Evening all.

I live in a small town, and we don't have any of the large training centres that you get in the bigger places.

I've been wanting to take up some sort of contact sport, my options locally are Judo (at a very good, local facility), Karate, and Boxing.

(There is also a MMA class once a week at a Uni 30 mins drive away - I'll have to look into that. One session a week didn't sound ideal though.)

I've tried karate and judo, not really a fan. Judo was fun, but seemed very hard to learn the basics of. The centre is only over the road from me and is custom built with a huge floor, membership was a good price too. I couldn't get the hang of learning all the etiquette and names for different throws, but the best bit was at the end when we knelt opposite each other in pairs and grappled to submission.

Possibly I should buy a book on it and learn the fundamentals, and then give it another shot. I believe lessons were only once a week though, I can't see myself learning at a useful rate?


I'm interested in trying boxing but I have no idea what the craic is with starting off. I'm presuming that you take your own wraps and gloves, pay your membership, and then do drills on your own, but under the eye of the gym owner?

It's a bit daunting really. I know jack about boxing and I don't know any of the lads that go, because i'm not local to the area. I'm not afraid of getting bummed in the changing rooms, more just looking like a t*t and then turning into 'the leper'.


Any suggestions will be gratefully received, even if they aren't related to the above. Whatever direction you think I should take (or if I shoud) please let me know.

Big thanks, Mike

Well, it's hard to say really, not being you and all, but my basic advice is to do the one that will keep you interested and keep you training.
Me personally, I hate taking falls and rolling ... though others love it. I find the Japanese systems too formal, but it really helps others focus.
I trained at a great boxing gym in my neighborhood a while back now, totally old school - wrong side of the tracks, literally! Damp, smelly and worn, but full of great trainers, and a motley mix of cops, semi pros and gangstas, all doing their thing on the heavy bags or in the ring. The way it worked there was that you got a trainer as part of the monthly deal who would run you through conditioning exercises, technique, pad work, heavy bag etc.
If your place is like this, be warned, generally you get handed a jump rope and it's straight into 3 minute rounds to warm up, no real conversation about your fitness level or medical problems, it's left to you to pace yourself .... you won't be walking the next day if you are not careful!... like I said, old school.
Over time you were expected to get a feel for a personal workout and find training partners, but the trainers were there to correct form, do pad work etc. Eventually sparring for those that were interested.
I had a blast training there.
Most boxing gyms have wraps and safety gear for sale, and there are gloves to borrow when you start ... though they generally smell so bad it works as a great incentive to get your own!
Let us know how you get on

awesome response.
siding with Maija on this.
karate teaches pulled punches and hierarchical fear of so called higher skilled individuals--psychologically
is a mind fook.
judo sounds fun enough, but it's leagues away from a practical skill sets.
at least the boxing will give you some nice bag time--real resistance and not a pulled chimera of fight feel.

whether you step into the ring or not, don't allow yourself to get lost in what constitutes as the warrior in
this venue. in other words, don't think that if you're aren't the dog's bollocks in there, you can't [as Danite
says] rip their face off in the parking lot. keep your mind carefully primed and remember it's a sport, a rough
one with great skills from which to draw, but far from the finished package if you're using it for SD.

circling; pacing; points; etc... vs. freight train shit storm with mauling.

don't get the two confused. spend time at home taking your punch skills and applying them to SD drills--possibly
with a friend/work-out-partner.

good luck mate. as with anything else. give it a long stretch before cutting classes and moving on. like a year.
you'll pick up some nice skills.

i always respect boxers and kickboxers. there's a reason Richie trains KB as a side hobby--but he knows how to
distinguish when the climate changes.

[sorry if it sounded didactic; just thinking out loud; wish you luck mate]

Thanks a lot for your responses, not sure what 'didactic' means, but i'm sure it's all ok in the grand scheme of things.

My gf's errant 6ft5 stepbrother goes to this boxing gym it turns out, so next time I see him i'll ask him about it.

Thanks a lot for explaining the general 'way it works' in a boxing gym, invaluable and I find that a little knowledge can go a long way.

Very good , thanks Maija and Russ.

Boxing if you've not done it before. Give it ago. Doubt they are expecting world class precision mate, just a bit of dedication.

& if you invest in yourself through it, serious fitness.

Good luck whatever you decide Mike.

I'm seconding the motion for boxing

I did Karate for years growing up, and, as Russ said, all it did was condition my mindset to accept failure... and the techniques themselves didn't translate well at all either. I don't throw a punch now or kick anything like I did in karate, and that's a very very good thing lol!:

I did kickboxing for a bit and found it to be a good conditioner (not talking hair here lol). Richie was mentioning how his mentality switches to engaged but 'playful' when training in the gym as opposed to the semi-psychotic combative mindset we need for the street. I think this is important....so you won't try to kick box your way out of a club or C grip someone in class...