system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Man of Steel] How was an essentially life long pacifist able to throw a punch properly, much less go toe to toe with and beat someone who was specifically bred for war?

Regardless of strength, one needs form to effectively use their body. Where to Sups learn to fight?
gpt
Part of the issue is that there was a difference in raw power between the two, part of it is the environment.

At the time, Zod had spent many years wandering through deep space, presumably away from a yellow sun and potentially without much combat experience in the decades it took for him to follow Kal-el (Superman) to Earth. Note how he was overwhelmed by the sudden radiation from our sun when he first arrived, forcing him to wear a visor. By comparison, Kal-el/Clark Kent had been living all that time under the light of a yellow sun, which may have gradually strengthened him even further over the years. Anything Kal/Clark knows about fighting is coincidental, coming by way of movies or television; his alien physiology is really his only saving grace in this regard.

TL;DR Zod was out of practice and low on batteries.