How to Improve Your Boxing Skills: Necessary Tips
Our image of what boxing is like as a sport is based on how boxing has been portrayed in pop culture, for example in movies such as Rocky, Creed, and The Boxer. Documentaries and live coverage of famous matches of boxers such as Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and James J. Corbett created a fantasy around the game as boxing became an extremely popular sport. However, the real sport of boxing is not as fantastical as we would like to imagine, rather it is a sport that requires great commitment, devotion, and intense training from the players.
Players spend years in training to become a professional as they need to work on their movements, skills, stance, and diet. Everything that the players decide to consume has to be monitored, and every spare minute that they have has to be devoted to either thinking about how they can improve or how they can train to improve. Regardless of all the effort that goes into becoming a professional boxer, there is no doubt that the result is worth it. Because many mental and physical benefits come out of participating in boxing.
1. Improves Stamina
Having strong stamina is very important for any healthy individual because it makes you more resilient, more active and even reduces the chances of getting severe muscle injuries; strong stamina entails that your muscles are supple and are getting sufficient oxygen which makes it harder for them to tear preventing you from getting seriously injured. And even if you do get injured the chances of recovery improve as well.
The game of boxing relies heavily on how strong your stamina is because you need to outplay your opponent at every point. Imagine running out of breath during the match, this will give an upper hand to your opponent to beat you and overpower you very easily and you cannot risk that. Hence when you will keep training and practice the one thing that is bound to improve is your stamina which increases your body’s resilience as well.
2. Encourages Cardiovascular Health
The game of boxing keeps you on your toes throughout and encourages constant movement; also the rush of participating against a competitor who is just as competent will keep your heart beating fast and keep your head in the game. A strong heart and an efficient flow of blood keep your mind and body healthy as it encourages efficient oxygen flow and also keeps your mind clear.
3. Encourages Strength Training
Boxing will keep you training hard and intensive and will especially work on your core, upper body, and lower body strength because you will need to produce enough energy to keep you going throughout the match. Your muscle movement and muscle resilience will improve drastically and you will also begin to notice that your control over your movements will also improve drastically.
4. Improves Hand and Body coordination
Keeping your head in the game is a huge part of what you will learn while training as a boxer because you need to concentrate on your opponent’s every movement. While your mind will be concentrating on the techniques of your opponent you will also need to have excellent reflex actions so you can easily multitask; for this purpose unconsciously your hands and body will coordinate with your mind skipping the process of actively thinking about your next moves and just acting on impulse. This mind and body coordination are excellent because this instinct will help you immensely in everyday life as well.
5. Improves Mental Health
Because your instincts will improve greatly this will only mean that your mental and neurological health is becoming stronger as you will be able to rely on your instincts even further and sharpen your thinking and motor skills.
6. Decreases Stress and Anxiety
Being in a position where you know you can get easily injured at any moment will trigger some anxieties in you, and thinking and preparing about your next match will also make every day extremely stressful; however, knowing that you have control over your body and your movements will improve your stress and anxiety levels greatly as well.
Considering all these benefits that you may get from training as a boxer the dangers involved in boxing again cannot be denied because it does require a lot of bravery and courage on behalf of the players when it comes to actually play competitive boxing. You can get seriously injured if you do not keep your head in the game and try to protect yourself and also try to remain at least two steps ahead of your competitor at every point. Protective gears such as headgears can help you stay sheltered no doubt, however, you still need to be as prepared as possible. Of course, the key to keeping excelling at the sport is by practicing as much as you can but there are other tips that you can follow that will ensure your growth at the sport.
7. Work on your defense
To know the kind of defense you need to apply in your games is extremely important because this will allow you to have an upper hand over your opponent and their strategy. Your defensive skills depend on your strengths and your physique as well and the strategy will change depending on your opponent every time. Hence it is important to discuss with your trainer every time and work on your strategies according to the dynamics of the game.
8. Wear appropriate boxing equipment
Being comfortable and familiar with your boxing equipment is extremely important when it comes to excelling at boxing. Make sure that the boxing shoes that you wear are comfortable and that encourage the right foot movement you need to do to win the game. Similarly owning the right boxing gloves that will help you perform at optimum level as well protect your hands is extremely important as well.
9. Work on your stance
Footwork is extremely important when it comes to boxing because you need to be on your toes at all times; having strong durable leg muscles will help improve your stance greatly. We advise taking dance classes to work on your leg movements because dance classes will help you get in sync with your body and make you more flexible.
10. Practice shadow boxing
Shadow boxing is excellent when it comes to establishing control over your hand movements. Most importantly shadow boxing will help you determine what kind of hand movements and punching strategy is best for you.
11. Work on your weakness
Every player has some kind of weakness, may it be your foot movement, your stamina, your deliverance of punches, or even how you approach the game; for this, it is important to focus on these weaknesses, discuss with your trainer how you can improve and then taking those tips to solely focus on that particular area and improving.
This is important because if your opponent can determine what your weak areas are then the chances that they will play on these is great, risking the game for you.
12. Improve your strengths
Listen to your trainer closely and your body even more closely hears what they are speaking to you, and determine what area is proving to be the strongest for you. Improve this area even more so you can master the skills and overpower your opponent greatly.
13. Work on maintaining the optimum distance
In boxing there is such a thing as the optimum distance; this space determines how well you can deliver your punches without being too close or too far away from your opponent; also this distance varies from player to player. Your main task is to recognize what distance works best for you. Practice with a punching bag and see what point works most efficiently for you.
14. Work on your stamina
Exercise and train to improve your stamina, increase your durability to a point where you don’t even feel the need to take a break or rest. A high level of stamina will not only help you last the game but also help you play efficiently.
15. Concentrate on your opponent
Your strategy of how to approach the game will depend heavily on your opponent, study your opponent and their strategy before the game and while training. Every opponent has a weakness and strength, your task is to study their movements as closely as possible and determine how you can overpower your opponent easily.
16. Keep your opponent guessing
Do not be a predictable player for your competitor, keep them guessing by constantly changing your strategy and your stance. This will confuse your opponent greatly and baffle them as to how to approach the game; this small confusion will give you the break you seek to overpower your opponent and may even help you win!
17. Do upper body and leg exercises
Having strong upper and lower body muscles is extremely important for boxing because it is your body that will help you last the game for as long as you can and that too with great efficiency. Do exercises and training that will solely focus on your muscles and make them stronger and more supple.
Maria Khatun Mona is a Founder and Editor of Nursing Exercise Blog. She is a Nursing and Midwifery Expert. Currently she is working as a Registered Nurse at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has great passion in writing different articles on Nursing and Midwifery. Mail her at “[email protected]”
