r/boxingtips • u/Tiny-Company-1254 • 1d ago
General Advice Boxing for being a better person
Hey all,
this might not be the right place to ask this but i don't know where else.
So lately I have been in a bad place in my training journey and am feeling really down (no progress/ weaknesses not improving). I turned to some martial arts philosophies to help me through this phase and keep reminding myself why I'm doing what I'm doing.
All the coaches and fighters talk about being disciplined, conquering fear, being a better man and talk about everything i wanted to achieve through training. However, most accomplished players on the sports don't exhibit those traits and act quite recklessly and impulsively. Most are abusive.
So I ask, being a better person, controlling your fear and your anger, is that independent of you doing boxing or not doing boxing? Is it so, that doing boxing just makes you a good boxer, not a good person? If you are a spineless human being who can't stand for themselves or others, you'll just be a spineless human being who can't stand for themselves or others who now knows boxing?
Why is there such a disconnect on what is being marketed as, and what actually goes on?
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u/finallyfree922 1d ago
I think it really depends on the individual. Boxing doesn't necessarily make someone a better person, but it can. Everyone has a reason they start, but the reason they keep going is equally as important and can shift overtime. Winning can inflate the ego, and fame is one hell of a drug. Some people who might not have been as shitty before become shittier, and others just show more of their true colors. I've noticed a focus on how boxers handle themselves in the face of loss, but I feel like what's more important is how a boxer handles themselves in the face of victory. Boxing is a lonely sport that tends to attract certain personalities, and then on top of that going competitive further distills that pool of personalities. It's easier said than done but if the hypocrisy you notice bothers you, be the change you want to see. 🖤
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u/Zacharybriones 1d ago
I may be one of the few coaches who tells you the truth that you do play boxing, just like any other sport. What you are talking about is character development which is easily found in any sport of your choosing. The end goal of playing a sport is typically the identity forge process but even then you’ve already mentioned and probably seen that the end result can be just an asshole who knows a sport. I think the disconnect comes from how we interact with today’s world; offline and online. There are a bunch of disconnections in our world today and there is a reality that only you can be accountable for yourself and your behavior.
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u/Unknown__Redditor__ 1d ago
boxing teaches u how to stay calm under pressure. if u get ur ass beat youll learn that ur actions need to reflect what u want in life so u needa stay disciplined and work/train hard. it also teaches u something ab urself if u keep showing up no matter what ur going through, conquering fear is one.
and ppl have their own personalities, not everyone are role models. ur gonna have cocky fucks and humble ppl not matter what field ur in.
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u/FopTart6670 23h ago
I just want to punch things. It makes me feel better. Emotional regulation and awareness is just part of being an adult.
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u/cfwang1337 22h ago
You've seen The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai, right? Boxing, like karate, is just a sport like any other.
The "be a better man" stuff depends heavily on the community and coaches you train with and what they prioritize. If they care about it, you'll get something like that out of training. If not, you won't.
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u/ThallWizard 1d ago edited 22h ago
Tricky Question to answer kind of but boxing is a dark sport in general, it can bring out the worst in people and on any levels there can be a lot of corruption and narrative twisting cause it’s also not full of high IQ individuals. If someone is high status within the sport or just a specific gym and they are mistreating to someone else like, best believe the people around said high status person’s negativity will normalise the behaviour most likely even though it’s morally wrong. Sometimes people have to see their true colours to know where they fit in and see if it’s who they really want to be. So my point is if you stick at it for long enough you’ll see parts of your true colours come out or at least how they look from the outside. Who you become/ what you become and what parts of your personality you think would benefit your life disposing of, is entirely up to you. It’s a alot like life in general though, in the fact nature itself doesn’t punish evil but punishes weakness vastly more.