Boxing, How To Build Discipline And Character
Boxing. In brief:
- How doing the “right thing” outside the boxing ring improves your game inside the ring
- It strengthens your character and programs your mind to always do the things that are right, which will lead into you automatically working harder when training or competing
Doing the right thing in every situation, whether it’s in boxing or life.
In every situation whether when you are getting pressured in your sparring session or when you have to clean your house, there is always a right thing to do that we often don’t do. We either postpone it or just don’t do it at all.
The picture above is a bit over the top i know, but we simply are the hundreds of small decisions we make each day and this picture can also reflect on your health, finance, relationships, work etc…
Every single decision you make matters, it just might not seem like it matters today, or tomorrow but eating the wrong foods everyday for a year? then you will most definitely be unhealthy and probably overweight as well, which will create even more problems and it will just keep stacking up until you start changing the small decisions you make every day. Because there will come a point in your life, where it will be too late, and what’s left is regret. I am quite sure that what you will regret more is the fact that you didn’t do something about your life when you had the chance than the fact that you didn’t eat those bags of potato chips.
But anyways back to the sparring, if let’s say you are getting pressured in your sparring session you can either stand there and take the punches or you can move away/slip/duck under arm and create the angle you need to counter or just get away, but when you are tired it’s not easy to do, but it is often the right thing to do. Most of the times you know it but you just don’t do it, you rest your legs and wait for the timer to beep.
Humble boxing mentality and sickening work ethic into everything you do
I feel that you are always a Boxer and you should always bring that humble Boxing mentality and sickening work ethic into everything you do. You are not just a boxer when you step into the boxing ring, skip ropes, sparr, do padwork or when you are training. Because you should strive to be a Boxer in any situation (okay you may not need to start punching everything you see but you know what i mean).
Seriously don’t just switch it on when you go to practice and then switch it off when you are done, it should always be on!
Especially when it comes to everyday things like doing the dishes, paying the rent, giving attention to your girlfriend or boyfriend, doing the laundry, keeping your emotions togheter and not letting your feelings control your attitude against others, do your homework, show respect and kindness to people and simply do what’s right.
Because in the boxing ring, it’s all about work ethic and character
We all know what the right thing to do is but we often fail to do it, and the more we fail at it, the harder it gets to do it. But the other way around, the more we do what’s right, the easier it gets to do the right thing, it strengthens your character. And in the ring, it’s all about work ethic and character.
When you start doing what’s right outside the boxing ring, you will see progress not only in every aspect in life that you do it in, but also on the things you do inside the boxing ring, because then your mind is already programmed to do whats right, and in the boxing ring, the absolute number one thing that’s the right thing to do, is to work!
Instead of 8 reps you stop at 7
I have had “bad weeks” where i postponed stuff and just didin’t do what i knew i should of done at some times and it affected my workouts a lot. Instead of 8 reps you stop at 7, instead of running 30min you settle for 25min, instead of doing 10 rounds of bagwork you do 8 and the most important for me is the sparring because that’s where i really develop and that’s where we all know it gets hard!
Let’s say we planned to go 3 x 3min of heavy rounds, and directly when it gets a little hard, your legs get kinda weak and your arms are getting heavy you just stop working as much as you should be working.
You have been weak your whole week
And the fact that you have been weak your whole week, you have postponed, you have settled, you simply said “fuck it!” and ignored way too many things you shouldn’t have.
Then you step into the boxing ring having that weak attitude and mindset then of course you won’t do your best at all times. Maybe it works for some people, but i quarantee you that you will be even better in the boxing ring once you start doing this.
When i began focusing more on doing the right things in my life outside the boxing ring, my life inside the boxing ring changed a whole lot. This has a huge effect on everything in your life, it kind of keeps multiplying for as long as you keep doing it. And not to mention, life also got easier.
You become a better person and a more disciplined boxer in the boxing ring
Everytime you do what’s right you get stronger and better at it, i like to see it as a skill, if you start this process you will soon see differences in both areas. Life just gets a whole lot easier and you strengthen your character and become a better person and a more disciplined boxer in the ring.
What a boxer is to me, is someone who fights for what’s right no matter how hard things are at the moment, why should that stop once you leave the boxing ring?