![]() Some gyms have one trainer while others have several. If you have a few bags, an area for exercise, and a place to spar, all that you are missing is a knowledgeable trainer. You had good sparring available whether you were big or small. The best equipment in the gym were the fighters. We may not have had a ring, but we had some fierce sparring sessions in that basement. In other words, if you were in that gym, you were there because you wanted to fight. What I loved about that gym was that it was so crude that only a highly motivated fighter would journey down those basement steps. After the initial clean up, we brought in a few lights, hung a few bags, and got back to training. Fortunately, like most boxing gyms, we operated like one large family so everyone helped out to get our new home ready for action. When we first set up shop, it was nothing but a dark and dreary basement. My trainer at the time did not want to lose his boxing program so he decided to move the gym to the projects. We began training in that basement after our community center gym was forced to shut down. I still vividly remember my very first day there. We didn’t even have a ring, but it was one of the best gyms I ever trained at as a young fighter. The image was taken in the basement of a housing project. In the picture above, you will see an old photo of me sparring back in the 1990s. The flashiest exercise machine in the world cannot teach you how to jab. Some of the best boxing gyms in the world operate on minimal budgets with minimal equipment. Just as you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you should not judge a boxing gym by its equipment. In all my years, I’ve yet to see a heavy bag throw a punch a back. If you don’t have anyone to spar, there is only so much that you can learn. As I have said many times before, sparring is essential for any competitive fighter. What has kept other fighters from choosing the gym?Ī gym without fighters will always be limited. And if he doesn’t have any fighters there, you’d have to wonder why. The most knowledgeable trainer in the world will be limited if he does not have any other fighters at his gym. Ultimately, the end product will always give you a good idea of what you can expect from the gym. What fighters train at the gym? What fighters have been developed there? Does the gym have amateur fighters who compete locally and nationally? Are there any active professional boxers who currently train there? Take a ride down to the gym and see who is there. Perhaps most importantly, the best way to determine the quality of a boxing gym is by observing the end product. The natural question therefore is how do you know if you have found a good boxing gym? It is essential that you learn from a knowledgeable trainer and spar with experienced fighters. As mentioned previously, you cannot teach yourself how to box at a high level. In my last entry, I stressed how important it is for an aspiring boxer to train at a real boxing gym.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |