Nerdcore Boxing

I’ve been pondering for a long while what kind of boxers make me nervous. I spent a lot of time looking back on times I felt apprehensive about getting in the ring with certain guys. And I spent some time asking other boxers what makes them nervous.

Between myself and the boxers I talked to we came up with a lot of good answers and good attributes that make a boxer frightening. Many of these are things I’ll focus on more in my training. But in the end I was quite surprised at the attribute that came up the most.

What attribute most frightens you in an opponent? The survey says????

Hand Speed?

While hand speed is important, in my opinion, it’s slightly overrated. A good boxer doesn’t stand in punching range for long anyway. Almost no one I talked to singled out hand speed either.

Mobility?

While I don’t worry about hand speed too much, foot speed is a big deal. A guy that’s always out of reach and can strike at will is dangerous. Still it ranks in the relative middle of my “scary list” as well as in the lists of most of the boxers I polled.

Body Punchers?

Now we’re talking! Lots of people singled out body punchers. It’s hard to defend high and low. Body punches hurt and can lead to TKO’s. Plus the thought of body blows stealing one’s endurance is alarming.

Power Punchers?

Power punchers are frightening. A guy with true one-punch KO power has to be THE scariest opponent. But how many guys out there have that kind of KO power? Not many. I guess this is the reason it wasn’t the top answer.

The Survey Says!?!?

What was the top answer? Well, as one boxer put it, “I’m afraid of the guy I can’t hit.”

When one boxer mentioned only defense in his, “scary list,” I realised that defense was on everyone’s list. I also realized that my 3 most intimidating sparring partners had only great defense in common.

It makes sense when considering my own attitudes and motivations. I can take the risk of possibly going down, I can take getting beat up, I can take gassing, but if I can’t land punches I’m not in the fight. There’s nothing worse than when you’ve gotten to the bottom of your bag of tricks and nothing is working. Great defense absolutely demoralizes opponents.

I’ve always valued defense, but after this epiphany I’m doubling my efforts. Back to working on my defensive footwork!

What makes a boxer tough enough for the sport? And can this toughness be built up over time, or does it have to be there from the start?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the last few days after seeing the all too common ritual of throwing a new guy in with a bigger/better boxer to take his first real beating (note this wasn’t at my gym). In this instance I saw a once proud and swaggering teenager break down and quit. Did that mean this kid will never be boxing material?

If his body can be built up to take punishment, why can’t his mind? Personally I think the boxing mind can be conditioned somewhat gradually, just like the body. But I guess a boxer’s will is the big variable that trainers want to size up. Thus the school of hard knocks maintains its popularity.

Sparring is for learning, for working on things. It’s for getting ready for a fight, but it’s not a fight. Don’t try and knock out your sparring partners.

You can still spar hard and not try to KO people. If you actually do KO one of your partners, you’re probably going to really hurt his chin (chin means one’s ability to take a punch without getting wobbled). And since your partner likely isn’t trying to KO you, don’t you think it’s kind of lame to ambush him during practice?

At every gym I’ve ever trained at, there is always that one guy that’s trying to hurt his sparring partners. If you happen to be that guy, you should know, people talk. And in your case they probably have nothing nice to say.

This post is a continuation of Boxing Tips: Sparring Comfortably, Part I.

As I developed in the ring beyond basic defense, some endurance and jab, I recall encountering these stages:

Stage 4: Getting Distance Right

By the time you start to learn to land your jab you’ll have already developed some sense of distance. Next you’ll notice that even though you can find your opponent’s head with the jab your opponent often slips or counters your jabs. If you’re having this next issue it’s because you’re reaching. Reaching refers to starting to throw the punch little too soon during the step forward. If you have this bad habit instead of your jab being a weapon a good boxer will just use this flaw to tee off on you.

Even when your jab develops there is still a lot to learn about distance. I found getting distance right has a lot to do with getting used to contact. When you get closer to your opponent things get dangerous. Yet you need find your range, come forward to land and get out of range.

Stage 5: The Old One-Two
After your jab starts landing regularly it’s time to throw the cross.

Watching a new boxer’s cross is often amusing, it’s kind of a girly pawing punch. But most people go through this stage so don’t be embarrassed. Partly it’s because the boxer is simply afraid to come forward.

Once you start throwing a real man’s cross, you’ll have to get it to land. I found when I first started to develop my cross, hook and uppercuts, I’d telegraph them (meaning signal that I was about to throw). In my case I’d cock it back, or start the punch by raising my elbow. Before my hook I’d pause to shift my weight to the left.

You may telegraph your punch differently. Ask your sparring partners why they can always slip a particular punch, they might be able to help isolate the problem.

Stage 7: Seeing Punches Coming & Slipping

It’s the punch you don’t see that lands clean. If you saw it coming it probably didn’t land cleanly. You need to gain the guts to watch the punch as it flies into your mug. You especially want to watch the big punches. If you close your eyes or turn your head then you’ll have little chance of slipping or rolling it off.

A trainer once said to me, “If you’re going to get hit, you might as well see the punch coming.” Following this advice dramatically improved my defense.

Stage 7: Building Your Arsenal

Learning to regularly and cleanly land more than a jab against a good boxer can take some time. When you can consistently land the jab-cross combo against quality competition you’ve accomplished something. Congratulations! Now the fun really begins.

A few days ago I went to another gym to watch one of my sparring partners spar with a few pro boxers and some very experience amateurs. We weren’t the only ones there and I had the fortune to watch a number of very talented pro and am boxers step in the ring.

When bringing a fighter to another gym, it’s not a real fight, but it’s definitely a different experience than watching two “sparring partners” go at it. A couple of the boxers looked initially surprised at their opponents whaling away, as was I. As expected, the pros that had less to prove weren’t the ones dishing out most of the punishment, it was the amateur boxers trying to make a name for themselves.

A few guys were “hurt” and needed the equivalent of standing 8’s, and some blood was split. But for me, it was a good lesson learned.

This is the second installment 0f Hiding Injuries from White Collar Jobs. In all likelihood you won’t need this particular type of boxing tips often, but just in case here it goes.

Nose Issues

Fortunately your nose toughens up a bit. Swelling and bleeding are most common when you first start sparring. Nose injuries tend to cause numbness and are not very painful (I don’t consider them painful at all), but they are kind of annoying.

Swollen noses are tough to breath through and often cause “whistling.” Fortunately most people don’t realize this and won’t associate your temporarily nasal voice with boxing.

The day after I busted my nose boxing, the president of my company called me into her office and had me read something off a document (just my luck). At the end she squinted at me and asked, “Do you have a cold?” I replied, “My nose is just stuffed up” Heh, heh, heh…

If your nose bled a lot the night before, you’ve got some scabs holding the internal cuts together. Bleeding can start again if you rub, wiggle or bump it. For the love of god, don’t blow it at work!!! You’ll get a gusher. Just in case I suggest avoiding a white shirt.

Using Do-It-Yourself Coagulants
There are some over-the-counter products that act as blood coagulants and can prevent or stop a nose bleed.

Disclaimer:

Ask your doctor about this next tip before attempting it. The Nerd of Steel is not a doctor, doesn’t give medical advice, and writes this blog for entertainment purposes only.

Anyway Neosporin is a blood coagulant. If nose bleeds are a big issue apply some in your nostril using a q-tip.

Learning the Art of Cover Up

I once had my nose busted and two black eyes from sparring (long story). At my current job this wouldn’t have been a big deal, but at that time I worked as a spokesperson for an good sized software company. I often took interviews with the media, once even being interviewed on CNN. Needless to say, I was in real danger of being fired if I didn’t handle it carefully.

Let’s just say sometimes you may have to swallow your manly pride and buy some makeup. Go to the beauty dept of the applicable store near you and explain your predicament to the women who works there. She’ll probably laugh at you, but then she’ll help you pick out the makeup and explain how to apply it.

Practice Makes Perfect

Don’t let the morning of work be the first time you breakout the Preparation H and attempt to rest your glasses on that fat sausage of a swollen nose. Run through your routine the night before. After spending a week managing one black eye you’ll develop the skills that would make even a mortician proud. My wife will tell you, after that one incident she is in awe of my skills.

Summary

• Don’t worry, people are unobservant regarding changes to appearance.
• Don’t put your attention on your facial bruise while talking to others.
• Use Preparation H to manage swelling.
• Wear glasses to hide black eyes.
• If you’re desperate, and very comfortable with your masculinity, use makeup. Practice applying the night before.
• Avoid white shirts in case of spontaneous nose bleeding.
• Neosporin is a useful coagulant.

All of these tips make white collar boxing sound more dangerous to your face than it really is. Put this post in perspective, these are remedies for the rare worse case scenarios.

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 techniques 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 and 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.

Fear definitely robs a boxer of his mobility.

Fatigue and Mental Toughness

While some gyms spar when their fighters legs are fresh, I always end up training at clubs 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

Aerobic and anaerobic endurance is vital. Leg strength and cardiovascular endurance are of supreme importance. Punching endurance is required. It will make you brave in the ring, but fatigue will make you a coward.

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.