Opinion on Boxing and thoughts about purpose etc.

[hector_garza]

From the other thread:
You are 5'7" and 152. You seem to know a lot about your skull, but not much about what it takes to get hit and not get hurt if you're not good at not getting hit. My advice is to get strong, gain about 40 pounds of bodyweight, and then do BJJ if your perceived inadequacies have not been assuaged by the accomplishment. Boxing will not be your sport.

I second this idea.
Yes, there are still injuries, but the learning curve in BJJ is a lot gentler than boxing.

[Bbinck1]

I did a little BJJ under Carlos Machado and did judo in college under Jick Holloway and Ron Tripp and loved it. Did Tae Kwon Do and competed. Liked it but not as much because getting kicked in the face is really not pleasant and you will get a foot in your grill at some point no matter how good you are. You will not have as much inhibition about attacking another person with grappling. It is more like physical chess and it is more fun overall.

[Mark Rippetoe]

OP seems to have left.

[Eric Schexnayder]

OP seems to have left.

Likely just decided that Fight Club was the best option.

[strengt]

Dear Mark and all,

I haven't left I made some replies I am a novice at many things and using forums on the internet is one of those things.
So I guess those replies haven't really been received or something anyways.
Thank you for all your input.

To clear up some confusion and add some information and thoughts,

I did some light sparring without head gear 2 years back on 3 ocassions spread out in time, each and every time I got dissapointed by the resulting headache I would have the next day after and throughout the whole week.
I went to a doctor and he said that it was nothing serious it was probably muscle tension headache. But when I reached out to the mighty internet to do some research on headaches you rarely see people talking about them.
Most people only seem to get headaches when they get either KO'd or TKO'd.
This made me worry a bit more about brain damage combined with the fact that I have anxiety and a smaller than average skull.
It made me shy away from participation. While I kept watching footage of FLoyd Mayweather jr.
One other critical thing is that I hesitated to perform punches on my opponent, I think this is some mental issue as a result of my upbringing, I was held back on a lot of things compared to people my age, Always criticized there was no right only wrong, expressing oneself was heavily taxed.
When in competitive events with others , this could be soccer, or whatever I tend to not show my best, there is this something that holds me back in semi-contact like soccer, or contact sports like boxing.
However I do believe this is something that I can work on, but it is a factor that also delays my participation.

I don't understand why I keep watching and being obsessed about an athlete whom I have no similar background or personality overlap with, yes we both had constraints in our childhood but where his were economic mine were freedom of youth and expression.
One thing I do know and have though is athletic potential, I have a good amount of speed,power,agility. The thing I came to learn however is that altough a lot of things top athletes seem to do seems very doable, it is the constant chain of skilled instinctive movements displayed over time which makes an TOP athlete, TOP. I know I can do certain things like a pro boxer with the speed of a PRO boxer but am I able to be consistent with it like a PRO BOXER , absolutely NOT! So this touches on the subject of is it useful to try to mimic an athlete when you know that in the competitive event itself the brain you will rely on to make spontanious decisions is your own and not that of the athlete you were studying?

Generally there are 2 schools of thought on this:
1) you should never try to mimic somebody; be yourself
2)you can't be yourself, when you see somebody doing something then you will be like AHA, THAT IS ME , I am going to create a new self based up upon that.

Again guys, I like both gambling and studying boxing, what I cant understand is why am I having this obsessio with this athlete when deep down inside there are a lot of conflicting things with the sport, there is lots of resistance ,wasn't life supposed to be about least resistance etc.
Shouldn't you let the tough innercity kids let bang eachother out, ( but I don't do well in school because of my depression).

All what I am trying to figure out is, WHY?
Is my brain trying to guide me or is it simply confused?
How would you as strong fit people with more life experience than me look at this. I want to know why I can't find peace in thought.

I wouldnt like to tell my grandkids one day that I shied away from boxing, but I also don't want to be able to remember their names and speak in a clear way.
But then again life isnt a competitive event about becoming the oldest.

Gambling/trading vs Boxing.

I try whatever I can do gamble myself to some achievement but I just stay depressed and look at my lower social rank, look at my money vanishing away, still studying boxing.
Just trying to have direction.

Thanks

Dear Mark thank you,

The only reason that I am 152 is that I try to be a weight that floyd mayweather jr is at.
I am fast and agile I did not get hit often on those ocassions , that is what upsets me that I got headaches even when not being hit that much.
On one ocassion I got hit a little more but that was because my stamina was totally finished, I couldn't hold my hands up anymore, my legs couldnt move.
On that ocassion I wore a headgear and I didnt have to much of a headache afterwards, does headgear help against headaches?
I can't find any information on that on the internet.
And I simply don't like BJJ , only boxing.
I can't live in social isolation for the rest of my life thats why becoming a pro gambler wouldn't satisfy me 100%.
I look for days of fame and glory, for the nights I was lonely and sorry.

I know it sounds stupid but I am in a dark phase.
I am just trying to be in tune with myself so that my mind and gut properly guide me into a direction.
I want to get out of my past in a strong way, I don't want to start a new chapter with all these social disadvantages to my pairs.
I want to master a craft or skill , and pay it off with the life that I missed on in my youth.
But does life work that way, life isnt supposed to be fair is what you often hear.

Also putting your hands on a heavy bag is easy, putting it on someones face in a competitive event is a bit harder for me than for other I have noticed.
I hold myself back a lot.
When I hit the heavybag in the fitnessgym I gets lots of compliments from often big guys in the gym. One guy said to me if I were you I would go to the boxing gym.
But then moments later I found out he used to box himself and he had a knee injury , so was he saying that out of his interest? probably yes.
Also he seemed to be the type of guy that didnt really care about brain damage.

I am quick and I have gun shot type of punches.
But what does it matter if your mind is not clear.

[gadders]

Did Tae Kwon Do and competed. Liked it but not as much because getting kicked in the face is really not pleasant and you will get a foot in your grill at some point no matter how good you are.

The thing that worries me about grappling is joint injuries. I'd rather get punched in the face than a torn rotator cuff or something that takes 6 months to heal. Are joint injuries common in BJJ?

The other thing that puts me off BJJ is in competitions and one of the opponents just shuffles around in a seated position like a dog with a shitty arse, rather than getting up again.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Don't know what to tell you, Strengt. Good luck.

[hector_garza]

The thing that worries me about grappling is joint injuries. I'd rather get punched in the face than a torn rotator cuff or something that takes 6 months to heal. Are joint injuries common in BJJ?

The other thing that puts me off BJJ is in competitions and one of the opponents just shuffles around in a seated position like a dog with a shitty arse, rather than getting up again.

The key is to know who are rolling with and to be smart.
If you're 40+, don't roll with an 18 year old with professional aspirations.
If you have a shitty instructor who pairs you with someone like that, just refuse.
Also, be vocal, tell your partner that you have limited mobility, you appreciate them giving you the chance to tap, that you're not trying to prove anything, etc. You can even tell people "Hey, I have bad ankles, please don't do any ankle/knee stuff on me." This is fine. This is your hobby, not your profession.


Nothing worth doing is zero risk. But you can mitigate the risk.

[AndrewLewis]

The thing that worries me about grappling is joint injuries. I'd rather get punched in the face than a torn rotator cuff or something that takes 6 months to heal. Are joint injuries common in BJJ?

The other thing that puts me off BJJ is in competitions and one of the opponents just shuffles around in a seated position like a dog with a shitty arse, rather than getting up again.

It's extremely dependent on
1) how you choose to train
2) the culture of the gym you train at

Sport gyms have higher incidence of injuries than non-competitive gyms. The gym I train at constantly pushes "treat your partners' limbs as your own. You need your partners to train. Don't break them"

I wrote an article about how to train smart in jiujitsu:
Blackmetal Strength Training

This will also prevent injuries as well as making sure you progress faster.
The short version is "don't be greedy" and "attempt to use as little strength as necessary".

[NolanF]

Having done some competition and serious training in Boxing, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu I can give you some advice.

I did some light sparring without head gear 2 years back on 3 ocassions spread out in time, each and every time I got dissapointed by the resulting headache I would have the next day after and throughout the whole week.
I went to a doctor and he said that it was nothing serious it was probably muscle tension headache....This made me worry a bit more about brain damage combined with the fact that I have anxiety and a smaller than average skull.

Your doctor is most likely right. Headaches can be caused by the muscle in your neck snapping back. Headaches last a day and it's not that bad. If it last longer than a day I would go easy on the sparring. You should train smart, but it will be hard to do in combat sports. MMA fighters and boxers are some of the most stubborn and stupid fighters on the planet. Before you start sparring your coach should have taught you the basics and introduced you to some medium/slower sparring drills. You need to train your eye and be able to read your opponent. Fast hard sparring won't help at first and you're going to beat yourself up. After this point you should be sparring once a week. You shouldn't spar more than once a week, and maybe spar hard once a month (you need the experience.) This is the optimal situation, but sometimes life does not work this way. If you want to box sometimes you have to go to that inner city gym and duke it out. Your other option is to pay a 1 on 1 coach to help you out, but it's costly (I've done it.)

If you black out while you're getting hit, that's when you know when your sparring partner is going to hard. Your brain needs some massive time to recover after that. About 30 days. That means no sparring or getting hit for 30 days. Most fighters ignore this. Head injuries happen more so in sparring if you think about it. How many times are you going to get hit during sparring vs. how many times you get hit in a fight. Some concussions you can't detect.

It made me shy away from participation. While I kept watching footage of FLoyd Mayweather jr.
One other critical thing is that I hesitated to perform punches on my opponent, I think this is some mental issue as a result of my upbringing, I was held back on a lot of things compared to people my age, Always criticized there was no right only wrong, expressing oneself was heavily taxed.
When in competitive events with others , this could be soccer, or whatever I tend to not show my best, there is this something that holds me back in semi-contact like soccer, or contact sports like boxing.
However I do believe this is something that I can work on, but it is a factor that also delays my participation.

Sounds like you need a coach that brings out the aggressive side in you. This like many other aspects is trainable. A coach that gets angry at you and yells at you will get you to punch harder. I have personal experience with this. With that being said you shouldn't be punching your sparring partner as hard as you can. Save it for the mitts.

All what I am trying to figure out is, WHY?
Is my brain trying to guide me or is it simply confused?

I wouldnt like to tell my grandkids one day that I shied away from boxing, but I also don't want to be able to remember their names and speak in a clear way.
But then again life isnt a competitive event about becoming the oldest.

Gambling/trading vs Boxing.

I try whatever I can do gamble myself to some achievement but I just stay depressed and look at my lower social rank, look at my money vanishing away, still studying boxing.
Just trying to have direction.

Perhaps you have deeper existential questions that you're avoiding.

Why are you giving yourself all this anxiety about a sport that is really hard to make a career out of? If you didn't start as a young boxer it's unlikely that you're going to make a good living off of boxing. Why don't you just get a job, pay for a private coach and enjoy it for what it is? There's a lot of people out there that have a lot of potential in combat sports, but don't get in it because it's not worth it. I mean I like Muay Thai and Boxing, but I don't want to be a fighter. Kind of how I like sex, but I don't want to be a porn star.