How can i get the coaches at my local boxing gym to actually teach me?

[Pericles]

I’m not saying that it’s optimum, just that that is how it is.

Your div 1 analogy is accurate.

However, the most important element in getting good at boxing is sparring and level of sparring partners. Because that’s what boxing is. Someone whose had a lot of coaching with little sparring will never be as good as someone whose had zero coaching but loads of sparring. That’s a fact.

Also you do get guided through sparring you don’t just “muddle through” it. That’s the only time the coaches will chirp up and tell you what to do.

I agree 100% it would be better if the coaches actually coached more. Trust me I’ve felt that frustration. The way they do it is definitely not optimum. Don’t expect to find what you’re looking for at a gym that produces high level boxers.

[Sib]

The OP did say learning the skill of boxing. Not entering the ring to compete. Now maybe that doesn't translate into saving his backside on the street as part of his interests. But even so, it also doesn't translate into doing a bunch of otherwise useless energy and calorie burning to build endurance for timed rounds in a refereed match. He just wants to better learn how to use his hands and body to strike. The other stuff is an artifact of tradition and lack of imagination on the part of those who teach boxing.

Absolutely fair enough.

[Logan1]

If you just want to be good at Street fighting can't you find some krav maga or something?

A person who wants to become a competitive boxer will have different needs than someone who simply wants to learn the basics of a new skill. A customer who only has the time or money to pay for one hour per week of coaching needs more time learning the basics and less time conditioning than a serious amateur who is spending several hours of day at a real boxing gym. It would be the same with other sports as well.

Would you want to pay a tennis pro for weekly lessons that focused on conditioning and only spent a few minutes on learning how to hit a ball? Of course, all of the top tennis programs devote a lot of time to conditioning which makes sense for a competitor whose matches could last hours.

I want a powerlifting coach to correct my form on the basic lifts and offer advice on how to get stronger. It just isn't a good use of my time or money having someone whose expertise is in strength sports spend most of a session watching me on the Stairmaster, C2 rower or prowler.

I am 64 with a resting heart rate in the 40s, BP 90+/60+ and very low body fat, so it's unlikely that I don't know or care about cardiovascular health. It's just that I want my boxing coach to help me with my sparing and my powerlifting coach to help me with my lifting. I also don't want someone who coaches endurance sports wasting my time with his or her advice on how to improve my deadlift.

[Marshmallow]

Thanks for the advice everyone. actually just yesterday i found out that i had been throwing straights wrong all this time, i had been pivoting my feet with each straight since i thought that was correct, i asked a coach if it was and they said it wasnt, you should keep your feet planted and just move your hips and up. i had been doing it wrong in front of them for about 5 sessions and they either didnt notice or didnt tell me until i approached them and asked about it.
i'll probably try and find somewhere else if there is anywhere good near me, or maybe just go to sparring as someone suggested here.

[J. Killmond]

Perhaps you don't know this, but what you just described sounds an awfully lot like the traditional Japanese martial arts dojos. Lots of robotic drills, no questioning of Sensei, and learn by rote and repetition.

I've trained with three of the all-time Japanese Karate Association instructors (each now of blessed memory). They were a lot like Starting Strength coaches: a ton of technical know-how in their field, the ability to communicate both concepts and tips quickly, clearly and effectively and up-close and personal, hands-on engagement with trainees.

By the way, no conditioning in a hour in the dojo -- 60 minutes of karate instruction.

(Disclaimer: I claim no martial arts prowess for myself or for Japanese karate.)

[Gerald Boggs]

Get 100 hours of sparring under your belt and watch what happens to your technique.

You do realize that's 1500 rounds of boxing?

Thanks for the advice everyone. actually just yesterday i found out that i had been throwing straights wrong all this time, i had been pivoting my feet with each straight since i thought that was correct, i asked a coach if it was and they said it wasnt, you should keep your feet planted and just move your hips and up. i had been doing it wrong in front of them for about 5 sessions and they either didnt notice or didnt tell me until i approached them and asked about it.
i'll probably try and find somewhere else if there is anywhere good near me, or maybe just go to sparring as someone suggested here.

What's a straight? Do you mean a jab?

Having been in classes taught by the some of them in the early 2000s I can say we always did an hour warm up. These were based on the fundamental movements though not jumping jacks.
?

Maybe, lots of brothers and cousins, but back in the late 90's and early 2000's at the academy and all the schools under Rorion and Royce, there was never any class warmup.

[novicejay]

I would not be surprised if that is the norm, but even if it is, it doesn't sound like a good way to learn boxing. Your description of top amateur gyms sounds like Rip's description of Div 1 strength training programs: the coaches don't need to be good because the trainees are freak athletes. Maybe the fighters at those gyms started at 12 and have their technique down, and now just need a place to train against top competition. If you didn't start and 12, you're better off at a gym with more coaching and less talent.

"Get 100 hours of sparring under your belt and watch what happens to your technique." Yeah, I am sure if you muddle through for 100 hours of getting punched in the head, you will figure some things out on your own and get a little better. Or, someone knowledgeable could teach you some of the 100+years of accumulated knowledge of what works in the squared circle, and save you some time and brain cells. Would "go roll hard for 100 hours" be a good way to learn--or rather invent--BJJ technique, or would it be better to have someone show you some sweeps and submissions?

This is correct.

Unfortunately, as I already said, it is the way most people coach in bjj, judo, wrestling, etc. They simply do not have a clue on how to actually coach people to get good. The research and books on this say deliberate practice is way better than getting your head bashed in and simply trying to figure it out on your own somehow.

[tompaynter]

Give it a try

I just don't see many places that are going to teach you some shortcuts of how to beat people up in the street instead of within the martial art.

I make no claims to be a badass, but I have trained some BJJ and in a practical, self-defense-oriented kung fu school teaching a style similar to Jeet Kune Do. The BJJ practices were: warmup, teaching and drilling a particular move or couple of moves, then a competitive but focused exercise, e.g., passing guard from standing, or escaping mount, that gave us some repetition on a particular skill at something like full speed, and then free rolling.

The kung fu training was general warmup, bag work, then training on a particular move or skill. A very big part of the training was, again, full-speed work on a narrow skill. E.g., we'd partner up and the secondary would throw a wide right hand--a typical haymaker. The primary would work on defending and counterattacking using the skills we'd trained. Or maybe we'd work on countering the jab-cross. Or the primary might ask his partner to throw any hand technique, or any kick. Again this wasn't the trad martial arts style of McDojo training where the secondary throws one punch from a standing start, then poses there while the primary does some complicated 10-step counter. This is two people circling freely, the secondary throwing an attack with control but with aggression, speeding up as the primary got better at handling it. We focused on maintaining the correct distance, and on reading the attacker's body so as to react immediately. For the first few belt levels (up through green sash, which represents ~2 years of consistent training) the focus was mostly on responding to an attack, because again this is a self-defense style. Higher belts were taught set-ups to create openings and go on the attack yourself. (Great quote I read from an old-time boxing coach states roughly that "I don't believe in combinations, I believe in set-ups.")

In boxing this type of training might look like: coach shows you the cross counter, i.e., slipping your opponent's jab and throwing your right over the top of/across it. Then you pair up and the secondary throws jabs over and over while you practice slipping and timing your counter.

Final note: if I were trying to learn boxing, I would look at Jack Slack's books. Jack Slack - Wikipedia I haven't read them but I have read lots of his MMA commentary. He gives clear intelligent explanations accompanied by simple drawings and he has a huge store of knowledge of what works in the striking arts, going back to old fairground boxers whose job was to beat any farm kid who wanted to give them a try.

[J. Killmond]

Mick Coup is the best fight coach of all time.

For Mick Coup, I would not recommend looking him up unless you have to several hours to spare for watching fighting instruction videos on YouTube . . .

[Ben.]

Call around a few boxing gyms, or drop into some local to you. Just explain your situation up front, strength training is of great importantance to you and you don't want to compromise on that with extended cardio sessions. Tell them coach Mark will be happy to explain to them and hand over the phone number for Wichita Falls Athletic Club (kidding!)

You may have to pay a little more and get some time allocated to you one on one outside of normal class times. If they can't faciliate this, thank them for their time and walk away. Also worth noting that good fighters don't necessarily make good coaches, so don't get caught up if a coach may have been a golden gloves champion or competed at a high level, and don't discount one that hasn't.