How should I improve my boxing?
Two of the biggest factors to consider when staring boxing are technique and volume. It is very important to learn the proper technique and to continuously refine it, as well as to learn a complete set of boxing techniques. Especially when it comes to boxing defense, you will need to know how to block each punch thrown at you. With volume, or more specifically the amount of rounds you train each week. It does not matter where you start, as long as you are training and making progress. One of the very best ways to refine your technique is to continuously be practicing and to understand your body. Most of your skills will be acquired through work. You should start with about 40-60 total rounds of training, and then build up to about 80-100.
What are some of the most important skills to learn?
You do have to learn it all, but you will be learning different things at different stages so that you can also shift your focus. When you start out, you will need to learn offense and the basic footwork in order to strike the boxing bag, pads and eventually your sparring partner. As you better yourself, defense will become a bigger priority to you. You no longer just have to hit your target, you also have to ensure that you are not getting hit. Generally, you make progress sooner when you start focusing on your defense.
I am an experienced boxer; how do I still make more progress?
If you are experienced in boxing and you know all of your techniques and basic combinations, then most of your improvement will come from increasing your training in one of three different ways:
Either you can increase how many days per week you are training, the number of round per workout or the intensity of the training you are doing. You should try to find ways to increase one or all of these, slowly but steadily.
The next one would be to work on different styles, tactics and combinations. Boxing is about seeing patterns and about sequences. Try to think through all of the scenarios and keep practicing them by shadowboxing and then bring those tactics to your sparring sessions. This will help to improve your reaction as well as your counter punching.
How much on average should I train?
This will depend on the goals you have set. For most beginner boxers, we would recommend around 40-60 rounds each week, for intermediate to advanced boxers, about 60-80 rounds each week, and then for highly competitive amateurs, around 80-100 round each week.
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