My 12 yr old son wants to begin boxing. A boxing gym has opened in our town and he's interested in it. I admit I have some preconceived notions about boxing that are less than positive - unsavory characters, steroids, mashed faces, brain injury, etc. I see very few positives to this sport - have never enjoyed watching a boxing match. Could never ever watch an entire match. Just seems brutal to me. BUT, I promised my son we'd look into it with an open mind.
I'm going to explore the sport from a number of perspectives and I am interested in any feedback from you moms. Do you know anyone who boxes? postivie and negative aspects? Anecdotes, statistics, etc.
My son has always been the tallest kid in his grade - and now in middle school with 300 kids in his grade he's probably one of the tallest 3 or 4 kids. He's not skinny - maybe a little overweight. He used to play lots of sports and has lost interest in most over the last year. We had been kind of pushing him into sports becuase he's a good athelete - so he seems to be pushing back. In any event we're willing to do the research and consider boxing as an option - although I'd be much happier if he wanted lessons in tennis, golf, guitar, drums or anything less likely to damage his brain, face, teeth, nose... :o)
I knew I'd get good inform from all of you mamas! We have looked in to it and it's very expensive in this area - they ask for a yearly contract and it's $999. As many of you have advised, they don't actually spar yet, it's all about the training. I'd love to have my son get involved in the training so we are going to see if we can do this on a month to month basis and cancel if interest is lost. It's a lot of money to spend but will find a way to do it if he really like it. Thanks again mamas!
Amatuer (Golden Gloves, the olympics) boxing has different rules (and a LOT more protective gear!) than professional boxing (pay-per-view, Mike Tyson)
And that exhausts my knowledge, but I'd try googling amatuer boxing or youth boxing and see what you find....
Where I live, "boxing" is really becoming mixed martial arts. Two of my kids (14 year old girl and 5 year old boy) go to a boxing gym but they're doing a mix of karate (she's already a black belt in a traditional form of karate), kick boxing, and muay thai. With the popularity of MMA I would be surprised if a new gym were just doing traditional boxing.
I would let him check it out. At this age, at least in an MMA format, sparring is done with lots of protection (headgear, gloves, assorted pads) and it's more about building strength, speed, agility, and of course learning how to throw a punch, kick, and dodge incoming punches and kicks. It's a great workout. I would have a tough time accepting classic boxing as a sport at this age because of the risk of head injury, but the MMA stuff where actual matches are few and far between and it's really all about training and sparring in the gym, with lots of head protection and emphasis on body strikes and ground fighting rather than just punches to the head, is fine in my book. Not my cup of tea but my kids totally love it.
There were a bunch of news stories on this last summer. My nephew always wanted to box but his mom wouldn't let him. Not good for your brain -- or like you said, teeth, nose, face, etc.
http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2011/08/pediatricians-just-s...
Check into a martial arts school near you. The one our kids go to also offers "kid jitsu"... which is jiu jitsu (one of the MMA styles) for "kids" (under 16). The reason for it being "kids" is because of their physical immaturity. My son is soon to test for his 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do, but is only 13, so he takes the kid-jitsu classes along with his younger sister (who just started TangSoo about 18 months ago). They learn grappling skills basically. Take downs. Ground control. How to escape holds, etc. They do not do kicks or punches to the head/face in class. Mainly BECAUSE of the ages of the students. My son, about to be a 2nd degree black belt, will sometimes be allowed to give/receive head shots but only under direct instructor supervision, and only by other students with advanced belts. NOT students without the necessary control to be able to land a "point" without doing damage. And ANY time they spar they ALWAYS wear protective gear. Chest guards and head gear required. There is extra gear that they can purchase and wear in addition to what is required also (shin guards, foot pads, arm guards, etc).
Perhaps he will be intrigued by martial arts if you offer a compromise like this? Martial arts is NOT about hitting people and making mush of someone else's face, lol. There is a huge respect component and self-defense together with avoidance, but having the ability to take care of business if necessary. Their motto is along the lines of: the best way to end a fight is to never throw a punch--just walk away.
My son is 11 and has been in Boxing for about 1 1/2 years now and loves it. It gives him focus, drive, respect of another person (knows its not just about beating a person up or smashing their face in) and discipline. We're talking regular boxing here too (Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Rocky, etc).
They train them in weight lifting, stamina and techniques of stance, amoung other things. My son hasn't been in a real match yet (because he feels he isn't ready for it yet), but he does spar. His coaches are like his 2nd family, they are concerned, at all times, about his health (mentally & physically), his grades, his attitude and how he is involved with his community...its all part and partial of boxing.
If this is something your son wants to do, let him try it out...you never know whether it will actually like it or if you might grow to like it...you might end up disliking it even more, but at least it is something to look into. Just know, once you make the committment, its along term thing...that does have great benefits all long the way...
I've even thought about taking it up (and I'm 34), not only to get back into shape, but to better myself and reconnect with me...it does take alot of drive and focus to get into the ring and out wit someone and beat them and not just with punching!!
Good Luck and hope this helped! God Bless!
My son is 14 & he's taken up boxing. He also plays baseball, basketball but his favorite is now boxing.
For him it's been great. A reputable coach will not only teach him the proper Technics but also about discipline, responsibility, respect & manners. My son wasn't a bad rude kid but he has become more responsible. His grades have gone way up & his coach checks w/ me When the 5 weeks reports from school arrive because he wants the grades up in order to participate. Granted all boxing coaches may not check into your kids grades but they due instill all the above mentioned traits.
The youh boxing is not what you see on TV like Coto or Tyson nor like the MMA fights. The kids wear head gear & padding. For right now he`ll just be learning the basics. See if your boxing coach will let you guys sit in & observe a session.
