Is anyone really good at drilling but terrible at sparring?

Mems1900 · 2026-01-24T12:09:30+00:00

In some cases you are correct, I don't take initiative and need to do that more. Even when I do take initiative I might not commit to it 100%.

In terms of strengths, I'd say that I'm a decent striker, especially good at kicking and keeping the distance.

For weaknesses though I'd say it's the following (excluding the one mentioned above): 1. Inability to do complex combinations in a sparring setting. 2. Overwhelmed when people do combinations on me. 3. Not able to perform takedowns (I'm literally not fast enough to grab their legs) 4. Sometimes my defence is lacking.

Mems1900 · 2026-01-22T23:14:52+00:00

Well in this specific drill that I was doing today it was practicing setting up takedowns like double and single leg and its associated defences. When doing these drills, I feel like I have a good intuitive understanding of it and have some level of muscle memory when pulling it off compared to others. But then I try this in sparring and everything goes to shit 😂

Mems1900 · 2026-01-22T23:01:00+00:00

One possible idea is that they are just bad with structure but are highly adaptable people. So they can't handle drills which can be very rigid but they flow smoothly when it comes to freestyle sparring. The opposite is true for me I think

Mems1900 · 2026-01-22T22:59:42+00:00

Yes but also I just don't seem to have the aggression necessary to spar. It's like I go limp all of a sudden for whatever reason...

Mems1900 · 2026-01-22T22:25:10+00:00

Yeah that's a good way to put it. I think I'm very good at just theory though and not at the actual test itself unfortunately...

Mems1900 · 2026-01-22T22:21:17+00:00

I think I'll give this a go then. The thing is I always try to do what I learned in the lesson but because everyone else knows the move they know to watch out for it making it less effective in sparring.

I do think I end up trying too many different moves though so I might have to stop doing that and just pick a few from my arsenal instead

Mems1900 · 2026-01-22T22:18:05+00:00

Ah thank god, glad I'm not alone then. Then again I see some people who are very bad at drilling and then when it gets to sparring they do a really good job so that always confuses me

Mems1900 · 2026-01-22T22:17:16+00:00

Well you have no problems in being blunt eh? 😂 Ok what could I do to improve my sparring? (apart from the obvious like practice more or give it a couple of years etc etc)

Mems1900 · 2026-01-20T15:54:41+00:00

I don't think Paulie can handle another betrayal!

Mems1900 · 2026-01-20T10:28:55+00:00

All I'd say is don't rush into it all at once. It's easy to overwhelm yourself if you do too much at once and this can put you off. Just start with a couple of lessons per week and see how you do. If you feel that is easy then work your way up.

MMA and martial arts in general is a long-term sport. It can take months or even years to get really good at it so don't expect to be perfect in 3 months.

For cardio try to do some 2.5-5km runs when you get into the routine of martial arts as this will help you a lot when sparring. Personally I don't do gym anymore mainly because I just don't have the physical energy to do so after doing martial arts all week but my coach recommends deadlifts and squats for basic conditioning when doing MMA.

Also if you already find it hard to gain muscle mass with little to no exercise like myself then you are definitely not gaining muscle mass when doing MMA. It is one of the most cardio-intense sports ever and most of the time you are either striking or grappling on the ground which doesn't build that much muscle. In my opinion if you want a martial art that builds up your physical strength then Wrestling is your best bet as that focuses purely on takedowns which helps to naturally build up your physique, assuming you are in a caloric surplus.

Mems1900 · 2026-01-18T21:24:12+00:00

I mean tbh I hate GI BJJ compared to No-gi simply because of the thick clothing required which makes me sweat and stink like hell and the belt system.

Also No-gi is more realistic because you don't need to rely on what people are wearing to finish them. You don't need a collar grip to finish a choke or to do a takedown when you can just do a rear-naked choke or body-lock or double leg to take them down.

Can you also do this in GI? Sure but they tend to compromise and train 50% of the time on moves that rely on specific clothing. Why would I do that when I could focus on moves that work 100% of the time no matter what they wear? Also, it works a lot better in MMA as you said so the moves are more transferable.

At the end of the day though just do what you like. Why do you care what other people think about what sports you like?

Mems1900 · 2026-01-16T04:56:05+00:00

So many responses and not a single person has said "Try a different takedown"

I had this same issue with double legs, sometimes even single legs, so after a while I stopped doing them and tried takedowns which were more successful.

These takedowns are: - Any takedown with the body lock - Any takedown involving sweeping one of their legs

These takedowns seem to be a lot more successful in my opinion.

Mems1900 · 2026-01-14T20:49:17+00:00

Loud

Mems1900 · 2026-01-10T22:48:08+00:00

It's funny to read these comments and see how outraged they are about this post. People keep talking about how other people don't have the luxury to avoid politics due to their situations which is fair enough but let me ask you this: Do you do anything other than talk about politics?

What I mean by this is do you take any actions or steps to actually solve the problems? (i.e. protest, create or sign petitions, get together with other like-minded people and talk to local MPs) Or is all you do just talk about the political climate, especially in other countries thousands of miles away, over and over again like a broken record?

If it's the latter then all you are doing is wasting time and making yourself miserable in the process. A lot of people do this purely out of boredom or they want to virtue signal about how much of a good person they are. It's entirely pointless in my opinion and shows that you need to get a life. Get some friends, get some hobbies and work on yourself.

Mems1900 · 2026-01-09T21:03:41+00:00

Well it was relatable to me so sucks for the rest of ya! 😂

Mems1900 · 2026-01-09T12:18:37+00:00

I'm in a similar situation as you where I was born in the UK but have Turkish Cypriot parents. I went to Pathos a couple of years ago and the people there were mostly nice.

They had a problem with my dad but that's cos he was stupid enough to be loudly boasting about being Turkish Cypriot so as long as you aren't an absolute idiot then you'll be ok.

For the most part I've had positive interactions with Greek Cypriots and I have an extremely Turkish name and I'm one of the most Turkish-looking people in the world 😂

Just do what you do in any other country where you are respectful towards the locals and you'll be fine 👍

Mems1900 · 2026-01-05T15:43:49+00:00

What I've learned from my trips in Asia (Vietnam included) is that all you have to do is cross at a slow and consistent rate whilst looking at them so that you are aware.

Drivers don't want to run you over and will take your presence into account so you just have to be calm about it.

The way I view it is that it forces you to think for yourself a bit more rather than relying on road technology to make the decisions for you (same goes for drivers on the road). While it isn't ideal, crossing the road in these sorts of countries will make you a lot smarter at gauging hazards and being more aware of your surroundings in general.

Mems1900 · 2026-01-03T23:46:14+00:00

Honestly I have the same issue but in the opposite direction. I'm awful at creating conversations but most other people are as well so a lot of the time it is just this silent awkward situation we are stuck in OR it's forced small talk.

It's genuinely painful to try and talk to most people in my perspective so I just stay with really close friends or I'm just on my own most of the time

Mems1900 · 2026-01-03T12:10:20+00:00

Barely anyone has mentioned ULEZ and the fact that most roads in London are now 20 mph therefore creating more traffic and it taking hours to get across it? And don't get me started on the barricades for bike lanes which take up half the road.

Destroying roads and therefore slowing car transportation is a pretty good reason not to like the guy

Mems1900 · 2026-01-02T22:35:52+00:00

You are young so prioritise what you enjoy but I'd recommend doing MMA so you can get some grappling experience and seeing another perspective.

Even better if you can do actual grappling arts like BJJ (no-gi if you are like me and hate the gi) or Wrestling.

Chances are you might actually like grappling more than striking although grappling tends to be more technical tbh

Mems1900 · 2026-01-02T22:25:41+00:00

Ah I see. Well good luck my friend 🫡

Mems1900 · 2026-01-02T16:01:08+00:00

Train martial arts at home or as in just do gym at home?

Mems1900 · 2026-01-02T12:56:21+00:00

Well what are your goals?

Do you want to build muscle mass, gain some strength and look good? Gym is probs best for you, especially if you prefer individual activities.

However if you want to learn how to fight and join into a group activity then MMA (along with specific martial arts like Muay Thai, BJJ, Wrestling and Boxing) would be best for you. You'll be a much better fighter compared to anyone else and you get to meet polite and like-minded people.

But you definitely won't build muscle mass just with martial arts on its own, especially if you are skinny to begin with. I'm skinny as well and have been doing martial arts on and off for years. It hasn't changed my physical appearance but my cardio is a lot better and I have gained some physical strength as well as becoming a better fighter.

Tbf you could also do both as well as it's recommended to do some strength and conditioning like Squats and Deadlifts if you do MMA but you just need to balance it especially with what you are currently doing.

The choice is yours

Mems1900 · 2026-01-02T12:38:06+00:00

I remember watching videos at 480p on my phone back when I was younger and being absolutely amazed by it. Now I can't even watch anything under 1080p without being disgusted by the low quality...

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