Your first spar will teach you more than your first fifty bag rounds — if it's run properly. These are the rules we drill before anyone in our squad throws a live punch.
1. Match the agreed intensity
If the coach says 60%, that's a ceiling not a suggestion. The person who 'gets excited' and throws 90% doesn't get invited back. Your sparring partner is your training equipment — break them and nobody wants to work with you.
2. Touch gloves, every round
Before the round and after it. This isn't ceremony — it's the contract that says this is practice, not a fight.
3. The coach's word is law
'Break' means break, instantly, hands down. If you hear it and keep punching, your session is over. No debate.
4. Leave the round in the ring
You'll get caught with a clean shot. You'll get frustrated. What you do next is the actual training. Shake it off, tap gloves, keep working.
Good sparring partners make each other better for years. Bad ones give each other black eyes and empty rings. Be the first kind.
5. Gear is non-negotiable
Headgear, 16oz gloves, mouthguard — checked before every round. Your $30 bag gloves don't touch a human in this gym, ever.
6. Talk after
'Good work' — mean it. Tell your partner what caught you. The squad improves because rounds get debriefed, not just survived.
Sparring at our gym is invite-only through the sparring pathway. If you're curious, start in the fundamentals — the ring will still be there in six months.
