What does it take to become a great trainer?

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

I want to talk a little about what I believe it takes to become a good boxing trainer. I had an extensive amateur career and also boxed pro. I have been involved as a fighter or trainer in boxing for over 25 years now. I gave up on my dream early because of a family but now I enjoy training fighters and have been in many gyms around the country. I am currently training some really good prospects in a pro gym.

I believe there are 4 steps in what it takes to be a good trainer.

Step #1 - Know your stuff

Basically this means understanding the basics of boxing. This is something anyone can do if they study hard enough. Starting with stance, balance, movement, defense and offense.

All the 101's of boxing. It takes along time because boxing is a martial art like Karate or Kung Fu. It takes years to understand the intricacies of the sport, but you don't need to be a former fighter or have experience in boxing to know this aspect of it.

Step #2 - Applying that knowledge for boxing

Ok so this may sound redundant but it's very important to understand the difference between knowing what to do and when to apply that knowledge. For example, you can understand that circling right against a right handed fighter is the common thing but is it always right?

What if the opponent has a great left hook? In boxing, like all fighting styles, you don't just do what is expected, sometimes you need to think outside of the box but do so intelligently and with an understanding of your opponent. Doing what is text book or what you see in videos, is not always the right thing to do.

This is why sparring is the greatest tool in teaching a young fighter. At the end of the day, you can watch all the videos, read all the books and buy all the DVD's you want, but unless you have gotten in the ring and understand what to tell a fighter about what he is seeing SPECIFICALLY, it won't teach you how to fight.

Step #3 - Being a good teacher

This one might arguably be the most important of all the prerequisites needed to be a good trainer. I have known great trainers, with 30,40, 50 years of experience in boxing. Former fighters, and students of the game that are TERRIBLE trainers. Why? Because they can't relay the information in a way that the fighter understands.

It takes patience, calmness, proper wording and showing things in a way where it "clicks" with fighters. I personally think this is my greatest attribute. I don't claim to know everything in boxing but I have the utmost patience, and can simplify things and organize information in a way where fighters get it.

It's more than just teaching the X's and O's though, it's also knowing how to deal with your fighters mental state. Recently for example, I was in another gym where they had this kid sparring hard a week out of his fight. First, I never do that because I want him to be fresh and don't want to risk injury or a cut. A fighter in my opinion should stop sparring about 2 weeks prior to his fight.

Second, he got beat up a little in sparring and you don't want that to be the last experience he has inside the ring because it can hurt his confidence. Even the most coc.ky fighter can have his confidence broken if you allow him to have his last sparring session go bad. The mind and heart are connected and you need him peaking physically and mentally for the fight, that's the job of the trainer.

Step #4 - Working the corner

These are all the extra things you learn with experience. How to wrap hands, tie gloves properly, use an end swell, stop a broken nose from bleeding, stopping a cut, timing in the corner, and using all the little tools of the trade.

These may not seem overly important but they are. Getting your fighter prepared, and working his corner in an efficient way is very important to being a good trainer and professional.

This comes with time and experience and everyone has their own way of doing certain things and even fighters want you to do things differently to make them feel more comfortable. So you also need to know the different things that fighters like to make them more at ease.



So those are the basic outlines of what it takes to be a good trainer. I personally enjoy teaching, it's what I believe I am on this earth to do. I especially like working with kids, but eventually my work has moved me into the pro ranks.

I love this sport with all my heart and soul. I believe it to be the greatest sport on the planet and have respect for anyone who has ever fought amateur or pro.

The least thing I like about this sport is the ego's invloved. Not only in the fighters but in the "trainers" that seem to want more attention on them, than on the fighters they train. I don't do this to sell something and I don't do it for the money (even though I want to make money, don't get me wrong)

I do it because I have to. Something inside of me forces it out, I can't stay away from a sweaty, smelly gym and the sounds that come out of it is something I can't live without.

I hope this has helped some people out and if you want to comment feel free to.

[rampant]

Can you post a video please! rofl! Sorry couldnt resist, and good read.

[~AK49~]

#1 and #3 jumped to mind (i personally apply number 2 to number 1).

To comment on number 3, many people learn differently. A good trainer knows this, and is good at individualizing his teachings for his pupil imo.

What i personally cant stand, is trainers trying to mold their fighters into their own fighting style, taking them conpletely out of their element and strengths. Imo, a good trainer understands his fighters style, and works from there, developing their strengths and weaknesses. Im guessing some might disagree with this?

[TheAuthority]

Originally Posted by Cuauhtémoc1520

It's more than just teaching the X's and O's though, it's also knowing how to deal with your fighters mental state. Recently for example, I was in another gym where they had this kid sparring hard a week out of his fight. First, I never do that because I want him to be fresh and don't want to risk injury or a cut. A fighter in my opinion should stop sparring about 2 weeks prior to his fight.

Good post mate.

The only point I disagree with is the stopping sparring 2 week before a fight if this applies to amateurs (especially inexperienced lads)..

I know everyone is different, and for some lads this may not be an issue, however, we have a few lads who would suffer if they didn't spar for 2 weeks.

It seems to be the counter punchers that suffer more than the come forward bangers in my experience.

Personally, I would encourage a light spar 3-4 days from a fight if it was an amateur contest.

Maybe these effects are less noticeable at the higher levels as the lads are more experienced ? Not sure, I don't train any top level lads. Thoughts

[DIB42]

#3 is where I've seen some "trainers" go wrong.

[Ray Corso]

Besides the obvious talents and experiences needed to teach boxing and having the right demeanor to teach you need to know how to "evaluate"! You need to put a brand new kid in the ring and have him shadow box while you pay attention to him closely! You can learn alot from watching a young man or boy act out what he feels a HE IS as a boxer!
Does he circle does he move back does he move in that tells you how he feels about himself then you can see if he display balance etc etc etc. that will give you an indication of his physical attributes............because when you start to chance a kids natural instincts your really moving into teacher/student exchanges and that relationship needs to grow and trust is the first ingrediant needed. If theres no trust involved then its not going to happen! You need to be deversafied in Methods & Techniques your not going to teach Joe Frazier how to float like the butterfly! He'll get stung by the bee if you do!! HA!!
You can see these pro boxers today get into trouble in a fight and not listen to the corner and simply don't have the knowledge on how to adjust and 9 out of 10 of them don't trust their corner!
The first attribute to have as a good trainer has little to do with boxing it does have to do with being honest and setting an example to follow!
The young man needs to want to learn not just fight! Theres alot of reasons for a kid to show up at a boxing gym and you better listen to them all to figure out what this kid needs from you. More than any other sport trainers are truely "mentors" in this game and for the student to equal the mentor takes years, unless the trainer isn't that good with the other stuff...........you know actual boxing techniques!!! Hahahaha!!!

Authority; how is the boy doing? Ray Corso

[DIB42]

I think something missing here is also "Honesty". You need to be honest with yourself about your shortcommings and be honest with your fighter as well. I've been an assistant coach for a MMA group. I was brought in to more or less be a second set of eyes and see things the head coach might be missing. (especially as the team size grew) In one particular instance I had to ask the head coach to re-evaluate some of the advice he was given one particular fighter. This kid was ready to turn down a very well paying job in order to pursue a professional MMA career. He was good, and had a lot of natural talent, but he wasn't anything amazing. The coach wasn't being honest with himself or the kids ability and was pushing him into an MMA career versus a job that started at $30.00 an hour with plenty of overtime paying $45 an hour... and that was just the starting wage. If the kid was a little younger and amazing, I'd have maybe considered it, but in this particular case, the Job and MMA as a hobby made way more sense than trying to turn pro and struggling through the ranks.

[Davis40]

Originally Posted by Cuauhtémoc1520

I want to talk a little about what I believe it takes to become a good boxing trainer. I had an extensive amateur career and also boxed pro. I have been involved as a fighter or trainer in boxing for over 25 years now. I gave up on my dream early because of a family but now I enjoy training fighters and have been in many gyms around the country. I am currently training some really good prospects in a pro gym.

I believe there are 4 steps in what it takes to be a good trainer.

Step #1 - Know your stuff

Basically this means understanding the basics of boxing. This is something anyone can do if they study hard enough. Starting with stance, balance, movement, defense and offense.

All the 101's of boxing. It takes along time because boxing is a martial art like Karate or Kung Fu. It takes years to understand the intricacies of the sport, but you don't need to be a former fighter or have experience in boxing to know this aspect of it.

Step #2 - Applying that knowledge for boxing

Ok so this may sound redundant but it's very important to understand the difference between knowing what to do and when to apply that knowledge. For example, you can understand that circling right against a right handed fighter is the common thing but is it always right?

What if the opponent has a great left hook? In boxing, like all fighting styles, you don't just do what is expected, sometimes you need to think outside of the box but do so intelligently and with an understanding of your opponent. Doing what is text book or what you see in videos, is not always the right thing to do.

This is why sparring is the greatest tool in teaching a young fighter. At the end of the day, you can watch all the videos, read all the books and buy all the DVD's you want, but unless you have gotten in the ring and understand what to tell a fighter about what he is seeing SPECIFICALLY, it won't teach you how to fight.

Step #3 - Being a good teacher

This one might arguably be the most important of all the prerequisites needed to be a good trainer. I have known great trainers, with 30,40, 50 years of experience in boxing. Former fighters, and students of the game that are TERRIBLE trainers. Why? Because they can't relay the information in a way that the fighter understands.

It takes patience, calmness, proper wording and showing things in a way where it "clicks" with fighters. I personally think this is my greatest attribute. I don't claim to know everything in boxing but I have the utmost patience, and can simplify things and organize information in a way where fighters get it.

It's more than just teaching the X's and O's though, it's also knowing how to deal with your fighters mental state. Recently for example, I was in another gym where they had this kid sparring hard a week out of his fight. First, I never do that because I want him to be fresh and don't want to risk injury or a cut. A fighter in my opinion should stop sparring about 2 weeks prior to his fight.

Second, he got beat up a little in sparring and you don't want that to be the last experience he has inside the ring because it can hurt his confidence. Even the most coc.ky fighter can have his confidence broken if you allow him to have his last sparring session go bad. The mind and heart are connected and you need him peaking physically and mentally for the fight, that's the job of the trainer.

Step #4 - Working the corner

These are all the extra things you learn with experience. How to wrap hands, tie gloves properly, use an end swell, stop a broken nose from bleeding, stopping a cut, timing in the corner, and using all the little tools of the trade.

These may not seem overly important but they are. Getting your fighter prepared, and working his corner in an efficient way is very important to being a good trainer and professional.

This comes with time and experience and everyone has their own way of doing certain things and even fighters want you to do things differently to make them feel more comfortable. So you also need to know the different things that fighters like to make them more at ease.



So those are the basic outlines of what it takes to be a good trainer. I personally enjoy teaching, it's what I believe I am on this earth to do. I especially like working with kids, but eventually my work has moved me into the pro ranks.

I love this sport with all my heart and soul. I believe it to be the greatest sport on the planet and have respect for anyone who has ever fought amateur or pro.

The least thing I like about this sport is the ego's invloved. Not only in the fighters but in the "trainers" that seem to want more attention on them, than on the fighters they train. I don't do this to sell something and I don't do it for the money (even though I want to make money, don't get me wrong)

I do it because I have to. Something inside of me forces it out, I can't stay away from a sweaty, smelly gym and the sounds that come out of it is something I can't live without.

I hope this has helped some people out and if you want to comment feel free to.

The hardest work including sparring should be done between 14 and 7 days before competition tapering down a little the closer you get. That is the best way to peak for the competition. That is backed up by studies but I won't be locating them. You should be able to find info on it if you try. All the best I've done amatuer boxing and coaching as well

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Originally Posted by TheAuthority

Good post mate.

The only point I disagree with is the stopping sparring 2 week before a fight if this applies to amateurs (especially inexperienced lads)..

I know everyone is different, and for some lads this may not be an issue, however, we have a few lads who would suffer if they didn't spar for 2 weeks.

It seems to be the counter punchers that suffer more than the come forward bangers in my experience.

Personally, I would encourage a light spar 3-4 days from a fight if it was an amateur contest.

Maybe these effects are less noticeable at the higher levels as the lads are more experienced ? Not sure, I don't train any top level lads. Thoughts

I should have clarified it and your right, HARD sparring at least 2 weeks out. We do spar but mostly light stuff leading up to the fight. The thing is, you don't want to be stupid and suffer an injury or cut and jeopardize the fight.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Originally Posted by DIB420

I think something missing here is also "Honesty". You need to be honest with yourself about your shortcommings and be honest with your fighter as well. I've been an assistant coach for a MMA group. I was brought in to more or less be a second set of eyes and see things the head coach might be missing. (especially as the team size grew) In one particular instance I had to ask the head coach to re-evaluate some of the advice he was given one particular fighter. This kid was ready to turn down a very well paying job in order to pursue a professional MMA career. He was good, and had a lot of natural talent, but he wasn't anything amazing. The coach wasn't being honest with himself or the kids ability and was pushing him into an MMA career versus a job that started at $30.00 an hour with plenty of overtime paying $45 an hour... and that was just the starting wage. If the kid was a little younger and amazing, I'd have maybe considered it, but in this particular case, the Job and MMA as a hobby made way more sense than trying to turn pro and struggling through the ranks.

This is true. We recently had a kid that was arguably the most talented kid in the gym leave because his heart wasn't in it. Boxing is the toughest sport in the world (imo) and if you aren't willing to leave your heart and soul in the ring, then you don't belong in there.

You have to see what a kid is made of and see if he's willing to really think about this as a career.