It's universally accepted that getting punched in the face is not fun. Yet that's precisely what boxers deal with every time they step into a ring. For them, a bad day at the office means being on the receiving end of a fist flying towards them at high velocity.
So I kept telling myself, even before I wound on my hand wraps for my introduction to boxing, that it was reasonable to be filled with a strange mix of excitement and anxiety. I've always been curious about boxing (hence the excitement part) but have always been petrified of getting a shiner (hence the anxiety).
In combat sports, you constantly hear that safety is of the utmost importance. But, as I arrived at DEF Boxing gym for my session with head trainer Jay Lau Chi-yuen, that thought did little to take the edge off any jitters. Let's face it, boxing is not for everyone - especially not the sissies.
Coach Lau got me started by fitting me with a pair of 16oz (about 450 grams) gloves. Olympic hopefuls will compete with 10oz gloves. Heavier gloves provide more padding for the puncher (less impact on the hand) and the punched (less impact on the face and body). Although my gloves looked colossal - almost like small cushions - they felt lighter than they appeared, and were quite easy to manoeuvre. Midway through the session, though, they felt like mini-dumbbells.
Before a boxing bout, a referee will invite both fighters to the centre of the ring, where he will tell them the number one rule in boxing: protect yourself at all times. The most common way to protect oneself in boxing is to keep your hands up. In the basic fighting stance, both hands are raised up around the chin area, with the elbows tucked tightly into the body. People commonly believe boxers possess massive arms for generating powerful punches. Coach Lau says arms are more for defence - they function like a shield. The larger the arms, the greater the area protected.
Punches are thrown directly from the fighting stance with little to no 'wind-up'. Wind-up makes you telegraph your punches, giving your opponent more time to react.
A common misconception is that punching power comes from the arms. In fact, punching power comes from the entire body, and much of it comes from your base - the legs and hip rotation. After throwing some jabs, uppercuts and hooks at a punching bag, my entire body felt exhausted. Most of all, my legs were burning.