Boxing: The Long-term Investment

[Journeyman]

I was having an interesting conversation last saturday(during the pacquiao-JMM undercard) with my uncle who has boxed professionally during a brief career...

We were talking about the long-term effects of boxing on a man(or woman)...the benefits and investments on the character and discipline of an individual....i mean, my uncle, who is in his 40's looks like he could be in his early 30's and he still has a six pack without a regular workout regime.

so long story short, what do yall think are the benefits and long-term investments of having even a brief amateur career in boxing? all the training must be beneficial not just for now, but as we younger folks grow old right?

thoughts please...

p.s.- plus my girl and i are expecting a child in the next few months and i definitely want to get him/her into boxing early in life...

[Ace Dutrey]

Discipline, stay out of trouble if they have a winning mentality. (no drugs, drinking, excessive partying) etc.) Healthy lifestyle, as they get older they develop confidence and discipline and positive mentality in other areas of life such as work, school. There are other things but that's all I can think of for now.

[Steven Adams]

my old man was a boxer in the late 50s early 60s... in his day he says, not once did he drink or party in his career.. hes 69 now.. looks 80

[Sugarj]

Well it just depends on the individual. Many ex boxers end up fat!!

Of course, it can instill discipline, self confidence and be good for your health. But I wouldn't say that boxing would be any better or worse than a different martial art, a short career as a soldier or a different sport for example.

Lets not pretend that boxing is always of a benefit. The brain ideally shouldn't have to absorb thousands of punches over several years. Likewise, our internal organs can suffer damage from body blows......and lets face it, our crown jewels will get rattled several times too!!

We all love the sport we follow, but participation is certainly not for everyone.

[Journeyman]

good looks on the input..

most guys probably know about that first time they got rocked in sparring, and they found themselves in that zone where the last place you wanted to be was in that ring. ...the anxiety and fear you felt the next time you showed up at the gym. We see many kids who never box again..

well, the way i fought and overcame that fear is something that applied to many other facets of life from that point on..i just think that type of resolve is something to be gained by anyone and everyone

any other thoughts and opinions on this..?

[Sugarj]

good looks on the input..

most guys probably know about that first time they got rocked in sparring, and they found themselves in that zone where the last place you wanted to be was in that ring. ...the anxiety and fear you felt the next time you showed up at the gym. We see many kids who never box again..

well, the way i fought and overcame that fear is something that applied to many other facets of life from that point on..i just think that type of resolve is something to be gained by anyone and everyone

any other thoughts and opinions on this..?

Yes, the 'resolve' is a good thing and an important lesson for life. The resolve that boxing can give you can be applied to many situations in life and can strengthen an individual in many ways. As Sylvester Stallone says to his 'son' in Rocky IV 'going that one more round when you don't think you can, can make all the difference in your life'. I always took that to mean rather more than just boxing rounds.

Resolve can come from different sources/sports too. Whether it be getting back on a horse that has kicked you off, getting back in a rally car after suffering a bad crash, getting back on the parallel bars after a bad fall, entering another tournament after a humiliating Check mate loss and as you say.....coming back to the boxing gym the next week after a bad sparring experience.

I remember one of my first spars, I came off worse......not a nice experience. I was drilled with right hands! I spent the next week training furiously, determined to get even with the guy who got the better of me the week previous. I didn't sleep the night before, and when I did turn up at the club that evening, the guy wasn't even there!! Oh well......I could have wussed out though. Ha ha

[IronBoxer]

My father boxed as an amateur from the late 1950s to early 1970s. Although he would have pursued a pro career, he went over to professional cycling and nearly made the US Olympic Cycling Team but thanks to the bigoted coaches and top notch individuals running the Cycling Federation, he never got the chance. He still however continued to box but only in the off season

Anyways, the boxing training were largely responsible for developing the discipline he has maintained all his life. Most mornings he still does his roadwork with me, usually 3.5 to 4 miles before we head to work. In the evenings we do our boxing training; sparring heavy bag work, speed bag, etc. Towards the end we devote a half hour to doing intense calisthenics and other unorthodox strength training movements(tire flipping, sledgehammer). We have free lifetime membership with a commercial gym managed by my father's friend from back in the day and twice a week we do some heavy lifting sticking to the basics(squats, deadlifts). He does all of this at the ripe age of 71!!

[Young Money]

My coach is an old man with grand kids but he could easily kick my butt.

Just watching him you would think he is just a regular old dude, but it's like he can flick a switch and instantly transform into a different person.

When he throws punches and moves around he looks young, powerful and never misses a beat. It's a thing of beauty.

I just know he's strong as hell especially his death grip when shaking hands.

[Journeyman]

thanks for yall input.

[as646]

It certainly can have beneficial effects on your general fitness in the long run, but I think that goes for any kind of physical exertion. I would say that on balance, boxing probably isn't especially great for your health. Boxing conditioning is, but as was mentioned in the thread earlier, taking blows to your head repeatedly is never a good thing. Have you heard some career boxers' speech? Very slurred.

I know a number of people who have boxed for a long time, and they aren't quite the same in the head as they were when they started (supposedly).

Regardless, I love the sport, and it without a doubt has nothing but benefits in terms of your general mentality and approach to challenges.