"The exercising of weapons putteth away aches, griefs, and diseases, it increaseth strength and sharpeneth the wits, it giveth a perfect judgment, it expelleth melancholy, choleric, and evil conceits, it keepeth a man in breath, in perfect healthe, and long life." – George Silver (1599)

January 20 2010

Drills and sparring

One perspective:

“The more time a new boxer spends shadow boxing, the better he will get. If you put him immediately into sparring, he will get good — and stop.

“It’s better than doing nothing, definitely, better than just hitting a heavy bag, but what sparring tends to do is reward you for what you instinctively do already. And you tend not to be able to learn a new move. Because you’re under pressure not to lose, you see?

“Whereas, [if] the trainer’s working with focus mitts and the young man goes now from punching the air to hitting defined targets on the trainer’s body or on the trainer’s hands, it can become like an improvisational war… because his instinct now is working, his body mechanics are correct in the shadow boxing, and he’s under no threat of being knocked out if he does it wrong.”

– Roberto Sharpe

miles
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