Hey there, fight club friends! Tonight was a fun (and full!) session. Its great to be able to attend and train with you all more, and learn with you. So! A couple of brand new faces tonight -- YAY! I love it when people discover how great boxing is. It takes all my self-control not to do a cartwheel for you and then scream JUST WAIT! It gets so much better and then your life will be even greater! That being said, whether you love it, like it, wanna take it seriously and really improve, or just like to punch stuff and make friends, I have a couple of little tips for any newbies (which I think counts for many of us). Getting Better at Boxing: 1-- practice, practice, practice. Of course! Try to come to more than one of our sessions per week. I know, midterms and assignments are coming up, but being active and putting your worries away for 2 hours could actually improve your academic life, since we know how good physical activity is for us. Im sure one of you science students could back me up with some research on this :). On top of sessions, do it at home or in the gym. Of course its harder to commit to it, but simple things count: get in your boxing stance in front of a full-body mirror and go through a mental checklist: Are your hands up, protecting your jaw? Elbows in, protecting the body? How about your feet? Far enough apart, comfortably on the balls of your feet with some bend in your knees? Chin tucked down? Shoulders relaxed but ready to snap out punches? Can you take a step forward, backward, left, and right without losing that balance and stance in your feet. Yes, its tedious. But do it right, right now, and you wont build bad habits for the future. I got used to dropping my right hand when Id throw out my jabs and let me tell you I paid for it with some nosebleeds when I got back in the ring to spar! Even if you never want to do more than hit pads or a punching bag, you are still better off doing it right. As for your actual punches, do a checklist there too: Are you turning your knuckles over? (i.e. make sure the back of your hand is facing the ceiling.... punch with your knuckles, dont bat/pat/push, punch! Extend your punches: start to learn what your reach is, and learn to use it.) Once I finally listened to the little details of what my coaches were telling me, I realized little things like that make you better. DUH! Well keep working on new stuff with you, too, obviously. 2 -- Conditioning. I know, I hear ya: pushups are less fun than actual punching of stuff. But like Dave said today at the start of session, being well-conditioned and strong makes you a better boxer. It makes you faster, stronger, and means youll have better endurance and better recovery. Those exercises we do in session? Do them with a buddy in the gym, or outdoors. Go for a run or swim to build cardio. We will keep doing a variety of exercises, so you could always take the ones you find tough and work on them solo. When you start to snap out more punches in faster combinations, you will be so satisfied you put in the work! Conditioning gets easier the more you do it. Now: we all have different commitments here, so not everyone is too focused on getting in fighting shape--of course! Its meant to be fun :) But, at the very least, dont slack during the exercises in our sessions. Do a little more than you thought you could today (even just one extra pushup or situp, or a little extra speed in skipping rope!) so you can do a little more tomorrow. Youll surprise yourself. 3--Watch boxing. Know the rules, and youll know how to win. I mentioned this to some excited new folks today. If you dont know the rules of boxing, look up how a boxing match is scored, and then watch a few rounds of a boxing match, and see if you can tell what the heck is going on! Once you start getting into the sport, watching it is so much fun (if you dont love watching it already). And although we all love watching the big money pro boxers, go to Youtube and watch some amateur fights, too. They are shorter fights, typically between 3-5 rounds (not 12!) and the fighters focus more on the basic stuff: straight punches, basic defense (blocking, slipping), basic punch combinations (jab, right hand, left hook!) Watching will help your own game, too. Watch what works, watch what fails. Enjoy! I will post up some stuff to look at if you want to start getting more exposed. I consider myself a newbie to the world of boxing so Im always trying to learn. Let us know if there is stuff you want to see on the page: Im happy to find some pro fights, amateur fights, and female boxers fights to share with yall. On that note, the Stiverne vs. Wilder fight is on Saturday night, and some club folks are going to watch it together. Come, have a beer (if you are +19), discuss, and have a good time. If you got through this whole post, AWESOME! Im going to show up a little early outside room 205 next Monday for anyone who is brand new and needing some extra help with basics. Ill be outside our room at 430pm, so come chat with me and we can work on those little things in person. Cheers!
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 06:49:54 +0000
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