Jun 12 2007
How Much Does Boxing Hurt?
This will be the first of the more informative posts which I’m going to focus on in this blog.
How much does boxing sparring hurt? …Well, it really depends on what level of training you’re involved in.
Hobbyists, Weekend Warriors, White Collar Folks
I spent years in a Muay Thai and boxing as a hobbyist. I definitely trained at reputable gyms that had reputations for producing top amateur and professional fighters, but I never expressed an interest in competing and only sparred so I could develop some proficiency.
During this period of training I would have said, “No, it doesn’t hurt that much.” The adrenalin is pumping, you’re wearing protective gear, there is a kind of a gentleman’s agreement not to kill each other, etc.
In this period of my training I did accrue some bruises, even got a black eye here or there. But overall, despite the excitement, it was pretty tame.
Competitive Boxing
Once you express a desire to compete in the amateur ranks, your training and sparring becomes more intense. You spar longer and with a better class of fighters. These guys/girls are much harder to hit and hit back a lot harder.
Getting a broken or swollen nose, black eyes, bruised or broken ribs is more common in this type of sparring. Also sparring with body punchers is more common (beginners rarely have developed body punches). The types of dings I listed don’t happen all the time, but are more common. Additionally as you develop your defensive game, it gets easier.
Really with the adrenalin pumping you often don’t feel head punches when they occur, you feel them afterwards. But body punches can hurt a lot, even with well developed abs. Taking your first liver shot is quite an experience.
I will say that sometimes there is no distinction between the sparring for the hobbyists and the real boxers. Some gyms put the hobbyists through the school of hard knocks too. However with so many hobbyists, women and yuppies flocking to even the most hardcore inner city boxing gyms, there generally are two type of sparring going on.
