newbie_kyuubi

Hello all, I did my second fight last night and now have soooo many questions. Would be grateful for any insight from you (and hopefully Sylvie will be able to respond too!) The fight didn’t go quite well in that for whatever reasons I couldn’t translate what I’ve been working on into the fight. I know I’ve physically and mentally grown since my last fight, but that didn’t seem to be manifested in the ring. I think I was taken aback by how different her style was than my first opponent. In my first fight there were a lot of clinching and knees, but in the second one my opponent was very evasive and I was left puzzled the whole time on how to get into the pocket. I couldn’t adapt to my opponent’s style quickly. Does this something that just come with experience? Does this have something to do with fight IQ? If so, any advice on how to improve my fight IQ? Another question: why is it when I’m in the ring I don’t hit as hard as when I train in the bag, pads, or sparring? I have strong crosses, hooks, and over hands, but these didn’t make any appearance during the fights!!! When this happened in the first fight I thought it was because the opponent was taller and I couldn’t reach her. But the opponent in the second fight was also tall but I realized even when I was in the pocket I didn’t hit hard. I didn’t feel like I gassed out in both fights. So what is it? Was I nervous? I don't think I was. Was it a mental block? I’m still trying to understand myself when I’m in the ring and I would be grateful if anyone can share their thoughts!!! Thanks so much in advance!!