What are some signs that you are at bad or mediocre boxing gym ?

Not sure which is funnier: His statement or your reply! JK.

On a flip side if anyone has ever been to the Kronk Gym. I've heard they had a tendancy to overdo it. heat so sky high, constant wars training burned them out by the time they were ready for a real match. But that was about 10-15 years ago, not sure if they are still open.

 

I don’t know if bumping threads from a few years ago is allowed and if not I apologise.


It seems to me that a lot of the sentiment of a “real” boxing gym is farming CTE.


I understand of of course that hard sparring is a necessity for high level amateurs and pros but a coach should take his fighters health into consideration.

 

Very little sparring with no explanation why you’re practicing certain things or how certain movements fit into the “picture” you should know the dangers and application of every manoeuvre.
If not they’re likely just setting you up to “figure it out” if they can’t explain it in a simple way they don’t know it well enough.
If the defence consists of just “Keep your hands up” lol run.
There should as I’ve noticed reading about the good fighters of history - in a perfect world a long period of just understanding how to move.
Read up on Finito Lopez’s early experiences.
Stepping all ways, how far, how to circle each way coordinating the feet - learning to punch with your hips - you shouldn’t probably punch something for a while but you should know most movements when you do.
Buddy McGirt said you should be able to walk away from a pad session and tell someone what you learnt.
If you get thrown into sparring and you don’t know how to defend yourself your coach has failed you.
This is me personally but I like to hear a teacher ironing things out constantly - if he’s not jabbing right you keep on him and don’t be scared to annoy them, you’re teaching them to protect themselves in a place where people die.
I wouldn’t teach a Matador a single wrong movement or let them progress or it’ll be my fault they get the horns and that would weigh on me.
Disclaimer not a trainer not a fighter. I don’t know anything and if you hear @Rockin1 @greynotsoold @Pat M or @Saintpat say otherwise weigh what they say.

 

There a couple of things that I notice.
When you walk into that gym and you see a bunch of people doing their own thing, trying to figure it out on their own, that isn't a gym that I would send my son to. In my opinion, if you paid your gym dues, somebody should be paying attention to you, giving you some guidance. I have heard of places that your dues just allow you to use the gym and instruction costs extra. I will never be party to that. Some gyms are in very poor areas and parents struggle to pay basic gym dues- and many gyms carry them as much as they can- and it doesn't makes sense to me to tell a little kid that comes to the gym that he is too poor to learn how to fight.
Another thing is when a gym advertises a youth class or whatever that is an hour long. And for 43 minutes the boxers are running around the gym, doing pushups, whatever. Then they pair them up and they do mitts together- they teach each other. See, it is a lot easier to improve somebody's physical condition than it is to teach them to fight. It doesn't take too long to see when they are trying to confuse the 2.
I am always a little leery of people that yell in the gym. You can try and justify it if you are in a gym with a bunch of people, but if that is how you are communicating, how much does one thing yelled out loud mean to 8 or 10 people that have different skills, abilities, and different ways of learning? In Phoenix, I came to the gym at 330 every afternoon, right after school, and trained a bunch of kids. They were very poor and couldn't afford to pay, so I paid for them by teaching, for free, a fitness class for 3 hours every night for a bunch of government employees. There were 3 of us and I got real popular because I taught them to fight and because, even while I was in the ring, I saw what they were doing on the bags or on the floor and, between rounds, could give each of 7 or 8 people some bit of advice. In my mind that was good practice for me because, when you are working a fight and the guys comes back to the corner, you don't need to be telling him 50 things, just one or two.
Lastly, watch the coaches for a minute and notice their attention to detail. When they say 'jab', do they let the fighter just stick his arm out, or do they teach him the mechanics of the punch?

 

I went down to Kronk a few times,after retiring, and had a couple of their fighters training down at our gym whenever.

Kronk was shut down when Detroit closed the rec centers.

I went down there after walking away from the sport and asked the guy with the thick glasses if I could get some work, I forget his name

The guy starts yelling at me, who the **** are you and so on.

Marlon Thomas steps up and says; no man, he's one of us.

I got gloved and stepped in to spar.

The guy attacked and forced me to the ropes.

I don't know if you noticed but that ring down there had no apron (maybe that's why Kronk fighters were rarely the ropes), my foot slid off of the ring and I fell to a knee,

The guy punched me while I was on the knee, they beached him out for that.

And you're not kidding while talking about the heat down there, Kronk was HOT af.

James always turned the thermostat to it's highest point while training up at Galaxy.

That heat will build a fighter strong while sweating out the excess weight.

 

A mediocre gym will have trainers that never fought.

The Meat Wagon will have their number on speed dial.