I'm really happy that my sons learnt to box in their youth, I wish I had.

If nothing else, learning to box ensures that they'll never be physically bullied, but what really warms my heart about them learning is the fact that it changed them both for the better. 

Boxing is about discipline and respect and it's a huge blessing to see these qualities radiating out of my boys. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that boxing has been transformational for my eldest!

It grew his self-confidence and once he shaped up as he got fit he stopped hiding behind long hair and baggy clothes, and  it impacted every area of his life, not least at school where his grades radically improved.

There's nothing wrong with long hair & baggy clothes, but in Joel's case it was his way of hiding from the world. Today he's a very different young man, full of confidence knowing that he looks good and can take care of himself. In our modern aggressive world this is no bad thing.

For myself I wish I'd come to boxing in my youth, it would probably have helped me stand up to the bullies I had to endure at school, and had I lived with my dad he would have ensured I was introduced to it early. However, life is what it is, and at least I got to introduce my boys to it at a young age and help them build a love for the sport.

Both my sons have watched me fight, and Joel has been with me to a couple of amateur boxing events and had a feel for what the sport is all about, and I know it excited him to see it close up first hand.

As it stands at the moment, neither of them are currently boxing.

For my eldest his work commitments prevent him from attending the boxing sessions at Knockout Centre, so he's switched to Crossfit for now. My youngest is totally focused on joining the British Army and so running and weight training are his priorities right now, but I know they will both come back to boxing when the time is right and that warms my heart.

In this photo (right) Joel is having one of his first sparring sessions with Coach Cris. To be able to spar with someone of Cris' calibre and quality was an immense privilege and it taught Joel a lot about himself and the value of respect & discipline.

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This post is part of a series in the Blogging From A To Z Challenge, April 2022.

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7 comments:

  1. Tamara29 April 2022 at 16:02

    You're making good points.
    I think the capacity young people have to learn and train is amazing. I'm glad I started my son early when it came to foreign languages. He's almost bilingual in German and English, basically thanks to my insisting to only watch movies and YouTube if it's in English ;-)))

    ReplyDelete
  2. Afshan Shaik29 April 2022 at 16:57

    So nice to see that ur kids have embraced boxing and put efforts to stay fit. ...and being ready for British army is just wow. Bad to know about ur high school bullying....yep being strong can avoid so much bullying!

    Dropping by from a to z "The Pensive"

    ReplyDelete
  3. moondustwriter29 April 2022 at 22:36

    you must be very proud of them. sports really do help shape and youth and from what Ive learned about boxing is the self-discipline and regard that each boxer exhibits for the others.
    yevhen

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cheryl29 April 2022 at 23:26

    I wish I had gotten my daughters more involved in something like this when they were younger. They are dancers, so they have endurance, but perhaps boxing would have made them more confident.

    Thanks for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. John Holton29 April 2022 at 23:32

    I would guess there would be ample time to box when your youngeset is in the Army.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Barb Klein30 April 2022 at 17:43

    I enjoyed hearing your sons' journey with boxing as well as your own! Thanks for sharing this with us. I would have no idea what boxing can do for a person on such a deep level!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cooking by Alex19 October 2024 at 17:22

    Nice blog yyou have

    ReplyDelete

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