Every time I read one of your articles about boxing, I have felt the urge to step into the ring to test myself. I've establish as my main goal this year getting in shape to fight, doesn't matter if it is boxing or kickboxing.
Just want to thank you for the inspiration.
-Bruno
Bruno, I am honored. Below are some of the tips my coach gave me about fighting in the masters division [over 35] when I was 39 and seriously gearing up for it.
-Weight disparities are likely to be big, as there are far fewer older men fighting.
-In light of this fact, smaller men who have put on weight with age [especially if they fought a lot when younger and trashed their metabolism making weight] will find themselves going up against big guys who used boxing to get in shape, or middleweight range fighters who are now heavyweights.
-In light of this, Bruno seek matches with big men who have not competed before, rather than small or medium sized fellows that are making a comeback after getting burned out fighting too much.
-You must spar lightly at least twice per week as you get in shape.
-After each round you spar shadow box a round.
-Work on developing your neck as much as possible. You look like a good-sized man so build the neck in case you step into a punch.
-Have your top fighter help in the corner, and find a corner man who is as old as dirt. Cornering for you could be a great experience for one or two of your fighters.
-As a coach you are used to feeding out the information. Resist the urge to self-coach and let someone handle you. Putting your trust into one of your better fighters will really help him bloom and will get you a passionate cornerman, someone looking at you as their big project.
-With older fighters power punches work better and jabs degrade. To counter this make sure you throw high blind jabs and step obliquely out of the pocket with your lead foot when you throw your lead rear hand over his low jab.
-Us old guys gas quickly up front, especially if we have not fought a lot recently. In case this happens with you, and to help keep it from happening, work the shovel hook on the bag a lot. Practice leaning on the bag with your shoulder and then popping that two inch pivot punch to the chin or drop a sinker to the body. This is a low energy punch for countering the clinch.
-Above all, have a good fight! You are going to be doing something that 99% of men half your age are terrified of attempting.
Strength and Honor, Bruno.
A Well of Heroes
Thanks for the tips sir! I just forgot to mention something: i'm not an "old guy". I'm 24 years old, and really out of shape, thanks to a live spent in front of books and video-games, trying to escape this fucked up reality.
But, beside the fact that i'm out of shape, i've got some really good experience in martial arts. I've did some tae-kwon-do as a child during 2 years(forced by my father, because i've got my ass kicked buy a boy two years younger and literally half ny weight), came back to tae-kwon-do as a teenager and started Muay Thay, with the objective to learn self defence.
My late TKD e Muay Thay instructor was great, and focused A LOT on technique, breaking each punch and kick into the smallest details possible. That gave me a lot of knowledge about how the human weapon works, and is helping me a lot with my martial arts pratice.
Now days, i'm training Krav Maga(still with the self-defence mentality) and i ocasionally train boxing with a friend of mine. There aren't any good boxing gyms in my city(most of then focus more on conditioning training, just to suck money from soccer moms looking for a "funny" way of losing weight), so me and my friend are basiclly self-taught.
I really didn't except you would write a text with some tips for me. I really apreciate that.
Thanks for any grammar mistake, i'm not a native speaker.
Congratulations on being young, Bruno. I assumed you were an old gray beard like me, based on your commentary. You should try kickboxing first, based on your background. Once you have gotten to the point where you are winning kickboxing bouts based on your hand work, then you could transition to boxing.
Try checking out Jason Van Veldhusen's Precision Striking videos on YouTube for tips on bag work and partner drills.