How to select a good boxing gym?

[ToughGuy]

I want to learn boxing for self-defense. What should I ask to try to find out if a gym is good?



I was a bit concerned by what I was told by one gym that I talked to. They said that they have you spar with another beginner after about 3-4 lessons. You don’t wear headgear. They say that they don’t have you hit hard, so you don’t need the protection. That didn’t sound right to me. Your sparing partner could accidentally hit you hard in the head by accident.

 

[terryl965]

Well find the darrkes and smelliness gym and go for it. Most of them are old school and you just can't go wrong with that type of training.

 

[Nolerama]

We box without headgear at a lowered contact level, to no adverse effect. It really gets you going on defending yourself and head movement.

I think it prepares you for a real situation better, compared to using headgear.

 

[MJS]

I want to learn boxing for self-defense. What should I ask to try to find out if a gym is good?

You could...

ask who the coach trained with

watch a few classes

Talk with the other members

I was a bit concerned by what I was told by one gym that I talked to. They said that they have you spar with another beginner after about 3-4 lessons. You don’t wear headgear. They say that they don’t have you hit hard, so you don’t need the protection. That didn’t sound right to me. Your sparing partner could accidentally hit you hard in the head by accident.

For a beginner it may be a good idea to wear the gear, but if people don't wear it, I'd make sure that you are paired up with someone who has your best interest in mind. In other words, someone who is going to help you, show you the fine points, not someone who is going to use you as their punching bag.

Mike

 

[Jai]

Yeah I would red flag that personally. You wear gear when you spar period. Accidents happen and sometimes they happen for a reason.

 

[Deaf Smith]

When you go into a boxing gym, look carefully at how many have their front teeth missing. Then look for how many have their noses kind of out of wack. And the last tipoff, listen carefully and see how many have slured speech.

You can tell alot that way.

Deaf

 

[Grenadier]

Let your own eyes be the judge of whether or not a particular gym is good. While this is boxing, and not Karate, I can offer a few pointers here.

I would be very wary of someone who makes you spar with another beginner for your first sparring session. The way I see it, one of the participants must be experienced enough to allow the beginner to not be in any real danger. Typically, this means that the experienced partner is basically acting as a mobile target, that occasionally throws a punch the beginner's way, to keep him honest.

With two inexperienced folks sparring each other, and one of them being a first-timer, the possibilities for injuries is too great for my tastes. At least the experienced person can put up an effective defense against the inexperienced less-controlled punches, while an inexperienced partner might end up eating some nasty punches.

This is why whenever I have someone sparring for the first time, I always try to partner them up with a senior ranking person, typically, a black belt, and instructor. This way, the beginner can concentrate on improving one area at a time, in a non-threatening environment, and not get gun-shy about getting hit. Also, this cuts down on injuries, and most importantly, doesn't discourage the beginner from continuing to train. There's something to be said about having to deal with broken bones, massive bruises, missing teeth, etc., and it ain't pleasant.

 

[IcemanSK]

Let your own eyes be the judge of whether or not a particular gym is good. While this is boxing, and not Karate, I can offer a few pointers here.

I would be very wary of someone who makes you spar with another beginner for your first sparring session. The way I see it, one of the participants must be experienced enough to allow the beginner to not be in any real danger. Typically, this means that the experienced partner is basically acting as a mobile target, that occasionally throws a punch the beginner's way, to keep him honest.

With two inexperienced folks sparring each other, and one of them being a first-timer, the possibilities for injuries is too great for my tastes. At least the experienced person can put up an effective defense against the inexperienced less-controlled punches, while an inexperienced partner might end up eating some nasty punches.

This is why whenever I have someone sparring for the first time, I always try to partner them up with a senior ranking person, typically, a black belt, and instructor. This way, the beginner can concentrate on improving one area at a time, in a non-threatening environment, and not get gun-shy about getting hit. Also, this cuts down on injuries, and most importantly, doesn't discourage the beginner from continuing to train. There's something to be said about having to deal with broken bones, massive bruises, missing teeth, etc., and it ain't pleasant.

I agree with not sparring on the first day. Their "beginer" still has more experience than you. A fool's errand, really. I would encourage you to go to a gym with a friend who boxes (or has boxed) to check it out.

Sparring without headgear is a bad idea.
Sparring on the first day is a really bad idea.
I'd say sparring after a few weeks to a month with another beginner or an experienced person that you trust is best.


There's a fine line between getting experience & being "fresh meat" for others. If you're doing it to get over a fear, you want to gain confidence. Therefore, you want to gradually do more difficult things after gaining success. Look for a gym that will allow you to do that.

 

[Omar B]

If first day students are alreay sparring with each other I say run for the hills. Both you and the other practicioner are inexperienced enough to really hurt each other (not being verst in movment, parry, form, stance). I say find a gym in your area that produced some talent, golden gloves, amature champs, whatever, as longour head. as you can see that they have produced a few fighters of pedigree I say it's worth a shot. But do not get into the ring untill you've got your head wrapped around movement and protecting your head.