Best way to teach boxing?

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I have a few friends at my school who are interested in learning boxing, but there is no boxing gym nearby. I am decent in boxing, however have no experience teaching someone from the VERY beginning (I have taught people before but mainly just helping them polish things and drill, never the basics). Should I teach them? And if so, what should I teach them first: stance, footwork, blocking, absorbing, punching, etc. For reference, they are all on the skinny small side, but not overly skinny or overly small, and are athletic in terms of agility and stamina.

 

[Flying Crane]

If it were me, I would not.

you say you are "decent" at boxing. That doesn't mean you are good enough to teach it well. You say you have little experience teaching it, and don't know how to go about it. OK, don't do it.

Focus on what you are good at, and teach that. Don't try to teach everything, just because someone wants it, when you are not capable of doing it properly.

 

[jks9199]

If it were me, I would not.

you say you are "decent" at boxing. That doesn't mean you are good enough to teach it well. You say you have little experience teaching it, and don't know how to go about it. OK, don't do it.

Focus on what you are good at, and teach that. Don't try to teach everything, just because someone wants it, when you are not capable of doing it properly.

I agree. Can you work with them to bring in a coach for a few sessions to get them started on the right foot, then refine and help them work on it.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Ok, thank you. I wasn't planning on teaching them, unless I got support from people in my hometown to teach them, but I talked to one of them today, and he suggested I don't, since it isn't my main art so i might mix the two a bit and confuse them. Good to know he's not the only one thinking that

 

[lklawson]

Just to play Devil's Advocate...

It probably couldn't hurt much to just show them what you know. If you really are "decent" at boxing, that's not too shabby. There's a lot of depth to Boxing but there's also a lot of K.I.S.S. to it as well. The basics aren't too hard and can be transmitted without too much worry at which point the boxer can start developing his own "body style."

And, as far as your teaching experience goes. No one is born knowing how to teach. Even people who are taught how to teach still have to practice. And very few teachers begin with their teaching abilities being particularly "good" at teaching. It's a skill that needs to be developed.

Assuming you do know how to box, what's the harm?

As far as your student's physical morphology goes, it sounds like they'd be better suited for dynamic, "outfighting" style of boxing. Stick-jab-and-move, not toe-to-toe slugging. You can tell the difference in the styles when you watch a Bantam weight bout and a Heavy weight bout. So, footwork, body & head movements, punching from the go, etc.

That said, I agree that people are going to learn best from teachers with focused experience in that skill, but failing that...

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[Taiji Rebel]

If you have experience in boxing then you can teach.

Joe Calzaghe's first teacher was his old man. After giving him the basics, his dad took him a local amateur boxing club so he could spar with others and start entering competitions. Joe Calzaghe retired undefeated as a world champion boxer and was trained by his dad, Enzo for his entire life!

If you are looking for inspiration, take a look at Joe and Enzo's boxing story

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

If you have experience in boxing then you can teach.

Joe Calzaghe's first teacher was his old man. After giving him the basics, his dad took him a local amateur boxing club so he could spar with others and start entering competitions. Joe Calzaghe retired undefeated as a world champion boxer and was trained by his dad, Enzo for his entire life!

If you are looking for inspiration, take a look at Joe and Enzo's boxing story

This was around 11 years ago at this point (wow). I've since taught plenty of people. For anyone curious, I ended up teaching them shaolin kempo, which I was more qualified to teach, and eventually mixed in kickboxing, which I had started teaching at my dojo (in conjunction with the main instructor(s) on college breaks). Worked out well.

I wouldn't teach shaolin kempo, boxing, or kickboxing nowadays from the ground up. Not because I couldn't, but because I haven't trained any of them purely in at least 5 years, and I mix up my striking at this point. I'd either teach kali, general 'striking', or general 'self-defense' nowadays.