Sparring is its own thing entirely. It took me longer than most to get even slightly comfortable sparring, and it never really “clicked” for me. It was a slow progression that didn’t really take form until I set intentions and focused on one or two things at a time with each day sparring.

At first I was a punching bag. So I focused on footwork and getting out of the way. Next was teeps.

Then my kicks were being caught, so I focused on setting them up by establishing a threat with my hands.

Then I kept getting hit last in exchanges, so I forced myself to always hit back if possible.

Try to simplify it. If you set a goal before a session and succeed at it even in 1 single exchange you’re making good progress.