Kickboxing Advice from Instructors or Experienced Kickboxers

Seillejet

Hi there,

I am looking for a bit of feedback or advice please. I joined a kickboxing club in October and began the beginners lessons which are all no contact and were about fitness as far as I was concerned. In February I was moved to the next class up. I thought it was going ok but in retrospect I have never been given any feedback.

My problem is I dont seen to be progressing at sparring or invited to progress further. The flip is I havent been told to drop down either I am just sort of blanked to be honest.

I have considered the following reasons for this;

Age - I am in my mid 30's. I am the oldest in the class by a good margin. However to counter balance this I am one of the fittest in the class. I dont smoke, only drink moderatley and train in gym about three times a week.

Sparring - I was slow to pick up sparring. I was not fully committed at first as I was afraid of getting black eyes etc as my job deals with public. However I soon realised Id end up with more injuries backing off and now through myself into it. I am not now overly aggressive in any way, just naturally competitive.

Attendance - It has been about 85%

Payment - No problem.

Etiquette - I dont swear, mix well with others even though I joined on my own. Wear and clean my gear and dont arrive late at any time.

Style & Natural Ability - I will admit my kicking is poor and flexibility could be better but I am there to take instruction and never get any.

I am not one to whinge I just want to progress as I like the sport, enjoy it and am investing time and money into it. Any feedback would be very welcome from you guys.

--amadeus--

I don't do kickboxing myself but until someone who does comes along...

With any club you tend to get out what you put in. You've gone through a host of reasons but have you actually asked teh instructors or senior members for feedback? Come to that when we're paired off and practising techniques if I'm paired with a lower grade partner I'll still badger them for feedback to make sure I'm doing things right. The more you ask the more you'll get. Instructors aren't in it for the money so if you show some interest they're usually more than happy to help.

And if you ask and put 100% into it and you still feel that you're getting blanked or ignored then change clubs, there are plenty out there!

ittmixedmartial

Hi

-Mod snip and warning for shilling.

arybvtcw0eolkf

OP to me you appear to be ticking all the right box's, so I'm left to wonder is it just a case of a complete beginner finding a little knowledge and wishing to run with it?.

I've often found, and found it in myself too, that with a little knowledge and more experience you begin to become a little eager and the urge is to run ahead of yourself.

But time spent learning your style at this stage is invaluable IMO.

I know its always nice to see an advancement through the grades, and its easy to become inpressed with belts but with experience you'll learn there's more to Martial Arts than grades.

Anyway, without going too deep into it another thing to watch for is instructors taking your money and giving little back in return - if you suspect this is the case I'd advise looking around at other kickboxing clubs or even different styles.

One final thought is this line;

"My problem is I dont seen to be progressing at sparring or invited to progress further."

Are you asserting yourself in sparring/training, AND with your instructors?.

I don't know your club or coaches, or even you for that matter. But I've seen lots of people show up for training every week, and like you thy appear to tick the right boxs' but their not willing to assert themselves and push on through to the next level, and that might be one reason your not moving forward.

Sorry, I know I've thrown out a few scenario's at you there but look at them and see if any of them are getting close to the truth, and if so find out how to work around it.

Seillejet

Thanks for the advice lads. I think you are right about being more assertive and asking for feedback which is not a problem I have in everyday life. I think I am going to go back at it with renewed vigour and hope to be able to update with positive feedback.

I am not looking to change clubs, was more looking for feedback so thanks for your responses in that regard.

FruitLover

IMO, if you're paying someone to teach you, it shouldn't be up to you to run around after them. Any decent MA instructor should be keeping an eye on each individual student and making sure they're not floundering on their own.

I know you say you're not looking to change clubs, but TBH, I'd advise shopping around for comparison's sake. Take a few classes in some other clubs and see how yours (and your instructor) matches up.

mkem

If you want to progress, you need to do extra training at home. Stretch every day to improve flexibility, it will help you kick higher with more power while keeping your balance. Also get a punchbag. It will improve your strikes and kicks. This will improve your confidence when sparring. Best of luck.

colly10

I don't kickbox myself but do box, I wouldn't worry about your progression, progression is always slower that you would imagine and some people just pick it up slightly faster or have a fancier style.
If your sparring your learning, sometimes I could go a few months and feel im making little progress then i'll do 2 sessions where something clicks in my head and my level is up from then.
Just concentrate on your technique when your sparring, all the sparring will make you a smarter fighter.
As for your instructor, i've found the more I improve the more attention I get, he may just feel that at this stage you just need more experience and thats why he's not concentrating on you, he knows you'll progress yourself at the moment cause it's early days?

Seillejet

colly10 wrote: »

I don't kickbox myself but do box, I wouldn't worry about your progression, progression is always slower that you would imagine and some people just pick it up slightly faster or have a fancier style.
If your sparring your learning, sometimes I could go a few months and feel im making little progress then i'll do 2 sessions where something clicks in my head and my level is up from then.
Just concentrate on your technique when your sparring, all the sparring will make you a smarter fighter.
As for your instructor, i've found the more I improve the more attention I get, he may just feel that at this stage you just need more experience and thats why he's not concentrating on you, he knows you'll progress yourself at the moment cause it's early days?

Great advice and I felt I had a few sessions like that this week. Something just clicked and it felt like it made it all worthwhile.

colly10

Seillejet wrote: »

Great advice and I felt I had a few sessions like that this week. Something just clicked and it felt like it made it all worthwhile.

Good to hear, just be patient, it takes time - it will take years to master but your getting more experienced all the time (even if it's not obvious to you)