10 Sparring Tips From 6X World Champion

[@Imnotbalding]

"There is no winner because there is no judges there." So I must win by KO in every sparring round, thanks for the tip!

[@Ie4s]

Ayoo 😂

[@The_travellingman]

I’ve got my first kickboxing fight in 2 weeks, it’s a semi contact tournament and I can’t wait for it I’ve been rewatching some of your old videos. Thank you for everything. 100k is so close too so good luck with that too💪

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

That is awesome! Train extra hard for the last couple weeks and peak out everything. And thanks. I'm excited to pass the 100k mark.

[@The_travellingman]

@@GabrielVargaOfficial thank you. I’ve been following your videos so I’m sure I’ll be okay

[@lyudmilpetkov2541]

Good luck 👊

[@venomsnake64]

Rooting for you man! Get that win, I'll be fighting in tournaments very soon as well! Would love to see you at one someday!

[@thomasfahey8314]

Get em Morgan!

[@theunusualdispenser9474]

1. Brace when you strike or are in the striking zone 2. Try out new things 3. Use fakes to create openings, fakes practice the tactical side of fighting 4. Practice weak points or isolated things against less skilled opponents 5. Get rid of the ''eye for an eye'' mentality in sparring, it teaches you to become emotional and predictable fighter. 6. Spar technically when you don't have a fight coming, spar hard and to win when you do. 7. Spar in your least comfortable ranges 8. if you wanna go hard, you can agree to go hard on the body but light to the head 9. Practice relaxing and breathing when out of range, utilize fakes to keep the opponent on guard. 10. Practice defending relaxed to not expend all energy, like holding pads for someone.

[@cardhanger195]

Thanks

[@ahmedalhamadi1231]

Believe or not I fought in MMA amateur before and I was more courage than in my sparring sessions which I am in half in and half out I feel afraid and sometimes I feel guilt after the sparring session for being so nervous. thanks a lot for the tips it's education.

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Interesting. I still get more nervous for fights but hard sparring rounds scare me as well.

[@jordanmcmurray847]

I think there can be something to this - when you know it’s kill or be killed, it might be easier to FORCE yourself to rise to the occasion, as opposed to in sparring where you know the stakes aren’t as high.

[@pelejahosoba5280]

@@jordanmcmurray847 perfect response and very deeply thoughtful and real

[@andrewtanczyk4009]

Agreed. I always hated sparring. The actual fights were much easier for me than sparring. Yet probably because strictly boxing gyms their are too many gym wars, coaches uses beginners to get beat up by a more experienced boxer the coach has prepared more.

[@johnacker4959]

@@andrewtanczyk4009i also agree. I find it difficult to put enough behind my techniques to gain respect from sparring partners. My training partners are my friends and i want them to get better too. Its by far my biggest struggle. I leave a lot of rounds saying “damn i could have given them so much more”.

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

How many sparring rounds are you putting in per week? If you'd like a video with me talking about my sparring volume let me know.

[@dominicnguyen430]

Definitely would like to hear your opinion on that. Currently I'm doing 3-4 rounds of light sparring or drilling 3 days a week and then 1 day per week of harder sparring 3-5 rounds as an amateur boxer.

[@AhmadiyyatCentenary]

Yes, please. Can you also do a video on how shadow boxing translates to sparring?

[@giorgiomindset]

I'd love to see that video. Currently I limit myself to one hour of sparring a week because I am worried about CTE long-term. Keep up the good work :)

[@dukey03]

I do about 12 or so sparring rounds per week and it’s usually just in 1 night. We only do sparring once per week

[@Drikkerbadevand]

Probably 10-12or so rounds a week

[@louieyorston863]

This fighter is so wise and humble. I didn't find his videos very attracting to begin with mostly because he wasn't in the gym and didn't have a partner to demonstrate on but the more I watched the more I learnt this guy really gets his points across to make good sense of his techniques.

[@sshy153]

You'll get 100 000 subscribers by the end of march.

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

🎉 🎉 🎉 So excited 😀

[@davidjackson4606]

Just wanted to say I watch a lot of fight guys on KZbin man, if they have the credentials they don’t have the insight, if they have the insight they don’t have the credential, but you my man, have both!!

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

🙏 🙏 🙏. Thanks so much. I appreciate the positive comment.

[@duncangrant4117]

This was a really helpful video. Could you go into more detail about how to stay relaxed and output less energy on defense? I've been having a hard time with this, as I tend to rely on my defensive footwork and panic a bit when my opponents throw power in sparring.

[@maximisatwat]

physically relax emotionally relax (hundreds, thousands of times u do these) mentally remove items from your active mind - to do this imagine an object then it disapear, think of emotional feeling of something you knew disapearing, then make these 2 ffeelings over the things that are active in your mind practise these as an exercise, drilling for a long time to get better and better So principles are Relax, think nothing - do these physically, and emotionally practise moving and drilling on bag more relxaed and with less force, and more speed sometimes, less speed sometimes

[@kudoista]

Solid advice as usual. There was only one tip that I don’t practice, and that’s number five. I always advise my students the opposite. When you get hit I say make sure you hit back immediately. Because I find in sparring many guys tend to fade away when they get hit and miss the opportunity to counter their opponent. I feel this can develop a bad habit of not returning fire when they get hit. So in a fight their opponent has an increased chance of winning points.When someone hits you and you don’t fire back he comes off looking dominant. But if you hit back every time they hit you it looks even. But If they are really hurt then that’s a different matter. But I understand what you mean about preventing the sparring from escalating.

[@carwrapsupplier354]

Great pointers, thank you!

[@JWMCMLXXX]

Paused in the middle of this video to go to the gym. Then came back and heard the next tip and I was like, awwww, I shoulda heard that before class! lol

[@______________1940]

Before my mma fight i was nervous as shit but if i know i got a hard sparring coming up im just really happy and exited

[@zerte4197]

You deserve well over 100k but its still a milestone, Im sure youre getting this 100k fast :D

[@notorioz810]

You are the freaking best man! Thanks for the tips!

[@Themachine6]

Needed to hear the take on saving hard sparring for before fights. I was beginning to think every sparring sesh was gonna be brutal😂

[@paragon1782]

Great video topic. Love sparring based content

[@michaelcolello2735]

Numbers 9 and 10 really speak to what I've been struggling with lately. Great ideas, will use. Thanks, Gabriel!

[@amirnaimzada5790]

Interviewer: Was sparring necessary? Gabriel ‘Masvidal’ Varga: super necessary

[@TheCannonn]

Thank you gabriel for another great vid

[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

My pleasure!

[@pi5724]

100K subs i am coming for that glove giveaway ;-) Respect again for another informative video! Bless up!

[@matthewkeenan7412]

Great tips Gabriel! Your videos are well thought out and I appreciate learning from your experience.

[@andrewwilliams2536]

great tips! Thank you Gabriel. I particularly benefited from the "focus on weak" area and faking when you need some rest. Good stuff!

[@harryconnelly4801]

Great advice from a great fighter and instructor, a very unusual combination, many thanks.

[@michaelyu7683]

My man, good advice❤🎉

[@melaniecat2413]

Thank's great advice. I think my main problem is may lake of confidence...

[@andrewtanczyk4009]

Thanks. For some reason I always found sparring was more difficult for me than the actual fights. Yet maybe because I had little boxing skill sets and relied more on my power and determination than having any real skill sets to use. Sparring is great to develop your skill sets. Yet ideally you should be sparring with someone at your same level and no more than 10lbs more than you.

[@paulpelle3046]

Really great tips, as always Gabriel. 👏🙏 The relaxation part underpins everything imho. You can see so much more coming when you’re relaxed. I try to put myself in an almost ‘bored’ state of mind...similar to what the GOAT Samart Payakaroon used to do...relaxed to the point of almost falling asleep! Hehe 😉

[@christianbelzer]

great advice, thanks!

[@facundovega1726]

Amazing advices as always! Unfortunately so many gyms don't have that mindset of protect the brain during sparring sessions. thanks Gabriel!

[@A.T.Sickzer]

Thanks man.

[@kayjay8077]

When are you going to fight in karate combat

[@rake9787]

My name is Yasin I've been training kick boxing for 1 year I've got alot better from first day slow slow I believe afteranother 1 year of training i will be able to compete in a match

[@sicariobrother316]

Can you do a video as to who would win in a fight between a boxer and a kick boxer

[@proxiyyy2508]

I have an amateur Muay Thai fight on the 25th, I’ve only been training 2 months and my weak points are reaction time as I’m trying to get better at checking, also I’m very kick heavy sometimes I forget to use boxing combos. Any tips? Love the info videos.

[@thejoojoo9999]

Wow, only 2 months training ? Your coach really believes in you. For reaction time, it's really hard to actively improve. But what you can do is build defensive habits. For example, when you shadowbox or hit the heavy bag, finish every combo with a defensive move (a check, a slip, a block, a catch, simply a quick step back, etc). That way you work your defense and it reminds you to think about defense regularly. Also it means you're already defending as soon as you stop attacking (the moment where the other guy will most likely attack back). For kick-heaviness : try to always use kicks AND punches in your combos. For example you could try (in shadowbox or on the heavy bag) to throw as many punch combos as you can and always finish with a kick (setting up kicks with hands is a good idea in general). Or maybe try to start with a kick, throw a hand combo and finish with a kick. In general, if you want to improve at something, do a lot of shadow and heavy bag on your own where you specifically focus on that thing and visualize.

[@noahcastillo6771]

Great movement can possibly make up for anything else you may lack in like the other guy said shadow box but do rounds where you mainly just focus on movement, creating angles, a lot of head movement is key too, and a looot of feints

[@stoneside.5450]

Hey brother. Gabriel did an excellent video on a series called “fighting with your physique“ when he talks about people they don’t have super fast reaction times or a super explosive or something like that. I was a competitor for years and I can tell you 100% that everything he says that video is correct and would totally apply to you.

[@Drikkerbadevand]

Damn 2 months I hope you have experience from another sport or have incredible talent. That is very quick

[@Azzthedrummer]

Had to stop sparring got bad headaches even if when if light

[@iyedjouini473]

1000000 thanks

[@dukey03]

Rotflmao ahh yes.. tip #1… I get the wind knocked out of me at least once per night because I always fail to follow Tip #1 hahaha

[@duak89]

any tips for a weird problem: pulling punches during sparring? i developed a bad habit of pulling punches and going like slow mo on the kicks....

[@popandlock69]

Work on balance for your kicks & do 3 rounds of shadow boxing before every workout. During these rounds work on your form & speed. You’ll learn to extend your punches without throwing power punches every round

[@foozle1up9]

Gabriel:- defense shouldn't consume lots of energy Me, a counter striker:- I'm going to pretend I never heard that!

[@rasengan123verdun5]

Hello gabreil, I am going to enter a tournament soon in April, for amateur muay thai, how do you think training will have to go, like any specific stuff?

[@jonlewis7456]

Fear and Lack of confidence on my own part.Fear due to childhood memories.Brought out trauma responses.(Freeze up).Lack of confidence from almost no sparring practice before tournament.Still managed 3rd place but.Gym level is good vs Competition level needed major improvement. Psychological development threw martial movements and the expression of it.for me needs work.I know what I need for next time.Thanks Gabriel.

[@maximisatwat]

when you blame things that cant be changed, like "other people in the past" for your shortcomings, it creates a mental block that you dont fix yourself. youre not the first person to be nervous about being punched in the face, you dont need to blame it on parents shouting at you the world has always been hard and in the past was much harder, self pity wont solve your problems. Treating your problems as direct phgysical thigns to be altered, instead of airy fairy "emotional wa wa" that you cant change will let you fix it

[@JWMCMLXXX]

Defense should not require high energy output. Thats a great one

[@monkwushu2305]

For mma sparring in mma school, thoughts on Headgear in class?

[@kritapaspetchana1237]

Is sparring 3 time a week is good? What about the pose trauma sometimes I feel like I got stutter with my speech.thank you in advance Big fan with your Chanel

[@Joey-ee9vd]

I’m no doctor bro but if being hit in the head is making you stutter and slur your speech you need to go head a brain scan ASAP bro you don’t want to play around with that. Take no chances and at least you know if you’re safe to be doing it - wish you well fella best of luck

[@thejoojoo9999]

3 times a week is fine if it's not too hard. But if you have speech problems after sparring it's quite worrying. You're most probably taking way too hard shots to the head so you should really tone it down. Also, go see a doctor as soon as possible and explain all of this to him. Your brain is no joke.

[@alexjimenez9178]

Jesus, how hard are you sparring?

[@andrewtanczyk4009]

7:00,”we can save those hard sparring before a fight.” Haha 😆 haha 😂! Funny joke. Oh, you’re serious. You probably haven’t considered how dirty just boxing 🥊 is with the coaches uses beginners to get beaten up by their more experienced boxer they train. That so called hall of fame trainer like Emmanuel Stewart are clowns 🤡 who have virtually no defensive skills. They allow gym wars and their boxers get hurt. Look up Gerald McClellan. Many say he was hurt before his tragic fight against Nigel Benn. He was blinking too much in sparring before his tragic fight against Nigel Benn.

[@Ie4s]

Proving that hes right?