To me repeating something over and over again gets boring quick. For example learning to throw a jab, or working on the one-two. Any suggestions to liven it up?
we all know that learning boxing is repetiotion alot. But if you work on the one -two, jabing one day, u could add/or focus on footwork and defensive moves the next time u train. then u can come back to the things u did the first training. also u should pracise them om heavybag, pads, shadowboxing. then it wount be so boring. u could also go around to different gyms to train so that u will train different every time.. Good luck
Welcome to boxing. If you are simply "working on your Jab" things can seem boring. Try setting yourself little goals for each session. There are so many factors involved in "perfecting" a Jab. You don't have to flog a technique to death every session. For example: Day 1. Practice 30-50 jabs whilst ensuring your chin is tucked in. Day 2. Practice 30-50 jabs ensuring you don't telegraph it. Day 3. Practice 30-50 jabs ensuring you maintain perfect balance. Day 4. Practice 30-50 jabs focussing in stepping your feet into range whilst limiting vertical motion i.e so you drive forward with little upward lift. Day 5. Practice 30-50 jabs whilst moving your head to the right to avoid being hit with his jab. etc etc etc Then you can repeat whilst stepping left, stepping right, stepping back etc etc. Then you can add various feints, slips before and after, pivots, side steps, blocks / parry etc etc etc. Then after you have spent a few minutes on one technique, work on something else for a couple of minutes. It's the quality of practice that counts not the quantity. There is no need to spend hours working the same thing over and over. Before long, even the most committed get bored and the quality of practice declines which is counterproductive.
You don't learn by repeating things continuously, you learn by doing something, doing something else, then coming back to the first thing and so on. That's the repetition, anybody who knows anything about skill acquisition knows that you don't just keep doing the same thing. If skills are boring then you're not improving your skills, that means you're not challenging your CNS to learn anything new.
Throw it at different speeds, go down low, throw a different punch, throw a triple jab, etc. etc. There's a million things to do literally, get creative because you're wasting your time otherwise.
I'm amazed how no one has shown face to you yet. When you say over and over again, how long do you mean? Usually, if you are a beginner, you would be asked to do the same over and over again until you can auto throw your jab without thinking.. Autoboxing I mean..
In cardio kickboxing or boxing classes, people learn to throw fancy combos, special moves, and the pace is rapid and changes. People are engaged, but they do NOT become competent fighters. In real boxing, kickboxing, the technique and its execution are everything. A good jab can be offensive, defensive, buy you time, keep your opponent away, break their rhythm, counter, stop their combo, rack up points, set up the right hand, and so much more. Once I started sparring, and had problems moving backwards, I IMMEDIATELY started working on my footwork. It was tedious and boring, but because I could see my opponents, how they beat me, what I could have done better, I knew it would help me do better. Some guys can see an opponent on the heavybag, focus mitts or mirror.
if this is true ive been doing everything right which is good to know thanks for explaining that :happy
Sparring should motivate you. Because only by perfecting the technique via "boring" routines you can progress
The reason you repeat the same movements is it develops muscle memory. Don't believe me look it up! Karate practitioners have been doing it for centuries as well as other martial arts from around the world. In ancient Greece the men would practice Pankration doing the same drills over and over again. If its boring get a timer. See if you can improve your reflexes.
When you realize that skills are everything you'll be on your way from a novice fighter to open class. There's a reason an out of shape open class fighter or pro can always come to the gym and whoop the hell out of all the physical freak novice fighters. Hint: it's because they're better at boxing. I'd suggest spending round after round shadowboxing. **** what anyone says, focus on how you look and feel. I had an epiphany when I saw Floyd fight Mosley. I realized that Floyd was always in position to throw his right hand. Always. Some time after that I spent rounds shadowboxing and on the bags where all I focused on was throwing my jab out of any position, and always being in position to throw a jab. Then I broke my jab hand and started doing the same drills with the right. I made major improvements even while completely out of shape and not sparring for over a year. I'll be the first to admit, I have major ADD and lose motivation and focus when I'm made to go through repetitive drills. I think that these things are necessary up to a point though. You do need the muscle memory of throwing perfect punches and combinations. But from there, it's up to you to accept that fighting is characterized by fluidity. All situations in a fight are unique and build off one another, and you have to learn to improvise. So use that to your advantage and work on free form shadowboxing and bagwork. Mimic a fight. I promise you skillwork won't get boring. Then take it to sparring and focus on doing the unexpected.
Just after your input here. The theory I've always tried to follow was dedicating each session to one concept. For example, when coaching soccer I would have a practice dedicated to set plays, one for shooting, one for passing, one attacking plays, one for ball handling, etc. Keeps focus better imo. With boxing I'll give myself a speed day, a power day, a defense day, a countering day, jab day, bodyshot day, etc. It's not like all I do on that day is those things, I just dedicate more focus to them. For example, when practicing defense I practice everything but have defense/not getting hit foremost in my mind. On a jab day I'll do everything like I normally do but put all my focus into setting up and landing jabs. Does that make sense?
