Sep 04 2007
Fatigue Makes Us Cowards
Vince Lombardi once said, “Fatigue makes cowards out of all of us!” I think this quote is particularly relevant to boxing.
Fatigue Dictates Style
Fear of fatigue effects a boxer’s style and which technique they use. Bending ones legs is something boxers often skip in the ring, even though it provides safety during body punching and allows one to sit down in their punches to squeeze out more power.
Punch output is important, especially with the scoring in amateur boxing. There are many cases where a boxer should get busy punching but he’s saving his strength. This same fear can rob a boxer of his mobility.
Fatigue and Mental Toughness
While some gyms spar when their fighters legs are fresh, I always end up training where we spar after a tough workout. Sparring after training conditions the mind too. All through training you’ll wonder if you should go easy and save your energy so you don’t end up as somebody’s human punching bag. Yet deep down you know training all out is the best way to become great. As well as building mental toughness these pressures encourage one to work on their cardio outside their gym time.
Endurance is King
Cardiovascular endurance is vital. Leg strength and endurance are of supreme importance. Punching endurance is required. Endurance will make you brave in the ring, fatigue will make you a coward.
One of the best ways I have found to fight fatigue is to use energy more efficiently. The two things that have helped me the most are:
1. staying relaxed, and
2. staying on my toes.
Staying relaxed may seem like the most counterintuitive thing anyone can suggest to you, but it is such a powerful maneuver that it deserves a lot of practice. When I am relaxed, I do not get so tired. Further, I am able to increase my punch output (very important in an amateur bout, as you observed), move around more easily, and beat the other fellow to the punch.
Staying on my toes has allowed me to move much faster and with greater balance than moving in a flat-footed manner. Jumping rope is a great preparation for staying on your toes. My current coach got me doing more rope jumping, and the result was that I was staying on my toes and moving a lot more easily and smoothly after only two weeks of practice.
Boxing is a very tiring sport. However, it need not be exhausting in the first two rounds. Holding back does not work for several reasons. First, in an amateur match, you simply don’t have time. The rounds are just 2 minutes long (sometimes even shorter) and you only have 3 or 4 of them. You have to “be first” and keep scoring. There is no time for a “feeling out” period.
Second, holding back in the first and second rounds is likely to get you outpointed in the third round. Theoretically, you could save everything up and go for the knockout punch in the last round, but that is not advisable because the other guy may be in good enough shape to defend against your bombs and keep scoring.
Third, staying passive to conserve energy will embolden your opponent to try to stop you with a big punch or flurry of shots.
As you suggested, sparring at the end of a tough workout is excellent training. It is good physically, but I think it’s even better mental training. If you’re getting ready for a bout (and, Nerd of Steel, if I remember right, you were getting ready for a bout soon), then work with your coach to set up sparring with a partner who will really push you at the end of of your workout. When you’re getting off the stool to start the final round of your competitive bout, you’ll be really glad for that intense sparring you had when you thought you just couldn’t hold your hands up any longer, but you dug deep inside and found the strength not just to hold them up, but to keep punching with them for 2 minutes.
Friday nights were the sparring nights and I often felt that I needed to pace myself not to get totally exhausted before stepping into the ring for a 3×3…I guess my lack of fitness was the prime motivation for this thought.
Not always did I employ this tactic but when I did do, I knew that I was cheating myself.
I totally agree that mental toughness is extremely important and while overcoming one’s physical limitations is great, it can’t be said enough about the level of fitness that you must have, in order to be successful in the ring.
I think what you said above struck a chord with Steve so that he came up with a comprehensive post of his own.
M
All too true.
I just had my first sparring experience this evening.
I sparred a good friend, so there was no overt fear of being pummeled, but the anxiety was present nonetheless. The first round I went was a disaster. I kept turning my back, dropping my hands.. basically everything I’d been learning went out the window.
I rested for several rounds, at first sure I wasn’t getting back in that evening. But as I watched I realized the best thing I could do was get back in the ring. My buddy and I went again. This time, I did much better. I blocked his jab, followed it in, found a few openings here and there. He dominated the fight, of course, particularly when he stared employed some well timed feints. I took a good cross to the head that brought me to my knee - and I’m sure I wouldn’t have been dropped had it not been for fatigue. In other words, as good as the punch was, it was the surrender that being tired brings on more than the hit itself that was trying to take over.
All that being said, I was really pleased with going at it, and I look forward to going at it again and learning more and doing better. All the guys at this gym are really encouraging at a wide variety of levels, but the same passion for the sport.
Thanks for the great site and blog here. This article really hit home for me.
Jeffrey
Great comments Steve. You should blog about what it’s like in an amateur bout. I think you’d be able to articulate that well.
Staying relaxed and breathing is really helpful for endurance.
Jeffrey,
Sounds like you did good. One piece of advice I was given is if your going to get hit, might as well see the punch hit you. Once you get over the hump of being able to see the punches, things get easier…
Nerd of Steel