Defining successful when it comes to this gym is that when I walked in there was a dozen or so trophies won by girl boxers there who went to the Junior Olympics, and other youth boxing competitions. When it comes to my daughter? Well, at least for the moment she currently says she wants to be a professional fighter. She works very hard. So I am doing my best to give her whatever resources I can get her toward that dream, while at the same time making sure she does well in school in case it does not work out. I made it very clear to her that only a percentage of people end up having what it takes to go all the way. She understands that and has no unrealistic expectations. At the end of the day if she comes out of it just being able to defend herself and having a period of her life she can look back on with pride I will be satisfied.
Hard work goes a very long way... is she naturally gifted athletically as well? That always helps to get the best of both worlds.
It is hard to tell at the moment. In grappling her mind is ahead of her body. She grasps strategy and the nuances of the techniques and their purpose faster then most kids in her age group. Her flexibility is incredible. Her leg strength is great but she needs to work on her upper body which she is slowly but steadily doing. (The funny thing is, she punches extremely hard, but cannot do a lot of push ups. I was the same way and I have a feeling it's core strength.) I am only just now seeing what she has for boxing but her overhand right and right cross seem abnormally strong. And her cardio is awesome. She finished the whole boxing practice and was insistent about getting in the ring and hitting the pads with her coach. They did a whole round and she asked for a sip of water and then wanted to do another one. He was pretty impressed with her conditioning and drive. What I think we are looking at is someone who will make up for any physical weaknesses with a strategic mind, strong work ethic, and heart. When she gets bumped in wrestling she might tear up and I ask her if she wants to stop and she defiantly says no and jumps back on the mat. My son on the other hand is obviously naturally physically gifted, but his psychology is really rough. I spend a lot of time arguing with his negative inner monologue. He is extremely hard on himself in ways sometimes that are irrational. He is only seven so I am hoping he will mature out of that.
Muscle has nothing to do with power. It's all technique, leverage, arm length helps, etc. If she has a strong core, that's what counts. Don't worry if she can do massive amounts of push-ups. I can do 40 straight close hand position push-ups, but that doesn't mean I'm overall any stronger than the next guy have her do plyometric work... that's the big thing right now in boxing and in general many sports... even though it's been around forever. Also... if she has a great right cross, etc, that's great... but have her work on her jab. It is THE most important punch in boxing. Make sure while she is young that she understands how to keep herself at a distance and control that distance consistently with the jab... if the opponent steps in... then she can make them pay for it... but don't give her secrets away to potential opponents
My KB instructor does BJJ sessions 4 times a week where I train... they run 2 hours I believe... but then he goes a fifth time where his instructor is. I don't know when he will get his black belt, but I think it's pretty soon. He's a brown belt with a red sash or black or whatever? I don't recall exactly... just know the next step is his black belt, but yeah, 2 or 3 hours is a long time.
Every belt has up to four stripes on it and then you get to the next belt. White>blue>purple>brown>black You can have a belt and up to four stripes on it. Depending on the club, some clubs value every stripe and find it important, others are just handed out. Generally it reminds the instructor where you are at with your skill level At my club, generally, you roll with the instructor and afterwards he tells you "put X amount of stripes on your belt." It's not ceremonial, unlike when belts are awarded, which is done in front of the whole class
Oh ok, well then I don't know how many stripes he is. I just know he's brown and he said he had gotten a stripe... don't recall if it was red or black or something else? All I know is he's been at it for 8-9 years getting to his brown belt. Good to see an art that doesn't just hand out belts.
