I was wondering, I'm thinking of going to a boxing club. Except that usually it's filled with under 80 IQ people, gypsies, and extremely idiotic "coaches". Plus probably I would quickly get in a fight with someone and, well, let's just say that getting in a fight at a boxing club is the last thing you want to do.
What do you think? What's your experience with this?
lots of good people at boxing gyms.. sure most of them might not be into the stuff you're into but, you'll find lots of dedicated people in there.. most of which probably wouldn't judge you/size you up at all; they'd probably be pretty helpful.
i seriously doubt anyone would get into a fight with you.. think about it, you're in a boxing gym. In boxing gyms, if people really have a beef, they get in the ring and slug it out, usually under supervision. Fighting outside of the square circle is often a big no-no and can get you banned from most gyms.
People actually go into boxing gyms looking for fights.. there's videos on youtube. Usually, the boxing coach will find some young tough amateur KID to beat this grown man's ass in the actual ring.
Yeah I absolutely LOVE that. Always makes me think of Charlie Zelenoff (although that guy is a victim of mental illness, so I can't really make fun of him, but still, you get the idea).
ya.. the zelenoff stuff is bad. He was harassing Wilder's daughter etc, who I think has handicaps. So Wilder definitely wanted to hurt him.. but even then, he refrained from just beating his brains in when he was on the ground helpless.
The more I think about boxing the more I want to do it.
Do you "have" to fight in the ring or you can just train? What's the progression? How does the typical learning curve look like? (what do you learn first, and how do you grow as a boxer, even a non-competitive one)?
nah you don't have to fight at all, ever. most people don't.
the progression is:
- learning how to wrap your hands
- joining a class: a coach runs you through various drills and basic stuff, holds the mitts for you, has you and a partner in the class do drills together, gives you instruction while you're hitting a bag, takes you through some finishing extra stuff like core-work/jump rope etc.
- after a while of this, you may want to actually spar, so you'd let the coach know or he'd ask you: light supervised sparring, where going out of control/going 100% is not the goal.. the goal is to learn how to move and react to punches, throw clean but light punches, get hit a bit
- after a while of this, you may want to hard spar: this is 100% effort while sparring, again supervised. A coach (or multiple coaches) supervise and will step in if someone is hurt or can't defend themselves. They also try and pair you with someone you are "equal with", or, someone who is slightly better than you if the goal is to get you to improve against better opposition.. This person who is better might be told to hold back a bit, but still try to get the better of you obviously.
- after a while of this, you may want to do amateurs or turn pro: At this point your coach is literally your coach, and you have a team etc.. Anyone can go pro or do amateurs.
In sparring (at any level), everyone should have a mouth piece and wear head gear, a body guard, and heavier gloves (16 oz for example). They will put vaseline on your face, head gear, and gloves so that you have less risk of getting cut and punches slip off easier. Heavier gloves (16oz or more) are preferred because they slow down the punches, protects your hands more, and protect your opponent more.
If you're going CRAZY LIGHT with someone you know/trust, you could go without head gear etc. You should never do that with someone you don't know though.
But ya once you get some of the basics down, you can just go into a gym and hit the bag, work the speed bag, jump rope, shadow box, all on your own. Don't need to train with anyone.
pc!
