Love and War in the Boxing Ring
Dear Boxers,
(first the war stories, then the love story below)
War in the Boxing Ring- Lessons I learned on Friday Night
Last Friday Night I watched 12 kickboxing/ boxing / mma fights at Manly Leagues club - including about 4 womens fights. Most of the fighters were first timers, including a friend of mine I went to support.
Ok it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it takes Guts Guts and more Guts to get in that ring the first time. These are not Pros - many have only been training for a year or 2 - and they got in there and had a go. Win lose or draw you really know you are alive. I lost my first fight, and many people lose theirs - but the victory is for the most part in stepping through those ropes.
Here are 3 Lessons from the Ring I learned from watching the first time fighters on the night - which you might find useful for your workouts. You are "the fighter" and I'll be your corner man.
1. First timers in the ring tend to look away
- almost all of them did in the heat of the battle on Friday. Looking away is the direct opposite to the "eye of the tiger" - it's more like the eye of the kitty kat. Looking away from your opponent means you are shielding your eyes. This is unwise for 3 reasons: For a start you can't really plant your punches and kicks when your eyes are dancing off in another direction. Your power goes where your eyes go. Second, you don't know when to duck, so you get hit more. It's like taking your eye off the ball... only it hurts more. But most of all, looking away shows fear. It means you are losing the mind game.
THE LESSON: Maintain the "eye of the tiger" from the launch of the punch to the follow through - and never, ever take your eyes off your opponent. As an old sign at the our boxing club used to say: "Keep your eyes up, your chin down and your ass of the canvas".
2. First timers in the ring tend to over train.
That's right, they train too hard and too long - often right up to a day or two before a fight. It's not hard to figure out why - they are so nervous they can hardly sleep at night - the demons of doubt visit them - and they over compensate by over training themselves into a crumpled up piece of hand wrap - without the elasticity. They get in the ring and they are cooked before they start. Plenty of them on Friday ran out of juice before the end of the first round.
THE LESSON: Taper your training. You are not going to get fitter in the last week before your fight. So back it off. The thing your body needs most is rest. No heavy sparring, no hard training - you'll wear yourself out before the opening bell. One of my early trainers used to make me back right off the whole week before a fight - and only do slow form training in front of the mirror. Not just for energy conservation - but so I entered the ring "hungry". For what ? Hungry to hit and be hit. Hungry to win.
3. First timers in the ring tend to forget all they learned. All those combos, strategies, attack and counter moves - gone , gone, gone - the moment of the opening bell. Why ? One reason might be this piece of timeless fight wisdom:
Everyone has a plan until they get hit
They all look so good warming up in the change rooms. You think - wow, what a fighting machine... their opponent is trouble. But often it's the big muscly guy with the great punches on the pads in the warm up room who gets KO'd - and it happened on Friday. Muscles don't help if you can't take a punch. And great technique on the pads doesn't help if you panic. A first timer has so much adrenalin - it can all fall apart. They freeze. At the end of the fight they can't remember a thing - and they are shaking their head saying: What happened ??
THE LESSON: Stay COOOOL . Super Relaxed is the way to be before a fight. Zone out with your ipod, have a dance or as one boxer I know used to do... read a good book.
Now the Love Story
Most would say that a boxing ring is for making war, not love. But you never know your luck.
Over the years at Boxout we suspect there has been more than a few Boxout couples formed (is that the word?). No doubt some went the distance, while others ended in an early TKO.
So when a company called Fit2date suggested we let you know about their Fitness Bootcamps with a bit of Love thrown in, my first reaction was to say not likely. Boxout is here to help people get fit, not hitched. Besides, if you've found a good boxing workout do you really need love ?
Hang on, I thought, there's more to a healthy heart than simply blood flow, and maybe some park sprints and piggy backs with hot and sweaty members of the opposite gender is just what some of you want. Fit2date is not hitched to Boxout in any way - so you might have to show them a thing or two about boxing. And they can give you some love-tips in return. We expect you to share these.
They have offered a 2 for 1 for Boxout people for their 4 week workout (make out?) course in St Leonards park kicking off in April. I'm not trying to lose you all to what could be considered our competitors across the road, it's just that Boxout tries to think of your every need.
The details of their offer and website are at the bottom of this post. Also I have suggested an idea to perhaps run a singles workout in our boxing ring. Don't be shy now - would anyone like to see it happen ?? Or are we losing the plot ?
In your corner,
Patrick
ps - there will not be a class on Easter Saturday - the PCYC is closed.
Here is The Offer Fit2Date sent to us
Fit2date is offering 50% off the 4-week course. You will meet the same group of between 12 – 16 people once a week for an hour of training which is anaerobic based, with lots of intervals, core and body weight resistance work and challenging but fun team activities. All you have to do to get this special offer is for you and a fit single friend to sign up together and you both get to come for half price. In April there are 2 groups in North Sydney, right across from Boxout – to join one of these groups and to take advantage of this amazing offer go to www.fit2date.com.au and use the code word ‘buddy’ to redeem the discount. The groups are filling fast, so get in quick!
(first the war stories, then the love story below)
War in the Boxing Ring- Lessons I learned on Friday Night
Last Friday Night I watched 12 kickboxing/ boxing / mma fights at Manly Leagues club - including about 4 womens fights. Most of the fighters were first timers, including a friend of mine I went to support.
Ok it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it takes Guts Guts and more Guts to get in that ring the first time. These are not Pros - many have only been training for a year or 2 - and they got in there and had a go. Win lose or draw you really know you are alive. I lost my first fight, and many people lose theirs - but the victory is for the most part in stepping through those ropes.
Here are 3 Lessons from the Ring I learned from watching the first time fighters on the night - which you might find useful for your workouts. You are "the fighter" and I'll be your corner man.
1. First timers in the ring tend to look away
- almost all of them did in the heat of the battle on Friday. Looking away is the direct opposite to the "eye of the tiger" - it's more like the eye of the kitty kat. Looking away from your opponent means you are shielding your eyes. This is unwise for 3 reasons: For a start you can't really plant your punches and kicks when your eyes are dancing off in another direction. Your power goes where your eyes go. Second, you don't know when to duck, so you get hit more. It's like taking your eye off the ball... only it hurts more. But most of all, looking away shows fear. It means you are losing the mind game.
THE LESSON: Maintain the "eye of the tiger" from the launch of the punch to the follow through - and never, ever take your eyes off your opponent. As an old sign at the our boxing club used to say: "Keep your eyes up, your chin down and your ass of the canvas".
2. First timers in the ring tend to over train.
That's right, they train too hard and too long - often right up to a day or two before a fight. It's not hard to figure out why - they are so nervous they can hardly sleep at night - the demons of doubt visit them - and they over compensate by over training themselves into a crumpled up piece of hand wrap - without the elasticity. They get in the ring and they are cooked before they start. Plenty of them on Friday ran out of juice before the end of the first round.
THE LESSON: Taper your training. You are not going to get fitter in the last week before your fight. So back it off. The thing your body needs most is rest. No heavy sparring, no hard training - you'll wear yourself out before the opening bell. One of my early trainers used to make me back right off the whole week before a fight - and only do slow form training in front of the mirror. Not just for energy conservation - but so I entered the ring "hungry". For what ? Hungry to hit and be hit. Hungry to win.
3. First timers in the ring tend to forget all they learned. All those combos, strategies, attack and counter moves - gone , gone, gone - the moment of the opening bell. Why ? One reason might be this piece of timeless fight wisdom:
Everyone has a plan until they get hit
They all look so good warming up in the change rooms. You think - wow, what a fighting machine... their opponent is trouble. But often it's the big muscly guy with the great punches on the pads in the warm up room who gets KO'd - and it happened on Friday. Muscles don't help if you can't take a punch. And great technique on the pads doesn't help if you panic. A first timer has so much adrenalin - it can all fall apart. They freeze. At the end of the fight they can't remember a thing - and they are shaking their head saying: What happened ??
THE LESSON: Stay COOOOL . Super Relaxed is the way to be before a fight. Zone out with your ipod, have a dance or as one boxer I know used to do... read a good book.
Now the Love Story
Most would say that a boxing ring is for making war, not love. But you never know your luck.
Over the years at Boxout we suspect there has been more than a few Boxout couples formed (is that the word?). No doubt some went the distance, while others ended in an early TKO.
So when a company called Fit2date suggested we let you know about their Fitness Bootcamps with a bit of Love thrown in, my first reaction was to say not likely. Boxout is here to help people get fit, not hitched. Besides, if you've found a good boxing workout do you really need love ?
Hang on, I thought, there's more to a healthy heart than simply blood flow, and maybe some park sprints and piggy backs with hot and sweaty members of the opposite gender is just what some of you want. Fit2date is not hitched to Boxout in any way - so you might have to show them a thing or two about boxing. And they can give you some love-tips in return. We expect you to share these.
They have offered a 2 for 1 for Boxout people for their 4 week workout (make out?) course in St Leonards park kicking off in April. I'm not trying to lose you all to what could be considered our competitors across the road, it's just that Boxout tries to think of your every need.
The details of their offer and website are at the bottom of this post. Also I have suggested an idea to perhaps run a singles workout in our boxing ring. Don't be shy now - would anyone like to see it happen ?? Or are we losing the plot ?
In your corner,
Patrick
ps - there will not be a class on Easter Saturday - the PCYC is closed.
Here is The Offer Fit2Date sent to us
Fit2date is offering 50% off the 4-week course. You will meet the same group of between 12 – 16 people once a week for an hour of training which is anaerobic based, with lots of intervals, core and body weight resistance work and challenging but fun team activities. All you have to do to get this special offer is for you and a fit single friend to sign up together and you both get to come for half price. In April there are 2 groups in North Sydney, right across from Boxout – to join one of these groups and to take advantage of this amazing offer go to www.fit2date.com.au and use the code word ‘buddy’ to redeem the discount. The groups are filling fast, so get in quick!
Add a Comment
-
Comment by Margaret Peterkin on April 1, 2009 at 12:27am -
Thats so funny!!
Fit2Date
Damn why am i not still there!
Okay, how about this? 'Speed Boxing? If you don't like your component (date) after the 3 min round you get to punch them? bit harsh?
Ha ha,
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