new to boxing, tips apprieciated

[Chad Armstrong]

hi everyone, i just recently decided to take up boxing, i have been pondering it for a while but havnt really seriously thought about it until now and i woulkd love to learn how to but the only problem is the closest boxing club and coaches r a 3 hour drive away from where i live, so any tips on what i can do at home to learn the basics of boxing would be appreciated oh and i have a punching bag in my basement it is hanging from a chain so any tips on using it properly would also be appreciated.

thanks alot

[Rebar Tao]

You and me both have a problem. I'm in the middle of Chicago, with Crunch/Bally's gyms--plural-- (weights, aerobics, big-city-type gym in general) blocks away. And they've got $12,000 Everlast rings, expensive leather bags, all that.

But you can't box there!! The sign says, "You can stretch, dance, jump rope in this ring. But only with a Crunch instructor." Literally, you can't enter the ring and shadow box! They're afraid I'll fall down my bung and can't get up (the ring's a foot off the ground) while getting in and out of the ring! The only thing you'll ever hit in the "Knockout Boxing" (!) class is a focus mitt or bag.

I've had some real intense talks with the coaches. They're for real, street fighters and pro boxers some of them. It was hard as hell to corner them--very evasive--but bottom line: You cannot contact box here. No bloody noses or black eyes. "Oh, I've seen guys really hurt, lose a tooth. You don't want to get hurt like that...I don't know where you get this idea it's cool to get hit and get a black eye..."

Some one help us! It's the same every gym I've gone to--the famous Windy City Gym, the CYO, Chicago Park District--no sparring.

If you can spar, count your blessings. I'd F#ing walk to that gym!

[MAMA_Boy]

The main thing that I would suggest you work on is relaxing your shoulders while hitting and guarding up. That is probably the most common mistake for beginners. You'll notice it after a while if you don't loosen them. They start to burn pretty hardcore.

Try jumping rope for a while before working out your punches. That usually helps to tire the shoulders and relax them. Good luck.

[Rebar Tao]

Chad

Sorry to dump that on you. Very inappropriate. I might have some hints...
but it seemed ironic that you've got a gym, but it's 200 miles away. And I've got four within a mile, but I can't box at them...got carried away. They flat out over-mother us in Chicago: "IL-Annoy: The Nanny State."

Here's what a very good coach told me. He's a USA certified (I think that's the title), Jerome N. Nealon. Skip rope a lot. If you stand on the rope with both feet, you should be able to pull the ends of the handles up high enough so that they touch your armpits. It's a whole body workout. Run a lot, do wind sprints while you're doing distance. It's a huge advantage to be in toip aerobic shape when the other guy isn't.

It's all about footwork, I'm finding out, footwork and balance. Jerome did caution me about practicing by myself, saying, "You practice your mistakes till you're very good at them."

By all means hunch your shoulders up. I was leaning forward (off balance) and squatting (easy, strong quads) to compensate and keep my balance.
What a huge difference keeping my trunk straight up and down made.

There's a site called Title Boxing. I think they're the one's that have boxing videos, some as cheap as $10. That one was made by a former middleweight champ. Google "boxing + instructional videos"

Guard up means way up. While I got disgusted and quit going because of the sparring thing, I did drill a lot at the gyms under a lot of coaches before then. All of them emphasized keeping my fists so high the base of my thumbs were level with my ear hole. Keep the elbows tucked in, too, both in defense and when punching. I'm always flaring them out, a bad habit I'm good at.

Don't hop. Shuffle. Shuffle. Shuffle! You're hopping! Shuffle...that's it!

Deflect my right cross with your left shoulder. Look at me when you do it. Raise your shoulder and touch it with your chin...look at me, look at me...that's it. Keep your guard up!

Look at your stance. The very first thing a guy is going to do on the street is kick you in the balls. Keep your left side in front. (That's from a kickboxing school 20 years ago)

By the way, Chad, where the hell do you live? I mean, it must be nice to shoot your gun out the back door and all, but...

One more thing. Protect your hands! Wrap them, use gloves (I used to be macho and brag how I never used gloves). I screwed mine up hitting something with the third and fourth knuckles. The first and second ones have support; the other two don't. Something to do with bones, ligaments, whatever. It ached for a long time, but thank God it got better. A boxer's hands are supremely important.

Let me know how this works out after you get it together, send me a personal message or whatever they call it.

John

[Chad Armstrong]

thanks for the tips, ya the shadow boxing is great practice and im just getting a speedbag today, but i am hoping to be able to sparr at an actual gym, and im going to save up my cash to get a trainer, this guy i know hes in grd 12 (im in grd 10) he is an excellent boxer, hes hella strong and fast as hell, im going to get some tips froim him to.

thanks again

Chad.

[James137]

Definitely wrap and wear gloves. I put my fist through a glass door once while in rare form and severed multiple tendons, arteries, and nerve endings (not exactly relevant...but you get the point...you can really damage your hands.).

And, like the other guy said, hands up! Think of your gloves as goggles and look through the goggles. And always keep your eyes on your opponent...don't look down. That's all I've got. Don't cross your feet, keep 'em wide.

[Tom Yum]

The analogy I like to use for keeping your hands up is like you're talking on two cell phones at the same time.

Keep your chin down, your vision up and outward.

[Michael Wright]

In addition to all of the great advice above, three key things that I have personally learned:

1. Understand why you want to box. Fitness? The Art? Self-Defence? To compete? Understanding this clearly in your own mind before you walk in the gym will really influence how much you get out of it.

2. Don't be in a rush to spar, don't let anyone push you into sparring, and don't let anyone use you as a punchbag in sparring.

3. Roadwork, roadwork, roadwork. I always used to wonder why Boxers placed so much emphasis on running.....until I did my first few rounds! So much of what you need comes from the legs.

All the best of luck, let us know how you get on.

[Britt]

The analogy I like to use for keeping your hands up is like you're talking on two cell phones at the same time.

Heh. My old coach's saying: "You got your momma on one phone and your grandmomma on the other one, and you're always talking to one of 'em. Hi mom! Hi grandma! Hi mom!"