Trainer sayings/euphemisms

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Saintpat, Oct 8, 2022.


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  1. Saintpat

    Saintpat Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Every sport (or undertaking of any sort, I suppose) has its own lexicon or nomenclature. Insiders talk about things in a like manner that an outsider wouldn’t understand.

    Boxing trainers, of course, have pet sayings or ways they try to get their points across. I thought there might be a thread in it, so here we go.

    I’m going to throw out a few I used when training fighters, or that I heard from others. For instance:

    1. Don’t wait for the receipt: After punching, don’t just stand there right in front of the guy so he can easily hit you back. Pivot out or slide away — never straight back, but at an angle. Don’t be a target after punching for when your opponent punches back.

    2. There ain’t no dimes down there: Got this one from a fellow trainer who would say it to beginners (or non-beginners with bad habits) who came forward in a crouch but leaned forward too much instead of bending at the knees, so their posture was as if they were looking at the ground.

    3. A boxer ain’t got no heels: Stay on the balls of your feet rather than flat-footed. When you stand (or move) flat-footed, you’re more vulnerable to getting knocked down if hit square.

    4. Keep your chin down, hands up and ass off the canvas: This is a classic that’s been around forever; probably no one knows who said it first or when they said it. Just joking general advice to lighten the mood a bit (especially if a guy is tense when fighting or sparring). Of course also good practical advice on the basics.

    I’m sure I’ll think of more, but I’d like to hear some you’ve come across.
     
    Saintpat, Oct 8, 2022
    Saintpat, Oct 8, 2022
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  2. Richard M Murrieta

    Richard M Murrieta Now Deceased 2/4/25 Full Member

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    Mickey telling Rocky Balboa, He'll Knock You Into Tomorrow Rock.
     
    Richard M Murrieta, Oct 9, 2022
    Richard M Murrieta, Oct 9, 2022
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  3. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

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    Don’t/never hook with a hooker.

    Shoeshine
     
    Pugguy, Oct 9, 2022
    Pugguy, Oct 9, 2022
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  4. turpinr

    turpinr Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I can't really remember any sayings that my trainers came out with.
    I met loads of other trainers when we went sparring at other clubs or when I boxed their lads and can't think of a bad one.
    I've had trainers from other clubs in my corner if my trainer was on his own.
    I tried to be like them when I started coaching in 2011 and found the coaching course to be very helpful.
     
    turpinr, Oct 9, 2022
    turpinr, Oct 9, 2022
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  5. turpinr

    turpinr Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    "Keep your chin down, hands up and ass off the canvas"
    Yeah that one seems to have been around forever
     
    turpinr, Oct 9, 2022
    turpinr, Oct 9, 2022
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  6. Saintpat

    Saintpat Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Don’t be cooperative: Do not let the opponent dictate what you do. I’d tell them ‘the last thing you want your opponent to be able to say afterward is that you were very cooperative — you dictate to him.’

    Likewise, ‘This shouldn’t be a pleasant experience for your opponent. He shouldn’t walk out of the ring thinking, that was fun. We’re not here to make friends.’
     
    Saintpat, Oct 9, 2022
    Saintpat, Oct 9, 2022
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  7. escudo

    escudo Boxing Addict Full Member

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    YA GOTTA EAT LIGHTNIN' AND CRAP THUNDA
     
    escudo, Oct 9, 2022
    escudo, Oct 9, 2022
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  8. Richard M Murrieta

    Richard M Murrieta Now Deceased 2/4/25 Full Member

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    Great one too.
     
    Richard M Murrieta, Oct 9, 2022
    Richard M Murrieta, Oct 9, 2022
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  9. greynotsoold

    greynotsoold Boxing Addict

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    It goes deeper than that, just about every trainer speaks his own language if he has been at it long enough. There have been many times I have heard a trainer explain something to a fighter and had no clue what he was talking about until I saw the fighter execute the move. When I started going to gyms here in Montana the way that I do mitts and they way I explain things came across like I was from another planet.
    It happens a lot where one trainer comes up with the fight plan and prepares the fighter- the guy that is going to work the corner comes in 2 weeks before the fight to learn the fight plan, and to learn how to talk like the other guy so as not to confuse the fighter between rounds.
     
    greynotsoold, Oct 9, 2022
    greynotsoold, Oct 9, 2022
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  10. HolDat

    HolDat Well-Known Member Full Member

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    "His breath stank."

    "Knock em clean."
     
    HolDat, Oct 9, 2022
    HolDat, Oct 9, 2022
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  11. Richard M Murrieta

    Richard M Murrieta Now Deceased 2/4/25 Full Member

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    Go on and run baby. Angelo Dundee telling this to Muhammad Ali in round 5 after Ali had been blinded by the Liniment on Sonny Liston's gloves on Feb 25 1964.
     
    Richard M Murrieta, Oct 9, 2022
    Richard M Murrieta, Oct 9, 2022
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  12. Seamus

    Seamus Proud Kulak Full Member

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    When you just lost to a guy and say, "I want him again"

    "You just had him."
     
    Seamus, Oct 9, 2022
    Seamus, Oct 9, 2022
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  13. Journeyman92

    Journeyman92 Out For Milk Full Member

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    “Cmon you’re blowing it kid”
     
    Journeyman92, Oct 9, 2022
    Journeyman92, Oct 9, 2022
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  14. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

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    That makes complete sense.

    Customised, efficient vernacular in the land of boxing. Short, plain and simple. A few words triggering immediate recognition (and hopefully compliant execution) of previously and more elaborately discussed tactics/executions.

    Like pre-encoded words - at it’s most obvious - similar to numbers previously assigned to different punches so that a desired combination can be easily communicated to the fighter.

    A system that we all know Cus famously employed with Floyd.

    What were the combos being shouted to Ruiz when he fought Jones Jr, 0-0-0-0-0?

    The Quiet Man followed his instructions to the letter. He did nothing. Or, were the “0”s meant to represent loving hugs that Nady wouldn’t let Johnny lay on Roy?
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2022
    Pugguy, Oct 9, 2022
    Pugguy, Oct 9, 2022
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  15. Pugguy

    Pugguy Ingo, The Thinking Man’s GOAT Full Member

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    “Give me the other bottle. The one I mixed.”

    No, not quite the type of euphemism we’re looking for? :)
     
    Pugguy, Oct 9, 2022
    Pugguy, Oct 9, 2022
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