Learn to Fight by Watching Fights

Study your art

Introduction

Being able to learn through observation is an essential skill for any Sanda Kickboxing athlete. Whether you are an amateur or a pro, being able to learn tactics and skills from watching other fighters will help you develop your own kickboxing skills.

Why Watching Fights Helps You Learn

There is more to fighting than just hitting pads and sparring. A fighter must also become a phd in their sport, this requires many hours of study and one of the best ways to learn about and study fighting is to watch fights. Through watching fights a fighter can learn how to recognize patterns of movement and tactics, adaptability and tactical awareness of the fight. All these skills can then be applied to their own training and fights.

What to Watch For: Key Elements to Focus On

Footwork and Movement

Footwork wins fights, seeing how fighters use their footwork to control distance, control the pace of the fight, avoid being hit by how they exit through cutting angles, or how they control the centre by cutting off the ring. All these footwork skills are fundamental for being able to win in a fight

Timing and Rhythm

Timing and rhythm is when and how fighter use their strikes, defences and take downs, see if they are using skills such as countering, baiting or setting traps. Try to anticipate their movements and see if you can get it right.

Defence and Guard

Observe how fighters hold their guard throughout a fight how they block, slip, parry and evade strikes and see how they exploit weaknesses in their opponents defences and habits.

Combinations and Setups

Look for how punches and kicks are chained together. How to they set up their strikes using feints or low risk non committal shots

Tactics and Game Plans

Can you see the fighters overall game plan how they adapt and change to their opponents game plan. Are they staying long, pressuring forward, countering? It is also important to listen to the corner advice between rounds and how the adjustments given effect the outcome of the fight.

How to Watch Like a Fighter

In order to learn skills through watching fights you cannot be a sport fan but a phd student. You need to watch actively not passively. Watch the fights with and without audio, watch sections in slow motion, rewind more complex combinations, pause the video and take notes so you can refer back to them and ask questions in class.

What to Avoid

Try not to copy fighters that don’t suit your body type and style, still watch and learn from them as you may fight someone with that style but do not copy. Try to avoid watching the highlight reels and instead watch and try to understand the fight as a whole and be careful not to copy unorthodox techniques unless you know how to combine those techniques with your own style.

Recommended Fights for Sanda Students

There are tons of Sanda Fights online. The 2025 Sanda World Cup was only a couple of weeks ago and showcased some of the best in the world. Here is a link so you can watch the fights: Sanda World Cup

We would reccomend watching all combat sports from boxing to MMA and wrestling. Sanda Incorporates wrestling with kickboxing so watching a wide range of combat sports will help you learn the most.

How to Use This in Your Training

The best way to incorporate the skills you observed through watching fights is to workshop them with a training partner and your coach. You can then take the principals you want to add to your game and slowly become proficient at them. This process will take time so be patient!

Conclusion

Master your sport by studying the techniques and strategies used by fighters and become a phd in your sport. Combat sports are not just about doing but also about studying. Consistent, focused watching and studying can speed up your growth as a kickboxer. If you are not sure were to start you can always ask us in class we would be more than happy to help.