How to find the best boxing club for you
What criteria should you be considering for selecting a boxing club?
Purpose of Boxing Training
Depending on your level of experience and your desired goals from Boxing training you may find one boxing club is better suited to your needs than another.
People often decide to learn boxing for a number of different reasons: from learning to box to enter competitions, to building their self-confidence, losing weight, to being part of a club and a community. Young boys might join a boxing club to find role models, or to learn how to control their anger, whilst women might find empowerment in holding their own against an aggressor. Others might have aspirations of becoming a world champion, in the amateurs or the professional ranks. These goals are not exclusive to gender, age or experience and many find that the initial reason they decide to try boxing is not the reason they continue boxing. However, it can be important to consider these reasons before starting as it will be key to ensuring you find the best boxing club for you to learn or continue your fighting career.
Boxing for fitness
If you are boxing for fitness then you likely have the most options to choose from. You may find attending a box fit or boxercise class at a commercial gym is enough to satisfy you appetite. Alternatively, you may want to experience an old school boxing gym for a true gritty experience and the coaching delivered. You will find that many white collar, unlicensed and amateur boxing clubs will offer boxing classes for fitness. Some of these classes will be focused towards developing your boxing technique, overall fitness level or a combination. Classes suitable for you will be the most extensive, including: boxfit, boxercise, boxing fitness, and (generic) boxing classes. However, you should be aware that boxing sessions marked as exclusively for carded boxers are only for boxers training for an amateur bout and you will likely be turned away if this you attend the class with only fitness as an objective. Some commercial gyms and boxing boutique gyms offer a more diverse range of sessions including boxing bootcamps, boxing to music, boxbell (a combination of boxing and kettlebells),
Boxing for white-collar fights
There are numerous white-collar boxing clubs and event promotions that you can train in and around Manchester to get the fight night experience. Those offering the white collar boxing experience are designed to teach you the basics of boxing technique. These events are predominantly aimed at those who have never boxed before, have under 6 months of experience and are not affiliated with an amateur boxing club. Provided the right individuals are running these events it can be safe - provided that bouts are evenly matched on experience, weight and height, and appropriate safety precautions are followed such as medical checks, 16oz gloves and head guards worn. However, we would encourage anyone considering a white collar bout to speak with their own doctor before entering to ensure there are no health concerns or family history that could complicate their health (such as high risk of blood clotting for example) as there are some promotions do very little to ensure their boxers health and safety.
It is important to note that many amateur boxing clubs are unlikely to welcome White Collar boxers to train at their boxing clubs as this is against the regulations of England Boxing, which is the national governing body for boxing.
Boxing for amateur boxing
If you are just learning to box then you should consider what club is going to teach you the right foundations and basics of boxing technique, how a boxing club welcomes you into their community and how are other boxers treat you during training. On one side of the spectrum, you may arrive at a boxing gym that wants to nurture your boxing ability and slowly bring you into the world of sparring. These types of clubs will wait until you have mastered the basics, until in the words of Bugsy Malone - So you want to be a boxer: “you bob, can you weave Can you fake, and deceive”. Whilst other clubs may view new boxers as “Something new to punch”. The latter can be intimidating for those just learning the basics of boxing, but for those more seasoned in the ring, it can be a welcomed challenge.
Unlike White Collar Boxing, it is a requirement that amateur boxers are seen by a doctor for a full examination before entering the ring for serious sparring. This often occurs with a private doctor that the boxing club will arrange. The doctor will then run through several tests to ensure you are fit to box. Upon passing the examination a boxer will receive their medical card - hence the term ‘carded boxers’.
Before arriving at the boxing club
Before joining a boxing session at any boxing club you should contact the gym beforehand and arrive early to meet the boxing coach to discuss your boxing ability and suitability at the club. Do not be surprised if you are asked to attend a different session, told they are at maximum capacity or asked to wait to see the club’s turnout before having you join the session. Boxing clubs often reward dedication. Every club has had someone walk into the gym, train consistently for six weeks, promise to become the next Rocky, and then disappear to be never seen again. For boxing coaches this can be extremely frustrating as they invest their own time in bringing their boxers on - through pad work, advice in boxing technical sessions, and sparring. Be sure to appreciate this factor and recognise that any attention a boxing coach gives you should be greatly appreciated. It can be easier to get time with one of the more experienced boxers and by simply introducing yourself and asking to be shown the basics they will be willing to talk you through the basics and provide pointers throughout the session.
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Corner HQ
Located in the center of Manchester is Corner HQ. No ordinary Boxing Gym, Corner HQ is the heartbeat of Corner’s operations and technological innovations. Welcoming amateur boxers, professional fighters, fitness fanatics, and everything in between, we host a range of boxing classes to suit every level of ability with our expert boxing coaches and technology.
Join us for sparring sessions, boxing training, boxing fitness boot camps and boxercise-style classes.
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