At the gym, I punch a Heavy Bag, just for fitness and pleasure. It’s a good workout. I’ve never done any boxing, and, although I’ve never been tested, must assume that I’m soft as shite.

But there’s a gypsy bloke down the gym who’s been boxing since he was a kid, and he reckons I have a good swing. So now I’m thinking of going full mid-life-crisis and getting into the ring.

So here’s my question: Where does a 40 year-old, bespectacled English teacher even start getting involved in boxing?

Ask the gypsy if you can try it out down his place 🙂

insult the gypsy fellas heritage 😉

No idea but fighting is dangerous and its dead easy to hit a bag hard its much harder to hit something that is trying to avoid you and hitting back

There was a thread on here a few months ago about this. Apparently you can sign up to a three round event or something. It sounded like a laugh.

Or go to Newcastle and spill someone’s pint.

Ask the gypsy if you can try it out down his place

I did! He said “I’m a gyppo mate. If you wanna start boxing, you don’t wanna start with us”

🙂

Probably a fair warning!

Brother in law did it. He loved the training. Lost a lot of weight. It can be brutal. If you can be arsed watch his video. If not go to 3.36 and watch him get saved by the ref. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. He suffered as he also wears glasses but couldn’t in the ring obviously so contacts it was which don’t like being hit…
[video]https://youtu.be/MAlEQMdo7qU[/video]

There was a thread on here a few months ago about this. Apparently you can sign up to a three round event or something. It sounded like a laugh.

There you go.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-countdown-has-begun-ultra-white-collar-boxing-content

I’ve been to see amateur clubs at competitions. Not really that amateur when you get up close, those lads can really hit, not to mention take a hit back. About 0% chance you’d ever get me in a ring. After watching them fight, I was under no illusion that I am in any way ‘a hard guy’.

Good bloody luck pal. If you live, let us know how you got on.

EDIT : Some photos from when I went to shoot a charity night.

Brother in law did it. He loved the training. Lost a lot of weight. It can be brutal. If you can be arsed watch his video. If not go to 3.36 and watch him get saved by the ref. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. He suffered as he also wears glasses but couldn’t in the ring obviously so contacts it was which don’t like being hit…

That was very instructive – thanks. Yep I watched the whole thing. I thought your BIL looked the tidier fighter in Round 1, and had the footwork going on. But he had definitely tired by Round 3, and I don’t blame him. Massive respect to him for getting into the ring to fight that lanky bastard 🙂

hebdencyclist

So here’s my question: Where does a 40 year-old, bespectacled English teacher even start getting involved in boxing?

By googling Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

I did! He said “I’m a gyppo mate. If you wanna start boxing, you don’t wanna start with us”

True. They are all trained killers.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpEkmqU6UJg[/video]

There you go.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-countdown-has-begun-ultra-white-collar-boxing-content

I’ve been to see amateur clubs at competitions. Not really that amateur when you get up close, those lads can really hit, not to mention take a hit back. About 0% chance you’d ever get me in a ring. After watching them fight, I was under no illusion that I am in any way ‘a hard guy’.

Good bloody luck pal. If you live, let us know how you got on.

EDIT : Some photos from when I went to shoot a charity night.

Thanks. That thread is both terrifying and hilarious. And your photos are incredible. Good job.

There’s an UWCB thing near me.

Is this how it happens? You have a conversation with a bloke in the gym, then 8 weeks later a chartered accountant is putting you in a coma?

Looking at the schedule for my local event, it’ll be one for after the summer holidays. If I’m going to do it, then I won’t be missing any of the training because I’m on holiday.

I’m more into ultra blue collar boxing myself.

40 year-old, bespectacled English teacher …

Have you considered Street Countdown?
Doesn’t sound that dangerous?
It can get quite cold 🙂

OP if you want the experience of going into the ring on a fight night then look for a white collar event and try and raise some money for charity. If you want to try boxing join a club and do some sparring. Why you’d want to give this a go at 40 having not done it as a teenager or in your 20’s I don’t know. They did one of these events in the city and itvraised quite a bit of money for charity, you could see immediately who’d boxed as kids – the difference in level was enormous.

You might have a great swing, the question is, what’s it like after you’ve been punched in the head **** hard?
Personally, I wouldn’t go past the training stage, but each to their own.

Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth.

M Tyson.

huckleberryfatt – Member

Have you considered Street Countdown?

“It’s like regular boxing, but you do it with a white collar on”

Bro in law did us all proud. He raised more for charity than had ever been raised before via the Derby event he did. Don’t let his video put you off as he genuinely loved it and wants to do it again but new job takes up a lot of his time. The guy je fought it turns out was already a member of a boxing club and has gone on to have several amateur wins so it was a little one sided which you could see with his hold technique.

Yes he did and Chapeau for the money raised.

You don’t just need to be better than your opponent, you need to be fitter

I had grand ideas of doing this for a few days after going to a white collar boxing event, but it got veto’d fairly quickly and that’s probably a good thing

You need to be shockingly fit to make a go of it, otherwise you’ll tire out too quick and get a beating

Does look like good fun though

A friend did one of those white collar events.
a) he’s pretty fit, as in looks like a shaved chimp, and ride MTB’s too;
b) looked knackered afterwards;
c) the other guy looked even more knackered and appeared to have blood coming out of every visible orifice.

And when you think he’s shorter and probably lighter than average, I’d hate to think what damage someone my weight/height (but actually fit) could do!

I used to box. I was pretty good, better than i expected. Not a strong hitter but could take the punches and win rounds on points well enough. In my second proper fight, my shoulder got dislocated whilst blocking a big punch. 4 years later I’ve just had a complete repair to a torn labrum, my bicep reattached and been diagnosed with arthritis in the shoulder. Im 34 now, I miss boxing and i was never as fit as I was when i was training properly, but as I sit here, with my arm in a sling for the next 6 weeks I’d like to offer the boring voice of reason… As you get older you break easier, take longer to heal and some injuries are for life.

I know this is an MTB forum where people take risks and get hurt all the time, and i think boxing is great, but if you want to do it, join a local club, do some sparring and train hard rather then entering some dodgy pub white collar comp which is as close to boxing as XC is to those big hucking nutters of last decade.

P.S does your boss mind if you show up to work with your face smashed up? people can be quite closed minded about fighting sports as you get older!

By googling Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

This.

Only professional sport that mandates presence of an anaesthetist (rather than just a doctor) so the participants can have their traumatic brain injury managed speedily if they don’t come round from a knock out.

I know where to go but I can’t talk about it.

Mate did the same for his 50th year!!
13 weeks training, think 3 nights a week and a 5.30 am every Friday morning, no beer ,lost weight and cut right in ,felt fantastic, fight night came along , first time seen his opponent , “gosh he looks young and athletic”, 30 seconds later all over he had been floored in under 20 seconds!!Mrs and his supporters managed a mouth full of beer each!!
Been to a few fairly brutal ones local rugby clubs v local rugby club , think someone will get hurt big time one day all though really hope not and it will end up getting banned, an individual has no idea of underlying problems before going into the ring.

My girlfriend is pretty good on Nintendo Wi boxing. How close is it to the real thing?

Mates lad is about 18 trying to go pro, hed beat the crap out of me. You may have a ref but going toe to toe with someone who will try to punch your head in takes more bottle than I have.
Just keep your gloves up and protect your head. Your vital organs may recover from the body blows in time

You don’t just need to be better than your opponent, you need to be fitter

you really don’t.

haven’t sparred for a few years but you could always tell the newbies. would come at you like a nutter. a couple of minutes of covering up and blocking later they’d be blowing out their ass and dropping their guard. easy target then.

Go to a boxing gym.

You might want to think about Martial arts as an alternative too, find a club with a vibe you like and give it a go.

…by give it a go, I don’t mean step in the ring. I mean learn the ropes properly, train, graft, work on your stamina, strength, speed, reactions, combos, reading movement, tactics etc

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0SONoA5L1g[/video]

and check out foreman vs moorer if you want a case in point of fitness isn’t everything…

fat, old, unfit. losing on points up to the 10th rnd. bang. effortless KO…

am bo
you really don’t.

haven’t sparred for a few years but you could always tell the newbies. would come at you like a nutter. a couple of minutes of covering up and blocking later they’d be blowing out their ass and dropping their guard. easy target then.

And to that point, I know a handful of people who’ve done “white collar” and “charity” boxing matches. Guess what, nearly all of them had boxed competitively from childhood into the late teens early 20s. All won, with one of them even getting a vicious ko.

[video]https://youtu.be/AJHTVR6FF6o[/video]
You could always enter it the lenny way…