Mindful Movement

 I wanted to write a blogpost today, and I was struggling to come up with a topic. So I thought, what am I experiencing, or my boxers experiencing currently? And I realized, burnout. Whether it’s from exercising, work, relationships, or boxing itself, I have noticed over the month of June a frustrated energy from people. Everyone’s mood and motivations are affected, all for different reasons, all in different ways. I feel it myself: I’m tired in general, and I have a strong urge to stay in bed for a couple of days in order to recuperate.  The question to myself is how do I coach burnout? When I can sense a boxer is frustrated because they do not think they are improving, or they don’t have the time to train, or they have trouble grasping certain movements or are too tired to condition? Everyone goes through an ebb and flow, an upward progression to a stagnate to possibly a regression back to progressing. Sometimes taking some time off helps, resets the mind and body. Sometimes...

 “Anger provides the No. 1 difference between a fist-fight and a boxing bout. Anger is an unwelcome guest in any department of boxing. From the first time a chap draws on gloves as a beginner, he is taught to “keep his temper” - never to “lose his head.” When a boxer gives way to anger, he becomes a “natural” fighter who tosses science into the bucket. When that occurs in the amateur or professional ring, the long-head fighter leaves himself open and becomes an easy target for a sharpshooting opponent. Because an angry fighter usually is a helpless fighter in the ring, many prominent professionals tried to taunt fiery opponents into losing their heads and “opening up.” Anger rarely flares in a boxing match.” ( Dempsey, Jack. “5.”   Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense , Simon & Schuster, New York, 2015, pp. 20–20.   )  Written by Jack Dempsey over 70 years ago, there are many things outdated. Such as the word “chap” and the lack of ref...

 While reading Will Smith’s biography, he tells a story of his father making him and his brother build a wall from scratch. They had to form and mold each brick and add it to the wall, which took them about a year, considering they were very young. His reflection on this process and the lessons he took included to focus on the individual brick, instead of the gaping hole they were trying to fill. He reflects that looking at the empty space was discouraging, while focusing on a brick at a time helped the project seem more manageable.  While this is a common lesson, similar to one step at a time, what got me thinking about this story is the image of not looking at the empty space needed to be filled, but instead the individual elements needed to fill the space. Is this a good lesson for how we train in boxing? I think both need to be considered in the journey of training. Focusing on forming each brick is like perfecting individual moves, whether it be a punch, head movement, fo...