Alright, so I’ve been thinking a lot about this whole “mental weakness for a boxer” thing. I mean, we always focus on the physical side – the training, the punches, the footwork. But what about the head game? I decided to put myself through a little experiment.
First, I picked a really tough sparring partner. Someone who I knew would push me, maybe even frustrate me. Not someone to beat me up, but someone who would make me think. Someone better than me.
Then, I went into the sparring session with a specific mindset. I was not going to focus on winning. Nope. My goal was to observe my own reactions. When did I get frustrated? When did I feel like giving up? When did my technique fall apart because my head wasn’t in it?
It was…rough. I got hit. A lot. I made mistakes. Plenty of them. And there were definitely moments where I just wanted to say “screw it” and walk away.
- First round: I felt okay, pretty focused.
- Second round: He started to land some good shots, and I could feel the frustration building. My punches got sloppy.
- Third round: I was getting tired, and my mind started wandering. I was thinking about how much I wanted it to be over, instead of focusing on what I was doing.
Afterwards, I sat down and wrote everything down. It was like a mental game film, but instead of watching tape, I was analyzing my own thoughts and feelings.
What I learned?
I realized that my biggest weakness wasn’t a physical one. It was the way I reacted to getting hit, to making mistakes, to feeling tired. I let those things get into my head and affect my performance. The frustration made me want to lash out.
So, the next step is to work on that. I’m going to try some meditation, some visualization. And during sparring, I’m going to focus on staying calm, even when things get tough. Keep breathing, keep the eyes, and keep the posture, that’s the point.
It’s a long process, I know. But I think understanding your mental weaknesses is just as important as having a strong jab or a good right hook. I am determined to stick to this experiment.
