think the best thing for me is to start at the beginning and sort out the things I know versus the things I don't and build from there.

My "Beginner" Plan is as follows,

3-5 minutes of footwork....During this set I'm working on projection stepping, forward/back, side to side, diagonal movements and changing direction.  I'm not doing much with my hands here except keeping my guards up and keeping shoulders down and relaxed.

25 Jabs (left and right)...I'm remaining stationary for these, but relaxed and loose in a fighting stance.  I'm focusing on hip rotation, equal/opposite, keeping shoulder down, staying relaxed, resetting between, proper guard placement, overall timing and getting my upper/lower, left/right to work together.

25 Reverse (left and right)...same focus as above

25 Hooks (left and right)...same focus as above

25 Uppercut (left and right)...same focus as above

I'm going to continue with this daily for a couple of weeks.  At which point I will re-evaluate and then start to combine the footwork and striking together.  I will also eventually add back in the kicks and combinations as well as progress to visualization, bag work, etc.  But for now I will allow myself to progress little by little, slowly building both my physical skills and my confidence.

I like having a plan.