So try to work more on interrupting my opponents flurry and not allow him to get the combos off?
And when he interrupts my flurry, and I bail on my combo, should i just continue to throw what I had planned to throw?
I havent got to the point where I can instinctively throw combos at openings and i still plan out my shots. Should i just continue with throwing what i planned even though i could just hit arms?
Yep. The longer you wait, the worse the last strike will be. It could be a liver shot, or something real nasty to the body as you're breathing in. Generally the most you should take before interrupting is 2-3 max, any more and you risk big stuff coming. And not doing this, will give him confidence to tee off on you. The last thing you want to do is let a guy who's already nervous as shit (with the potential to do damage to you) get even more confident.
Continue with the combo, maybe you get hit with a jab while throwing a 1,2,3,2. Fire back with something right away and resume the combination or finish the combination. Now the exception to this is if you get hit with a real heavy strike and it wobbles you, but even then you have to fire back still. Backing off and slowing down will show it affected you and you're hurt, then he's gonna bring all offense down on you like the end when you teed off on him in the corner.
You have to hit back, waiting for the perfect shot and thinking a strike will be ineffective will only make him feel comfortable. Its actually surprising and counter-intuitive how it works, you think if its weak it won't do anything and will be a waste of energy, but its not. Even if its a light jab with no weight behind it, and given you guys are both new, it works. If you're fighting someone with alot of exp. under their belt, well it probably won't work as well then since they know about this as well and can tell.
The whole thing about fighting really boils down to delivering your offense, not showing weakness/injury to your opponent, and taking away their confidence by shutting them down. You have technique and strategy which is good, but like alot of people fresh in combat sports (myself included at the time), you have to learn how to "fight". The good thing is, it looks like its not too much to ask for. You should be able to pick it up fine. Just think, the last end of the round how aggressive you went, it should always be like that, even if you get hit with something big and are losing, you have to keep that aggressive mindset.
As for not being able to instintively throw combos everywhere, that means you need to drill this day in and out. When I started out, the absolute basics were:
- Combination (offense)
- Combination (defense)
- Clinch work
- Ring control
All camp, in and out thats all I was doing, nothing else. I only had 1 combo for each (total 2) and drilled it in til became muscle memory. Come fight night, even if I wanted to throw single shots, I wasn't, the combo just came out. When it comes to fighting adrenaline sinks in, and we lose cognitive thinking, so we really need skills to use like a tool laying around and we grab it ASAP. Its one of the reasons my coach is against gameplans with alot of moving parts for new guys. Nerves, adrenaline, stress, it all takes away thinking and we become beasts relying on muscle memory. Can't be doing the complex stuff in that situation until you accumulate the exp.
So pick something simple and effective, and drill it to death.