First off, I am new here so hello to everyone. I have a friend who has never boxed before and he is learning how to box from a professional boxer. They box like 1 or 2 times a week and my friend is no match for this guy. My friend really wants to become a good fighter but I don't think boxing at a level he is nowhere near is a good way to go about it. I boxed with that guy too but I did not feel like I learned anything because of it. How can I? The whole time I was worried he will land a punch if I try something. When I box with my friend, who is at my level, I feel more comfortable and open to trying new things while we are boxing. So do you guys think my friends approach to learning how to box is good or not? He believes that boxing with someone a lot better then him will make him better faster, is this true?
it depends entirely on the attitude of the better boxer and what he's looking for with the exchange. If he's coaching and coaching well it will work great. The best way would be for him to coach you BOTH at the same time - then you could both watch him work with the other and also he could watch you work together.
If he is that good I doubt he will be going into hurting you guys. He can land a shot and it be controlled and painless. The main thing with boxing is you have to expect to get hit when starting out. The more you get hit in the early days the better you will apeciate the use of the little old Jab and how to defend. Then you will land more and get hit less. Boxing is a devastating art and one well worth sticking with. The focus in the begining for my students is to box, but you must understand you will get hit while learning, same as driving you will stall the car and in jujitsu when you start learning your WILL get choked out. It gets better with time and practice - also dont be afraid of this guy, when I was learning to improve my MT skills I was wanting to land shots and the pain thing aint so bad most of the time. Still he should exercise control. SONSHU
Here's a good article from the YODARCHIVES on learning to box... "GETTING HIT - CONTROLLING FEAR" (A forum Post by Pit Dog on December 02, 1997) There are a lot of forum members who are seemingly leery of "getting hit" - and yet they have a desire to take boxing. Some are concerned w/ getting brain damage; others just fear being hit...HARD. I don't think anyone of experience doubts that striking skills are important to a fighter: on the street, in NHB - wherever a fight takes place - knowing how to hit (and just as important, knowing how to avoid, or deal with, GETTING hit) are invaluable to a fighter. We forum members who have boxing (or Muay Thai) experience know that there really isn't that much to worry about in learning true striking disciplines - but it is hard to convince the uninitiated that trading blows is really no big deal. While I am certainly no threat to any boxing title, I have learned the basics, and beyond, in the "sweet science" of boxing. I can honestly say it took me about a year to a year-and-a-half to RELAX in the ring. To be comfortable in going head-to-head w/ a professional fighter. To stop worrying about GETTING HIT and to start concentrating on HITTING. In my gym I saw many people come to take up boxing, but then QUIT after being hit a few times. The reasons were always two-fold: 1) their fragile egos couldn't handle the idea of losing, and/or 2) they had the mindsets of cowards; they couldn't control their FEAR of being hit. Basically, both 1 and 2 involve improper mindsets. For the benefit of those forum members who have no striking experience, but want to acquire it, and yet allow their FEAR to stop them from trying, I will analyze the proper mindset one needs, and address these two negative factors which get in the way of a proper mindset. 1) Not being able to handle losing. If we decide to learn tennis, we realize that we will never be able to go on a court and whip a pro. Same thing with weightlifting - we realize we can't just walk into a gym and bench press 500 lbs. WE HAVE TO WORK AT IT - for years. Wrestling...BJJ...same thing. You have to work, for years, to get good. Really good. Yet for some reason many of us think we can just walk up to a professional boxer and knock him out. We view ourselves, inside, as "the ultimate badasses" when it comes to punching power. When we step into the ring for the first time and get the snot beaten out of us, we can't handle it. Our egos are shattered. How many of us have heard drunk idiots, watching the fights on TV, say "Hell, I could kick his ass!" as they watch some fighter get defeated. Those who utter such nonsense deserve to be instantly teleported into the pit with the losing fighters they're ridiculing to see if they really can "kick his ass." Their bold declarations would soon turn into pleas of mercy. Face it: when you first go to a boxing gym EXPECT TO BE DEFEATED WHEN YOU SPAR, but have this expectation IN A POSITIVE WAY. By that I mean LEARN FROM EVERY LOSS. Look at what the other fighter is doing to you, study it, and then TRY TO EMULATE WHAT HE'S DOING. This is the proper mindset to get better: forget about your ego, you're in there TO LEARN. When you lose as a beginner (and even when you're experienced), you turn those losses into BENEFITS by realizing that the superior fighter kicking your ass is TEACHING YOU SOMETHING. Eventually, if you have the guts to stick with it, it will be YOU who is kicking ass. This leads us to the next mindset problem. 2) A natural tendency towards cowardice. A brave man is one who recognizes a danger, he feels the fear, but he CONTROLS THE FEAR and faces the danger anyway. A coward also recognizes the danger, he also feels the fear, but it is here where he chokes and lets that fear CONTROL HIM and thus AVOIDS the danger. MOST OF US FEAR WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW. If we know something, we are comfortable with it, so what's there to fear? If we DON'T know something, we're wary, concerned, FEARFUL OF WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN. It is bridging the gap from NOT knowing how to fist fight, to KNOWING how to, that we need to cross. The brave man decides to go learn; the coward never tries. The brave man controls his fear and ventures into the unknown (where he will soon KNOW - and thus no longer fear) whereas the coward is controlled by his fear, avoids the unknown (and thus he will NEVER KNOW - and thus ALWAYS fear). Well so how does the natural coward control his fear and become brave? [We've all been here.] It is through the internalizing of the basic principles of human effectiveness. My boxing trainer always told me "The Lord said it's more blessed to give than to receive...and that's especially true in boxing." I used to laugh at this, but the older I got, and the more fighting (as well as LIFE experience I gained), the deeper I internalized this wisdom. For instance, here comes Christmas In this holiday season you will find the one great division of mindsets amongst the populace: those who are worried about what they'll GET, and those who are worried about what they'll GIVE. Those people who only worry about what they will GET are the small of spirit, shriveled and unevolved. Those who worry about GIVING are the happy ones, the ones we like, the ones who shine. By the very nature of giving, we EXTEND OURSELVES, our limits, and thus we GROW. By the very nature of TAKING, we withdraw into ourselves, and thus we SHRIVEL. Those who worry about what they're GETTING for Christmas make inferior human beings. Those who worry about GIVING at Christmas are superior human beings. THE SAME TRUTHS OF MINDSET APPLY IN BOXING (and in anything). If you step into the ring worried (or, worse, elect NOT to step into the ring), you will never grow. You will curl up in a ball and TAKE punches, because you're mindset is focused on what you'll be GETTING instead of what you'll be GIVING. The mindset of a true boxer is worried about HITTING, not BEING HIT. He learns the necessary defenses only so that he can CONTINUE HITTING. The negative mindset worries about being hurt, GETTING HIT, and so will never amount to anything but being a whipping boy. BOTTOM LINE: If you want to evolve and grow as a human being, don't worry about what you'll get from others...learn to give, to try, to extend yourself, and to concentrate on what YOU'RE DOING to and for others, not on what's being done to or for you. If you want to learn how to box, same thing: don't worry about what others will do to you, learn to give, to try, to extend yourself with effort, and concentrate on what YOU'RE DOING, not on what's being done to you. It all has to do with mind control. THE END PS: To Jeff who was worried about brain damage: I graduated from UCLA with a BA Degree in Philosophy (while boxing), I have a solid professional career as a claims investigator, and [last I checked (11 months ago)] my IQ is 143. Yes, you "can" get brain damage from boxing, but that's if you devote your life to being in the gym. I managed to get through 6 years of boxing, 2-3x per week against pros, with no ill effects. Don't let your FEAR prevent you from learning a valuable skill. Try and GROW...you'll be glad you did. Good Luck! (Copyright John A. Koerner II)
Thanks for the advice guys! Thank you for your responses, and I want to give a special thanks to you YODA for your last post, I learned a lot from that. I don't fear pain to be honest, but I have to admit I am always thinking about what I will be getting from my opponent when I am boxing. So that really helped, THANKS. Also, thanks in advance to anyone else who responds to this thread, because the more responses the better
This is something I do know a little about. Once you have your basic techniques down 'pat', you've done partner work and not much combination work, it's time to begin sparring. Stay away from people of a much higher level, unless they are prepared to cater for your needs. Train OFTEN. 1ce or 2ce a week is no good. You need to be working out between sparring sessions.
