A question for the MMA guys

[Gannard Reyes]

I started working with a guy whom has fought before and he and I decided to spar. I have read a good deal of books and have been working on a heavy bag fairly steady. I felt confident enough I wanting to spar him but as we started everything felt akward. All I could get out was a 1,2 but after that it felt really weird. I have felt like this since the 8th grade. (thats when I started to wrestle) About how long does it take to get use to sparing for the guys whom train and fight regulary. Thanks in advance

[stlnl]

Define training regularly. Because to me, from what you just said, you have not trained your boxing/kickboxing at all with qualified supervision.

I have seen guys go from not knowing a damn thing to looking sharp, and against similarly skilled guys look very good sparring (in boxing gyms where guys focus 100% on just boxing) in less than 6 months, but I have also seen guys who labor for years to not look a mess. Depends on the person, whether they are willing to put in the pad work (quality padwork is a great deal more valuable than sparring early on), have quality instruction to head off bad habits/problems before they become big issues, and to a degree the person's personality -like/dislikes with regards to punching kicking and of course natural ability.

[leach_jeffrey]

Just like with Jiu-jitsu, it's all about mat time.

You can train for years on technique and with the heavy bag or compliant partners, but none of that can prepare you for facing a resiting opponent. If you want to get comfortable sparring, then you need to spend more time sparring.