I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting around watching a fight, a literal high stakes chess match unfolding before my eyes. Attacking, counter punching, positioning, shifting strategies, one competitor exploiting the other's moment of weakness . Taken back by a profound appreciation for the amount of agility, dexterity, strength, conditioning, and mental fortitude on display on a second by second basis. Every tiny movement carrying meaning, a slip of the head to the right, a deceptive look to the stomach followed by a strike to the head, a feint with the left hand creating an opening that is hit by the right hand.
Until someone says it: "Pffffff Boxing is boring.... Come on knock the guy out already!"
I'm sorry, I have to say it. If you make a point to say that sentence out loud at a fight just because you don't understand what you're watching, and the whole "appreciation of a craft" concept isn't interesting to you:
Boxing isn't boring, you are.
I mean I get it, we live in a world of an abundance of easily digestible entertainment which is tailored specifically to you and takes little to no level of work on your part to partake in. That's why I can't get mad at people like that. Boxing will never be as immediately entertaining as a viral YouTube video, a reality TV show, or a 2 second SnapChat.
That's why I love it.
I love it because its not popular and not easy to understand. It took me a long time to get its subtleties and appreciate the craftsmanship of it. I feel like I developed a level of respect for it over time that allows me to enjoy it at a deeper level. Like anything else of high quality, it demands some level of mental involvement from you in order to fully appreciate it for what it is. Boxing serves as a steadfast reminder of that long-lost mindset.
That's why we don't dilute the beauty of Boxing in order to follow the easy trends. Could we hold a "punch-this-bag-and-lose-weight-fast" class? Of course! Believe me, we've been pressured since day one to follow the fitness trends we see. All we'd have to do is stop teaching the sport, and instead put TV monitors on the walls so people aren't troubled by putting in the hard work it takes to fall in love with something. But at some level, deep down, we choose not to. Why? Because I think we'd be doing our community a disservice by doing so. Not everything was meant to be bent and shaped to meet the demands of the consumer. I believe Boxing is one of those things.
I think that's why we get so many customers that come from big name fitness-boxing-studios. They come to us looking for more, as if at some level they know that there is something deeper to Boxing than just hitting the bag. Just like we know that there is more to a match than the knockout.
That's why we commit to teaching the sport, that's why we won't ignore bad technique and poor fundamentals. Because we're not just here to be another source of cheap entertainment, we believe our purpose, and Boxing's purpose is deeper than that. We're here to teach people how to fall in love with a sport and how to appreciate an art form. To show them that there is more to something than what appears on the surface, and that some of the most important things in life take time to learn and appreciate.
That's why the sport of Boxing will always belong. Regardless of its popularity, or entertainment value.