Are you a fan of boxing? Perhaps you’ve grown up with great athletes like Tyson and Ali or have recently become interested by seeing the likes of Alvarez and Fury bless the ring with their presence.
In any case, you might be wondering if signing up your child for boxing training is a good idea. After all, they probably need to reach a certain age before it is safe, right?
We’ll go over absolutely everything you need to know about boxing today. Let’s dive into it.
At What Age Can a Person Start Boxing?
I always love giving this answer when someone asks me the question:
“If you can count to three, you can box.”
This reply signifies two things:
First, it affirms the idea that a child doesn’t need to be over ten or fifteen years old before learning how to box. Second, it goes over a fundamental part of boxing: learning combinations.
As you’ll see in a moment, boxing might seem simple, but the sport offers many combinations. The good news? Many of them are three-point ones. For instance, right cross - left hook - right cross. Simple enough.
The Basic Moves and Combinations In Boxing
Boxing is an art of continuous improvement. There is always something new to learn, and we don’t have to look any further than professional boxing for confirmation. History knows many amazing boxers who would win thirty, forty, and even fifty professional matches before getting stopped by an underdog.
But of course, before reaching a point of refining skills, one first has to develop them, and this starts by learning the basics. Boxing has several types of strikes:
Jab - arguably the most critical strike in boxing. It serves many purposes and allows the person to throw a distant strike without transferring much weight forward and risking exposure to a counter-punch. As the leading arm extends fully, the shoulder can guard the chin, while the opposite arm can guard the face.
Cross - this is a powerful strike, thrown across the body with the rear arm. It generates more force than a jab, and the person throwing it can magnify it further by rotating the hips and torso in the direction of the strike. The person should also transfer more weight on the lead foot while keeping their lead hand retracted for protection against counter-punching.
Hook - this is a semi-circular strike, thrown with the lead or rear arm. The goal is to throw the hook slightly from the side to target the opponent’s front or side. To achieve this, the arm follows somewhat of an arc pattern instead of a straight line. This is accompanied by body rotation in the direction of the hook while keeping the free arm close and the hand near the face for protection.
Uppercut - this is a strike, thrown with either of the two arms. The boxer tends to duck slightly, lean in one direction, and bring the striking arm down and out a bit. The strike then follows a vertical pattern up and in, aiming for the opponent’s chin. At the same time, the knees straighten to provide extra power as the hips and torso rotate in the punch direction. The free hand remains up to guard the face, and the elbow of the striking arm rolls in to protect the ribcage upon impact.
Though we have four primary strikes, boxing offers numerous combinations. Let’s take a look at four three-point ones:
Jab - jab - cross
Jab - cross - hook
Jab - right uppercut - left hook
Right cross - left hook - right cross
Conclusion
If you’re interested in signing your child up for martial arts or want to try a few classes yourself, don’t hesitate. Come down to Dream Martial Arts and Fitness, where we offer various classes, including boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and much more.