Nerdcore Boxing

I find foolish pride is often like a virus eating a way at my ability to train effectively. Certainly an important boxing tip would be to get over one’s self.

A major barrier to improving in boxing is fear of failure or awkwardness. It keeps people from beginning training. It’s why some only practice the same combos they’ve already mastered. It often keeps one from working on fluidity and footwork since these will make you feel the most awkward.

This fear certainly limits your selection of sparring parters. It will keep you from sparring the better boxers in the gym, even though that’s probably how you’ll learn the most. If will keep you from sparring the new guy who learns faster than you because you’ll be forced to confront he has passed you by.

Fear of leaving the comfort zone is why I think you see boxers with the same weakness year after year. Get over yourself, don’t be afraid to try new things and leave your comfort zone. That’s how you’ll get to the next level.

Since I’m planning on doing a series of boxing tips I wanted to clarify that this blog focuses on tips for fighting experienced boxers. Without this clarification there will be some new boxing students sitting at home saying things like, “I always push the bag and I never have trouble landing power punches against my friends.”

Four Types of Boxers 

In boxing training you’re going to step into the ring with one of 4 types of people:

The Boxer – This guy has learned the sweet science, he’s in shape, he’s fluid, he’s mobile and he’s elusive. This guy knows tricks that will shock you and make you feel clueless. And unfortunately he can hit hard.

The Slugger - This guy may have been around or some time but for some reason hasn’t really learned the sweet science. Maybe he doesn’t care to, maybe he thinks he doesn’t have to listen to his trainer, or maybe he just relies on his natural power too much. See further info in my post Brawlers vs Boxers.

The Amazing Athlete - Boxing requires endurance, speed, power, fluidity, balance and refined footwork. Some rare individuals have athletic backgrounds where these are already highly developed and pick up boxing unusually fast. I hate these guys (sorry, that’s jealousy talking).

The Untrained – This guy may never have thrown a punch before, or he may have come from a martial arts background, or he may have had lots of street fights. But when in the ring, he doesn’t know squat compared to the Boxer.

Of course there are different degrees of Boxers, Sluggers and many levels of cluelessness in the Untrained, but this is a good categorization.

Difference Between the Read Deal and the Rest 

A person with decent boxing skills should be able to land a variety of punches against the Untrained. He may be in constant danger with the Slugger, but he should be able to land punches when he’s not weathering the storm. The Athlete is unpredictable, it depends how gifted he is. The Boxer is a whole other animal. Against the Boxer you might not even be able to land a single clean jab for many rounds when you first spar.

If you want to develop you should spar with the Boxer. That’s where you’ll learn the most and that’s were you’ll learn what you know and what you don’t know. If you can never land a left hook against the Boxer, you can’t properly throw it. If you can land it, then the Untrained, the Slugger and the Athlete will be easy pickings for your left hook.

Don’t be confused, the boxing tips and techniques on this blog are to help you in sparring the Boxer.

People unfamiliar with training at a boxing gym might be slightly intimidated by the environment. There’s no reason to be.

Boxing gyms are diverse places housing thugs, wannabe tough guys, criminals, kids, yuppies, women, amateur boxers and celebrity pro boxers. Due to the testosterone overload you’d think there would be a lot of tension at boxing gyms, but I’ve almost never seen it.

So much of masculine behavior is posing and attempting to display power: a man’s image, his dress, his tatoos, the way he walks around other men. There’s often a hint of violence behind these things, no matter how deeply buried. But in the ring it doesn’t matter how many tatoos you have, how long your criminal record, or how many untrained fighters you’ve beat up. To get in the ring and face another man in combat cuts through all this bullshit.

It takes a special kind of person to box, and these unique people develop a natural kinship. This bond goes across all boundaries, no matter race, nationality, creed, socio economic status or criminal profile. Boxing is the great equalizer.

I don’t care who you are, where you come from, or what you look like, if you keep your mouth shut and work hard you’ll fit in.

This is the second part of my two part series of posts on how to evaluate a boxing or kickboxing gym. (See: How to Evaluate a Boxing Gym – Part I)

Watch Out for Frauds in MMA and Kickboxing
Boxing is a more regulated and popular sport at the amateur level, so frauds aren’t that common. MMA and kickboxing on the other hand are infested with frauds. With the rise of MMA, every mini-mall McDojo is looking to hop on the bandwagon by adding the words, “kickboxing” and “MMA” to their signs.

Don’t just ask if they train fighters, ask around as to their reputation. Buyer beware.

Legit Gyms Train Fighters
Use the following criteria to determine if it’s the real deal:

1. Is sparring available?
2. Does sparring occur regularly?
3. Does the gym regularly train amateur fighters?

If the answer is no to the above three questions, it’s likely a cardio-boxing or watered down martial arts class. Of course make exceptions for a brand new gym that hasn’t recruited enough boxers yet.

Again, when in doubt ask around. What do other nearby gyms say?

Equipment
They should have a boxing ring, heavy bags, double end bags, focus mitts and lots of mirrors so you can watch your form. Most gyms have speed bags, but they are probably overrated. If the gym is missing one of these pieces of equipment I wouldn’t worry too much, but it should have most of the above.

Pricing
Boxing has traditionally been a poor man’s sport. Free training is out there. Inexpensive gyms typically run $30-50/month. You’ll also find well known pro gyms that let you in the door for $50 or so per month, but require additional hourly rates to get time from trainers.

Similar programs at MMA/kickboxing gyms often run $70-300/month, with MMA being on the higher end.

Happy hunting!

If you just want to get into shape there are many cardio boxing programs out there that will do the trick. But if you really want to learn to box and think you might compete someday, you’re going to need to learn how to pick out a good boxing gym.

Types of Gyms
Here are some of different types of gyms. Note many gyms fall under more than one of these categories.

1. Gyms with Classes – These are run a bit like martial arts schools, except the classes are a lot more physical. The class advantage is that you won’t fall through the cracks, each student is put through a specially designed regiment. The disadvantage is a lack of individual attention and having beginners hold (or try to hold) punch mitts for you.

You may notice some more experienced boxers only selectively participating in classes. These guys spend a lot of time working out between classes and during class are busy working on specific things (or possibly avoiding crappy mitt holders).

2. Traditional Gyms -Traditionally speaking, boxing and Muay Thai (as trained in Thailand) doesn’t have classes. Trainers hang around the gym and work with fighters individually or direct them to do bagwork, shadowboxing, calisthenics, or setup sparring. Since there are no classes, you get the benefit of flexible training times.

3. Mixed Gyms – Kickboxing and MMA gyms sometimes have boxing programs. Generally these gyms have large facilities, but training times are often inflexible due to the panorama of classes.

4. Pro vs. Amateur Gyms – This distinction generally only exists in traditional boxing gyms. Some gyms specialize in pro fighters and some in amateur fighters. Pro and amateur are actually completely different boxing styles. Beginners should stick to amateur gyms in my opinion.

Trainer Attitude
A boxing trainer trains boxers. They don’t run the welcome committee. When it comes to new arrivals, this is what a trainer sees:

• Say a sample of 400 people visit the gym to watch or workout
• Probably 100 of them become regulars
• 25 progress far enough (and are willing) to spar
• After the initial beating, 8 of them spar more than a few times
• Only 1 of them competes

In the first session you’re just one of the 300 people out of the 400 who won’t come back. Should the trainers politeness in your first session be a factor? No!!! Don’t rate the gym on the trainer’s initial gruffness with you. You start out a nobody, you’ll have to train hard to earn respect and build a bond with your trainer.

Stay tuned for Part II in this series.

I run into people online all the time that are training themselves because they couldn’t find a gym, even though they live right next to one.

Don’t just look in the phone book and then give up! Gyms can be difficult to locate, but every major city has them.

Resources to Locate Boxing and Kickboxing Gyms
The best method to find a gym is to go online to a boxing, kickboxing or MMA forum and ask for recommendations in your area. Some major forums worth mentioning are Sherdog, AX Kickboxing, Underground Forum and Eastside Boxing. Note Sherdog and the Underground Forum, being MMA forums, have sub-forums for MMA, kickboxing and boxing. You might need to post on more than one of their boards.

Here are additional resources:

1. Try looking for on-line gym directories. Here are some good ones: BoxingGyms.com, BoxingHelp.com, Fightfind.com and AXKickboxing.com.
2. Search Google Local using your local address. For example, “Boxing gym, Los Angeles, CA.”
3. Call up any nearby gyms you do find and ask if they can tell you who else is around. They may not tell you, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
4. Go ahead and check the phone book, though you probably won’t find much.

Remember MMA, Boxing and Kickboxing Overlap
Many MMA schools have boxing and kickboxing programs. Many kickboxing gyms have boxing programs. If you want boxing, don’t only look for “boxing gym” listings.

Other Organizations
YMCA’s have traditionally had amateur boxing programs.

I’m not sure if you’ll be able to get serious training there, but check out your local colleges, sometimes they have classes or clubs.

Self Training
Can one train themself at home? No!!! You need a trainer. You need to be around trained boxers.

If you’re going to take this ill advised path, at least take a long drive to the nearest gym once and a while. Workout with a trainer, get some tips, get your form corrected and then work on these new things at home.

I talk about my boxing class a lot on this blog. I thought I would post the details of our workout so you can compare it with yours.

Strictly speaking boxing isn’t taught in classes. Often a boxing gym has trainers around that work with fighters individually along with encouraging these boxers to spend time working on their own.

These days classes are becoming more common, even at the most hardcore gyms. I could, and probably will, spend an entire post discussing advantages and disadvantages of training in a class format.

My boxing club has a pretty intense class. Our class runs 2.5 hours, though the last 30 minutes is sparring. Below is our regiment.

Note, for those brand new to boxing, training is almost always done on the round system. We do an activity for a 3 minute rounds, have a 30 second rest and then go back to the next 3 minute activity.

Stretching

We do full body stretching for about 7 or so minutes.

Running

A short run, including running forward, sideways, backwards and skipping.

Footwork Drills

Footwork and balance form the backbone of boxing. We do a variety of drills, moving forward and backwards bobbing/weaving, v-slipping, pivoting and various other exercises.

Shadow Boxing

Three or four rounds of group shadow boxing. The trainer calls out a boxer to choose a sequence and everyone does this sequence. I’m a big fan of this format because another boxer often picks sequences that I would never think of and it avoids falling into the trap of working on only things one feels comfortable with.

Jump Rope

Four rounds of jump rope with sets of 20 push ups during the 30 second breaks. At the end of the four rounds we do 2 more sets of push ups, making for 6 total sets. Note sometimes we do lunges instead of push ups on the break (but in this case we do 30-40 reps).

Focus Mitts

People pair up and each do 3 rounds of mitt work. This is the downside of a boxing class. Poor focus mitt holders can completely waste a training session. There’s nothing worse than the guy holding the mitt with floppy wrists. Would you like a hyper extended elbow with your round of mitts?

Open Period

During this period some people get extra rounds of focus mitts. Others do work on the heavy bag or speed bag, or do some shadow boxing. There is probably enough time in this period for 6-8 rounds of work.

Calisthenics/Isometrics

We do roughly 16-17 sets of work on the core. 90% abdominals, but a little lower back work too. I can’t emphasize how important core work is. Despite what beginners often believe, punching power comes from your legs and core. Upper body strength has only a very minor part in power punching. Conditioned abs also armor your body against punches and allow you to rapidly move your head when slipping punches.

Stretching

To finish off we repeat the same stretching routine done at the beginning of the class.

Sparring

Now it’s time to gear up and get in line to spar. Fighters spar a different number of rounds depending on their experience level, conditioning and if they have an upcoming fight. This varies anywhere from a few half rounds to 5 full rounds against a rotation of fresh boxers.