Since injuring my knee last year i went into training boys at my club just to stay involved, i had to work the corners quiet a few times and i find it tough to give them all the information they need in 1 minute, i mean i want to tell them their mistakes and what they need to do but for some reason i can't pass the message on all the time. If i say too much they wont listen/understand, how do some of you guys communicate in the corner?
needs to be a basic message & like 3 points. a fighter will do what a fighter does in the heat of it all.
Im in the same boat your in, tore my acl, mcl, and meniscus. Worked the corner a few times in mma bouts and before them I checked on youtube for some guidance
Keep it short and simple. Wait for your fighter to gain control of his breathing when he comes back to the corner, especially if has been working hard out there.Let him drink his water,then say the most important point that needs to be said in a calm, clear and confident manner..... In other words dont yell, dont scream and do not panic!! lol If you have been working closely with him you will know better than anyone what he is capable of doing.... or not capable of doing for that matter. Dont ask him to do some thing unless he is good and familiar with actually doing it in the gym when he is asked.... The gym is the main place where you learn and grow in technical knowledge and ability. The ring is where you sit your next examination of what you have been taught by your trainer. :rasta
Exactly. One or two things is all they are going to remember or have the capacity to put into action. My coach often asks his fighters to repeat what he just said at the end just to make sure we're listening.
Great post! Judging from my observations and experience, it rarely matters what the corner man has to say. How often have we seen Manny Steward cursing and swearing at his boxer, yet I don't recall it ever changing the course of a fight? One time, on Friday Night Fights, I saw a corner man actually give his boxer a forceful slap. Joe Mesi was the color commentator, and his analysis was: " I could do without the slap!" Who was that guy, the corner man from hell?
All good pieces of a advice. When the adrenalin is pumping and your fighter has tunnel vision and limited hearing what you say will mostly go out of the window. It has to be short, simple observations. Sometimes a fighter might need akick up the arse or other times he might need slowing down. We leave one guy doing the talking and myself and Kevin will swap theories during the round. Once in the corner I listen to what kev says and I may add something at the end of the interval. Either way there is only one person talking at a time.
My trainer was very calm and made sure had my attention my grabbing my head and looking me in the eyes before starting talking.
The most overlooked element is often the pre fight preparation. As fight night approaches, most fighters have many different emotions to deal with. Fears and anxieties crop up all the time if a fighter is normal,and learning to deal and cope with them is a part of the fighters exam. In the last week leading up to the fight i go over things with my boys re;travel plans,accommodation arrangements,get them to pack their gear the night before a fight etc. I go over fight plan A and get them to know that if anything changes we can adapt to anything if the unexpected happens. The Doctors check and weigh-in is where they will most likely see the other fighter for perhaps the first time. I make sure my guys smile and shake hands with the other team.The reason is that my boys stay relaxed and calm this way,and sometimes the other team gets real worried because my boys are either appear really super confident... or they may think they are too nice to be real fighters(lol).My main concern however is MY fighters frame of mind and not the other guys.I personally like to see the other fighter all tensed up and snarling because i know they are draining themselves of energy long before the bell rings.... Some fighters wander around a venue enjoying the company of family and friends until the last minute....my boys just sit and relax in the change room till the fight is announced. There mind is on the fight and not on whats going on after the fight etc. I tape their hands well in advance so there is no panic to get ready. Trainers/cornermen also get adrenalin bursts too!!. No use trying to get my fighter to keep calm if im running all over the place and/or talking a hundred mile an hour going over and over things ten times a minute......so lead by example and your fighter will most likely follow. Sorry this post is sooooooooo long.:hand
