In a recent e-mail exchange with Jason Van Veldhuysen, online boxing coach, he confided in me that he is planning the release of his first book by the end of 2013. This will be an e-book available through Jason’s Precision Striking website and YouTube channel.
The subject matter will pertain to preparing for your first boxing match. Jason echoed my own feelings on the subject a few days ago in a phone conversation when he said, “You know, I always wanted to do a book which would contain all of the information that I wished I had had from the point where I started boxing and my first fight…I never really thought it was feasible [to publish], and I don’t think it would be, without the traffic I’m getting on YouTube.”
Now, if you have not read my review of Jason’s YouTube channel below, I will reiterate here, that this concern for the novice boxer is precisely what impressed me about his videos. Many young men [and now women] get into boxing for various reasons and with various goals in mind. They are then handled—if they are lucky—by an overworked and uncompensated coach, whose primary motivation is usually spotting talent with an eye toward developing the occasional champion. There are a lot of good things about this sports development model. But there are some pitfalls too, and Jason impressed me as someone who was genuinely concerned about helping the novice boxer navigate these hazards.
Jason has sent me a couple of the chapters from his book, and I think it will definitely be the kind of thing I wished I had my hands on when I was 13-years-old and lacing up the gloves for the first time. Much of the additional material will be based on e-mails Jason has received from YouTube viewers. Since speaking with him it has occurred to me that my readers [many of whom have come here to Inside the Ropes from Jason’s Channel] might want to use the comment section below on this article to ask questions about preparing for their first fight. I’ll make sure they get to Jason so he can answer them in his forthcoming book.
