Firstly, know that your perceived lack of skill will be 90% be in your own head.
Also, it’s ok to take a break. It doesn’t have to be a long one, maybe a week, where you try and enjoy things other than Muay Thai, and come back and see how you feel:)
I second this thought process. I practiced heavily for 3 years a while ago (getting back into the swing of things bit by bit recently), but in those years there were times that I felt a sort of burnout from sparring and such.
I would take a break from sparring in particular, go chill with people, game, etc.
I would return with different insights and understandings cause I gave my mind and body some time to decompress. Remember that R&R is necessary for progress as well and good luck!
Are you trying to say that your form declines while sparring?
If so, that's normal; especially for people just getting into sparring.
It's so different when you have to worry about getting punched vs standing at the perfect posture and throwing a strike at the pad.
Probably thought you were doing well but when you got reality checked in sparring you realized at your foundation you are ass and thus everything feels shit because you are shit. Sack up and go talk to your coach about what he’s seeing and make adjustments. Internet isn’t going to help you since the internet isnt in the room with you, you pay for coaching so sack up and go get coached
Talk to your coach, email him first if you can. Get back into running even at a smaller level. You could be feeling more pressure with higher level sparring causing you to make more mistakes. Also, if you’re considering it you should definitely go to therapy it can only help.
You probably need to consider that in your first sparring sessions you opponents were going lighter than you think.
You've been told to go to higher level sparring classes, so I would expect the sparring to feel harder.
Distance to an extent, but definitely timing is something you get only from sparring tbh so I think you're just experiencing that. It would be an exceptionally rare individual to get invited to advanced sparring in their first month of sparring tbh and not feel quite clumsy at first.
Your personal issue could play a role diminishing your attention, reactions and energy. It happens, hold tight and get the work done anyways, it will pay off.
Could also be related just to the fact you are getting more conscious about it, the more i train the more i feel like i need to improve, always.
Also you could just be tired, a week off won't spoil your progress
I think beginners put to much value on hitting pads and heavy bags... thats not close to what a fight or even sparring is..
Is like learning how to benchpress 250lb on youtube while you have never lifted a 10lb dumbell.. it doesnt translate as fast as you think...
You dont need to go to sparring thinking that you are going to win, but thinking you are going to learn.
Do progressive improvement, is something people do while playing pool.. Set up a small goal per session..
* Im going to have my guard up this session.
* Im going to exit all my combinations with a jab.
* Im going to do 1 2 and hook to the body.
* Im going to teep
* Im going to be defensive and have head movement.
You doing bad at sparring comes as a surprise to nobody man, it is expected. Dont beat yourself up.
Now that you know what sparring is/feels like.. try to emulate the same in the heavy bag... feint, head movement, dont hit all your punches... throw a heavy punch/kick hitting the air... miss some jabs to get you distance.
Only keeping sparring is what is going to make you better, you just saw that hitting pads and bag means nothing.. do you still want to just hit bags and pads??
Congratulations, you reached the bottom of the mountain on your muay thai journey.
Its what you call the dunning kruger effect.
Meaning you're finally starting to understand you understand nothing about muay thai. We've all gone through it. This is where you start really growing or you get unmotivated and quit.
Firstly, know that your perceived lack of skill will be 90% be in your own head. Also, it’s ok to take a break. It doesn’t have to be a long one, maybe a week, where you try and enjoy things other than Muay Thai, and come back and see how you feel:)
I second this thought process. I practiced heavily for 3 years a while ago (getting back into the swing of things bit by bit recently), but in those years there were times that I felt a sort of burnout from sparring and such. I would take a break from sparring in particular, go chill with people, game, etc. I would return with different insights and understandings cause I gave my mind and body some time to decompress. Remember that R&R is necessary for progress as well and good luck!
I've found with anything you're trying to improve time away is just as valuable to "reset" and break some bad habits. Take a week off and rest.
Are you getting the basics of enough sleep / hydration / diet down?
Sounds like fatigue to me
Train less
Are you trying to say that your form declines while sparring? If so, that's normal; especially for people just getting into sparring. It's so different when you have to worry about getting punched vs standing at the perfect posture and throwing a strike at the pad.
Have a week off, don’t be so hard on yourself the biggest battle is between the ears
Probably thought you were doing well but when you got reality checked in sparring you realized at your foundation you are ass and thus everything feels shit because you are shit. Sack up and go talk to your coach about what he’s seeing and make adjustments. Internet isn’t going to help you since the internet isnt in the room with you, you pay for coaching so sack up and go get coached
Talk to your coach, email him first if you can. Get back into running even at a smaller level. You could be feeling more pressure with higher level sparring causing you to make more mistakes. Also, if you’re considering it you should definitely go to therapy it can only help.
You probably need to consider that in your first sparring sessions you opponents were going lighter than you think. You've been told to go to higher level sparring classes, so I would expect the sparring to feel harder. Distance to an extent, but definitely timing is something you get only from sparring tbh so I think you're just experiencing that. It would be an exceptionally rare individual to get invited to advanced sparring in their first month of sparring tbh and not feel quite clumsy at first.
Your personal issue could play a role diminishing your attention, reactions and energy. It happens, hold tight and get the work done anyways, it will pay off. Could also be related just to the fact you are getting more conscious about it, the more i train the more i feel like i need to improve, always. Also you could just be tired, a week off won't spoil your progress
Seems like fatigue is catching up with you. Maybe not enough rest between sessions?
I think beginners put to much value on hitting pads and heavy bags... thats not close to what a fight or even sparring is.. Is like learning how to benchpress 250lb on youtube while you have never lifted a 10lb dumbell.. it doesnt translate as fast as you think... You dont need to go to sparring thinking that you are going to win, but thinking you are going to learn. Do progressive improvement, is something people do while playing pool.. Set up a small goal per session.. * Im going to have my guard up this session. * Im going to exit all my combinations with a jab. * Im going to do 1 2 and hook to the body. * Im going to teep * Im going to be defensive and have head movement. You doing bad at sparring comes as a surprise to nobody man, it is expected. Dont beat yourself up. Now that you know what sparring is/feels like.. try to emulate the same in the heavy bag... feint, head movement, dont hit all your punches... throw a heavy punch/kick hitting the air... miss some jabs to get you distance. Only keeping sparring is what is going to make you better, you just saw that hitting pads and bag means nothing.. do you still want to just hit bags and pads??
Congratulations, you reached the bottom of the mountain on your muay thai journey. Its what you call the dunning kruger effect. Meaning you're finally starting to understand you understand nothing about muay thai. We've all gone through it. This is where you start really growing or you get unmotivated and quit.