boxing

29 Boxing Truisms for Improving Your Boxing Skills

admin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:50:00 -0400

The following are boxing truisms - things that are more or less universally accepted as boxing tips and the basics of a good boxing foundation. Inspiration for this post came from a 1999 post in the rec.martial-arts newsgroup by Frank Benn, of Integrated Arts, Austin Texas. Hopefully I've added some additional insight to his excellent work.

Focusing on the basics, with a few bonuses added in, these probably pertain to other sports such as the standup game in MMA as well, here we go:

1. Stance

Loose, but compact - chin protected by lead arm shoulder and back power hand, head tilted forward, looking up through your eyebrows, turned off from your opponent with legs solidly planted about shoulder width, presenting as little of a target as possible. Knees are bent, on the balls of your feet, groin protected, feet almost parallel. Mobile, static, and powerful.

More Detail: Boxing Basics, Boxing Tip #17 - Clamping Your Way to A Correct Guard Position, Types of Boxing Guards

2. Range

Highly unnatural, become accustomed to being just outside or even slightly inside the range of your opponents. You have to become comfortable with things flying at your face and barely missing. Develop the ability to measure an opponent's reach and remain a fraction of an inch out of it and not freak out and flinch when something comes flying at your face. Your movements have to be slight and always position you to throw back. Your defense exists to facilitate your offense - that's it.

More Detail: Boxing Tip #6 - How to Deal With Getting Hit, How to Win Any Fight

3. Never Ever Ever...

...take your eyes off your opponent. BUT, be careful of revealing your signs.

More Detail: Boxing Tip #5 - Learn to Read the Signs

4. Let it go by

Related to Range, don't always keep yourself outside of your opponent's reach, or he will forever be outside of yours. Bob, slip and weave occasionally to stay inside but keep from getting hit. Smaller fighters will magnify this problem against taller opponents - there is no way to be outside of their reach and be anywhere close to being able to launch your own assault. You have to learn to live and fight in their "zone".

More Detail: Boxing Defense, Boxing Tip #10 - Boxing a Taller Fighter

5. Everything is a Means to an End

Musashi says "Do nothing that is without a reason." Beware of wasting energy for no reason. Every defensive move, without a counterpunch falls into this category. If you have to move to avoid a punch, you better be delivering one as well or that initial energy expenditure is wasted. In a sport where conditioning is upwards of 75% of the battle, the less you expend to win the fight, the better.

As well, letting your opponent get comfortable knowing you aren't going to retaliate is just prolonging the inevitable. You can't block everything, and the only way to win is to fight back. You weaken your opponent's offense with your own offense. Isolated blocks and slipping without counters are useless in progressing towards the finish line.

More Detail: How to Win Any Fight, 7 Proven Ways to Increase Your Energy Levels, The Art of Counterpunching

6. Read the Signs

While Fred pointed out the hips in his original article, it is much more than just the hips that will forecast your opponent's intentions. Hips are one indicator and if a hip is moving, it is a good indication something is coming from that side. As well, the eyes, shoulders, twitches, ticks, habits, although they may be amateurish, will also tell you the same thing once you pick up on them.

More Detail: Boxing Tip #5 - Learn to Read the Signs, The Art of Counterpunching (section on watching your opponent's hands)

7. The Jab

The jab is the fundamental punch of boxing - learn it, love it, use it both as a weapon and as a setup tool for power punches. If you can jab, you can box, if you can't learn to love getting hit and you are nothing more than a puncher.

More Detail: The Jab - Boxing's Most Important Punch, Boxing Tip #14 - Jab Fake, Boxing Tip #1 - Jab Tap

8. The Can Opener and the Spoon

Boxing has a saying that your jab is a can opener and your cross is the spoon. Consider your opponent the can of meat. You can't use the spoon to dig out the meat until you open it with the can opener. In other words, you shouldn't necessarily be leading off your attacks with a cross or power punch. Use your jab to setup the second punch - punch in combination. Fred mentions two boxers that were successful at delivering power punches as lead punches (notice they are all super fast) - Roy Jones, Ali, and a pissed off Jack Johnson. Jabs, feints, and deception are the order of the day to ensure your power punches do the damage they are designed to do.

More Detail: Boxing Combinations, Boxing Tip #2 - Creating Openings

9. The Hook - "Crushing Peanuts and Come Here"

Two fundamentals to keep in mind for throwing a devastating hook - rotate on the ball of your lead foot like you are crushing a peanut into the floor and reach out with your arm like you want to grab your buddy in a headlock. Your wrist has no part in the hook - the punch can be delivered with a horizontal or vertical alignment in your wrist depending on the distance of your oppponent.

More Detail: The Left Hook

10. Balls of the Feet are the Gas, Heels are the Brakes

Rules of thumb for mobility and planting - if you're on the balls of your feet you can make quick movements, if you're on your heels you're in punching position and not moving anywhere quick leaving you susceptible to attack.

More Detail: Boxing Basics

11. Christmas

It is better to give than to receive. (I love that one...)

12. Speed

Speed is extremely important, but only in the aspect of surprise. To be more precise, the important thing is acceleration. If you are quick, but start out slow, any opponent with mobility can get out of the way by the time you reach full speed at extension, but if you come out of the gate like a racehorse, they aren't getting out of the way. Basically you need to develop explosive speed to beat your opponent's reflexes. Best way to do that - relax. Tight muscles will actually prohibit you from reaching your speed potential and speed is a key component of force.

More Detail: Speeds role in Power

13. Shoe in the Bucket

Describes the failure to shift your weight when throwing certain punches from the rear foot to the front foot. Most common is the cross as you pivot and rise onto the ball of your rear foot transferring the weight to your front leg. If you remain flat footed, you diminish the weight transfer and are in no position for follow up - you are now vulnerable.

More Detail: The Straight Right or Right Cross - Boxing's Natural Punch

14. Barrel of a Gun

When you punch, look down your arm like you are looking down the barrel of a gun. This will help to ensure your shoulder is protecting your chin. Fred uses the analogy of soldiers guarding the fort to describe your hands. As one of the soldiers goes off to make war, the other must protect the fort. If you throw, the hand not punching better be on the look out for the enemy.

More Detail: Boxing Punches, Boxing Basics

15. When there's weight, there's power

Power punches rely on weight transfer for the majority of their power and to get that, you have to load like pressing on a spring while not telegraphing what you are doing.

More Detail: Boxing Tip #16 - Power in the Pivot, Boxing Tip #5 - Learn to Read the Signs

16. Hourglass Stance

At the end of a cross (straight right or left) you are square onto your opponent and thus presenting one hell of a target. It is at this point, you must be extra vigilant and do something like bob and weave or move to get the hell out of the way of the counter punch. It is a necessary evil, but be prepared to deal with it. Have a plan and do something - anything, don't just stand there like a deer in the headlights.

17. 60/40 Rule

Describes weight positioning. At no time, do you want to put more than 60% of your weight on any one foot (except for extreme circumstances). Standing off balance is not good for your defensive or offensive game.

More Detail: Boxing Basics

18. Dancing

Why waste the energy dancing around the ring? There is a zone between you are your opponent called no man's land that you are constantly trying to seize. That's where your quick, short movements should be taking place in order to gain the advantage. Anything outside of that is wasted movement and energy. When you take that zone, commit to your punches and derive the power from the floor, up through your legs and hips exiting it through the end of your fist. The fleety, dancy movements will kill you in the longer rounds.

More Detail: Boxing Tip #7 - The Pendulum Step, 7 Proven Ways to Increase Your Energy Levels

19. The Generator

A nice analogy, power has to come from somewhere. In your house, your appliances get power from plugging into the outlet (or electric generator). In boxing, your punches get power when you plug into the power generator which is your legs and hips. All power comes from the bottom up. Arm power sucks.

More Detail: Boxing Tip #16 - Power in the Pivot

20. Better to make him miss by an inch, than a mile

Related to point 4 - if you over exaggerate your blocks or slips and make him miss by a mile, you are likely out of alignment to throw anything back. Get used to punches brushing your face, head and body and you will be much more successful. Tight, quick movements.

More Detail: Boxing Defense, Boxing Tip #10 - Boxing a Taller Fighter

21. Head at the Level of Your Punch

If you are punching to the body, you have to crouch down and throw it so your eyes/chin are directly across from your target. If you don't, think about what happens - you drop your arm completely exposing your chin/head. By dropping to the same level, you maintain your protection which is why it is absolutely crucial to develop strong power in your legs.

More Detail: Boxing Tip #8 - Effective Body Punches

22. Punching Power

The power of your punch comes at the end of it which is why it is necessary to develop ranging capabilities. If you push a punch (too close to an opponent) or fall short (too far away), you don't transfer the full power of the punch. It has to be just right. Fred's analogy - a train - you have to time things just right so that you are at the train station at the same time as the train in order to catch it. Your punch has to reach its max at the same time it is connecting with your target.

More Details: Boxing Punches

23. When to Catch Him

Your opponent is generally ready to avoid your first attack. He is ready for you and this is also the best time to test him to see where he is going. In a fight - it is all muscle memory - there is very little actual conscious thinking about what you are going to do - you just react based on what you have drilled into your body. So, throw that first jab and see what your opponent does, then you'll know what you have to do to catch him.

This is why learning to throw combinations is so important. Although he can block or move out of your first punches way, unlikely he can get out of the way of a 3 or 4 punch combination, especially if you know what his instincts are telling him to do. Musashi said "Throw something up at his face, and you'll see his reaction. Then you can know exactly what to do, since he has tipped his hand, and show his intention."

More Details: Boxing Combinations

24. The Chin

The chin is the target. It can put down even the biggest, toughest opponents with a precise tap. The skull is hard and takes a long time to break down. Your best weapon is precision and landing that perfect punch in the sweet spot. Unless you can break concrete with your punches, go for the chin.

More Details: Learning to Throw a Knockout Punch

25. Jab Like a Fencer

Adding to point 7 - some people use the jab like a fly swatter, others like to use it as a heavier punch as well. Developing the ability to both (light flicks of the sword as well as devastating thrusts) gives you a more complete arsenal of weaponry to call upon.

26. Sparring

There is little benefit to full contact sparring all the time and will actually deteriorate your performance. As well, the benefit you receive from sparring is determined by the skill level of your opponents. Technical and conditional sparring where you actually learn things rather than try to survive are what you should be practicing and saving the brain damage for the bouts.

More Detail: Boxing Sparring, How to Gain Confidence in the Ring

27. Shadowboxing

Shadowbox EVERYDAY. 15 or 20 minutes keeps your brain sharp and reflexes ready to go. Use this time to think and work out things like angles and combinations.

More Details: Complete 12 Week Boxing Training Plan

28. Use a Numbering System

Every punch has a number and those you train with can call out a combination or force a reaction simply be spouting of a sequence. Results in instinctive movements and quick recall.

More Details: Boxing Combinations, Boxing Punches

29. Train with a Partner

Only those with incredible self discipline can train alone for any length of time on a consistent basis. Boxing is about developing and getting better and that takes practice and hard work. Being accountable to a partner who will push you and help you succeed could mean the difference between a payday and paydirt.

More Details: Boxing Partner Drills, Partner Flow Drills, How to Be a Training Partner

Well, there you go, 29 ways to improve your boxing game if you apply them. Before getting to advanced techniques, ensure you have these boxing techniques under your belt and you'll already by ahead of 95% of your opponents.

If you need a complete training plan to help you develop these things, consider the How to Box 12 Week Boxing Program. Box on.

Boxing Tip #16 - Power in the Pivot

admin — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:37:24 -0400

So you've started boxing and you're wondering how to add some power to your punches. Do you go to the gym and bulk up the triceps and biceps? Do you do speed drills on the heavy bag to get your arms moving faster? Do you pick up 3lb dumbells and shadowbox?

You could do some of all of the above, but a more effective way to increase your punching power and speed is to master the pivot principle.

What is the Pivot Principle?

The pivot principle is one of the foundations of boxing. No matter how big you are or powerful you think you are, you can only generate so much power and speed from moving your arms by themselves.

To really generate power and speed, it has to come up from the floor through your legs, accelerate through your hips, out your shoulder to the end of your fist. Mastering the flow from your legs to the end of your punch will more drastically improve your punching prowess than anything else you can do.

Pivot Principle
Photo by hmmlargeart

Imagine A Rod...

In your boxer's stance, imagine a steel rod that goes down through the top of your head, down your spine, out your arse and into the floor effectively anchoring the center of your body from moving side to side or front to back. That rod is your axis and you pivot around that rod. The torque you manage to generate around that pivot point is what is going to give you all your power.

How to Practice the Pivot Principle

The pivot is all in the hips, so you have to train your hips to twist. For beginner boxers, stand on a line, both feet facing forward, knees bent and hands up in guard position. Throw alternating punches straight out to the front, twisting your hips in the same direction as your punch. Allow your leg to turn slightly, but focus on getting a full flex across your hips. Remember the punch isn't done until your chin is tucked into your shoulder.

It is very helpful to do this in front of a mirror where you can see just how much your hips are pivoting. Coordination and timing are the other factors in play here. It will take practice, but you need to be able to launch your punch at the right point in the pivot to maximize the force. Start slow, get the technique right, and then work some speed into the equation.

Pivot Principle Tips

The more flexibility you have in your hip flexors, the easier it is going to be for you to twist around your pivot axis. So, make sure you have hip flexibility exercises in your routine. At one time, a lot of people believed that certain types of crunches (mostly those that have the feet anchored) were cause of stronger hip flexors and without proper maintenance, would tighten your hips making the pivot more difficult and less effective. Turns out there is no evidence supporting that, so don't worry about what kind of abwork you do.

Once you have the basic pivot down, really visualize in your mind's eye the power beginning in your legs, shooting through your hips as you torque, flying up through your shoulder and exiting the end of your punch. Start doing this consistently, and you'll be amazed at how hard you start hitting.

Boxing Term of the Day: Low Blow

admin — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:05:35 -0400

A low blow is any punch that falls below the beltline. In other words, if you punch someone in the gonads, the privates, the family jewels, the place where the sun don't shine, etc... you have just given a low blow.

In boxing, you get three hits before a point is deducted. It is an illegal hit and when it happens, your opponent has up to 5 minutes to get himself ready to fight again (at least in professional boxing). This is at the discretion of the referree who makes the decision based on what he thinks is the severity of the blow.

It is also up to the ref when a point is deducted. If it is obviously intentional, he may not wait for three before you issuing the penalty. In a normal match though, the first hit to the groin is generally considered an accident. The second will receive a warning and the third results in the point loss.

It may seem all fun and good to nail someone where it hurts and risk the penalty, but if it is late in the fight, 5 minutes of rest may be just what your opponent needs to break your rhythm, recuperate and come back at you even stronger - especially if he was out of breathe. He may even welcome the hit.

Check Round 11 for the Low Blow

Consider the recent fight between Hopkins and Calzaghe. Hopkins received what was purely a glancing blow somewhere close to the mid section and referree Joe Cortiz gave him 5 minutes to recover from it. This was late in the fight and Hopkins milked it for all it was worth. Replays did not make the hit look as bad as Hopkins made it out to be. But when all was said and done, Hopkins came back at Calzaghe a renewed boxer - I bet he was actually thankful for the low blow. Thanks to Combat Sports Network you can see this for yoursef - check round 11.

4 Reasons Boxers Need Blogs

admin — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:09:00 -0400

Lack of focus and motivation are two killers of any good workout or training plan. Most people will drift from workout to workout without much thought of why they are doing what that magazine has told them to do. There is an even better chance that you are not documenting everything you can about your training.

Blogs, like the ones found at Thoughts.com (the subject of this review), are quick and easy ways to keep your training on track. Places like Thoughts.com are online blogging communities that bring together a whole bunch of blogs written by other people. Hopefully, I'll convince you that starting a blog or other type of journal to document your training is a good thing.

Thoughts.com - Blogging Community

Blogs are basically journals - a place that you can write a short post and publish it for the world to see (or not depending on the privacy you assign to it, which is a feature present at Thoughts.com) The posts are generally organized chronologically by date and can cover a wide variety of subjects.

Some people's blogs stick to a central theme (like the How to Box Boxing Blog) while others are a mish mash of anything and everything. Thoughts.com does give you the ability to organize your posts by category which makes your blog more like a website or resource - and a whole lot more useful in the long run.

Places like Thoughts.com, Myspace, Blogger, and Livejournal bring thousands of people's blogs together into one place and give them the tools to write. Some blogs such as Myspace and Livejournal offer a lot of customization and design capability - allowing you to add widgets of all sorts to your blog. Things like MP3's, whacky backgrounds, animations, scrolling marquees and so on. Basically anything and everything making your blog an unreadable mess.

Thoughts.com differs from what has become standard and the only customization I could find was the background color which ensures everything remains readable. I'm telling you right now, don't complain about the lack of customization capabilities. This is a good thing.

Like Thoughts.com, here at How to Box, you also have the option of keeping a blog (accessible via your profile page) to monitor your progress, keep yourself motivated, and inspire others. This used with the progress reports feature allows you to keep a complete history of your training - and more importantly the results you have achieved.

Now you're probably asking yourself why bother blogging about your training? Well, if you're a competitive athlete or aspire to be the best in your sport, here are the...

Top 4 reasons you should be blogging:

To Ensure Your Training Plan is Progressive. Your body is going to adapt to any workout you do over time. The only way to keep increasing your level of conditioning is to force your body to exert effort. If you don't track what you did last workout, how do you know for certain that you have increased the intensity for this workout. This is especially true for strength training. You need to track how many reps and how much weight you use from workout to workout and from week to week. You always want to push a little harder and try to beat what you did the previous workout. It is also a necessity for tracking your nutrition and calorie intake - especially if you are trying to achieve a certain weight.
It's a Source of Motivation. Writing things down and tracking your progress gives you something to look back on. Take a look at the progress reports on How to Box. If you started boxing and had a gut hanging to the floor and then 3 months later had a six pack and could see that transformation, it is not only inspiring to you - but to others as well. Why do you think The Biggest Loser is such a hit on TV? Basically you are watching their diet and exercise blog - documented over 12 weeks or whatever it is.
It's a Source of Release. It's a spot you can get the thoughts out of your head - the negative thoughts and the positive thoughts so that you can concentrate and reaffirm every day what it is you are doing. It keeps you focused and on track to reach your goals.
To Promote Yourself. Athletes require publicity to attract trainers, managers, promoters, and fans. Keeping a blog up to date attracts people who like what you read and how you train. You develop a following, and a solid base of fans from which you can draw support. If you're a boxer and have any dreams of making a lot of money from the sport - you have to come up with a character and publicize that character. If you own a boxing gym or a boxing trainer, there really is no better way to attract new members and to keep the ones you have on track. Offering up great advice advances your status as an expert in your field and generally makes your gym or services more popular.

Thoughts.com, like your blog on How to Box, is a minimalist type of blogging platform and in a crowd of blogging sites trying to push the latest design widget on you, it is refreshing. It hasn't changed a whole lot from the first blogging platforms that came out - kind of like retro arcade games like Pacman - the functionality doesn't go out of style. It is basically a page of words that you can actually read and focus on the message the writer is trying to get across.

I do have to issue one warning though. Blogging and browsing through sites like Thoughts.com WILL take up a lot of your time. For the benefit you receive in the long run, especially how it keeps you focused on your boxing training, I consider the writing time well spent. How much time you waste browsing the wierd stories and lives people are living is a whole other story.

Oh, and these tools are free by the way, so there really is no reason not to start your blog today.

Age, Politics, and the Boxing Mafia

admin — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:15:42 -0400

Last night, I watched two 39 year old boxers on the canvas. One won simply because his competition let him, the other didn't despite the gruelling effort he made against an opponent 15 years younger.

Then, today, I started seeing commentary such as this from Andrew Wake at USA Boxing news:

Quote:

Many people, this reporter included, scoffed early this week when Antonio Tarver told the world that he was still the greatest light-heavyweight fighter out there but, after his stellar display against Clinton Woods in Tampa, Florida this evening, he may well have been telling the truth.

Was he watching the same fight? It wouldn't have mattered who was facing Woods last night, it would be impossible for them not to win. Tarver's performance was hardly stellar -- he just wasn't tested - at all. Woods walked in repeatedly and allowed Tarver to hit him, rarely throwing anything back. Funny thing is that when he did, it connected. I think the fight would have turned out much differently had Woods actually thought he could win the fight.

I'd bet if you looked inside Woods' head last night, he didn't believe he could win that fight long before it started. He was hesitant and cautious, and it cost him.

Glen Johnson, on the other hand, did put on a stellar performance. For a 39 year old, he showed incredible stamina and conditioning. The fight was close, very close, and to have the judges score it 116-112 over Chad Dawson was ludicrous. Johnson knew it and, good for him, spoke his mind in the after fight interview. It's judging like this that leaves fans with that bad taste in the mouth after watching two fighters give it their all for 12 rounds.

Dawson vs Johnson Scorecard:
scan from FightNews.com

Had Dawson won by split decision or at least a margin much closer like 116-115, the politics behind the decision wouldn't have been so obvious, but those judges blatantly pointed out the obvious - that 39 year old Johnson was not going to win the title and they knew it before the fight started. The fight was close enough that a legitimate scoring with Dawson ahead would not have raised such an uproar, but this score makes one wonder whether the judges watched the same fight the rest of us did.

What does this tell us? It tells us, that politics and out of the ring strategy matters as much, if not more than what happens in the ring in professional boxing.

First, there has to be a better way of scoring these fights.

With as much technology that exists in the world today, can boxing not figure out some way of embedding pressure sensitive material in the gloves that register hits inside of certain target areas on their opponents? Is there no possible way of eliminating the subjectiveness from the boxing ring and letting a fight stand on its own merits. Perhaps the computerized scoring used in Olympic style boxing needs to be implemented in professional boxing - although it has problems of its own.

Fights like Johnson's make me wonder whether there is some strategic factor that enters the mind of the judges. After all, Johnson is an older fighter at the end of his career. Were they sending a message that it was time to retire? Did they send the message that boxing is a young man's sport and believe Dawson will be able to bring in a bigger audience and more revenue. He was clearly the favorite to win the fight prior and was being toted as potentially superfight material. Maybe the judges sent the message they did because they believed it was the best thing for boxing...

Don't get me wrong, Dawson boxed well. He was very technical, had great movement, and used his skills to his advantage. I do believe he won that fight, just not by the margin he did.

Antonio Tarver

Then there is the Tarver vs Woods fiasco. Woods lost that fight long before he stepped in the ring. He admitted to being nervous, that this was the biggest fight of his career, and was intimidated by Tarver. Funny thing is, I thought he looked tighter and technically better than Tarver. Tarver threw a lot of sloppy punches and was open a lot, but Woods did not or could not take advantage of any of it. Tarver got to him before the bell and Woods couldn't snap out of it.

I remember sitting there, screaming at Woods inside my head, to get Tarver. Pressure him, move in close and start punching. I was completely frustrated with what I was seeing. It was almost painful to watch, knowing that Woods could be doing so much more, it he'd just let himself do it, but he mentally was not there.

I don't know who Tarver is going to fight next, but there is no way he is in the same class as Hopkins (obviously as result from their matchup) or Calzaghe and it will be an amusing fight if he ever gets a chance at the title winner of their upcoming fight next weekend.

At least with the Tarver vs Woods fight, the scoring was reflective of what happened on the canvas. Funny thing is that the scores were not much worse than what supposedly happened with the Dawson vs Johnson fight (116-112, 117-111, 119-111). How could judges in the second fight score it similarly to what happened in the first fight? Further fuel to the fire that they had no clue what they were watching in the Johnson fight.

For what it's worth, Glen Johnson, I think you fought a spectacular fight and will absolutely watch you again. You bring credit to other boxers your age and prove that 39 year olds can take on those half their age and stand a chance.

Maybe Tarver and Johnson need a matchup? What do you think?

The Birth of the Worldwide Fight Club

admin — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:37:37 -0400

What started as a concept nearly six months ago is today seeing the dawn. It has moved from concept to reality and now it's ready to be released and utilized. It is functional and waiting for you. Are you willing to join...

Feel free to read through this entire document, but here are some quick links to important sections:

Worldwide Fight Club Mission
Fight Club Rules
Referree Guidelines
How to Become a Judge
How to Become a Prize Fighter
Offering Tips and Training Suggestions
The Future of Fight Club

See Fights

Submit Fights

Worldwide Fight Club Mission

"How to Box will provide a structure, ranking, and promotion system that will enable boxers of all skill levels and weight classes to receive fair judging, exposure, and even compensation and sponsorship in an easy to use, fun, and competitive environment."

I promise you, that first statement is as "professional and legalistic" as I plan on getting here.

Worldwide Fight Club

The How to Box Worldwide Fight Club can give structure and direction to backyard, amateur, and even professional boxing worldwide. Yes, I have grand goals for this club, but How to Box is keenly interested in making boxing accessible to everyone. People with no boxing skill and those with lots are all capable of participating in the fight club.

This system will allow any two people anywhere to video a boxing match and publish it on the site to be judged and critiqued by thousands of boxers, trainers, and judges worldwide. Not only will this help new boxers learn the sport, but it will assist seasoned boxers with exposure. All boxers of all skill levels will even be paid based on a "like it then donate" payment system.

I'll get into it more below, but basically if you watch a fight in fight club and believe it would have been worth buying a ticket to watch, then you make a donation that is split between the boxers and the promoter (How to Box). 70% of the donation goes directly to the two boxers.

I also want to talk briefly on honour and integrity. This fight club, at least initially, will only thrive in an environment of fair play and submission by all involved to the rules outlined. How to Box cannot enforce any of these rules and presents them more as guidelines, but How to Box strongly encourages you to follow these rules in your bouts. If everyone involved in fight club has the integrity and attitude to keep fights honourable - meaning no cheating, then this club has huge potential. Don't be part of the problem in trying to circumvent the system and cheat. In most cases only you will ever know.

Worldwide Fight Club Rules

The First Rule of Fight Club is that everyone talks about fight club. That's right, we want the fight club to expand and grow and have fights submitted by boxers all over the world so tell your friends.
Every fight will consist of a minimum of three people: two opponents and a third party who's only responsibility is to ensure the safety of the match. This third party is essentially a referree who should act in accordance with the ref's guidance.
Fighters will wear appropriate safety equipment. At minimum that means: 16oz gloves, headgear, handwraps, and mouthguard. It is impossible for How to Box to verify every fight meets these requirements and relies on your submission to the honor system.
Scheduling and matchups are an individual responsibility. If you want to fight, you find an opponent using the How to Box system or from your circle of friends and agree upon a date and location.
Matches will occur in a space that either is a boxing ring or mimics a boxing ring. At minimum, it must be square, 20'x20', and have some type of unmoveable corners and borders. A backyard is possible if it is roped off as the boundaries and corner work in boxing is an integral part of the sport.
Both opponents must agree to having the fight uploaded onto the Internet and both opponents must be registered members of How to Box. You will not be able to submit a fight unless both pers are registered. Registration is free. Registration and subsequent fight submission is an indication of consent.
All pers under the age of majority must have parental or guardian permission to submit their fights. Again, How to Box cannot monitor this and assumes that all registered users have obtained the requisite permission.
Matches will be judged by How to Box qualified judges. Any member of How to Box is free to take the qualification exam and then judge fights. In essence, determining a winner and loser will be a democratic process. Errors in judging and decisions will be minimized by the sheer volume of judges that will be looking at each fight - potentially thousands of judges will determine the outcome of your match.
Boxers are strongly encouraged to fight within their skill level and weight class. There is an open weight class that will allow you to fight anyone else, but for most matches and especially for beginners, boxers should choose opponents who are of the same experience level and within the same weight class.
Fights are a minimum of 3 rounds. Fights can be longer if agreed upon by both boxers.
A boxer's fight record will be determined by How to Box and consist only of those fights that have been submitted to How to Box and winners determined by majority decision of qualified How to Box judges. All judges will only be allowed to designate results for a fight once and the system will prevent attempts to do otherwise.
Rankings are based on win or lose. There is no draw. Judges will tally valid hits during the match and award 1 point per hit with 2 points per knockdown that was not deemed to be the result of a slip. At the end of the match whichever boxer is ahead is declared the winner by that judge. Holding, illegal hits, and other infractions will count as points against and weight in the judges decision to award the winner and loser of the fight.
The system will determine the rankings and How to Box will not accept any monetary or other incentive to alter the rankings.
Judges can contact the admin in suspicious bouts seeking disqualification or investigation of suspect matches. If a request is made, an appeal will go out to all judges to re-look at the match and vote on disqualification and subsequent removal from the rankings. Pers who are found to be intentionally cheating (taking dives, fixing fights, etc...) will be permanently banned from How to Box.
Rounds are to be 3 minutes long with 1 minute rest inbetween.
Fights that are interrupted due to referee stoppage, excessive bleeding, or other reasons will be judged up to the point of stoppage. Whoever is ahead at the time of the stoppage will be declared the winner.

Worldwide Fight Club Referree Guidelines

The Ref or valid third party is to be present at a fight club fight for one reason - SAFETY. Both boxers must follow the ref's direction. If the ref decides a fight is over, it is over - no questions asked. You can still upload the fight as per Rule 16 above.

If you are acting as a referree, your job is extremely important. You should be willing and capable of stopping the fight for any of the following reasons:

One or both boxers are bleeding.
The proper safety equipment is not being used: sparring gloves, headgear, handwraps, mouthguard.
One of the boxers is obviously severely outclassed and outskilled by his opponent. DO NOT allow a match to continue until someone is knocked out "cold".
One of the boxers is taking excessive blows to the head without defense or counterattack.
Either boxer continues to throw illegal hits or use illegal techniques after being warned twice.
Any other instance in which you feel the safety of either boxer is threatened.

Nobody wants to be in a situation where someone who is participating for fun and to learn a great sport ends up seriously injured. Please take your job seriously.

How to Become a Worldwide Fight Club Judge

Become a Judge

In order to judge a match on How to Box you must pass the judging qualification. Once you register a free account, proceed to the judging qualification. The test is based on amateur boxing rules, the rules posted above, and common sense. You have 5 attempts and your qualification will be automatically granted once you successfully pass the exam. The exam will change regularly and questions are randomized so do not attempt to pass your answers to a friend.

Once you have received your qualification you will be presented with a judging field on all fights in the fight club. You simply pick the winner and loser and hit "Designate Results". The system will stop you from trying to judge a fight more than once or otherwise trying to cheat the system.

You can verify if you have been granted the judging qualification in on your profile page once logged in to How to Box.

How to Become a Prize Fighter

Make Money with
Your Fights!

Every fight submitted to the fight club is potentially a prizefight for both boxers involved. You do not have to do anything special. That is, if you submit a fight, there is a chance that both you and your opponent, win or lose, will receive a cheque from How to Box sometime in the future. For this reason, it is important that you keep your profile and address updated. Paypal is How to Box's method of choice for payment, so ensure your Paypal email is also in your profile.

How does this work?

Whenever someone views a fight in the fight club, they have the option of donating to that fight. In general, How to Box asks the viewer if they would have bought a ticket to watch the fight they just saw. If they say "Yes", then How to Box asks them to consider rewarding the boxers for their efforts and donating whatever amount they would like. Once How to Box receives that amount, it is divided up: 45% goes to the winner, 25% to the loser, and 30% to the promoter (How to Box).

You can check how much your fight has made at anytime by looking at the fight page where you will also see the names of the last 5 people who liked your fight enough to pay you.

How to Box will send you a cheque or make a Paypal deposit monthly on or around the first week of the month, once your account has a minimum of $25 in it.

Offering Critiques and Suggestions to Boxers

The primary purpose of Fight Club is to help you learn to box. To that end, anyone can offer advice and suggestions on training and technique shown during your fight. How to Box moderates all comments and ensures any that do not offer some sort of learning value never see the light of day, however, sometimes it hurts to hear the truth. Take all criticism for what it's worth. Get what you can out of a comment and forget about everything else. By the same token, leave comments for other people, talking to them like you would like to be talked to. Consider that everyone here is a human being, equal under God, and deserving of a minimum level of respect.

Comments and suggestions are highly encouraged and for some people are the only means of feedback and chances for improvement that they can get. Done right, they are highly valued - I have tonnes of emails lending testament to that fact. Do someone a favour and help them learn the sport.

The Future of Fight Club

The Worldwide Fight Club is a newborn baby and will grow and develop and improve over time. Your suggestions and comments are critical to creating a club we all can all be proud of and that helps you learn to box and have some fun with the greatest sport on Earth. As such, leave comments below - good and bad so How to Box can improve this for you.

I know the Fight Club as it stands in its functional form today is not 100%. It is closer to 75%, but over the coming days, weeks, and months, it will improve and grow based on your suggestions. Take the opportunity to shape this into something even better than what it currently is.

Things you will see at some point. Consider this my to do list:

Consolidated Rankings page by skill level and weight class.
Allow corporate sponsorship for boxers.
Better tools for finding opponents and setting up matches.
Better integration of fight club fights with the How to Box boxing schedule.
Expanded qualification exam for judges.
Better prizes and incentives for top performing boxers.
Marketing tools - badges, buttons, widgets, banners, graphics in order to help spread the word about fight club and see just how big we can make this thing.
Whatever else you suggest...

In Conclusion

Fight Club is an evolution of learning to box online. Boxing promoters and managers, clubs, trainers, and gym owners can use this tool to promote their boxers and in the future, I see it as a means to bringing together and expanding the reach of boxing. Seize this opportunity and help me push the limits of boxing today.

Boxing Tip #15 - Pre-Emption

admin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:07:11 -0500

To preempt someone is to forestall or prevent (something anticipated) by acting first.

It is a mission verb used in combat to describe a situation where you attempt to launch an offensive effort before your opponent in order to seize and then maintain the initiative. You know your opponent is planning something, but you need to beat him to the punch (literally).

Everyone has a decision cycle (also referred to as an OODA loop). When you see something happening, your brain has to process it, make decisions about that event and then cause you to react to it.

In boxing, reaction is bad.

Actually in combat, reaction is bad.

If you are reacting, you are always in the defensive. Proactivity is the remedy for reactivity. I've made it clear you cannot win without an offense, so to be reactive means defeat.

Back to the OODA loop, if you can launch your offensive before your opponent makes his next decision, you get inside his OODA loop and preempt his attack. You always want to be one step ahead of your opponent, planning your next move while he is still reacting to the last one.

A while ago I wrote about universal and idiosynchratic tells. These are the little cues people give off before they do something that basically tell you what they are going to do. For this boxing tip, we are going to look in depth at tells that forecast an opponent has decided to throw a jab so that you can pick up on them and preempt his attack with a jab of your own.

A Quick Story

Preemption: Hit Before Getting Hit
Photo by mx5tx

Once you know what your opponent is going to throw, it causes shock and disbelief when you beat him to the punch. I remember sparring with a young guy and it was incredibly easy to see when he was going to throw a jab. Repeatedly, I would strike first knowing that over and over again, he was going to tell me exactly when he was about to throw his jab. Not only did I preempt his attack with an offense of my own, but I also disrupted his attack. (another combat mission verb).

By the end of the sparring, the lad was completely demoralized. He thought I possessed super speed to be able to beat his jab time and time again with a jab of my own, and his nose was quite sore where he got popped over and over again.

I was completely inside his OODA loop and knew what he was going to do before he did. It's about this time you begin to feel invulnerable.

Preempting the Jab

To preempt anything you need to be quick. Jabs are well suited for preemption because you can throw one from pretty much any situation - off balance, stepping back, down, up, and so on. So first thing you need to do is practice your jab, throwing it out quickly, cleanly, and with decisive force and then recovering to your guard just as quick. Practice from odd angles - in close, and far out. You need your jab to flick out with force and intensity and 100% accuracy.

Read Your Opponent

In order to preempt, you need to know when your opponent is going to launch his attack. So, watch for the signs of an incoming punch. For a jab:

weight shifts slightly to his front foot;
hips begin to rotate;
shoulder drops (in poor jabs);
elbow of the front arm begins to rotate up;
you can see it in your opponent's face; or
you see movement of the glove.

Obviously not a definitive list and it will vary from boxer to boxer, but all of us forecast our intentions in some way. The quicker you can pick up on your opponent's tells, the quicker you can decide how the fight is going to go.

Strike First

As soon as you see any of these signs, strike. Do not think about it, just throw the punch. If you are right and he is throwing a punch, by the time yours makes it to him, he will be wide open. Have faith that you will hit first. You will be elated the first time you do this and you connect. It's like your opponent just drops his hands and lets you hit him.

Look for the Surprise

A bonus feature - look for the look of utter surprise in your opponent's face following your jab. He will have no idea how you managed to throw a punch that quick. Remember, he is caught up in his decision cycle and is oblivious to what is happening around him. His brain is engaged in deciding to throw a jab. He won't be able to react to yours until his cycle has completed - so beat him to it and you win.

Do you have any stories of pre-emption? Is there some tell you've noticed your sparring partners give before they launch? Leave a comment, or ask a question.

43 Ways To Ensure You Never Become a Championship Boxer

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:16:14 -0500

You know you'll never become a successful boxer when:

You train half assed - every training session needs a specific aim and every session needs your complete attention. Don't just go through the motions.
You fight at a weight near the bottom of your weight class - not a definite indicator of mediocrity, but a few pounds (of muscle) between you and your opponent translates into a lot of missed power and force.
You assume the fetal position when the bell rings.
You eat at McDonalds and wash it down with a six pack twenty minutes before your fight.
You have your trainer fill your water bottles with vodka, or other beverage of your choice.
You close your eyes to avoid being hit as if not seeing the punch magically makes it disappear.
You fight with your hands at waist level. Nobody is that fast all of the time.
You turn your back on your opponent - while the match is going on.
You repeatedly throw illegal punches - won't take long for the ref to put an end to your shenanigans.
You think you can tell the ref how to ref - yelling at the ref doesn't do anything for your stature in the ring.
You throw punches after the break.
You use your head to block punches - might work for the first few...
You think cutting off all avenues of escape for yourself, by boxing out of a corner, is a good thing.
You think you can rope a dope your way to a victory.
You tell all your friends, employees, and co-workers to come watch your first fight - the inevitable will happen.
You brag about how great you are to the media - unless you are Floyd Mayweather - you set yourself up for a big fall.
You use any of the Rocky films as your fight strategy.
You challenge someone who is clearly out of your weight and skill level.
You take a fight without having ever trained with a trainer.
You smoke and believe smoking won't affect your performance.
You drink and believe drinking won't affect your performance.
You use drugs or steroids and believe you'll never get caught.
You don't hire a promoter or manager who has the connections to get you good fights.
You believe your promoter actually cares more about you as a boxer than he/she does about making a profit off of you.
You don't create an identity -- something unique to sell.
You don't learn about marketing or branding - cause you need to market and brand yourself.
You don't worry about nutrition and eating right thinking your body will sort out whatever you put into it.
You try to become the champion by doing it all yourself - trainer, manager, promoter, cutman, etc... -- all you.
You think you are above those new to the sport to the point where you will not offer advice -- karma sucks - what goes around comes around.
You bite your opponent's ear off.
You believe your opponent's groin is just another punching bag.
You believe it is a good idea to drop your bodyweight more than 3-5% the day before your fight in order to make weight.
You think a great defense is what will win you a fight.
You think extra fat on your body is good padding.
You can't adapt to what your trainer is telling you you need to adapt to inbetween rounds. Don't be so inflexible with your fight plan that you aren't willing to tweak things.
You don't have a fight plan.
Your chin is as fragile as a china tea cup.
You think brute force will prevail over intelligence.
You think you can force your body to work 7 days a week without rest.
You think training without wraps or gloves is a good way to toughen up your hands.
You think you can participate in multiple sports, have multiple jobs, and an incredibly busy social life -- it's all about focus - prioritize.
You prefer Joe Louis - the snack - over Joe Louis the boxer.
You think getting punch drunk sounds like a good night on the town.

Care to add to the list?

Building Your Boxing Team

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:28:49 -0500

Part of the appeal of boxing is that it is an individual sport. Ultimately, you excel or not based solely on your own merit - if you suck you lose, if you don't you win. It all comes down to the individual and there is no blaming one's teammates or circumstances for your loss. It is pretty obvious when you hit the canvas that things haven't gone so well for you. Only you can prevent that in the end.

That said, the champion boxer is by no means alone in his or her quest for glory. Let's take a look at who else is involved:

The Boxing Trainer or Coach

Websites, books, and DVDs like How to Box are great for those who can't afford a trainer or simply don't have access to one because of where they live.

Quote:

To compete at a high level, you need a trainer

However, these means are no substitute for a good trainer and anyone looking to box competitively needs a good trainer to teach them advanced techniques and correct habits you simply can't notice yourself. You can help your own development by videotaping your training sessions and then playing them back, being very critical of yourself, but there is nothing like another pair of eyes watching how you move, twist, punch, bob, etc... You can even upload those training sessions on How to Box and get criticism from visitors of the site. To compete at a high level in the sport, though, you simply need to find a good trainer.

The trainer will develop the boxer's training plan and it will be all inclusive. He will monitor the boxer's progess and make changes as required. He will teach the boxing skills and drills so that the boxer can win fights. Trainers will often have some nutritional knowledge as well, as a comprehensive program involves both conditioning and nutrition. If not, a boxer's team may also include a sports nutritionist to assist with meal planning that will support the boxer's training regime.

The Boxing Promoter

Golden Boy Promotions

Sometimes the promoter and manager is both the same person (not always a good idea), othertimes it is split up. You've probably heard the names of the big promoters - Golden Boy Promotions (Oscar De La Hoya), Top Rank (Bob Arum), and Don King Productions. These are people or organizations that exist to take skilled boxers and line up paying fights for them. They are there first and foremost to make money for themselves. Never forget that. In order to do that, they need to ensure their professional boxers make money. To that end, they will setup fights that will garner a lot of attention with the hopes of increasing the number of pay per view buys or attendance. This does not mean they will always look out for what is in the best interests of the boxers they promote. These are the people responsible for announcing the latest superfight - or the fight of the century (which seems to occur many times a century:).

The Boxing Manager

The boxing manager will tend to the career of the boxer and not necessarily cater to the promoters. Money is obviously still an issue, but they have more of an interest in the long term career of their boxer. That is their source of income and if his career ends because of a stupid matchup, so does the flow of money. You'll often hear of family members managing boxers. The boxer tends to think they can trust their family more than anyone. Of course that has been proven wrong time and time again (Floyd Mayweather Jr for instance).

The Cutman

Dave Tenny - Cutman

Cuts in boxing fights cause bleeding and excessive bleeding and damage will end a fight. Cuts are also inevitable, eventually you will get one, especially in a professional fight without headgear which lessens the chances. A good boxing cutman can literally keep you in a fight.

I'm not going to go into all the methods a cutman uses here, Dave Tenney - The Cutman does a pretty good job of describing those methods, but these people are experts at stopping blood and decreasing swelling. They have an intimate knowledge of the facial structure, arteries, veins. They have an arsenal of drugs and techniques for stopping bleeding. Cutmen are not prevalent in amateur boxing. Amateur boxing requires the use of headgear which prevents a lot of scrapes and cuts, but blood in an amateur match will generally stop the fight. Nosebleeds are an exception depending on the severity.

For must of us, a cutman will not be an option, so remember two things - direct pressure and cold. If you are bleeding, put pressure on it, preferably with something cold. The cold acts as a vaso-constrictor which will assist the pressure with stopping the blood flow. By pressure, I'm not talking about pushing a guys nose through his skull - keep it firm, but not excessive. A minute between rounds is not a long time, but can be enough to allow the clotting to start and the bleeding to stop if you act fast.

One thing to look out for with a cutman is if he is using something called Monsels Solution. It is a lead based homeostatic which works by destroying the cells around the cut (kind of like cotterizing or burning them closed). It causes permanent damage and you can recognize it by the ring of dead flesh surrounding the cut. Yes, it works, but the cost is too great and it is illegal (or should be) in most areas.

The Second

Ever hear the ref shout - "Seconds Out" just before a round begins. They are referring to the Second (and anyone else in the boxer's corner). The trainer can also be licensed as a second (and often is) and acts in both capacities, but a licensed second is someone who is allowed in the ring between rounds to give advice, water, etc... to the boxer. They generally assist the trainer in the boxer's corner.

The Boxer is Not Alone...

Those are the main teammates backing up the boxer. All of the positions require (at least in the US) licensing by the state they are operating in.

It's funny, because in the Army it generally takes a HQ that is 3-4 times as big as the fighting force to win a battle. For every infantry soldier on the frontlines there are 10 people in the rear supporting that soldier doing everything from preparing food, pushing bullets and supplies forward, dealing with medical issues, pers issues, and so on. It is the same for boxing. You can think of the boxer like one of those soldiers and it quickly becomes apparent that although the boxer is fighting alone in the ring, he has a massive support system that is ensuring all he has to worry about is fighting. Everything else will be taken care of.

So, if you are planning a professional boxing career, start surrounding yourself with people you trust that will specialize in these areas. Remain too much of an individual and you will go no where -- build a team with the foundation of support and there will be no stopping you.

Fit vs Fat - The Obesity Epidemic in Perspective

admin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:46:02 -0500

I don't know about you, but I for one, am sick and tired of hearing about the obesity epidemic - if people want to get fat, then let them get fat, unhealthy and die. It's natural selection at its best. Those of us that give a damn about ourselves shouldn't have to put up with all the whining and complaining and increased taxes and premiums these selfish SOBs are going to cause us when they start having their McDonald's induced heart attacks and insurance covered stomach stapling procedures.

It seems you can't turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or walk down the street without hearing about the obesity epidemic that is going to kill more people than the plague. Second only to smoking, obesity is the new killer that seems to have come out of nowhere and suddenly everyone is fat and our health care system is not equipped to deal with the complications of the added load (pun intended).

Do You Not Agree With Me?

Is there really an
obesity epidemic?
Picture from Weight.com

Before I get flamed by a million fat advocates, let's consider for a second a few opinions that are floating around out there:

Why Fit People Think Fat People are Fat

1. Get real - the biggest reason is laziness. Fat people are just too damn lazy to drag themselves to a gym or go for a run. The only effort they expend is waddling down the stairs, plopping on the couch and lifting their flabby arms to their mouths to stuff a month's supply of bonbons down range - more than most of us will eat in a lifetime. After all, we've all seen the before and after pictures of thousands of people who have put in the hard work - if they can do it, why can't Bob.

2. If it isn't laziness - then it's lack of will. Fat people have no mind, no possible way of keeping their mouth shut and their plump little fingers out of the cookie jar. Hell, once you're fat, you turn into one of those zombies from the night of the living dead and constantly have to feed. It's like the fat replaces your brain. They know it's bad for them to eat yet another helping of pudding, but they do it anyways, cause the little fat army they have accumulated is taking over their mind.

3. It it isn't lack of will, then it's low self esteem. Fat people are losers and they know it. They'd kill themselves if it wasn't for the fact that they can't drag their sorry butts off the sofa, so next best thing is to eat themselves to death. That way the insurance will still pay. At very least they'll feel good while they are putting away that pound of Rocky Road - feeding those little fat cells struggling to multiply.

4. If it isn't low self esteem, then it's because society accepts it. Everyone's fat, we're all getting fatter, so it must be okay. Skinny people are the devil spawn - how dare they take care of the bodies God gave them. Fat people are the new world order and the fatter you get, the higher up on the pecking order you'll be. Fat is sexy, fat is okay. Just be happy with your bodies no matter how much flab is hanging off your gut. Society says its good to be you - enjoy life and screw the consequences.

Why Fat People Think They are Fat

1. It's all in the genes. They have no control over it. They woke up one day and broke the friggin scale because the mysterious fat gene suddenly kicked in and turned off their metabolism. No matter how much exercise or diet control they muster, it doesn't matter because that little fat gene is manufacturing more fat in a day than they could ever lose in a year.

2. Because society and big business is against them. How can you possibly resist stopping in at each and every McDonald's on the way home or grabbing a coffee and doughnut at each and every doughnut shop you pass. If we weren't supposed to eat that crap, society wouldn't have put it in front of our faces. Who can resist the advertising - brainwashing us all the time to grab a Whopper at 3 am.

3. Because they don't have the time or money. Yet they can spend more than small countries make on fast food and Doritos. They think it takes 2 hours a day to exercise and another 15 to prepare healthy meals. If they could fight their way out from under their diet soda, they'd see it just ain't so.

Why I think Fat People are Fat and the Obesity Epidemic is Picking up Steam...

In reality, it isn't any of those things by itself. Ross Enamait hit the nail on the head recently saying obese isn't always lazy. Sometimes it comes down to misinformation and priorities. People don't know how easy it really is to lose weight and get in shape. All of the hype and weight loss diets and technical crap floating around does nothing but confuse people and result in fitness paralysis. So, it is up to those of us that know better to clue the obese in.

Second, people do not put enough priority on maintaining their health and staying in shape. They take it for granted. They feel healthy enough and the changes that occur over time to render them unhealthy with clogged arteries and 100lbs of extra weight straining their skeletal system - happen so gradually as to go unnoticed. One can never really say they don't notice the extra weight and reduced energy, but comparatively, it isn't until someone they haven't seen in a while says something or they see an old picture that they suddenly realize they are putting on weight.

This boils down to priority. In a busy life with kids and a job and a million other activities, the thing that gets put on the back burner is our health. We all think that it would be selfish to set aside an hour a day for exercise if it means cutting back on an hour we could have spent taking our kids to some activity or putting in that little extra effort at work.

Well, let me clue you in. There will always be extra work or activity that will trump your exercise time, if you don't make it a priority. Lump exercise right up there with things you have to do so you don't get fired or have your kids taken away and suddenly there is time to do it.

Quite frankly, it is selfish to not exercise and eat right. You are taking away enhanced productivity from your boss, taking away energy and vitality and life from your kids, and you are disrespecting your spouse by letting it all go. As if this wasn't enough incentive to set better priorities, look to God. He gave you the temple you live in and by abusing it, you are violating his trust.

You are hopefully learning about the benefits and techniques to use boxing as a means to keeping in shape and not becoming one of the statistics. If you are, you have a duty to clue in as many fat people as you can find. Befriend them and pull them into your boxing club. Get them started on a better lifestyle and change their lives.

Do I really believe what I put at the beginning of this article? In part, yes, it makes me mad to think people will abuse themselves all their lives and then expect the rest of us to pay for it. On the other hand, I realize that people are unique and everyone has a situation and circumstances. I don't ignore those facts, but I also believe anyone and everyone can do something about their circumstances -- it is just about a wilingness to act.

So, take it upon yourself to introduce everyone you know to the benefits of boxing. Become an ambassador for the sport and show people the good it can do in their lives. Without ambassadors, boxing is doomed to decline. With people like yourself promoting it, it will thrive forever.