Boxing E-Book

Gary Blower

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 212

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Boxing - Training, Skills and Techniques is essential reading for both recreational and competitive boxers, and all those who wish to take up amateur boxing, or participate in a boxing-based programme. It offers practical advice on the many crucial factors that need to be taken into account if the boxer is to maximize his, or her, performance and potential. Topics include: an overview of the history of boxing; the amateur code; boxing weights; recreational boxing; equipment and attire; a detailed consideration of both basic and advanced techniques; the role of the coach; fitness training; gym work; running; conditioning; speed and agility training; making the weight and nutrition; planning the season, and much more.

Leseprobe

BOXING

Training, Skills and Techniques

Copyright

First published in 2007 by The Crowood Press Ltd, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book edition first published in 2012

© Gary Blower 2006

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 978 1 84797 466 2

Unless otherwise credited, all the photographs in this e-book were taken by Tony Bates.

Disclaimer

Please note that the author and the publisher of this book are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any damage or injury of any kind that may result from practising, or applying, the principles, ideas, techniques and/or following the instructions/information described in this publication. Since the physical activities described in this book, which involve punches to the body and prolonged physical exercise, may be too strenuous in nature for some readers to engage in safely, it is essential that a doctor be consulted prior to undertaking training.

Dedication

Dedicated to Alison, Taylor and Tegan, and in memory of William Blower

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Sport of Boxing

Chapter 2 Basic Techniques

Chapter 3 Advanced Techniques

Chapter 4 The Role of the Coach

Chapter 5 Fit to Box

Chapter 6 Groundwork

Chapter 7 Making the Weight

Chapter 8 Planning for the Season

Chapter 9 The Future of Amateur Boxing in England

Appendix: The Rules of Boxing

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Foreword

I first really got to know Gary Blower twenty-two years ago, when he came to join our boxing club. The club in question was the Austin Amateur Boxing Club and I was assistant coach to national coach Dennis Jackson. Gary had been boxing for Redditch ABC and whenever he was matched against one of our boxers we always knew they were in for a tough contest. I particularly remember him causing quite an upset when in only his eighth bout, he outboxed and outpointed one of our area champions. A couple of years later he came and joined our team, as he felt he had reached as far as he could with his current club. The Austin was a club steeped in boxing history that had produced many champions at national and multinational level and under Dennis Jackson, Gary became a much better all-round boxer.

He was a very popular and busy boxer who would compete at a minute’s notice and never once turned down or pulled out of a contest. Gary would be regularly involved in the best bout of the night on many shows and won endless boxer-of-the-tournament awards. As a model club member, Gary was probably one of the fittest boxers in the gym, who was extremely dedicated and gave one hundred per cent in every bout. He was a very skilful, textbook type of boxer who had a great understanding and knowledge of the sport.

Gary would always be on the wrong end of a close decision and it was due to the character of the man that he would be first in the gym the next day. Although he had a good career in boxing he never quite reached the heights that I felt he was capable of and after over fifty senior bouts he retired from competing.

Due to illness Dennis Jackson retired from coaching and I took over the reins of the club, producing many champions of my own. I renewed my association with Gary ten years later when he asked if I would take a look at a few young prospects he had been coaching at his gym. Week after week he would bring his boxers along to spar and train at my gym and not one of his boxers failed to impress me! The most noticeable thing about each and every one of them was their extreme fitness and dedication and they all gave one hundred per cent, very much in the same mould as Gary. He possesses the same enthusiasm and attitude in schooling and training his boxers as he had when he competed. His boxers are now becoming a major part of my squad, as is Gary, who along with my coaching team and myself hope to continue producing even more champions.

Anyone who reads this book will gain a wonderful insight into the sport of amateur boxing and the preparation required for any boxer to reach competition level. For someone starting out in the sport, the section on training, techniques and nutrition will be most valuable. As an experienced coach of over twenty-five years, I personally found the training section combining old tried and tested methods along with new techniques, most useful.

Micky Redman

ABA Coach

Preface

Saturday 10 October 1981 is a date firmly fixed in the mind of the author. It was on this day at a sold-out Abbey Stadium in Redditch that he boxed competitively for the first time, winning on points and receiving the ‘boxer of the night’ award. Twenty-five years later Gary is still involved with boxing, training and coaching people of every level. During his boxing career he boxed under the guidance of national coach Dennis Jackson. Dennis was part of the England squad headed by probably one of Britain’s most innovative coaches, Kevin Hickey.

It was whilst under the tuition of Dennis that Gary received his grounding towards training competitive boxers. As a fitness instructor for thirty years, Gary has qualified in aerobic fitness, Aerobic and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) weight training, National Amateur Body Building Association (NABBA) and Olympic Lifting, British Amateur Weight Lifting Association (BAWLA). At the age of twenty he managed his first health club, that at this time was the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom. In 1997 he opened his own fitness centre specializing in boxing training and conditioning, where people could learn the art of boxing away from the competitive atmosphere of an amateur boxing club. Working with small groups of boxers or on a one-to-one basis, with his knowledge of training and experience in competing, Gary can teach and prepare any youngsters who may have ambitions and the ability to compete. Many of the boxers he has trained have now filtered through to competitive level, with more and more almost up to that standard.

The author, Gary Blower.

Introduction

Boxing training is widely regarded as one of the hardest forms of training there is. It is due to this fact that many people of all ages and levels of fitness are using the training methods of a boxer as a way of improving their physical condition.

This book will be a useful guide to anyone wishing to participate in a boxing-based programme, purely to learn new skills and improve their overall fitness. The core of this book is dedicated to the amateur side of boxing and in particular the amateur boxer. Anyone with aspirations of boxing competitively will almost certainly go through their local amateur boxing club. There is, of course, a major difference between training for wellbeing and training to compete, as the competitive boxer has to be totally dedicated and, at the same time, extremely fit and focused.

For any up-and-coming boxers reading this book, they will find it useful in helping to understand what is required to box competitively. The technical and training advice given throughout the book has all been tried and tested on boxers of all levels, but they are only guidelines and competitive boxers will need to consult their coaches before attempting any new methods. To a boxing purist the amateur code is often regarded as the true sport of boxing, where a contest between two amateur boxers is not a fight but a challenge of skill.

Amateur boxing is one of the last sports in England that can be truly called amateur, but for a boxer to reach the top at international level, he must train and discipline himself as hard or even harder than any other professional athlete. After thirty years’ involvement in the sport, firstly as a competitive amateur boxer and then as a trainer, the author knows how much a boxer sacrifices just to compete at any level.

He has long been a fan of Cuban and Russian amateur boxing and is a great admirer of their disciplined coaching methods, which enables them to nurture young and raw talent into World and Olympic Champions. His first memory of amateur boxing was watching Chris Finnegan win a gold medal for Great Britain in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. Since then Audley Harrison is the only other British boxer to have won an Olympic gold, that being in Sydney, Australia 2000.

The author truly hopes and believes that with the right funding and the standard of coaching and young talent that is now filtering through, England will soon be amongst the top boxing nations.

CHAPTER 1

The Sport of Boxing

IN THE BEGINNING

Man has fought man since the beginning of time, and the first indication of any form of boxing dates back as far as 4000BC. Egyptian heiroglyphics show soldiers fighting with hands and forearms bound, and ancient Greek vases and murals display fighters with wrist and fingers bandaged. These were the early forms of the boxing glove. To describe this type of combat the word ‘Pugilisim’ was introduced, from the Greek ‘pugme’ through the Latin ‘Pugilatas’, the art of fighting with fists and also ‘pugnus’, a fight.

Fighters participating were known as Pugilists and the term ‘Boxing’ came from the clenching of the fist with the fingers turned into the palm of the hand and the thumb positioned in line with the fingers to lay along the fingers to form a box. In ancient Greece the god Apollon was considered the patron saint of boxing. Apollon the body beautiful, was the son of Zeus and Leto and defeated Ares, the god of war, in a contest where Zeus acted as match-maker, therefore known as puktus (boxer).

In 2500BC the Greeks created a sport known as ‘pankration’, which was a combination of wrestling and boxing. This was included in the twenty-third ancient Olympics for the first time in 668BC, when Onomatos of Smyria became the very first Olympic boxing champion. The first officially recorded Olympics were held in 776BC in honour of Zeus.

Later the sport was introduced to the Romans, who used a brutal form of boxing glove known as a caestus. The caestus had originally been used by the Greeks, but now the Romans had added iron or brass studs, causing the death of many a fighter.

It is believed that it was the Romans who introduced the first form of fist fighting to Britain, and by the seventeenth century bare-knuckle prize fighting had started to become popular in these islands. Fights would take place mostly at travelling fairs and on village greens with the crowd forming a circle holding a rope. This was how the boxing ring originated. Bouts were often brutal and some contests lasted for hours with over one hundred rounds sometimes being fought. A round would end when one of the fighters went down, and the contest would continue until one fighter was knocked out or in no position to continue due to injuries or pure exhaustion.

Pankration, a combination of wrestling and boxing.

It was in the early part of the eighteenth century when boxing in Britain really became popular, mainly due to the exploits of the British heavyweight champion of 1719, James Figg. Figg opened a boxing academy where he advertised the teaching of boxing and sparring exhibitions. A master swordsman, Figg also taught gentlemen in the use of the small backsword and the quarter staff. After the opening of Figg’s school many more academies started to appear, using wooden rails in place of ropes to form a ring. The ring would be elevated upon a stage and the referee would officiate from outside the ring.

Bare-knuckle boxer Bill Richmond, known as the ‘Black Terror’, demonstrates the typical stance of the prize fighter in the eighteenth century.

Gentleman Jim Corbett, the first heavyweight champion of the world.

The title was won by Jack Broughton in 1734 when, during his reign as champion, he fought George Stevenson in a brutal fight. So severe was the beating that Broughton enflicted on Stevenson that he died from his injuries. It was due to the tragic events of this fight that Broughton drew up the first set of rules to govern boxing. Broughton, who had his own boxing academy, also invented the padded boxing gloves that were known as mufflers, but these were only used in sparring exhibitions. Broughton’s rules stood from 1743 until 1838 when ‘The London Queensberry Prize Ring Rules’ came into force. In 1866 The Marquis of Queensberry Rules were introduced and contests were now boxed over three-minute rounds and 5oz gloves would be worn. The first heavyweight champion of the world under Queensberry Rules was Gentleman Jim Corbett who beat fellow American John L. Sullivan, the last great bareknuckle champion, in the twenty-first round by knock-out in 1892. James J. Corbett not only became the first heavyweight champion of the world, but he brought science into a sport that was usually associated with a slugging, brawling style of fighting. Corbett was a technical fighter and used such tactics as slick defensive movement and skilful footwork. Standing at 6ft 1in and weighing 178lb, Corbett could out-think and frustrate most of his opponents, as well as possessing a powerful punch. Educated and always smartly dressed, the dapper self-confident Corbett was known as Gentleman Jim Corbett throughout his career.

Seventy-two years later another brash young boxer became a heavyweight champion of the world – his name was Cassius Clay. Clay like Corbett changed the face of heavyweight boxing with his fancy footwork and the blistering speed of his hands. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1942, Clay soon earned the nickname of the ‘Louisville Lip’ because of his fast talking and boastful chants of ‘I am the greatest’. Like Corbett when he fought Sullivan, Clay also had to face a powerful hard-hitting champion in Sonny Liston to become heavyweight king. The bout took place on 25 February 1964 in Miami and against all odds the 21-year-old Clay became heavyweight champion of the world when Liston failed to come out for the seventh round. After becoming the champion, Clay converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. Ali had a long, successful career and became the first man to win the heavyweight championship of the world on three occasions. Today Muhammad Ali is not only recognized as the best boxer of all time, but also ‘The Greatest’ sportsmen ever.

As well as bringing style and finesse into the world of boxing, Ali and Corbett both added showmanship and entertainment to the sport. They were both introduced into boxing through the amateurs with Corbett having a successful amateur career until he turned professional at the age of nineteen. Ali had his first amateur bout when he was twelve and went on to win a gold medal at light heavyweight in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Most top professional champions today have had success in the amateur ranks and that is why amateur boxing plays such an important role in the sport and is the backbone of boxing.

THE AMATEUR CODE

From 1867 an amateur championship had taken place with just three weights being contested, lightweight, middle- and heavyweight. The competitions were fought under the Marquis of Queensberry Rules and in 1880 the Amateur Boxing Association was formed, drawing up sixteen rules. These rules covered the judging system and awarded points to the boxer scoring the most attacking hits, with the knuckle part of the glove on their opponent’s head or body above the belt.

In 1906 all amateur boxers had to have a medical examination before competing. This is a practice that has continued right up to the modern day. All amateur boxers must have a medical book before they are allowed to compete. This book, which is called an ME3, will have a record of all the boxer’s matches up-to-date and will be shown to the officiating doctor before each contest. All boxers will have a medical examination prior to every contest and will have had a full medical by their local doctor before they are issued with their medical book.

Due to the pure nature of the sport, boxing can be dangerous, but amateur boxing is way down the list of high-risk sports. During a contest the referee is the sole person in charge. The referee’s main concern is for the safety of the boxers and he will stop a contest if he feels it is too one-sided, or if one of the boxers is injured. Referees can also administer a standing eight count should they feel a boxer is hurt but has remained standing. At any time during a contest the referee can consult with the ringside doctor for advice on a boxer’s wellbeing. Contests range from three to four rounds depending on the age and class categories. International and championship bouts between open class boxers will be held over four two-minute rounds. Intermediate and novice boxers will mostly compete over three two-minute rounds. School children between the age of eleven and thirteen will box three one-and-a-half-minute rounds. At every level there is a one-minute interval between rounds.

Classified Boxing Weights – Senior Level

Light-Fly 48kg (106lb)

Fly 51kg (112lb)

Bantam 54kg (119lb)

Feather 57kg (126lb)

Light 60kg (132lb)

Light-Welter 64kg (141lb)

Welter 69kg (152lb)

Middle 75kg (165lb)

Light-Heavy 81kg (179lb)

Heavy 91kg (201lb)

Super-Heavy 91+kg (201+lb)

All weights are the maximum for each category, with the exception of super heavyweight, which has no limit.

Amateur boxers in the twenty-first century.

The ABA Championships are the domestic highlight for all top amateur boxers in Britain. For the ambitious boxer, winning an ABA title can be a great springboard for bigger and better things. Professional world champions such as Randolph Turpin, Ken Buchanan, John Conteh, Charlie Magri, Alan Minter, Frank Bruno, Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe to name but a few were all former ABA champions. The first ABA championship ever staged was in 1881 with only four weights being contested, featherweight, lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight. The competition has moved a long way since then and England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales all hold their own ABA championships. Each champion from each weight and nation meet in the Four Nations Tournament. The winner of each weight category can then truly be called British and Irish champion.

1992 Amateur Boxing Association of England, ABAE champion Mark Santini, receiving a winner’s trophy at a club show.

Boxing for Your Country

Every amateur boxer dreams of boxing for his country and having the opportunity to represent your country is a great honour. The four major international tournaments for British amateur boxers are the European Championships, the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.

The Olympics are the pinnacle of every amateur boxer’s career, but for a British boxer to be selected he must qualify through either the European or World Championships. This is not an easy task when you consider he will be up against boxers from Cuba and Russia whose countries give amateur boxing a high priority and where boxing is state supported. Britain’s tally of gold medals has been pretty scarce, with just four winners since 1948: Terry Spinks and Dick McTaggart in Melbourne 1956, Chris Finnegan in Mexico City 1968 and Audley Harrison in Sydney 2000. Britain’s only representative in the 2004 Games in Athens was seventeen-year-old Amir Khan. Khan had qualified as junior World Champion and was only having his fourteenth senior bout when he boxed in the Olympic final. Khan’s opponent was one of the all-time greats in amateur boxing, 33-year-old Cuban Mario Kindélan. Kindélan was the defending Olympic Champion and three times World Champion. His silky skills and masterful boxing were too much for the game Khan, who lost thirty points to twenty-two points giving him a well-deserved silver medal.

England international Jimmy Moran, winner of the light-heavyweight Commonwealth Games gold medal in Edinburgh 1986.

The Cubans

In Athens, as in many Olympics, the Cuban boxers came out on top with five gold medals with Russia close behind with three. As previously mentioned, these countries take amateur boxing very seriously. Cuba has dominated international amateur boxing for three decades, winning thirty Olympic gold medals since Munich 1972. This is an amazing achievement considering Cuba boycotted the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Four years previous to their five gold medals at Athens they had been top, winning four gold medals in Melbourne. So the Cubans do not seem to be losing their dominance, but why are they so good?

Jimmy Moran receives instructions from national coach Ian Irwin in between rounds, during an international tournament.

You have to go back to 1962 when Cuba’s communist leader, Fidel Castro, banned all professional sports. This meant that none of the top amateur stars were lost to professional boxing. Boxing in Cuba is state-funded and their top boxers are treated to houses and cars that a lot of their fellow citizens can only dream of. Castro is a big boxing fan and when Mario Kindélan won his gold medal in Athens, he was rewarded with a brand new car. The man behind the Cuban boxing success was coach Alcides Sagarra, who took charge in 1964. Also the Soviet coach, Andrei Chervorenko, played a large part in the development of Cuban boxing teams by enforcing strict Soviet training methods. Sagarra and Chervorenko managed to blend the natural rhythm and ability of the Cubans with Soviet discipline to produce world-beating boxing teams year after year. Sagarra finally stepped down as coach in 2001 leaving behind a legacy of amateur boxing’s finest.

The biggest name in Cuban boxing has to be Teofilo Stevenson; in Cuba the man is simply a legend. Stevenson won three Olympic gold medals and two World Championships at heavyweight before moving up to superheavyweight in 1986 to win yet another World Championship. During the 1970s professional promoters tried to put together a match between Stevenson and Muhammad Ali, billing it as the world’s greatest amateur heavyweight against the world’s greatest professional heavyweight. The fight never took place and Stevenson’s mantle was finally taken over by 6ft 6in-heavyweight Felix Savon. Savon also won three Olympic golds and was World Champion an amazing five times. He resisted promoter Don King’s offer of ten million dollars to turn professional. Savon’s answer to King’s proposal was, ‘What do I need ten million dollars for when I have eleven million Cubans behind me…’. It is this passion for their country and for boxing that makes Cuba such a dominant force. Some boxers do try and defect but most believe in the battle cry ‘Don’t fight for money, fight for Cuba, Don’t fight for fame, fight for pride, Viva Cuba, viva Fidel!’

A lot of international coaches argue that if they did not lose their top boxers to the professional ranks, they, too, would produce much stronger national teams. There is a lot of truth in this but Cuba’s success does not just come from the banning of professional sports. Cuba, like Russia, nurtures its talented boxers from an early age, placing them into state-sponsored athletic schools and training camps. The programme outlined for these youngsters is tough and disciplined but failure is not an option and winning is everything.

The Boxer

Britain’s youngsters begin boxing seriously at around the ages of eleven and twelve when they can enter the school championships. Of course, people take to the sport at various ages but amateur boxing rules prohibit boxers competing after the age of thirty-four. So if you are hoping for a long career in the amateurs, the earlier you start the better.

Two schoolboys sparring. Boxers can start competing from the age of eleven.

People walk into their local boxing clubs for many reasons. Some want to get fit, some want to use boxing as a way of channeling their aggression, others just want to keep off the streets. Some have dreams of winning an Olympic gold or becoming a professional World Champion one day, but whatever the reason, the first time you walk into a boxing gym can be quite a daunting experience. ABA clubs are usually full to the rafters with young boxers going through their training routines. Amongst this crowd of sweating, panting bodies are two or three enthusiastic coaches attempting to be everywhere at once. As you enter the gym for the first time one of these coaches will make themselves known by demonstrating a few pointers to help get you started. In reality, amateur coaches give their time for free and after putting in a full day at work they will always be found down at the gym most nights of the week. When not at the club they are usually with their boxers at one of the many shows in the UK. Once the coach sees that the boxer has the same level of commitment to the sport that they themselves have, they will then give much more of their time. The boxer will then be put through one of the hardest training regimes of any sport.