I'm a huge fan of this blog. Keep your eye out for the future installments of this series.
http://artofmanliness.com/2010/11/18/amateur-boxing-for-beginners-a-how-to-guide-part-i/
Excerpt:
First and foremost, an aspiring fighter needs to find a place to train. Despite the booming popularity in boxing and MMA, this is often easier said than done. First, keep in mind that not just any place that “has boxing” will do. For your easy convenience, we have provided a list of gym attributes to look out for.
Find an actual boxing gym. This means a gym that exclusively coaches boxing. This means no martial arts gym that “also” teaches boxing. If you are interested in becoming a well-rounded martial artist, by all means, find a place that teaches ground fighting in addition to their stand-up styles. But this post is for boxing and boxers, and MMA gyms do not usually have the A) quality of instruction, or B) the quantity of sparring partners necessary to mold a successful amateur boxer. You also end up having to share the ring with the Muay Thai classes, the floor space with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu guys, and so on. Believe me, an MMA school that has boxing “classes” is not where you want to hone your craft.
Which brings me to my next point…
Eliminate most (but not all) gyms that have structured boxing classes. Classes are great for fitness crowds and hobbyists, and I know that a lot of grappling sports are taught this way, but they do not a great boxer make. As the popularity of boxing and kickboxing has exploded, all sorts of gyms have tried to cash in by offering instruction and classes in these sports. Look, there is nothing wrong with boxing classes, but they are not usually geared towards making a competent fighter. Some quality boxing gyms have started adding class times in order to offer the best of both worlds. They have the guys training for fights in the back, while a 7:00 pm boxing class grooves to the latest in top 40 beats. That’s all well and good, and I have seen some very respectable gyms do this. In fact, my favorite gym that I have trained at was set up like this. I would not automatically rule these hybrid places out, just be sure to check carefully into their fighters and coaches.
Eliminate any gym where the only guys who have fought before are the coaches and trainers. That tells you immediately that you will not have enough quality sparring partners once you get some degree of skill. Getting your teammates ready for their fights and having them help you get ready for your own is a vital part of the gym environment. If you are the only aspiring fighter at the gym, you have outgrown it before you have even laced up a pair of gloves.
Read more: http://artofmanliness.com/2010/11/18/amateur-boxing-for-beginners-a-how-to-guide-part-i/#ixzz15k0QVm96
Excellent article keeps continuing and has words that could resonate for MMA as well!
Don't ask too many questions - This one goes against common wisdom a bit. The fact is that all of the fundamentals of boxing are very unnatural acts. The boxing stance–eyes and hands up, chin down, elbows tucked, lead shoulder pointing at your opponent–can feel very uncomfortable when you're starting out. Don't waste your coach's (or your own) time by getting into a bunch of blibbety-blap about the why's or check with him all the time to see if you are "doing it right." He will tell you when you are doing it right. Like a lot of things, repetition is the only thing that will make you comfortable and relaxed in what is basically an uncomfortable and tense posture. Just keep the fundamentals in mind and keep showing up. Which reminds me...
Show up – Boxing is not bodybuilding. You don't need 24 hours to "rest the muscles that you worked yesterday." Boxing training is repetitive, strenuous, and very hard on certain parts of your body. You will do almost the same thing every single day. If your goal is to compete, and compete with a chance of success, three days a week is not enough. Your opponent is training five days a week, with roadwork as well, so take from that what is necessary.
Don't make excuses – This one actually seems most common from guys who are coming to boxing from other martial arts. After a particularly brutal sparring session where a guy gets countered non-stop with straight right hands after being lazy about bringing his jab back, you might hear, "Yeah, in taekwondo (or whatever), we keep our hands down." That is a wonderful and exciting bit of trivia, but in boxing, you are going to get knocked cold for that kind of habit. Other, more obvious excuses include the common ones, revolving around being tired, being injured, being sick, not getting enough sleep, etc. Nobody anywhere likes listening to this kind of stuff, so help yourself out and avoid it.
Read more: http://artofmanliness.com/2010/12/02/amateur-boxing-for-beginners-a-how-to-guide-part-ii/#ixzz174Fx0dV1