Boxing is an interesting sport that brings together people from all walks of life. Initially, learning boxing can be hard. It’s necessary to train body as well as mind to develop a good level of proficiency in the sport. When learning how to box, you need to pay close attention to many important aspects. It’s crucial for a boxer to work on balance, coordination, strength and conditioning, punching power, footwork, defense, endurance, etc.
Are you a beginner, who is just taking your first steps on your journey to boxing success? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Here, you’ll find some of the best boxing tips for beginners.
So, let’s get started.
Select a Good Boxing Gym
There are some important things that you need to take into account to pick the right boxing gym. These include:
- You should aim to find a gym with highly professional coaches, who have a huge passion for teaching boxing. It helps if you can get to know the reputation of the gym and coach, along with their achievements, ahead of time.
- Make sure that a gym of your choice has all the necessary boxing equipment. A gym has to have enough space for boxing classes. And of course, it’s ideal if the gym had a boxing, punching bags, boxing medicine balls, dumbbells, reflex bag, speed bag and other boxing equipment.
- Plus, it would be better to pick a gym that’s close to you. If you live near a gym, then you will find it a lot easier to get to the fitness center and attend boxing classes.
Beginners have to be very selective when it comes to picking a boxing gym. Pick a gym for boxing classes with these things in mind. Explore all your options carefully and make the best possible choice.
Buy All the Necessary Boxing Gear
Here is some of the equipment you’ll need to get started. However, most of the time the gym will provide this for you. So you can always go to a gym without equipment and ask them what you can buy from them and what you can purchase on your own.
Standard boxing competition apparel includes the following:
- Boxing trunks
- Hand wraps
- Boxing gloves
- Boxing headgear
- Mouth guard
- Jump rope
- Boxing boots
When selecting boxing gear, don’t hesitate to ask a coach for an advice. A coach will recommend the best gear in your price range.
Get Familiar with a proper Warm-Up and Conditioning for Boxing
Every boxing training session has to begin with a proper warm-up. That’s why it’s so important for a boxer to get familiar with warm ups and do them before practices and competitions.
Among the best warm-up and conditioning exercises for boxing are:
- Running
- Running with hips forward
- Butt kicks drill
- Jumping rope
- Push-ups
- Jump squats
- Shadow boxing
- Burpees
- Bicycle Kicks
Learn the Basic Boxing Stance
Stance is one of the first things that boxing beginners need to study. There are different types of boxing stances, however, it is ideal for beginners to study a basic boxing stance. You should keep your chin down, hands high and elbows in close to the ribs. If you learn the proper position, you’ll find it easy to throw powerful punches and defend yourself when such a need arises. Here is a quick tutorial video on a basic boxing stance.
Learn Basic Boxing Footwork
Once you learn a proper boxing stance, it’s time to master the basics of footwork.
- First of all, you need to learn how to move without throwing punches. When moving left, right, forward and back you have to keep the proper stance.
- The punching power depends a lot on footwork. So, you have to learn how to make movements when throwing such punches as jab, cross, hook and uppercut. Here is a quick guide on boxing footwork.
Learn Basic Boxing Punches
Practicing basic punching techniques needs to be a key part of boxer’s training program. As a boxer, you should master all types of punches. By doing so, you’ll manage to make your strategy more diverse and unpredictable.
Different types of punches
There are 8 types of punches in boxing. These include:
- Jab
- Cross
- Left hook
- Right hook
- Left uppercut
- Right uppercut
- Overhand right/left
- Shovel Hook
As a boxing beginner, you have to learn each type of punch and work on the technique.
Increase punching power
First and foremost, you have to learn the correct technique of throwing a punch. After that, you have to learn how to punch with power. Learn how to get the most out of body weight and transfer power to the punch. Also, you should aim to throw punches accurately. This will help you increase punching power, deliver a knockout blow.
Study boxing combinations
Boxing combos are the first tactics a boxer learns. So, it’s crucial for a boxer to learn how to perform different types of punch combinations. Do your best to add more combinations to your arsenal. Check out my other Youtube Channel called Boxing Home Workouts where we go over literally dozens of combos in a workout format.
Master body punches
Don’t become a head hunter in boxing. It’s a good idea to learn how to attack the body and diversify your attack.
Focus on Mastering Boxing Defense Techniques
Defense has to be the number one priority for any boxer. Boxing defense is more important than throwing powerful punches.
Footwork plays an important role in boxing defense. If you are faster than your opponent, then you can go away or go around. By doing so, you’ll be able to avoid punches.
In addition to footwork, you should learn how to defend each type of punch with blocking, parrying, rolling and slipping. Learn how to protect yourself against different types of punches.
Once your defense get’s better you’ll be able to counter off of your defense. Learn how to take advantage of boxing defense and counter punching.
Learn How to Breathe Properly in Boxing
The endurance of a boxer depends on the way you breathe. If you breathe properly during match and workouts, you will have more energy. As a result, you will be able to perform much better on the court. Exhale when punches and focus on getting the air out. Your body will naturally know to inhale. Make sure you don’t hold your breath. This might take some awareness at first.
Boxing Tips for Beginners at Home
There are many things that athletes can do at home to improve their boxing skills. In a home gym, you can hang a punching bag or just work on your technique with shadow boxing workouts to increase your skill and conditioning. You can also take this time to work on your base conditioning through running and skipping rope.
Sparring Tips for Beginners
It’s hard to imaging boxing without sparing. However, you should get started with sparing only when you are well-prepared for it. Now, we’ll share the beginner boxing tips that you have to follow to get ready for sparing in the best possible way.
– During your sparing, you should always think about defense. Don’t relax and don’t lose your focus.
– Many beginners choose to have sparing with weaker partners. However, it’s not the right thing to do. It would be better to spar with more experienced boxers. If your partner is better than you are, then you will be able to get the most out of your training.
– Coaches give boxers recommendations during fights. A coach will see your mistakes during sparing and give you an advice. Listen to your coach and follow his instructions to do a better work on the court.
– You must be mentally prepared for fight. Visualization is used in different sports and volleyball is no exception. It makes a lot of sense to visualize in advance. Imagine how you will spar with your opponent and what you will do. This will help you get ready for sparing mentally and do a great job on the court.
Conclusion
Boxing requires a fair amount of time but you can start slow and go at your own pace. Be patient and give yourself time to master the basic boxing techniques before thinking about stepping into the ring. Follow these tips for beginner boxers to get the most out of your training, and achieve the best possible results.