Boxing is brutal. There’s no way around that fact; it’s a savage sport that pits you, alone and unarmed, against your worst fears. And that’s a good thing. Most areas of a man’s life come with handy escape routes – from our jobs to our relationships, we make deals and commitments with a firm eye on the door, conscious that when situations get sticky, we’ll need a few free get-out-of-jail cards in a hurry.
There’s no backing out of boxing.
Imagine you’re in the ring. The other guy, in a few minutes, will be heading your way. There is no amount of preparation that could brace you for this moment, no mental technique or training that will calm the panic.
Why? In the ring, that guy about to come your way is irrelevant. Your real rival is yourself: your rapidly beating heart, your shallow lungs, your wobbly knees. Your fear, and the way your eyes keep looking for a way out.
The first thing that happens when you turn your head in a boxing ring is, you get hit in the face. The second thing: is you get hit again, and then again. That fear is relentless. It’s there in your sheer panic the first time you do it, and it’s there in the frantic nervous energy of a guy in his hundredth fight.
And it’s everywhere. Talk to anyone; they’ll tell you, anxiety is a part of life. Every day brings a challenge we have to overcome, be it a job interview or a meeting with the in-laws. The secret to fighting fear, no matter how minor, is simple: stop looking for a way out.
Guys spend their whole lives trying to master the art of boxing and never get it right. Boxing is the sport to which all other sports aspire, said George Foreman. And even pros start at age 11 and retire at 35 with nothing but “reliable loser” next to their names.
Keeping your eyes open and facing forward in the face of an unrelenting onslaught might be the defining fight of a man’s life. To master that moment, you have to train your body and your mind, too. Watch enough boxing movies and you’ll see them running, and skipping, and hitting a little round punching bag, and doing a million push-ups.
And you’ll see them getting it in the face – a lot. Do enough of that, and boxing training will make you stronger and fitter. It’ll also make you braver.
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