Just a thought after a conversation today. A mate of mine reckons that in any sport after 4yrs of proper training an athlete in any sport will reach 90% of their potential in terms of technique, i see logic in his argument but am not enitrely convinced as i feel it depends on the individual and the time the coach puts in with them and their willingness to work /chemistry with the coach. We both agreed that tactically and fitness wise u can contuinue to improve almost forever obviously with fitness you will decline after a certain age.From a boxing point of view do you think there is a point where you cannot improve your technical skills any further i find it hard to belive as you seem to learn a new move every time your in the gym.
I think you can learn new moves, little things that you get with experience forever. There is just so much stuff you can do in boxing. I do think that general development of boxing attributes - reflexes, footwork, explosivness etc. have a limit though. It's not a skill thing though, its just the limit of your physical talent. Take explosiveness for example. You can slightly change the composition of your muscle types through explosive lifting, plyometrics etc. but there is a limit based on what nature gave you. Once you've reached that I think you can only get beter if you're smart and adjust your style around your advantages and disadvantages. That's why you just get some guys who get to a certain level and can't go further. Also, like you said, you may have trained for four years, but you may have had **** coaches, not enough competition etc.
If it's impossible to measure someones potential how can you predict when they'll be at 90% of their potential?
:thumbsup You can always lift more or run faster. How you get there and the time it takes to get there is the factor however.
No you can't. Otherwise everyone could become world champion if he wanted to. Everyone can improve on their natural abilities, but the limiting factor is talent. You can keep learning new skills forever, but your physical base - reflexes, speed, power will eventually peak, limiting your ability to use these new techniques in competition. You can learn all the technique in the world, but if your reflexes cant hang at top level, your feet are slow, etc. you will be limited in your ability to execute it. You may still do really well, if you adapt your style to limit your weaknesses (eg John Ruiz against more talented fighters), but if you can't do that, you will peak.
it depends, its not a when as much as an if. most people dont reach their full potential for a number of reasons