Taking up boxing

ErinGoBrath

Hi All,

I've been wanting to take up boxing from some time now. I have a couple of things I'd like to know - Is there any point taking up boxing at the age of 24? How do the clubs treat beginners? Is it an expensive sport?

Also, does anyone know of any clubs in the D2/D4 area? I've googled it but can't seem to find much.

Cheers for any help/advice

memphis

Have never done boxing but I can say I am doing Taekwondo for nearly a year and a half now and am too 24 yr old, so I will say your not too old to do a Martial Art.

However, like I say I donno about boxing or what way they treat new students, but I'm sure you'll be welcomed. I assume they would be more wary of an adult as appoached to a child, but 24 is still reasonable young. There's a guy in my TKD class thats 40. Go along to a class speak to the instructor/club owner, and see if you'll be able to join!

pma-ire

ErinGoBrath wrote:

Hi All,

I've been wanting to take up boxing from some time now. I have a couple of things I'd like to know - Is there any point taking up boxing at the age of 24? How do the clubs treat beginners? Is it an expensive sport?

Also, does anyone know of any clubs in the D2/D4 area? I've googled it but can't seem to find much.

Cheers for any help/advice

going from what the lads on here have said boxing gym's won't want to know about you unless you have trained before and are handy??

but i'm sure paddy and the lads can tell you the best options available to you.

Roper

It very much depends on the club and its focus, amount of members and attitude towards older members. It's a great sport, IMO the best amateur game in Ireland.
I don't think any of them will tell you to F-off, but I wouldn't expect to be their priority as most places will focus on younger fighters. It's never too late to take up anything but basically fighters come first.

www.iaba.ie has a list of clubs, but off the top of my head I can't think of any in D4, D2 either, but have a look there anyway. You may have to cross the dreaded Liffey for a City Centre club.....

It's not expensive at all, my old subs were 50p a week..... but that was 1991.........

paddyc

NO such thing I'm afraid

like roper said, they looking young kids to train in or experienced lads to train..But its cheap as chips and great for fitness....

If you stuck there one beside Arbour hill jail that will take you on... but like roper sadi its across the liffey

best of luck

Roper

Just twigged that now!
Maybe some of that white collar sh1t?

walshb

Having boxed for many yrs, I can tell you that 24 is well past it if you're thinking of taking up the sport. Also, most if not all clubs will only allow you in if you are actually willing to compete. There is no point in joining just to train and get fit. You will and should be told where to go....(to a leisure club). Boxing is a serious competitive sport and is only for guys who are going to train and fight...best of luck with it anyway and let me know how you get on...

Naos

Id have no desire in joining a sport like boxing if the above is true.
Seriously competitive ? Takes the enjoyment from the sport.

OP: Better off joining Muay Thai or a MA. Get you fit and would be enjoyable.
Do not have to compete if you do not want to. Besides, fair enough Boxers are the strongest punchers out there, but they get bashed in competition.

Also buy a boxing bag, I picked one up(Good for stamina too) for around 60 euro in JJB, including mitts.

Roper

walshb wrote:

Having boxed for many yrs, I can tell you that 24 is well past it if you're thinking of taking up the sport. Also, most if not all clubs will only allow you in if you are actually willing to compete. There is no point in joining just to train and get fit. You will and should be told where to go....(to a leisure club). Boxing is a serious competitive sport and is only for guys who are going to train and fight...best of luck with it anyway and let me know how you get on...

Don't listen to this negativity. Positive vibes are what you need.....

walshb

Yeh well, with a name like Roper, can you really take this guy seriously......

Roper

I'll leave you be Walsh. You've had yer moment in the sun:

Having boxed for many yrs

mark.leonard

walshb wrote:

Having boxed for many yrs, I can tell you that 24 is well past it if you're thinking of taking up the sport. Also, most if not all clubs will only allow you in if you are actually willing to compete. There is no point in joining just to train and get fit. You will and should be told where to go....(to a leisure club). Boxing is a serious competitive sport and is only for guys who are going to train and fight...best of luck with it anyway and let me know how you get on...

I started boxing in March at the age of 28, to help improve my stand up for MMA. None of what you said above is true for the gym I train in, there are two other guys who also want to get fit and learn to defend themselves and they are catered for also, although they will probably never fight.

walshb

Well listen here Mark, if that is the case...then someone should do something about it. I actually left a club in Dublin for that reason you have given. Guys just coming in off the street, using the facilities, taking up time, space and equipment with no intention of competing...it's not on. A boxing club is for boxing and by that I mean competing...you want t get fit but not box...I say f**k off and join a gym. Don't waste my time or anyone who does want to compete

ErinGoBrath

Thanks to everyone that posted so far. Interesting and varied feedback.

The thing is I wouldn't be joining a boxing club strictly to train and get fit. If it turned out that I was good or someone wanted me to complete then I'd be well up for it and would rise to the challange. However going by some of the posts above I get the feeling that if you have no boxing background then coaches/trainers will not be willing to train me a point where they can determine my ability and potential as a competitive fighter.

I'm getting the impression that boxing clubs may not be too keen to take on novices of my age so I think I may join the SBG Ireland gym in Harold Cross. It seems quite physical & practical minus the martial arts mytical background, which seems ideal. Is anyone here a member? Any feedback? I'm going to go to the beginners session on Monday night...

OhPinchy

I'd agree with what walshb says that clubs wont be too receptive unless you are going to fight, and if you turn out to be brutal theyll lose interest in you fairly quick.

I'm 24 myself and boxed in college and have a big punch and can take a good punch - I believe these are the two parts of a fighter that can't be taught. My defence left much to be desired though and with the way it is in college boxing I never got any personal training to work on that aspect. I would be quite interested in joining a club to improve the defence and see where it could take me but then I injured my lower back and it hasnt healed in 18 months. But even before then I was apprehensive about joining a club as they are not the most welcoming of places unless you have been there since a young lad.

walshb

You are right OPinchy. They are not very welcoming to people who have no intention of fighting and proper order. It's such a serious and intense sport, there's no place in the gym for guys who are more interested in looking good, posing and basically 'using' the facilities without wanting to do the real hard work (compete). Boxing clubs are all affiliated in Ireland to the IABA, with the sole intention of boxing both nationally and Internationally. They are not there for peoples leisure time...Ireland has always had a strong record internationally in Boxing and we've produced some great fighters. Was that done thru posing and just swanning in and out of the gym when ever you felt like it, no it wasn't.....

walshb,

fair enough that you say that is how a lot of boxing gyms treat people.

By taking such a hard line though your marginalising a lot of people that could be decent competitors. Look at MMA as an example. Most people heading into an MMA class dont have the intention of being an ultimate fighter - they just head along for the fun or for the fitness. After they develop some confidence many decide to compete, whether at beginners competitions or at MMA nights. Telling people that they have to intend to compete from day 1 isnt a great way of recruiting. At the end of the day every sport is trying to maximise its number of quality participants. That attitude is a really poor way of doing it.

walshb

columok wrote:

MMA nights. Telling people that they have to intend to compete from day 1 isnt a great way of recruiting. At the end of the day every sport is trying to maximise its number of quality participants. That attitude is a really poor way of doing it.

Look mate, you've got it wrong. I'm not saying the 1st bloody day a guy goes to the gym, he is asked if he intends to box, because that never happens. I started as an 8 yr old and I know many guys who started in their late teens and even early 20's. They are usually given 3-4 months training and development and then They will be asked to compete. If at this point, they say no thanks...it's up to the trainer to SHOW THEM THE DOOR. Now you may think this is harsh, but I'm sorry...that's boxing. It's not their for anything else. You want to get fit without ever stepping into a ring, there are plenty of health clubs available out there. A trainer cannot have a group of lads, taking up space, time and equipment which is needed for the guys who are competing in tournaments throughout the year. A top amateur may have 15-20 fights a year, that requires serious training and committment. The boxing gym is not the place for messers, who only want fitness as opposed to competition and to even try argue otherwise is totally outrageous.



.

Colm_OReilly

I can see what walshb is saying. Most boxing clubs aren't commercial enterprises. The coaches there usually are doing it out of a labour of love and probably even have their sons boxing there. Boxing clubs seem to be primarily about climbing the competitive ladder, to one day take home gold from the Olympics.

ErinGoBrath,

I'm an SBG coach and can probably answer most of your questions. John K is one cool dude and will be very honest with you when you explain what you want from training. The beginners classes are usually held at a lower intensity than regular classes, but with all the practically and physicality of normal training.

Anyway let us know what you decide to do.

Peace and Love Y'All,
Colm

ErinGoBrath

walshb wrote:

They are usually given 3-4 months training and development and then They will be asked to compete. If at this point, they say no thanks...it's up to the trainer to SHOW THEM THE DOOR.

So your telling me that if I go down to the boxing club as a complete 24 year old novice that they'll give me 4 months training from scratch?

Thats all I want to know, I never mentioned anything about posing or not competing. I just asked how complete beginners are treated...

Millionaire

Just because you do not wish to compete does not make you a poseur or a time waster.

It is a pity that the boxing scene is appears to be a closed shop if you do not want to compete. I am 33 did kickboxing for years, competed, and now have no interest in competition, but I still train as hard as the next man, and will continue to do so until I am 80 years old!

I know lots of people in kickboxing and some in Thai who do not compete and they train like mad men, and spar like mad men too.

If someone was in boxing, and they are willing to train hard and get in and spar, well should that not be enough.?

Maybe someone like Steve Collins or some other top Irish champ should set up a place for people who want to train hard. call it white collar boxing or what ever. so what as long as people who want to train and not compete can have it available.

I just have taken up Thai boxing in Dublin a few months back and I am enjoying ever minute of it. (Ok I am not a total beginner but I have alot of changes to make);

Maybe if you want to train for fitness, take up kickboxing or thai and train 110%. you might get fitter with this, as your using your legs too and more balance.! and you will be more welcome too!

I am just back from a Muay Thai camp in thailand where I was training alongside current Lumpini Thai champsions and also with European Cage and thai fighters. and I was given the exact same training and I trained just as hard as everyone else. (ok the thai's ran rings about me). I was able to keep pace with the cage and european thai fighters though.

What amazed me about thailand, there was none of this "hard man" if your not a champ your useless, type attitude so common in some martial arts and kickboxing clubs. The top Thai champs while training very hard , were playful and fun in attitude about training. All smiles, no one was walking about with a big sour face on them, like they had a bad cause of hemmeroids!

Millionaire

check out this threads

http://www.menshealth.co.uk/talk/thread.phtml/post769476/


http://www.paragongym.co.uk/paragontwo/QandA.htm

mark.leonard

walshb wrote:

Well listen here Mark, if that is the case...then someone should do something about it. I actually left a club in Dublin for that reason you have given. Guys just coming in off the street, using the facilities, taking up time, space and equipment with no intention of competing...it's not on. A boxing club is for boxing and by that I mean competing...you want t get fit but not box...I say f**k off and join a gym. Don't waste my time or anyone who does want to compete

And what about someone who wants to learn to box for its own sake? No place for those types in your gym is there!

So how do you grow the sport then? "The wider the base, the higher the peak" that is to say the greater the participation rate the higher the top athletes in that pool can reach. Maybe boxing would be more popular in this country if it wasn't so quick to exclude people. Would it not help to have three different sparring partners who don't compete than one or NONE that do?

In my MMA club there is a guy in his late thirties who will never set foot inside a ring or a cage, but when I am preparing for a fight myself he is the first guy I go to for sparring as he is my size with good attributes and skill, under the boxing club ethos I should have kicked him out years ago.

If boxing coaches find it so hard to make time for people during the class maybe they should consider re-thinking their class or coaching structure? In the kickboxing club I train at all the students get time with the coach and a chance to learn and improve whether they compete or not!

There is obviously something about this country when it comes to boxing, be it an innate talent or what have you, when an island like hours can produce the caliber of fighters that we have, imagine how much more we could achieve if coaching practices were changed to make the sport more accessible?

Millionaire

Its that "back street" attitude that puts people off taking up things like boxing and the martial arts too.

If you have no tatoo's and have not worked on a door at sometime, then your not one of us, your not welcome.

I know loads of people, in professional type jobs who would love to take something like kickboxing or boxing but would not dare set foot into these places, because of the attitude of the people there.

Its the things about it is the bad attitude guys who are bring their own sport/art into disrepute. and thats a sad thing.

Everyone who is keen and interested should be give a fair crack of the whip. Interest, keeness, and good attitude, should outweight physical ability.

walshb

Erin I know you were just inquiring. I didn't say you were posing, it's just at 24yrs of age and starting boxing, most coaches or trainers would be a little suspicious and they may just think you're there for he training.

walshb

Mark like I've said...this is a pointless debate. Boxing is a sport for competition....end of story. No, you don't just learn it for its own sake. And this belief that the attitude of the sport is to exclude is totally wrong. If you read my post on page 1, you would have got the point. Everyone is welcome to a boxing gym. They don't ask you on day 1 if you intend to fight. You will receive maybe 3 mnths training before you are asked. If then you say "no, I just want to train", the majority of proper trainers will tell you that there is no place for you in their gym unless you are willing to compete. From all the boxing gyms I've been in, their attitude was fantastic and the atmosphere, dedication, bonding and discipline were second to none. Think about it for a second Mark, you are a dedicated amateur boxer who is competing 12 months of the year in national and international comp, real tough tournaments and you have to train like crazy 24/7. Do you want a bunch of lads taking up the bags, the skipping ropes, the weights and your trainers time, when you are the bloody fella getting into the ring to give it your all. I said I left a club for that same reason. When I joined another club, none of that messing went on and I improved dramatically...put simply, a boxin gym is there for boxers, not keep fit merchants, no exceptions......

walshb

And Milionaire, maybe this attitude you are talking about exists in them mickey mouse martial arts like grappling, jujitsu, etc etc, (bloody posers) but not in boxing mate. The nicest bunch of people you are ever likely to come across, you will find in the boxing gym and thru out he boxing circles.

mark.leonard

walshb wrote:

Think about it for a second Mark, you are a dedicated amateur boxer who is competing 12 months of the year in national and international comp, real tough tournaments and you have to train like crazy 24/7. Do you want a bunch of lads taking up the bags, the skipping ropes, the weights and your trainers time, when you are the bloody fella getting into the ring to give it your all.

Fair enough walshb that is your opinion, one that seems to be shared by the boxing fraternity at large, I made some points about how changing this might possibly benefit the sport, could I get your opinion on those please?

Dyr

walshb wrote:

The nicest bunch of people you are ever likely to come across, you will find in the boxing gym and thru out he boxing circles.

Lovely people with names like "the bishop"

walshb

Right Mark, I think to be honest that the sport being so damn tough, organised and competitive can only really function one way. It has been like this for years and years. If it changed to a type of say 'free for all', I believe the sport would suffer terribly. Don't get me wrong, If I wanted to get into shape there's no place I'd ather go than a boxing gym. I'm retired yrs and I still wouldn't attempt to train in my old clubs now, not because I'd be told to get lost, but because out of respect and knowledge of the set up, I'd leave it to the boxers and I wouldn't want to be taking up their valuable resources. If on the other hand I was willing to be say a sparring partner, I'm pretty sure I'd be accommodated, as that is a benefit to the club. But to be just there to hit the bags, skip, stretch, padworks...No way...it's out of the question. It is the one combat sport in Ireland that is properly and thoroughly regulated with one national body affiliated to one International body. It is a premier Olympic sport fro day 1. In this case, I'm afraid there is absolutely no room for negotiation, it really is that simple..BOXING gyms are 100% for Boxers......You do make some great points however, and I'm sure you'd probably make a very good trainer (I' presuming you to be involved with a martial art)...it' just that from being involved with the sport for so long, I've seen that this is the way it is and the way it always will be

pma-ire

Like imagine if you had to be Irish to be on the Irish Soccer Team??

We'd never have had the European Champs and two world cups in the 90's which has to have had a big part to play on the lives of guys like Roy Keane, Robbie Keane Damien Duff etc...

It was getting to a stage that we were thinking that only the desendants of Irish natives could play football

Mad!!