Of course sometimes you have to ask yourself the age old sports question: am I hurt, or am I injured? But barring injury you should really think twice about turning down sparring.
I know, just like most people I’ve refused sparring opportunities for a “good reason.” Maybe you just finished up your 3rd round and you’re too exhausted for another. Maybe you think, “I’m not ready for that guy.” Or you feel inexplicably tired and go home early to rest.
Or you might not even have a good reason. You look at that one fighter in your gym that makes you nervous and you feel the impulse to protect your ego and avoid him. You know, the super mobile guy with the fast heavy hands. Or the pretty boy or nerdy guy that you’ve seen best some traditional “thugs” in the ring. You don’t want people to see you get beaten up by that guy. Maybe you fear getting your face marked up at the hands of a superior boxer who’s a little bit rough. Maybe the resident body puncher scares you.
But think about this for a minute. You’re damn lucky to have those sparring partners. The worst possible scenario would be spending all your training sparring chumps and to step in the ring to compete with a guy far better than what you usually face.
Even with a gym packed full of great boxers, they might not always be available. Tonight I had my second training session in a row where no sparring was available. It made me regret all the times I turned down sparring and it made me appreciate the boxers that have schooled me in the ring, even when they bruised me up a bit.
