STOP SPARRING Before It's Too Late!

[@Tony_Jeffries]

Do you spar? Do you do Hard or Light Sparring? Let me know in the comments 👇 Watch Next: 4 Boxing Training Methods You MUST do to Level Up! kzbin.info/www/bejne/rGaydKurhrWsia8

[@DannishPlaysReturns]

Hard Spar to proof Strength

[@fenrir3164]

For my gym, we usually light spar to focus technique and such. Everyone is so good at supporting each other, helping iron out mistakes and improving each other. Now there are times when people lose control or get frustrated during sparring, maybe ego and pride can get in the way, but we’re all brothers at the end of the day.

[@wecanwatersports4151]

STOP CALLING FIGHTING SPARRING. 🫡

[@Jenjak]

My coach tends to encourage hard sparring. He says he doesn't, he says you should put volume but no power... but when when we actually spar he will push us to go harder especially when preparing for competition. Sometimes it's good but I get tired of this, some days I'd just take some light technical sparring which we barely ever do...

[@joepoppa526]

I teach a fitness boxing class but it does focus on improving technique and helping people improve at the technical aspects. We have some younger folks moving up to sparring gyms for Golden Gloves. Might as well learn properly while working out right? We do some controlled/light body sparring in the class (with me, or if I trust both parties, I pair them up). I'll also put my headgear on and defend myself & work light to the body... keep my fists and arms loose and pull everything. The drill will depend on the ability of the other person, and we adjust to keep it safe. This forces people to correct bad habits and use footwork and feints, plus adds excitement.

[@farnhamclose11]

I am doing Muay Thai and K-1. At sparring sessions we go about 70% of power for leg kicks( for conditioning) 50% body shots and just touching the head if any. And at the end of the training everyone is happy.

[@thepyroguy624]

Thats the perfect way, I strife for that too but some guys in the gym go hard out of nowhere, I guess stay away from them

[@herrschniedler4207]

thats how its done

[@mofozi]

And K-1 ?

[@fredink5536]

@@thepyroguy624 happened to me, some dickhead with glasses on in sparring (so i couldn't hit his face) threw a spinning hook kick as the first shot of the round, you have to be direct with them, i told him i'm gonna kick the shit out of him if he did that again

[@HappyHealthyKarate-Do]

Same as us in kyokushin. Unspoken rule is to speak up if it's too much. Nobody is trying to kill anyone.

[@CrimeBeanus]

I never got in the ring, but somehow every gym I went to I made it into the pro fighters sparring group. Sparred HARD for years multiple times a week with top nationals and even UFC guys from my country. It taught me so much, and really gave me a lot of skills and confidence. Nowadays, years past my prime, I can't breathe through my nose, have vertigo and constant tinnitus, along with many joint and back injuries from years of impact damage. I never even fought 😂 Honestly, I'm not sure any of it was worth it... the body injuries are whatever, pain is pain, but the head stuff....if I could take it all back I probably would. If you are a young guy/gal, please remember to take care of your body and especially your head. Once you get past your bulletproof prime and you start to feel mortality, you have children, you let your emotions soften, etc. you may come to regret subjecting your body to abuse in the name of being perceived as "tough" for a fleeting moment in your life.

[@NEUQUlNO]

Yo tengo todo eso sin haber entrenado nunca. A veces hay cosas ligadas a la edad lamentablemente.

[@CrimeBeanus]

@@NEUQUlNO Yeah very true. Father time beats us all down. For me, all my stuff is directly linked to incidents during training. I'm currently late 30's, so I am anticipating being in a lot of pain when I get into my later years 😂🤞

[@NEUQUlNO]

@@CrimeBeanus Estoy de acuerdo.

[@addyy78692]

On point 💯

[@Luna-mo4bp]

Nah you DID fight, sparring hard is basically a organized fight but not actually organized. It's savage and improper training. It's hard to even consider it training

[@kmlgraph]

Tony not afraid to call out boxing coaches on bad sparring practices. This is one reason why Coach Tony is the best boxing channel on KZbin.

[@billycatch4088]

I was doing boxing over 15 years.. Tony is very good coach., real deal on yt beacuse on KZbin you have lot of bullshiting boxing coaches

[@EkayLaive]

Yep

[@Myworldmymind908]

💯

[@brandtjustsayin]

As a 46 year old who started kickboxing a year ago, it's taken me a while to figure this out. Now I talk through the game plan with my sparring partners BEFORE the round begins; "let's keep it light, I'm working on XYZ what are you working on, light head taps but let's stick mostly to body..." Taking this approach has totally improved my sparring sessions, my skill sets in the ring, and I'm feeling much better afterwards. Every now and them I'll have to remind a couple partners to lighten up or vice-versa apologize for a harder than intended hit and back off, but for the most part I really enjoy sparring even more when I don't go home completely broken, sore, and w/fractured dojo relationships.

[@irprocess]

I try to ask to go light on the head every time. Problem is I really enjoy sparring (not going to have real fights, I'm 50), but sometimes I get punched too hard in the head, and this makes me question if its worth

[@HappyHealthyKarate-Do]

Kyokushin practitioner here. We never punch to the head but we do bare knuckle full contact to the body. Kicks to the head are allowed but they're pulled or aimed at the shoulder in regular training. Unspoken rule in kyokushin is to speak up if it's too intense for you or only go as hard as your partner. Osu.

[@dr.zainaldeen1350]

Would you mind me asking why did you start in this sport ? Do you have any previous experience in combat sports ? And do you plan to compete ?

[@brandtjustsayin]

@dr.zainaldeen1350 no problem. Thanks for asking. My only previous experience in combat sports was a LITTLE wrestling way back in high school, a taste of judo in the military, and football (if that could be called a combat sport). I had a couple of major motivations along with a host of minor and less obvious attractions to the sport of kickboxing. 1st and most important, I was 45 years old, 5'9", 275 lbs, w/high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and a LONG family history of heart disease & diabetes. My father had passed away about 6 months prior from complications related to heart disease and diabetes (not a pretty or graceful way to go or to see my father & childhood hero leave this world). I did NOT want to follow the family tradition. I decided I really needed to do something to improve my odds and be there for my kids and (someday) grandkids. 2nd, I wanted to add something to my toolbelt/arsenal/defensive strategy other than just firearms. There were so many places (even here in TX) where I could not carry my firearm. I needed something else when that was not an option or reasonable response. So, through a mutual child's activity acquaintance (my daughter & the sensei's daughter are in dance together) & a perfectly aligned set of Devine circumstances, I met and became friends with the owner of a local dojo which taught kickboxing, taekwondo, & karate. Long story short, I was invited, I tried kickboxing, and absolutely fell in love with the sport, comradery, challenge &--if I'm being honest--violence of it. Afterall, where can you punch another dude in the face one minute and hug each other with a friendly smile 3 minutes later. I've competed in three amateur organized fights and currently have a 2 wins-1 loss record. Lol. I love it! Even in the losses, one wins when you try something new and challenging. The experience itself is a win w/every class, sparring session, and fight. I'm now 245 lbs, in better shape than I've been in in years, and people compliment me almost weekly on how much weight I've lost or how "trim" I'm looking. And did I mention I absolutely love the sport of it? It's like trying to complete a body-oriented rubics cube every week. I've still got a long way to go in skill and fitness, and I'm certainly no expert or rock-star or UFC level fighter, but the confidence, fitness, and friendship I've gained has been invaluable. Lord willing, I will absolutely compete again in the future should the opportunity present itself. My goals are to get down to a healthy, fit, strong 220lbs & sustain. So far, I've been blessed with only minor injuries or discomforts, nothing major. Finally, I realistically feel 100% better about my mental and physical health than I did a year ago. I hope that adequately answers your questions. If you want to, you can check out my KZbin channel and see some of my fights, my progress, and a few of my workouts. If you're thinking about trying it out, don't wait! My ONLY regret is that I thought about something like this for too long and should have actually done it 20 years ago. Like my friend always says, "You can either get busy livin' or you can get busy dyin', I choose to get busy livin'!"

[@thomasgomez635]

😂😂😂 the real oponent will not ask you what are you working on he will try to smash your face. Playing fighting and actual fight is a diffrent thing

[@kamehouseboxing7142]

The most honest thing he said and the straight truth is. Don’t spar if you’re not actually fighting for an actual record. Respect the sport.

[@giovannigiorgio831]

That’s how I felt for a long time. I’ve been going to an MMA gym for about five years now. I sparred a bit at the start, then took a long break. I figured if I’m not gonna fight, then I don’t need to spar. Now, I only really spar when I get that itch, which is only maybe once a month, and not hard sparring. And I do it mostly to help actual fighters prepare since they know I’ll be a good partner for them.

[@Matt55131]

I respect people who want to box at all levels. But even if you don't want to compete, but actually want to learn what real boxing is about, you absolutely should spar in my opinion. In a controlled fashion. Hitting the bag/pads/circuit training is great, but it's so far removed from actual fighting let alone sparring. That's fine but if people want to take it a little further without competing I don't see an issue with that.

[@BeyondPrideMF]

@@Matt55131 I agree. You only need the right people - then you can spar every week (especially muay thai, where you go hard to the legs and body and light to the head). Also for self defense it's important to spar regularly imho but the goal is to never have a headache. I'm turning 30 now and am now just straight up avoiding people who constantly spar too hard to the head, I don't want to be a fighter and have nothing to prove :)

[@Matt55131]

@@BeyondPrideMF Agreed, needs to be a good gym with good sparring partners. I've sparred from 18 to 38 but only fought competitively in my early 30s. Sparring is like learning everything again and if people are willing, in the correct environment I think it's a great thing.

[@itsoracle]

bs

[@9usuck0]

I don't hard spar. I actually had my first time of having someone throw bombs in a match with me and I did my best to just avoid hits and not lose my temper. But afterwards, I directly told the coach I am not sparring with him again till he understands power control. I am starting boxing in my late 30s and I can't take those kind of hits, just to learn how to box. I just wanna get better at boxing, not push myself into retirement. lol

[@j.r31]

Well when I first started boxing the same thing happened,but then my coach told me the guy I was sparring was in fact not going hard at all ,he was working with me, 😭 ,he was just was better than me.

[@Xal1991]

@@j.r31 that was probably a lie and a toxic coach

[@timothyjackson9790]

Hey Iv’e been in the same position where I’m forced to go purely defensive because they try to start throwing bombs. Afterwards yes tell the coach. But also, after a combo and during those rest seconds, call it out right then and there during the spar. It’s a spar. So you should be able to literally put your hands down and stop it at any time. So next time during a reset and you guys are out of distance put your hands down or keep your guard up, and literally tell them to tone down the power and that they know what they are throwing

[@9usuck0]

@j.r31 Yeah, I've sparred a dozen times so far, and that was the first time I got a headache. That includes sparring with the coach. I'd find a better gym if I were you. You don't need brain damage to get better. You only need to go hard if you plan on actually competing. I am not. I'm 38, I just want to get good so I can teach my nephews and nieces how to and it's very fun for me.

[@j.r31]

@@9usuck0 lol I'm 33 and I was in my 20s at the time,I don't spar at all anymore because I no longer compete ,I don't see the point of sparring at all if your not competing,tbh ,but I didn't get a headache ,only thing that was hurt was my pride 😂,if you getting headaches from 18 oz gloves and full head gear,and your sparring dozen of times like you said then yikes ,those are pillows bro.

[@NtodaV]

These guys aren’t sparring they actually fighting all out

[@Tony_Jeffries]

Which is bad, they are not learning from that type of sparring, just hurting each other

[@byzantineroman2407]

A lot of people have no idea how to train... Same with weight lifting. You go to the gym and see people throwing weights around and "pushing through the pain." A few years later, they get surgeries to fix what they hurt.

[@brianpolston9713]

That's why I am always picky with whom I spar with. A lot of peeps have a chip on their shoulder. One time I was at the ymca and decided to hop in a tkd class just to get some sparring in. I ended sparing the instructor who had gear on and he could tell I was experienced. So as we went on he kept going harder and harder so returned the favor, and then he had the audacity to say that he's pulling his attacks. Lol Some people have fragile egos and if you're going to go that hard, might as well sign up to fight to atleast get paid.

[@albertosillywhips7281]

I've noticed that guys who try to kill each other in the gym (this applies to boxing, kickboxing, BJJ), usually aren't very good in terms of technique, timing, or strategy. In other words, they aren't very skillful. The purpose of training is to improve, no to win "the fight." And they get injured all the time.

[@byzantineroman2407]

@@brianpolston9713 True

[@TastelessSoftware]

Anyone getting into boxing should watch this video. I did a lot of hard sparring and hardly learned anything from it, but I got plenty of headaches. You'll learn more with light technical sparring and take far less damage.

[@gamma4053]

I want to ask you something. If I train constantly everyday on heavybag, skip rope, reflex bag , cardio, some weight lifting and train with a coach 1 on 1 (no head hitting). Will I able to defend myself against a regular guy?

[@jimbocrispy6908]

@@gamma4053 Against someone who hasn’t had any training whatsoever, probably. Against someone who has trained and sparred a lot, probably not.

[@TastelessSoftware]

@@gamma4053 Hard to say since I have never seen anyone take this route. It would be great if the coach works with you, but you'll need some light sparring with someone closer to your level I think. As Tony suggested in this video, you can target the shoulder instead of the head but I again it's not anything I've ever seen anyone do so I couldn't tell you what the results would be. Worst case you could do light sparring with soft hits to the head, just be careful it doesn't escalate. That said, if your objective is self defense outside of a boxing ring, boxing might not be your best choice. Boxing is one aspect of a real fight, not the whole thing. Muay Thai and some grappling might help you defend yourself better without relying on exclusively on punches to the head (hard leg kicks can stop an opponent).

[@Aires_pT]

I just had this conversation with my son and his friends. They went into our garage the other night grabbed my bag gloves and started wailing on each other at 3 am. They admitted that they went mostly to the body as they don’t want to hurt each other . I had to explain much of what you are talking about. These are good kids. That dont cause me any other trouble but that’s because they don’t realize the reality because of what they’ve seen on social media or entertainment. Great video I hope this reaches alot of martial arts gyms that have been combining styles in the name of self defense. Most of them make your average person, who needs help with diet and lifestyle, spar and gauge “toughness” with their sparring rather than using it to build on experience and technique. Most people never need to spar “hard” in a non competitive martial arts school.

[@thedroid6462]

Absolutely agree. Fast and light and indeed slow and light are far more instructive than hard and fast. There is nothing quite so instructive (and frustrating) when sparring slow and light and seeing a punch coming that lands cleanly and not being able even at that slow speed, to do anything about it... timing beats speed (and precision beats power, as I beleive Bruce Lee (or indeed McGregor) may have said!)

[@plane-crashes-aussie-stories]

Some great advice, Tony. I love all your clips. Not trying to be a smart arse but wanted to share something that I've only learned recently: gloves and headgear don't help with brain injury. They are great for cuts and contusions, but shaking the brain is about velocity and/or repetition, not the padding in the contact. I've also read that constant "tapping" to the head can be worse than, say, a knockout. It's rattling the brain continually. Here's one quote: "Boxing gloves and MMA gloves are effective at absorbing and dispersing the energy of impact, which causes local tissue damage, but we have no reason to believe any gloves reduce momentum transfer. In fact, thanks to the excellent hand protection gloves provide, fighters are able to punch with greater momentum than they would with bare knuckles, and they are able to attack hard targets like the head more often." Now, you can find studies that say anything, I know. But it seems like this is pretty well-established science so I'd encourage everybody to do their own research. I am a subscriber, Tony, and I recommend your vids to people. You have improved my boxing significantly and made me think about every little aspect of it. Thanks again and keep up the great work.

[@8limbsstrike]

You will always meet some idiot that is trying to knock you out during sparring

[@BenjaminButton6573]

Plenty f

[@blueflame3531]

Some people train for the wrong reasons.

[@jacksolarmusicmastering]

its not always on purpose though, i do alot of fitness and on my first day in thaibox they let me spar already but i obviously didnt knew how hard my punches were yet and i remember this one guy being pissed cause he said i hitted him too hard and he then hit me really hard back lol, looking back i dont think people should spar so fast, understand your own body, strength and reach first

[@8limbsstrike]

@@jacksolarmusicmastering i guess you are from 🇺🇸 (i might be wrong). In europe things look a bit differently - you can often spot psycho football fans who train martial arts to use it on stadium and think agression is the key. Btw i also train mma for years and for me it’s zero fun to be sadistic on someone who’s much less experienced than me.

[@CR-nz7qn]

@@jacksolarmusicmastering there is one single rule, hit as hard as you want to get hit

[@katana723]

Tony, you're absolutely spot on I'm "only" 30, but I grew up doing Tae Kwon Do and/or rugby every year/season since I was 5 up until I graduated college at 23. I've had some very serious injuries but I've always thought that I'm very lucky in that I don't think I've experienced being badly knocked out/knocked unconscious in either sport. I've been kicked in the face/head with medium strength quite a few times during my TKD/muay thai training and then playing rugby I've tackled and made countless tackles and rucks that probably jolted my brain around Unfortunately, despite my "luck" in not being knocked out so far; when I train muay thai/boxing nowadays and take even a light to moderate punch to the face I find myself being unable to play video games that evening as it becomes too overstimulating and staring at a computer screen for work becomes very hard for me to do At this point I explicitly do "no head" contact sparring as part of aging includes getting expensive LASIK surgery to restore my vision as well. For all you younger fighters, please listen to your body and Coach Tony: boxing and martial arts is a wonderful discipline and sport but please be mindful of your developing brain, more likely than not you will end up using your brain to work to put food on the table, pay your bills, and support your family

[@broman23]

Thank you I will try to communicate with my sparring partner.

[@jeppepetersen776]

Great and important video. I started boxing in 2017, and each training for 2 years I would get destroyed by a bigger and more experienced boxer. I learned nothing. My first boxing-fight I was knocked out in 30 secs from a weak blow, because my coach had me sit in a sauna for an hour only hours before the fight, in order to make 81 kgs. My “career” could have been so much better, but unfortunately there are so many oldschool Meat-head coaches out there…

[@Mutex50]

How many hours did you have to rehydrate and how many pounds did you lose?

[@jeppepetersen776]

@@Mutex50 I had 1,5-2 hours and I had to lose almost 2 kgs

[@Nar_Dolk]

I heard about a lot of bad practices and dumb coaches but sitting in a sauna for an hour before a fight is the most retarded thing i have ever heard about. Your coach should be banned from competitions permanently.

[@Ranker862]

Wow 30 seconds although shout out to you for stepping in the ring I want to box as well I’m 17 rn with no real experience other then sparring friends what was your record sir

[@kainnine4494]

Damn bro they got you cooked fr

[@_penguin_9946]

2:28 this is 100 percent facts hard sparring has been glorified so much. I try to spar like 50 percent but that first clip of the guy getting rabbit punched over and over again really had me thinking “who the hell runs that gym”.

[@TheJarlath9]

i dont even go 50 we go 30 or less and focus on speed and defense and never go to the head only light taps

[@praveshmaharaj4387]

even 50 is too much. sparring is meant for drilling techniques , defense and skills.

[@stronkashell9152]

A great method that my sparring partners and I use is to keep our hands open/loose. We don't clench the fist. You will be very surprised at how much power that takes out of the shots. It still allows you to throw with speed and intent, but the impact is very tolerable. We also do not wrap our hands when sparring, as it allows for more room in the gloves and makes it much less solid.

[@CodyMiller-e2s]

Those are facts my dude. I boxed from age 15-27, and did everything wrong . Hard sparring with 10 oz gloves at the end of the training session and nose bleeds and black eyes were common. Now at 36 I still have occasional memory and coordination issues even 9 years after hanging up the gloves. Every boxing and mma coach should see this . Thanks for the information

[@LeadLeftLeon]

10 oz gloves?!

[@johngerard3218]

Many years ago when I visited Angelo Dundee's gym in Miami he carefully watched his fighters spar and anytime things got a little too heated he would yell out "hey guys, take it easy, this is NOT a real fight". He was totally opposed to Philadelphia gym wars which he thought burned a fighter out early. When Ali was asked why he took it so easy on his sparring partners he said "why beat up the hired help?". Dundee was also not much into running, feeling that three miles a day was enough, he was also totally opposed to weight training.

[@VCthaGOATdunker]

Did Dundee even do anything with his fighters?

[@AndrewG975]

@@VCthaGOATdunker He was known as a bit more of an 'in fight' strategy and motivation coach, as opposed to an in camp technical coach. A bit like the difference between Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola.

[@denissssss8579]

Dundee was a great coach for Ali man. But quite honestly Ali never listened to him anyways. He was always his own coach.

[@Myworldmymind908]

Excellent comment

[@Myworldmymind908]

Yea he made legends

[@junkim2789]

I cant stress enough , cant appreciate enough what you are doing for boxing communities. How long have people igonred this obivous problem? How long has it been silenced? How many beginners went through all the damage before they actually learned the truth behind the curtain? And finally, there's someone truly advocating for us. And that is you, Tony. Can't thank you enough really

[@robertsmith6068]

brilliant and long overdue to tell people. I remember having a bad headache after a golden gloves fight. I lost the fight. Opponent was older and way more experienced. no one ever said anything about any of this during training either.

[@hasbo]

This should be compulsory viewing for all boxing coaches and new boxers. You absolutely nailed it mate. So much knowledge and experience. Please everyone share this - even if it saves just one person from devastating long term conditions, it's more than worth it.

[@gamma4053]

I want to ask you something. If I train constantly everyday on heavybag, skip rope, reflex bag , cardio, some weight lifting and train with a coach 1 on 1 (no head hitting). Will I able to defend myself against a regular guy?

[@geovannif5526]

@@gamma4053If u are talking about street fightes, no martial art will help u, specially boxing. In real life, pp will use anything they have as weapons and probably u will have to deal with more than 1 guy. The smartest thing u can do is avoid fighting. If u need to, u should search for another martial art.

[@Hello-gf2og]

Im happy you make this video because nobody else does really. Especially not distinguished fighters. Nobody gets educated on this before you sign up for sparring class.

[@egregiousblunder5395]

Tony, I was forced by doctors several years ago to stop full contact sparring. I understood that over the years that I was taking on some injuries that could not be seen and also a partially detached retina after a fight added into that as well. I've been to a few gyms that let fellas go 100% with gear on, which in my eyes is silly and just puts stress on the fighters.

[@outlander234]

They think the head gear helps when in fact it doesnt very much. Your brain still gets rattled. In fact going bare knuckles does less brain damage than hard head gear sparring.

[@egregiousblunder5395]

@@outlander234 I can agree with this. We regularly had fellas get partially KO'd with head gear on when going 100% to solve a beef between one another. In reality it would have been better to just tape up the hands and have a bare knuckle bout to settler their differences. Even getting hit at 50% with head gear on was starting to make me have dizzy spells once in a while after sparring.

[@outlander234]

@@egregiousblunder5395 Definately true. You just cant throw or follow through a punch fully without gloves. You also need great precision and land clean. While with gloves on(also tapped up underneath) you can throw the caution to the wind and throw as hard as you want without worry for breaking your hand or your hand buckling. I cant believe there are so many people still in this day and age not knowing this... As always there is massive conflict of interest with gym owners who would like to keep this underwraps(no pun intended).

[@alaskatoburningmen4549]

Hey, are you near-sighted/myopic?They say retina tears/detachments happen easier to myopic people.Even moreso at advanced age.Was it in regular boxing, did you wear head-gear in the fight? I tore my retina in Muay Thai sparriing from a partially blocked round-kick to the head, (like Michael Bisping).

[@testowykana1763]

​​@@alaskatoburningmen4549 just a week ago I went to get my eyes checked. I'm myopic. The eye doctor said, that she had few mma fighters/boxers in her office in last few months who had eye trauma, at least one of them went blind in one eye. None of them was myopic if I recall correctly.

[@dmoney7536]

I like to train, hit the bag, hit mitts. Light play spar with friends, but i never engage with anyone who wants to touch my head or wants me to touch their head. Even light sparring shots will cause brain damage and we all know it is really easy for light shots to escalate into harder shots. My background is hi level american football and many of my former teammates are dead or in jail due to brain damage from football. I really appreciate you encouraging your viewers to protect their heads as much as possible. Nothing in this life is as important as a healthy intelligent brain.

[@shotomobile9272]

Leave your ego behind was the best line, not even help us in the boxing will help us in life too Coach 🙂

[@jasonwang7028]

Love that you’re venturing out and learning BJJ!!

[@dnice374]

Tony - I'm too old to train using your tips, but knowledge is power. Today, I learned that I'll stay out of a boxing ring lol. Thank you for the honesty and simple manner in which you provide feedback!

[@JonathanDavies-i8j]

This is really good information I grew up boxing just returning for charity match in cardiff for white collar event and I grew up every training session was stretch run bags then spar! I always even as kid thought why are we not wearing headgear while sparring and why are we doing it last. At 39 getting back in the ring these tips are fantastic for protecting myself getting back in. Appreciate the information for free.

[@ZFosterZ]

When I started boxing at 21. I was a light-welter to Welter on my heaviest days. And I was sparring middleweights to Heavyweights on regular. It was nearly always, Open Sparring sessions. Back then, i wasn’t all that that polished and hadn’t been shown and drilled into me real boxing techniques like footwork, defence and the jab. I was seen as keen and able bodied, so put into sparring. I was more a fighter than a boxer, so walked forward, square stance with no head movement. Ha, it was the sparring that did the damage far more than any fight ever did. Far more damage. The Fights were easy by comparison. Having 6 rounds sparring, heavy open rounds twice a week, took a lot out of you. A lot of the guys I sparred were experienced, so enjoyed my come forward style as they could tee off on you. Usually too they would take liberties and say, “Oh keep it light. Light sparring, yeah,” then they would hammer in hard shots while I’m just trying to work on technique and respecting the “ light sparring” they said they would do. I used to come home with lumps on my head and just feeling foggy. Ha, that was stupid as well. We would do sparring at the end of an hour session. I’d be on the bags after doing the warm up and pads and training, then asked to do sparring. Something I noticed was the experienced guys would take a rest after the session, meanwhile I was straight onto the bags. Then they would ask you for a spar. Again, another dirty in club tactic to use you as a punchbag while you’re tired and they had rested. This was “old school” way of training. Eventually they only did sparring right after the warm up, and it was a game changer. Now you weren’t tired and they hadn’t rested, so you could meet the so called experience boxers on an even playing field and I realised: they werent even that good, and would struggle to deal with me when I was fresh and fit. Nonsense way to learn boxing.

[@BlackDagestani]

A lot of troubled scumbags in boxing

[@PREVENÇÃODAVIOLÊNCIADOMÉSTICA]

I agree 100%. I trained Boxing. I watched a lot of Boxing fights. Health is the most important thing. I have a 22years old girl in work that trains kickboxing. I said to her many times: light sparring. She wants to compete but she´s recovering from an injury. I always say to her: "only light sparring."

[@prokofievchambers8603]

It’s too late for me now, but I wish I had heard about this approach 20 years ago. Brilliant.

[@hakunamatata-w3873]

how come it is too late?

[@bluecat6902]

Why is it too late man?

[@Tobi21089]

​@@bluecat6902 because you cant undo brain damage if you have cte there is no cure

[@Jacobi.advocacia]

Thank you for another video to open our minds. I myself just finished my membership at the boxing gym (it's the only one in the city) and started training alone in my garage again, precisely because in the last sparring session the boxing coach used a 10oz boxing glove while I used a 16oz one. . The agreement was just light touches, but he ended up being very aggressive. So much so that I came home with the entire left side of my face swollen and the next morning I could barely chew my food. (I recorded the entire sparring) And I noticed that when he managed to knock me down with a blow to the liver, he looked at the audience of new students with an air of "I'm the guy". This made me reflect a lot on the place I was training and I decided to leave there and train on my own. Because I don't want to compete, I just want to improve myself even more in the noble art that I've been training for 2 years. I believe I made the right choice.

[@savagesteve4133]

Honestly this is what is so hard about finding safe gyms to train at. I did hard sparring for about 6 years and definitely lost some brain cells and have became a bit slower in my reactions. I haven’t sparred in around 3-4 years and I’ve been very thankful.

[@gamma4053]

I want to ask you something. If I train constantly everyday on heavybag, skip rope, reflex bag , cardio, some weight lifting and train with a coach 1 on 1 (no head hitting). Will I able to defend myself against a regular guy?

[@roardinoson7]

@@gamma4053 well you'll be much more fit than the average guy.. and probably know how to punch without injuring yourself. But you wouldn't be able to hold your own against a fighter.. depends what your priorities are.

[@vpower3187]

@@roardinoson7 Bruce Lee would probably kick the crap out of most fighters and he didn't compete or spar much, your training would have to be pretty extreme though. Can you do 1 or 2 finger pushups, or send someone flying with a 1 inch punch? Didn't think so lol.

[@roardinoson7]

@@vpower3187 are you being sarcastic lol.. bruce lee wouldn't last a round with any pro boxer/kickboxer/mma fighter... etc. And he admitted as much himself

[@vpower3187]

@@roardinoson7 McGregor said Lee would become champ relatively quick in the UFC if he decided to train and adjust for it. He punched twice as fast as the average boxer. To be that quick and not even be a pro is just astounding. No sarcasm here, depends who you ask i guess as we can only speculate.

[@ViDaVerastegui]

5:42 Hi Tony, I'm a Mexican Doctor, and a Boxing fan and I fully agree with you in this one. Dehydration is deadly, there is no reason to spar or fight dehydrated, that's the worst thing for your brain and your health in general. Great video man! 🇲🇽💪🏻

[@firebellyK]

Great advice. I was hit in the head with a stick while practicing Filipino Martial arts in 2009. Several days later, I suffered a stroke. The doctor said it was because of a blood clot that passed through my brain due to the strike. He said I had a 75 percent chance of having another stroke. Changed my training forever.

[@johnnyc0811]

The heck u fighting with sticks forv

[@DipsAndPushups]

If you have a blood clot that's a danger waiting to happen, if not now because of that strike then at some other time.

[@chrisjackson9626]

Great info on here Tony. When I sparred in the late 80's and 90's a lot of time it was too heavy and you end up in survival mode, not learning anything, with your brain buzzing afterwards. Luckily as time went on I ended up with better trainers and became more confident setting the terms around the session. Learning and trying stuff out in a safe, but challenging environment is the whole point of sparring.

[@jameslyons6655]

I had two Blue Collar Boxing matches ( at 57 and 58 years old) after I had a heart attack when I was 56 and took up boxing. I had trained many different martial arts in the past and have done more than my fair share of hard sparring. I realized that I’m too old for that and that at the end of the day the juice is not worth the squeeze. I trained for both fights without sparring and still managed two wins against men decades younger. Be safe guys, protect your brains.

[@SeanLives]

2 days into learning Muay Thai and its never been more apparent to me how crucial physical fitness is to even complete a training session, let alone fight

[@MishaElRusito]

I actually like the way Kick boxers or Muay Thai fighters spar. Most of the videos I've seen - they do light sparring. I'm guessing cuz they know a powerful kick or elbow could really hurt your opponent.

[@BWater-yq3jx]

They make a living from fighting, so can't afford to be damaged before a match. On the other hand, they fight competitively all the time, so you could say they get their 'hard sparring' there.

[@aminyakunda]

@@BWater-yq3jx EXACTLY. They fight so often that they can't beat the snot out of each other during training. Also - guys like Tony Ferguson, Donald Cerrone and Chuck Liddell would probably attest to the fact that you can lose your chin by getting repeatedly KO'd.

[@gerardorubio317]

That's why you are the champion for advising that kind of thing, nobody says, not in the field of boxing, gracias por el consejo.

[@B..B.]

I did light sparring for years. I like it, is great for testing and evolving some techniques. Hard sparring sometimes is great, as fighter we need to have a bit of understanding about how it feels before going into a full fight.

[@emilstorgaard9642]

Tony, you're a hero, mate. Safety over everything

[@MahmoudAlbaz-ux5kq]

Tony you changed my life I’ve never liked boxing more, thank you.

[@happymonster9098]

Tony this video is important for the whole fighting community. There are so many people who dismiss CTE and they think that they are so tough for destroying their hears everyday in the gym, we need more pros telling the truth about this so we stop having so many fighters going braindead after a career of bad practices.

[@johnspt9017]

I love the video Tony a lot of this guys are using the ring as a street fight/brawling. I am a big fan of the Cuban sparring style or the Union Soviet is all about tagging & moving creating angles!

[@dusii7640]

Great Video! in my MMA Club we have Fight simulator, its once every month and we have people playing refs, and you pick a member of the club to be your coach for the match. We do this to get the feeling of being in a real match, the only change is that the coaches are really observing the head shots, if you put to much power into the head shots they will stop the match. so like 70% power on the body, but only about 10-15% power into the head shots. this really helps us stay in that "killer" mode, while still protecting our members. love from denmark

[@Syr3]

I started boxing lessons last March. I've been asking the coach to have light sparring sessions with my colleagues, but he firmly advocates for heavy sparring only, and I always disagreed with his methods. It is good to see champions spreading the word about light sparring. Maybe in the future my teacher will finally concede, because I'm not sparring at all lately, because of his views. Once I asked him how to train to improve my defense, and all he said was "Get in the ring and learn it the hard way". I think he is ignorant, but well... that is the only place I know where I can train for free...

[@CurtisLeeBarderson7]

God bless ya, Tony, for being straight up about this. I love boxing but the simple truth is the brain is a delicate thing and not built to take punishment. May you remain in good health and live long,

[@HornetLarry]

The trend of technique-based light sparring has hit the martial arts scene like a tsunami recently. Literally everybody I listen to has jumped into this bandwagon. I gotta say, this is refreshing. Hopefully, more and more gyms start taking on this approach.

[@samthestoryman3757]

I’m fucked from years of constant hard sparing. I was one of the top boxers in country and one day my brain said no more. There was no slight issues, one day I was fine and the next I wasn’t. I have issues every day because of it but I stay positive and am still mostly 80 percent a normal functional person but Jez that 20 percent is hard.

[@gamma4053]

Bro you have S Tier(cooked) CTE I’m afraid

[@gamma4053]

You should see a doctor IMMEDIATELY

[@samthestoryman3757]

@@gamma4053 thanks, I’ve seen many doctors and specialist over the past 4 years, thankfully I’m slowly getting better, I can work up to 10 hours a week safety but more then that I can’t handle. Apart from that I’m pretty normal, I’m quite healthy and I don’t drink. I’ve got a few more years left in me

[@garethhunt8191]

What are your symptoms?

[@samthestoryman3757]

@@garethhunt8191 migraines, blurry vision but the most frustrating and hard to deal with problem is brain fatigue. I can do almost anything but the more concentration the shorter I last. 10 minutes to 90 minutes and after I’m exhausted I’m useless, in bed barely able to think or do anything. After a good sleep I’m alright for a bit then I crash again.

[@grogdizzy5814]

I keep wanting to hit the like button every minute on this video. Thank you Tony. Your videos are a treasure trove of knowledge and motivation.

[@pumacaine]

Jesse Enkamp has an amazing video on sparring being dead I really recommend. He talks about lions learn to kill by playing in the pride, and that it's harder to learn anything in flight or fight mode, and that you learn better when fun is involved

[@WaldemarStubert-p2o]

Thanks Tony for this video! I Hope some guys will overthink their Kind of sparring and do it more reasonable. The goal of sparring ist not to hurt each other, but to learn and improve! So important. Much Love from Germany!

[@bennyb.1742]

After a gnarly TBI from a motorcycle crash, I had to make all the changes you mention and probably came out the other side healthier than ever for it. It's tough being nearly 40 now I having a lifetime of hits to the head from motorsports and skateboarding seemingly catching up to me, but I hold on to some hope by doing everything I can and following some really interesting research that might lead to a major shift in treatment for this stuff.

[@squeezewilliams3003]

I appreciate you so much for pushing on!

[@gh05]

In what way is it catching up with you and what research is there?

[@MrTooEarnestOnline]

This is an incredible video that so important. Changing sparring culture is one of the biggest things that will help with the overall skill development of the entire sport. People can afford more sparring round when they do it properly

[@Londonbutcher1]

thank you Tony,subscribed.

[@Tony_Jeffries]

Appreciate it mate 🙏🏻

[@wazmeister3151]

Absolute spot on advice. Too many times, witness individuals battering each other... only to learn nothing and walk away with damage. Ridiculous! Love the whole arm and body sparring... good stuff. Thanks

[@Carpe-Diem-gg1hg]

I cant wait on the shoulder body sparring correctly video.

[@gesto70]

at my gym i know who to spar and who not to spar. most of the experienced guys have a good balance and can assess your skill level and adapt. Sometimes your punches are harder than you think.

[@patmanpatmanson]

I love my Muay Thai training. Started with 35 an now im 43. I stopped sparring years ago because it is not worth it. Not at all! In Muay Thai you can be strong and kicked to the body and people might think that you can only get Punch drunk by punches on the face but it is not the case. Body kicks and falling hurts the brain as well. One time I had to drink a Guinness after training because I felt so awkward because of punches. Thanks mate! Thanks for this very important topic!! 🙏 I know that alcohol is bad, thats my point

[@fenrir3164]

Now I love sparring, I’m always down to spar. I get a thrill out of it and it helps me get a feel for different styles and techniques but I definitely see your point. Besides perhaps I’m moving way too fast when I haven’t even fully mastered the basics yet. It’s probably best to slow it down. Thanks Tony!

[@itsyagirlbrenda4751]

I look up to you Tony! Ever since I started watching you❤️❤️

[@2J39]

I wanna thank you for putting this out. People need to have more awareness when it comes to this type of thing I’ve been having my guys do a lot of drills because of injuries I suffered from as a result of boxing and competitive martial arts.

[@kalanahansajith5534]

fun fact UFC champ Max Holloway doesn't spar at all. And he has the best chin in UFC. man has zero knockdowns On the other hand UFC champ Sean Strickland hard spars all the time, But statistically he has the best striking defense in UFC, Its 65%

[@ADU17]

He also statistically gets hit the least in sparring

[@BWater-yq3jx]

And Sean actually likes pain.

[@PooFace2030]

I feel bad for Justin Gaethje tho.

[@putinski666]

​@@PooFace2030All out brawlers like Gaethje are prime candidates for cte. I hope he takes some real time off after max. Nobody wants to see him get Fergusoned

[@Serdar.Iskanderov]

Yes, but Holloway did spar hard and also a lot when he was younger. He mention this in Joe Rogan podcast. It was only recently that he stop sparring.

[@natebardwell]

We have a general rule - hard to the body, soft to the head. It actually works out really well because it helps promote body conditioning and also setting up better instead of just head hunting. Look at most of these hard sparring sessions, it's always just headhunting. That's not a good strategy if you want to get any further than casual sparring anyways. ^I typed before you actually started to discuss it in the video. Which I guess helps reinforce this point further! I prefer it!

[@Grandpa_Boxer]

As a "Master's amateur boxer," I've had two stress test (exercise EKG) which is required after age 45. Both cardiologists administering my tests warned me about brain damage and even death.

[@dabsafe]

I’m still sparring at 66. My club runs spar sessions once per week and I always warn my sparring partner to go easy and tell them my age. If they do get carried away I tell them to lighten up or I will walk away. Our coach will usually ask those sparring what they’re going to work on or will tell us what to work on. I have seen one of our coaches stop the session when a rookie gets carried away. 😎🇨🇦🥊

[@zixter4756]

​@@dabsafe As they should. There is no room in the gym for bullies. Good luck in future sparing sessions!

[@Tree_Surgeon87]

Hi mate where are you based UK?

[@ramblingimbecile2295]

​@@dabsafeabsolutely. It should be clear from the start of the session that there should be no big head shots. Nobody benefits from it. Not the boxer getting rocked around nor the boxer dishing it out.

[@bryanchrisjoseph5526]

I'm so glad a real professional is directly addressing this! I always say this but most disagree smh

[@sixevensage7004]

Thank you for bringing this topic to the light

[@Chris-xy8lu]

I’m 60. Like to think my fighting days are over? But I watch to hear you talk….mate. What’a Accent. The high pitch is hilarious. (I’m from NYC)

[@jonathanlivingstonseagull3378]

I underwent training at a gym where sparring sessions were intense battles. Subsequently, I transitioned to a different gym where I was approached with the question of whether I would be interested in competing, I agreed, I emerged as the state champion and secured a silver medal in the national championships. I achieved all of this without engaging in any sparring whatsoever. Absolutely none.

[@christophergallimore5529]

So if you didn't spar, how did you get better

[@jonathanlivingstonseagull3378]

@@christophergallimore5529 I hold the belief that sparring does not necessarily lead to improvement. This viewpoint is solely based on my personal opinion. However, I do advocate for intense sparring during the initial phase of training, lasting approximately three months, in conjunction with fundamental training. The purpose of this is to familiarize oneself with the challenges that may arise during a competition. Subsequently, all sparring activities should be discontinued. The remaining focus of your training should be on attaining optimal physical fitness and progressing towards more advanced techniques. Once you have gained a comprehensive understanding of the demands inside the ring, coupled with being in excellent shape and having acquired the necessary skills, you will be fully prepard.

[@tylermead8589]

Answer the question please! I have to know lol

[@somebodyperson1741]

Did you do partner drilling?

[@jonathanlivingstonseagull3378]

@@somebodyperson1741 We never did partner drills. Our training mainly consisted of pads, bags, skipping, speed ball, and some exercises, along with road work. That was the extent of it. There was just one other competitive fighter at the gym, who happened to be the trainer's brother. He had fought 180 times and was nearing the end of his career, so I think he was quite done with sparring, which is probably why it wasn't part of our training routine.

[@bonjovi1612]

Too right. I trained at a local gym for a few years but felt I was being used. I’m 5’ 8” at 82 kg and was 53 to boot. I noticed that the boss would put me in with some big boys, longer reach and much heavier to spar. Really put me off, but I noticed it was a bit of a cliche that would basically bully people. I had enough and moved on. A few years later I met a guy who had trained there. He was pretty big himself, trained hard and helped out. His face had been crushed! I asked him and he said he’d been sparring with a giant and the guy just smashed him in the cheekbone. He needed reconstructive surgery and never went back. Some gyms are just hang outs for bullies.

[@crisstoff89]

Hard sparring often comes with adrenaline and instincts take over rather then being calm and learning "oh that was good" , "that didnt work" , "lets try something else"

[@thebunker6350]

Or you in the south side of town if you catch my drift

[@batlin]

This is absolute pure gold advice, and stuff I really needed to hear as an old beginner. My mate got me into a bit of casual boxing and it's been fun, but both of us have taken some hits to the head. Definitely going to try the shoulders and body sparring, and when we're doing proper sparring I'll be keeping it light and fast rather than trying to "win". Fantastic video.

[@MatadorM9]

Hi Tony Jeffries, I hope I'm lucky enough you read this. You said that the fights and sparing could cause long term effects. How many fights do you think will be significant to cause this? I was bullied a lot when I was a kid. As a result I got in several fights just because when they escalated bulling to actually punching and kicking me, I started hitting back. I remember a particular one where my face got so numbed from the punches I didn't even felt them anymore and I returned as many punches as I could. Eventually I started training martial arts and funny enough once I got the skills and the confidence to defend myself, I stoped being targeted by bullies so I didn't get in more fights. I have done some light kickboxing sparing lately though so I'm hopping it's safe. Thanks for your video and the insights.

[@ss1566]

Hard sparring at the end of a training session was the story of my life... It scared the shit out of me every time. And no, it did not make me better. Thanks for these tips!

[@LSgaming201]

@8:08 Holy shit, Tony's not pulling any punches today.

[@kekiw2089]

Great advice. Take care of your head, no ego sparring, staying light, fast and technical is the way

[@azizsahnoun7344]

Thanks a lot very useful 🙏🥊

[@Tony_Jeffries]

Glad it was helpful!

[@IanBusinge]

Thank you so much for this, Mr. Jeffries. This important topic is often taken for granted. Thank you for calling it out.

[@logosrising865]

excellent, excellent video! this is still not understood in a lot of gyms. For me sparring was always technical so I could try different things and scenarios on the fly but a lot of people just want to go hard. you don't learn much from that. and the conditioning can be done in other ways with less risk of damage. good to see this being talked about. thanks Tony!

[@razdaralam317]

i remeber first day i went in the gym the guy tried to knock me out, 6 months down line i made that same guy cry. i never try to hurt any1 in sparring unless they try to hurt me.

[@honigdachs.]

In recent years I had a really thorough change of perspective when it comes to sparring. You're not getting any younger and you really start to question and review your habits and what you're doing with your health and body. The typical sparring that so many people are used to really isn't justifiable or sustainable if you look at it with a reasonable mindset. I've adopted a karate style approach to sparring. Hard to the body and legs, only light touch to the head, always controlled. No swinging and winging, no rushing and biting down and just throwing leather - total focus on precision, technique and footwork. It's not only healthier in the long run, but you actually learn a lot more.

[@treasurethetime2463]

That's why i love my sport wrestling. I've found the culture is different from every other sport. We actually enjoy teaching and learning. Wrestlers want the challenge. We want our opponents at their best to push us to get better. Wrestlers don't wait until a guy is older or injured to want to wrestle him.

[@Leon12V]

Before any sparring session I talk to my partner to play light so we can try few things and learn from our mistakes. There is no prize so there is no reason to kill each other.

[@nethvirusenanayake4161]

More helpful my sir❤

[@Tony_Jeffries]

Thanks ma man, just let me know here in the comments if you have any questions

[@mjj6531]

Someone sponsor an Ad for Tony’s wife channel because Tony sped through her Ad/ shoutout. It’s all love, big up for this video great work.

[@Henrickson5182]

I heard Carl Froch fought in front of 80k at Wembley.

[@mauriceberrenstein9309]

Stays funny😂

[@topyoular]

U DA MAN! Great video on sparring. Loved it!

[@mattisvoodoo]

Thank you, Mr Jeffries. Your video confirms the concerns I've had in my own experience. Training Krav Maga a few years back I was put against a more experienced student for light contact boxing sparring (at the end of the class) without being taught any weaves or blocks. We were told to wear 16oz gloves, though my opponent/partner was allowed to wear 4oz MMA gloves. After a move with inopportune timing, he connected hard with my nose, breaking it and giving me a concussion. I then had to drive myself to the hospital with my concussion and was later told my nose would never be the same. I've also thought it a stupid method training Muay Thai in Thailand where they wear you down with a vicious exercise regimen before practising technique. Before the real training even begins, you're too exhausted to do the moves properly. Surely a poor way to drill technique and proper form.

[@nikkochristodoulidis1532]

Priceless. Million thanks Tony 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@tonycallaghan170]

Great advice and a really excellent resource for learning. Thanks again Tony

[@davekennedy6315]

You are such an inspiration in Boxing mate, a former Olympic medal winner that is giving massive love to the sport but more importantly the fighters themselves!

[@Myworldmymind908]

This is a video that literally needs to go viral

[@ireviewdopesht7216]

Love how you include counter arguments

[@ToeKnee-p9p]

I appreciate how you incorporated ways to take care of your brain health, very informative and helpful advice all around. Thank you!

[@BadgerWolf-19]

There is a snippet of Tony Jeffries in The Super Six Documentary when Carl Froch was doing sprints with the Amateur team...Tony Jeffries was a Monster during those days. What was impressive about Froch is he constantly fought difficult fights never any tune ups.

[@ChampionMindset]

Great video Tony, thanks for sharing👊 I used to spar hard but not anymore. Smartened up😎 I do tag boxing or slap boxing these days. No fists. No power. Just trying to hit without getting hit using hands only. Encourages experimentation and having fun. Nobody gets punished with a devastating blow when they’re making a mistake.

[@sloopycat1954]

That's a nice gesture to think of others wellbeing with no benefit to yourself whatsoever. Great video thankyou

[@lelelele1746]

beautiful! I showed this to my new-boxing friend. Hello from Moscow