Later on, Jack Broughton came up with the muffler to help reduce the injuries. Today in the market, you will find many varieties of sizes, materials and even colors. In the training halls, you will normally find leather boxing gloves which are long lasting and although slightly expensive, they are the best in withstanding punches on heavy sand bags, focus pads and even during training.

Fastening laces are important to hold the mitts in place during bouts while Velcro wrist wraps come in handy when slipping in and out of them. Weight also plays an essential role with these items; the heavier it is, the better the protection. They come in sizes ranging from 10 to 20 ounces, 10 ounces being for professional fighters and with less padding on the inside, 12 to to 16 ounces being for beginners and those weighing 4 to 8 ounces being for children.

As you walk into sports shops, you will find different types of boxing gloves ranging from speed mitts, which are made from light vinyl or leather, bag mitts, sparring mitts and even the fight mitts which are used by professionals during matches. The hand wraps used underneath protect the hands from scrapes and even more importantly, from fractures that may occur during bouts.

For the last few years, you might have thought that the sport of boxing had gone into hiding, or simply retired altogether to be replaced by MMA De La Hoya and Merryweather came along to try to breathe new life into their sport; while I can’t yet say what this will mean for the future of boxing, I do know that my generation and the generations which will follow will certainly prefer MMA over boxing.

The question of the popularity of the two sports as compared to each other is largely generational. Younger generations prefer MMA, while the older set is in favor of boxing. The following generations are also going to prefer MMA – because to put it simply, it is a better sport and has more to offer the fans.

So why is MMA better than boxing? I’ll explain by starting with the negatives of both sports – the negatives are actually the same for each, so it’s simple.

Those who prefer boxing to MMA call MMA barbaric. This perception comes largely from not knowing about the sport and being unaware of the rules of MMA. Just like boxing, low blows, gouges, pokes and other dirty moves are disallowed. I ask you is MMA really so barbaric? Boxers punch each other in the face too – the difference is that MMA adds wrestling moves to the equation; is that really what pushes it over the edge, or is it just a matter of taste? This is specious reasoning for sure. If MMA is barbaric, then so is boxing.

Another argument made is that the promotional tactics used by MMA are ludicrous. True, there is plenty of pre-game trash talk between the fighters. Many compare these promos to those used for professional wrestling matches. However, exactly this kind of promotion is done for boxing as well. Remember Muhammad Ali? He had a trash talking game which would put any pro wrestler to shame. It’s hard to make the claim that MMA is silly when boxers do just the same as MMA fighters.

Some boxing fans will also tell you that like professional wrestling, MMA matches are staged. I answer this claim with these two questions – Do you have proof that MMA matches are staged? Do you have any proof that boxing matches are not staged? These people have exactly as much proof as I do that the sport in question is a sham (none!). This argument gets no one anywhere.

Having gone over the downsides, let’s move on to the positives. The positives are also easy enough to explain. As a way to illustrate the question of boxing versus MMA, consider the analogy of pizza. Someone decided to do something very smart by adding tomato sauce and cheese to bread. However, there is always someone smart enough to improve on your idea, no matter how good it may be. So someone came along later and added onions and olives to this pizza, making a good thing even better.

If boxing is like the pizza, MMA is like that next step – this is a sport which can offer everything which boxing can and much more besides. MMA takes boxing as a starting off point and adds elements from jujitsu, kickboxing and wrestling. While boxing is a sport which needs a lot of strategy, MMA is even more so. With so many different fighting styles in play in any given match, fighters have even more to consider and to anticipate. Is their opponent a master of the takedown? Are they weak in the boxing department? How is their defense? While boxers need to know the boxing style, MMA fighters need to know how their opponent employs many different fighting styles.

The cards for MMA events are also superior to those offered by most boxing events. A boxing card may only have one match of interest (this is usually the case) – the main event itself. The price is also far higher than is an MMA event. A ticket for a big boxing event can run as high as $2,500 r $55 on PPV. By contrast, even the most expensive seats at a MMA event are no more than $750 and usually $40 or less on PPV. There will also be three or four good matches per event.

MMA takes boxing a step further and offers much more entertainment value to fans, With its lower price, bigger number of stars and greater thrills, it is sure to continue its popularity over boxing with future generations.

A heavy bag provides a great workout, but can it be used to work timing and angles? Can you get a good workout and, at the same time, make your heavy-bag workout practical?

Boxers Pound Heavy Bags

Pounding on a heavy bag can provide a great workout. It helps builds both muscle and punching coordination.

Still, boxing a punching bag can also be a training tool to actually teach you how to fight. It doesn’t have to be a giant pillow only good for taking out your frustrations.

With good drills, you as a boxer can use the heavy bag to work timing, distance, attack rhythm, and so on.

Heavy Bag As Boxing Opponent

I don’t know about you, but my heavy bag is the enemy. It’s not just a red vinyl sock filled with sand.

When I face off against it, I see a big, mean attacker. And I don’t think rules.

That enemy deserves punches with attitude. The enemy merits serious consideration.

You need to bob and weave around your heavy bag, as if you were actually in the ring boxing.

Here’s a boxing drill that I have particularly useful for training practical application….

Circling to the Left with a Boxing Surprise

If you are right handed, then the chances are you were taught to box with your left foot and arm in the lead or forward position. Boxers usually keep their best and most powerful in reserve.

Is this the lead you take when you box?

Assuming that you are in a left lead, I want you to punch with your left hand. Either jab or lightly hook you punch at about face level.

The key to this boxing drill is NOT to punch squarely on the center of the bag. In other words, don’t punch the nose. Instead, punch a little on the side, as though you were punching the jaw or ear of your opponent’s right side.

Now, as you punch slightly to the side, circle to your left around the heavy bag. Keep circling to the left as you jab.

Are you with me, so far?

All of a sudden, punch the center or other side of the bag with your right fist. Make it a surprise.

Circle, circle, circle … surprise!

Surprise Punch The Heavy Bag

So, how do you surprise a heavy bag?

After all, a bag is an inanimate object (although after you punch it with your jabs, this inanimate bag will be “animated” all over the place). How do you catch your bag off guard?

You fake it.

Punch with your right fist while you are mid-step. This is the equivalent of a surprise hit.

Surprise hit the bag just as it starts its swing from a left-hand hit. This mid-motion interruption is also a surprise.

From there, get creative. Work on your acting ability.

And keep making your heavy bag workouts more and more practical.

If you want to improve your health and physical fitness a boxing training program may be what you are looking for. As well as building body strength and fitness it can also go a long way to improve your personal confidence. Of course, by taking part in boxing workouts you will also improve your fighting form.

People who have tried boxing as a form of exercise find it to have very positive results, arms and legs usually gain a lot of strength and become more defined in shape. However, the benefits are not all physical. People also find that they gain a greater sense of inner strength and feel more emotionally balanced.

Boxing as a form of training and exercise became part of the large fitness training arena a few years ago. Great benefits can be found from boxing workouts on muscle toning and the cardiovascular system. It was the release of many videos featuring Tae bo and kick boxing workouts that made boxing rise in popularity.

The many innovative variations on boxing such as power punches, defence and punch and kick exercises have all the components of aerobic exercise. As you progress you will find your strength will build along with your confidence as you are taught how to execute punch and kick moves more effectively for a far more intense workout.

Kicks and punches which are performed in various combinations on blocks are done with an imaginary opponent, you have no doubt seen this many times on television etc. where the participant through punches and kicks into the air. There are also training facilities where there is the necessary equipment such as punch bags and so on. In some cases there may even be a real opponent to hit, they have very good padding on their hands of course!

Cardin kick boxing gives many more benefits other than the physical factors, it is an excellent way to burn off excess calories. In just one hour of kick boxing you can expect to use in the region of between 350 and 500 calories. It is also very good for maintaining a good heart rate of somewhere between 75% and 85%. This has been proven to be the ideal rate for anyone in training or exercising.

Boxing as exercise is beneficial for the whole body. As well as increasing arm and leg strength through the repeated sparring and jogging whilst punching at the same time,it also helps increase resistance and strength whilst greatly enhancing the reflexes and flexibility of all your muscles.

The workouts involved help to greatly enhance balance and co-ordination which in turn gives you body great form and increased stability and also allows joint movements to be more flexible giving fantastic results in physical fitness.

There are many benefits to be gained from all types of boxing training, that is on top of the physical benefits. In the training process you will learn a great deal about defence skills which, in today’s world could prove to be invaluable. A great sense of satisfaction, self confidence, motivation and relaxation can also be gained from training.

The stresses and strains of modern living can be lifted and any anger and aggregation which may be building up inside can be released and lifted giving more peace of mind and help you relax more.

A number of aerobic fitness instructors do recommend some boxing training instruction for people starting out. This allows each individual to take things at their own pace depending on how fit you are already. The other extreme is boxing classes which will push you to your limit. In this case it is important that you have a safe environment with fully trained instructors on hand and that you are already physically fit.

You will see many positive results if you take up boxing training, you will be much more fit physically and mentally. You can take things at your own pace and most of all enjoy the fun of being involved in a training program.

Boxing gloves have been around in one form or another almost since the beginning of boxing 3000 years ago. The ancient Greeks used to wrap their hands in leather strips in an attempt to protect their hands. But there was no padding in these early boxing gloves, just leather to protect the boxer’s hands. Most people mistakenly assume that boxing gloves have always existed to protect the person being hit. But the bones in your hand are very small and fragile. The padding provided by boxing gloves is as much to protect the person swinging as to protect the person on the other end of the swing.

When the Romans picked up boxing as a sport from the Greeks they unfortunately turned it into a life or death type gladiator event. They continued to use Greek style leather strips as gloves. However, they hardened the leather and attached metal studs and spikes to the strips. As a result, in many ancient Roman boxing matches the loser ended up dead or permanently maimed.

This was too brutal for even the ancient Romans. They made boxing illegal in all Roman cities and provinces in 30 B.C. This distaste for boxing was so great in the Roman Empire that the ban continued in the entire Western civilization for over 1500 years.

When boxing finally reappeared in the late 1600s it was of the bare-knuckled variety. However, because of the more civilized approach taken to boxing it was not long before boxing gloves resurfaced as well. This time, padding was added. Jack Broughton, who was a British boxing champ in the early 1700s, is widely considered to be the inventor of the modern padded boxing gloves. However, these padded leather boxing gloves of the 1600s and 1700s were only used in practice and for informal boxing matches. The major public boxing matches were still bare-knuckle events.

But people were dying in these bare-knuckle matches, so something had to be done. Strangely, however, the boxing rules established in the 1700s and much of the 1800s did not require or even mention the use of boxing gloves. Boxers were very reluctant to give up the purity of bare knuckles fisticuffs. As a result, in many parts of the world boxing was banned in the 1800s and picked up its seedy reputation that continues today.

The beginning of the end for bare-knuckle boxing started in 1866 when John Graham Chambers in London published the now famous Queensbury Rules. Among other things, these rules required the use of padded boxing gloves for all boxing matches. By the beginning of the 20th century the Queensbury rules were used everywhere and bare-knuckles boxing was gone from established boxing events.

The last of the bare-knuckle boxing champions was John L. Sullivan. He lost his championship in 1892 to the first of the Marquise of Queensbury rules champions, “Gentleman Jim” Corbett. Not too surprisingly, the match was held under the Queensbury rules and both combatants wore padded boxing gloves.

Today boxing gloves are defined by weight. The heavier the boxing gloves, the safer they are for both contestants. This is not just because they are padded more. The higher weight means the boxers can’t swing as fast as they can with lighter gloves.

Cardio-boxing has also been shown to promote well-being because it builds confidence and discipline. Most cardio-box programs consists of variable heart rate work and actual boxing techniques.

Cardio
A good way to determine exercise intensity during cardio-boxing is by taking your heart rate. For this workout, your heart rate range is 50% – 70% of your max heart rate. To determine this number, subtract your age from 220 and multiple this by .5 and .7 to get the top and bottom heart rates. If you are 40, this number is 220-40= 180. 180 x 0.5= 90, and 180 x 0.7= 126. So your heart rate range is 90-126 bpm.

To get a more precise reading of your heart rate you can use a heart rate monitor.

Start with a good warm up and gradually increase your heart rate. Your first workout session should be no more than 10 minutes. Over time you will work up to 20 minutes. Once you’re comfortable with working out for 20 minutes at 70% then try to increase the heart rate up to 80%.

Boxing Technique

* Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, with your left foot in front of your right foot. Your right heel should be slightly raised with your left foot flat on the floor and toes pointing ahead.
* Bend your knees a little and balance your weight comfortably and evenly.
* Place your elbows close to your body with your left fist held at head height and in a position that corresponds to your left foot.
* The right fist should be at head height also and guarding the chin, with both elbows protecting your body and both fists protecting your chin.
* This is your defensive and offensive position after throwing punches, so please practice this before going any further.
* When moving forward in this boxing stance the left foot moves forward first and then the right follows.
* When moving back, the right moves back and then the left follows.
* When moving sideward to the right, the right foot moves first followed by the left.
* When moving sideward to the left, the left foot moves first followed by the right.
* Practice this moving forward, back and sideward in the boxer’s stance until it is done smoothly and quickly.
* Remember to keep your guard up and elbows tucked in to your sides.
* Keep your head at eye level with your upper body leaning forward slightly.
* In boxing it is important that punches are thrown quickly and then bought back quickly to assume a defensive posture.

Punching
A left jab has many uses, it can be used for both offensive and Defensive actions. From the set stance the left arm is pushed quickly and forcefully forward, the weight is shifted to the front foot. The fist moves in a straight line and straight back again for defense.

At the moment of impact the back of the hand and the lower arm are in a straight line. Keep the right fist in the defensive position and elbow tucked into the body during the movement.

The straight right is also known as the punching hand and can be thrown with considerable force. The arm moves straightforward from the chin, the body weight is shifted to the front foot with the ball of the foot of the back leg pushing into the floor for more power.

The back of the hand is straight and pointing up at the moment of impact. The arm is then immediately pulled back for protection after the hit.

The left hook to the head and body is an effective punch for closer range work. From the set stance turn your left shoulder quickly and move your elbow up to shoulder height. The fist moves in a circular motion to the target, with the elbow bent.

Rotate your hip and body whilst pressing your front left down keeping the back of your fist pointing up and in a straight line with the lower arm. The left hook to the body is similar to the above but increases the rotation of the body

The right uppercut is also carried out at close range. Drop the lower part of your punching arm until the lower and upper arm is at right angles to each other. The back of your hand should be pointing away from you, now thrust your arm forward and upward to your target.

Shift your body weight to your front leg and rotate your hip and shoulder on the same side. Remember to keep your left fist guarding your chin during the entire movement. Now practice all your punches until they are done quickly and smoothly.

To develop speed and endurance, try punching straight left and right combinations into the heavy bag. The duration of the exercise period is the same as the rest period i.e. 10 seconds exercise, 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds exercise, 20 seconds rest, and so on. Move up higher as your condition improves.

This advise is best used for woman with small hands, that like the smaller size glove. It is recommened however that if you feel you need a smaller size, that you should always try handwraps underneath because it may not be the same feel that you had or wanted before.

A personal trainer should be certified by a nationally recognized certifying organization.

Be sure that the trainer has liability insurance and provides business policies in writing. This said and done, lets get down to details.

The most important thing required to be a great trainer is the ability to communicate. Sure they have to know their facts and have good techniques, but that doesn’t mean anything, if you can’t relate to what they’re saying.

You have to like your trainer and hold them with great respect. This is hard to explain. If one of my friends told me to get down and do push-ups, forget that, but the trainer tells you the same, you don’t even hesitate or question it.

A good trainer will have to motivate you. In boxing there will be times you are pushed past your limits, boxing is the ultimate workout.

Check out your local boxing gym. Watching their trainer’s in action can tell you a lot. Do their fighters look sloppy or are you impressed. What references do they have? Any golden gloves champs or pro fighters?

Most sports clubs have trainers on their staff, but are not famous for boxing. Some sports clubs offer boxing classes, but most are just for fitness purposes.

If you just want to box for fitness, a trainer who works with probably won’t give you the attention as they would to a dedicated boxer. Still could be nice to try their service.

If there are no boxing gyms near you, maybe try advertising locally for good trainer, ask other sports trainers who they know and recommend, just don’t give up.