1st day of real sparring at this gym yesterday that wasn't just partner shadowboxing that got a little physical. Also my first real spar since the pandemic. When I walked in, two people were sparring in the ring while others worked the heavy bag or watched, so I stood around watching for a bit until I struck-up a conversation with someone next to me who said I have to sign-in a second time on the sparring list. I didn't have a groin protector though and wanted to ask the coach about the gym spares first. Then this guy asked me to film his sparring match, which I was doing when the coach suddenly called out my name without me signing in and announced I was up next. He showed me where the spare head gear and groin guards are and I entered the ring to spar the coach for 3 rounds.

Got told by another coach between rounds that I need to commit to my jab and not let it fall short so much. Bad habit of mine trying to be too nice and not hit hard because I'm used to being bigger and stronger than people. Again, it's been 5 years since I've sparred and more practice  knowing I'm SUPPOSED to hit people instead of just running drills will obviously fix this.

My jabs landed more after this but still fell short a few times. I threw a right uppercut that lightly landed as coach was moving laterally, which I'm real happy about. 

My defense needs work and I ate a lot of shots. Inside of my mouth got cut up. HUGE difference compared to when I sparred in Muay Thai, though, is I'm not overly jumpy about getting hit and I remain calm under fire. Getting punched didn't bother me. The Title headgear may also be more protective than my old Venom one because my nose wasn't sore like it used to get in Muay Thai, although that may be due to the coach's accuracy in aiming for the chin.

After round 2 was over, I felt a familiar sense of suffocation anxiety from breathing hard with the headgear on and I wanted nothing more than to rip it off, which I ignored. As round 3 went on, I felt fine again and was ready for a 4th. This is why I bought that breath-restriction mask. 

Can't wait to spar more rounds.