BrazilianBomber - No joke, training with Roger Mayweather for a week I learned a shit load. (like how to throw a hook) whom my previous muay thai teacher neglected to tell me I was doing wrong. and he is a very respected muay thai instructor in las vegas.
Monsters Ball -mr nemo -Gigantor - Find a boxing gym with some old school Mexican trainers.
This.
Why? What does being an old mexican have to do with being a good trainer?
Sometimes people say things on here because they think it sounds clever.
From my experience, these old school gyms are looking for young up-and-comers, not MMA guys hoping to get some boxing training in. Unless you're gonna pay top $ for personal training, they wont be interested in training you. And even then, personal sessions arent always offered in these gyms.
DISCLAIMER: I've never had the money to ask for personal training, but it isnt really advertised in these gyms. The ones i've been to in socal are community centers, so i'm not sure if thats even allowed.
When I trained at a boxing gym I had to hit the bag, skip, shadow box, speed ball etc for a couple of months before the Boxing Coach would instruct me. The coach wanted to see I was serious about training before he instructed me. Then he would start with a couple of pointers to see if I listened. Then once he saw I had commitment and did was asked he started spending more time. It's a hard road.
Elvis
If you want personal one on one man just ask the trainer its about 40 bucks an hour. I learned a lot in boxing from the more experienced boxers who would see me hitting a bag wrong or do something wrong when sparring and be corrected.
There's just a sharp line in Boxing where you're either a fighter and really commit to it or you just do your own thing and it's for fitness. When it comes to competing, not that many in a Boxing gym fight even Amateur whereas if you go to a BJJ gym, most will compete in tournaments. When you add in punches to the face, it seems to separate the ones that are serious and the ones that aren't.
Trainers always are going to want to take on the younger kids who show potential who they can mold into a fighter. They're not really going to be interested in helping an adult who is new, because chances are they'll never fight pro and the trainer won't reap anything out of it. Boxing gym fees are also much lower than MMA or BJJ in general as well.
good comments by everyone, although not all apply to my situation, they are still good comments about MMA folks wanting boxing training etc (esp since this is an MMA forum). And about training in boxing gyms in general.
Everone take off your PC hat for a moment and think about this, put your cap on like you are a MFFFER in a gym that wants to learn.
A few comments have been made about old school Mexican trainers and one about an Irish trainer.
Seriously I have often wondered if a Mexican trainer would be more helpful to a slow white guy wanting to learn how to box better.
All my experience at boxing gyms has been for lack of a better phrase at black gyms with guys with super fast hands and seemingly an ability to watch world class fighters on Saturday night, then copy a move and use it on Monday.
I was a white kid college freshman in an all black gym,on the side of town no one wanted to go, then finally one Mexican guy showed up who had 18 fights in the Airforce, a hell of a counter puncher, with great head movement. I learned a lot from him on how to fight these dudes that were so much faster.
The coaches' style and experience always seemed to lend itself to fighters with these attributes.
My first experience at a boxing gym was in the early 90s.
I loved it when the slow white fighters would come in from out of town to spar, or the "tough man" guys.
Serioulsy I spent 4 years trying to move like these young fast guys, box like these taller guys, I did develop a good jab.
But I can't help but wonder, what if there was one old Mexican trainer, or an old Irishmen, that would have pulled me aside and taught me a different approach, an approach for a guy with heavy feet. The Mexican dude in the gym I mentioned did help me alot, he had slow feet.
^^^ I mention the time frame, so it is clear that I was not thought of as MMA guy wanting to learn boxing
Boxing just developed differently as an industry.
It is WAY cheaper than BJJ/MMA and is not a casual, social or hobbyist thing.
Someone should let these grumpy old trainers know they can setup 'boxing for MMA gyms', triple their prices and do $200 'private lessons' to white collar hobbyists.
Watch the old mens eyes light up then! :)
Great posts on this thread.
stillmatic - There's just a sharp line in Boxing where you're either a fighter and really commit to it or you just do your own thing and it's for fitness. When it comes to competing, not that many in a Boxing gym fight even Amateur whereas if you go to a BJJ gym, most will compete in tournaments. When you add in punches to the face, it seems to separate the ones that are serious and the ones that aren't.
Trainers always are going to want to take on the younger kids who show potential who they can mold into a fighter. They're not really going to be interested in helping an adult who is new, because chances are they'll never fight pro and the trainer won't reap anything out of it. Boxing gym fees are also much lower than MMA or BJJ in general as well.
fiercedragon - yeah,i know it doesn't sound great, but when is the last time you saw a mexican fighter use footwork,defense and slick counter punching to win a fight? too many of them stand and bang to see who's tougher,imo. sure they throw effective combos,but why wait for the return fire...?
If you want slick, here's video of crusty old bastard Roger Mayweather working with some MMA guys at Wanderlei Silva's in Las Vegas:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/mightygloves/videos/110/
^^^ I think it would be awesome to spend 1-2 hrs w/ Mayweather or Roach or any other big name trainer. Just to see what pointers they give and how they rate your skills.
Very cool video.
Picked up some good tips just by watching that video. Like keeping your glove stuck to your face when you bend sideways to block body punches.
I tend to do what those guys were doing, bringing my hand down when blocking and leaving my face open.
Pugilist82 - If you go to a gym and they're having you spar you first day, get the hell out of there.
A good trainer will go over technique and try to eliminate bad habits before they form, not create new ones by throwing you in a ring completely unprepared.
Unfortunately, some places it's hard to find good training. My advice would be to go to a local show and try to see if there are any gyms whose fighters show solid technique, and give it a shot there.
ttt
16-10HangEmUp -Taz -Gigantor - Find a boxing gym with some old school Mexican trainers.
FTW!
Or get an irish guy that's ugly as shit and can barely read. You KNOW that guy can fight
Remember folks this is years ago, but I was considering spending a semester in Ireland.
So I told the boxing coach , who had a lot of amateur coaching experience, that if I went to Ireland for a semester I wanted to work in a gym.
This guy warned me not to, he said "look in Ireland you have these gyms filled with 12 year old kids with flat noses and cauliflower ears, the training is brutal.”
This coach had a fair amount of experience with ammey programs including international, I wonder if he was correct about the Irish boxing gyms?