What Age Should Kids Start Boxing?

[Razors Edge ★]

...for fun and for competitive reasons?

Is five too young? Ten? Teenage years?

What is the youngest age you would watch on TV or in the Olympics?

[maddmaxx ★]

They should start boxing at about age 100

[Longjohn ★]

I think the child labor laws come into play here. You need to be 18 years old to be hired as a boxer at an Amazon warehouse. You could probably start younger in China or Asia?

[maddmaxx ★]

2 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I think the child labor laws come into play here. You need to be 18 years old to be hired as a boxer at an Amazon warehouse. You could probably start younger in China or Asia?

Unless you can fold boxes faster than Dale Lamoureux.  Then you can start whenever you want to.

[Razors Edge ★]

5 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I think the child labor laws come into play here

Don't pay them!!!!  Keep it "amateur" and you never have to pay them or run into labor laws. Claim it is for education or some other nonsense.

[Square Wheels]

Never.  I suspect it will be a thing of the past in the not to distant future, along with football.  Hockey may survive if checking is eliminated.

[Longjohn ★]

1 minute ago, Square Wheels said:

Never.  I suspect it will be a thing of the past in the not to distant future, along with football.  Hockey may survive if checking is eliminated.

Checking is almost gone already, there are so many easier ways to pay.

[Razors Edge ★]

5 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

Never.  I suspect it will be a thing of the past in the not to distant future, along with football.  Hockey may survive if checking is eliminated.

Checking IS hockey!

Well, that and fighting.

[Square Wheels]

7 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Checking IS hockey!

Well, that and fighting.

I remember watching the Bruins play in the 90s, in particular New Jersey, They drop the puck, then they'd drop the gloves.  Games took hours due the the numbers of fights.  Hard to promote that as a family event.

[Razors Edge ★]

Just now, Square Wheels said:

I remember watching the Bruins play in the 90s, in particular New Jersey, They drop the puck, then they'd drop the gloves.  Games took hours due the the numbers of fights.  Hard to promote that as a family event.

Family events are hardly what I'm after.  I want ACTION! 

[Square Wheels]

Just now, Razors Edge said:

Family events are hardly what I'm after.  I want ACTION! 

So people having debilitating injuries that may ruin their lives is worth 60 minutes of entertainment for you?

I used to like it to.  With the ability to instant replays the way they can now, it's amazing the hits football and hockey players take.  I've never understood boxing, and don't get me started on MMA, that's pure stupidity.

[Razors Edge ★]

Just now, Square Wheels said:

So people having debilitating injuries that may ruin their lives is worth 60 minutes of entertainment for you?

I used to like it to.  With the ability to instant replays the way they can now, it's amazing the hits football and hockey players take.  I've never understood boxing, and don't get me started on MMA, that's pure stupidity.

Sure.  And, surprisingly, I'm unlikely to even watch it or appreciate it.  Anything to keep folks entertained, though. 

[Razors Edge ★]

FTR, does it get much better than this:

 

[Longjohn ★]

You heard about a guy that went to watch a fight but was horrified when a hockey game broke out.

[Razors Edge ★]

1 minute ago, Longjohn said:

You heard about a guy that went to watch a fight but was horrified when a hockey game broke out.

I'd demand my money back!  Unless I was fighting insomnia, in which case I would be happy for the chance to grab some sleep.

[MickinMD ★]

As a lifelong lover of boxing who has attended many local boxing matches, my opinion of it as a "sport" ok for kids changed after watching the kids in our family play rec league and high school tackle football and lacrosse. With the concussions, etc. sustained in those sports - fortunately not by our kids but with some temporary but lingering effects in other kids on the teams, I now think boxing in its present form is too potentially mentally debilitating, even with today's headgear.

I also wonder if football before age 14 should be limited to flag or touch football.  My nephew Ryan was a big kid who played defensive line and tight end and laid out a number of kids and it really bothered him when that occurred.  The kids on his High School JV were fairly big kids - there's a lot of growing between ages 13 and 14.  But look at how little this fast running back is that Ryan, 99, tackled in a 12-13-year old rec league game:

 

[Dirtyhip]

Never. Purposeful hits to the head are no good. 

[Razors Edge ★]

Just now, Dirtyhip said:

Never. Purposeful hits to the head are no good. 

Maybe for the boxer, but they can be "good" entertainment for the rest of us!

And, man do some boxers get BIG paychecks!  Tens of millions per fight.  I saw Oscar de la Hoya's Lamborghini get pimped on West Coast Customs! SWEET.

 

[ChrisL]

I tend to agree with @MickinMD in that contact sports & kids is a dangerous combination.  My son played HS football his freshman year and I did have reservations but he came away unscathed.  But we saw several kids get laid out and a good friends kid suffered a serious concussion that cost him several weeks of missed class work.

I think boxing in inner cities can get kids off the street and provide a safer alternative than gangs & drugs but overall I’m not in favor of kids suffering impacts to the head.

[Kzoo]

28 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

I now think boxing in its present form is too potentially mentally debilitating

Not for those participating... think about it.

 

[Kzoo]

Do you really think that boxing had any ability to have a negative effect on Leon Spinks or Mike Tyson?  Really?

 

[Prophet Zacharia]

7 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

Never.  I suspect it will be a thing of the past in the not to distant future, along with football.  Hockey may survive if checking is eliminated.

Boxing may become a thing of the past, but only because the more brutal MMA has shot past it in popularity.

Football is losing popularity because of it’s efforts to decrease head shots and hits on the QB and defenseless receivers. People WANT to see that violence.

Hockey fights are way down, now at a rate of 0.19 fights/game. Hockey’s trying to eliminate targeted hits to the head as well, with some success. 

[jsharr ★]

7 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

...for fun and for competitive reasons?

Is five too young? Ten? Teenage years?

What is the youngest age you would watch on TV or in the Olympics?

Want me to ask Guy Mezger for you?

[Zealot]

I love boxing. Actually I enjoy most of the combat sports.  And I have participated in them. There truly is no better way, short of warfare, to pit yourself physically against another person and see where your skills and wits place you. 

But for those who’ve never done it; those who’ve never trained in the warrior ways, it may not make sense. Some will enjoy watching it but never have the courage or the discipline to do it. Others will despise it, claiming it brutal and barbaric and having no place in civilized society. Still others who’ve walked the path will watch and see the beauty in the skill; the refinement of the art. But for the fighters, for those who know themselves, it is theirs alone to decide and to engage in it.

To answer your question though, the younger a competitor begins training, often the more successful they can be. 

I don’t agree with a ‘sanitized’ world. I’ve seen what being thrown from a horse in both recreation and competition can do to a rider. Yet, no one condemns horseback riding. 

I know a coworker who is now a quadriplegic from an accident on his bicycle. And representatives from all demographics in our society engage  in what is arguably the most humanly devastating preventable activity in western culture - driving automobiles. And yet, we keep on doing it, believing the risks are worth the benefits. 

Before you condemn me, think about it. And remember this is my opinion and I have played the games. 

 

[shootingstar]

57 minutes ago, Zealot said:

I love boxing. Actually I enjoy most of the combat sports.  And I have participated in them. There truly is no better way, short of warfare, to pit yourself physically against another person and see where your skills and wits place you. 

But for those who’ve never done it; those who’ve never trained in the warrior ways, it may not make sense. Some will enjoy watching it but never have the courage or the discipline to do it. Others will despise it, claiming it brutal and barbaric and having no place in civilized society. Still others who’ve walked the path will watch and see the beauty in the skill; the refinement of the art. But for the fighters, for those who know themselves, it is theirs alone to decide and to engage in it.

To answer your question though, the younger a competitor begins training, often the more successful they can be. 

I don’t agree with a ‘sanitized’ world. I’ve seen what being thrown from a horse in both recreation and competition can do to a rider. Yet, no one condemns horseback riding. 

I know a coworker who is now a quadriplegic from an accident on his bicycle. And representatives from all demographics in our society engage  in what is arguably the most humanly devastating preventable activity in western culture - driving automobiles. And yet, we keep on doing it, believing the risks are worth the benefits. 

Before you condemn me, think about it. And remember this is my opinion and I have played the games. 

 

I'm sure you are familiar with some of the Far Eastern martial arts which there are certain manoeuvres are to deflect an opponent's ongoing angry physical energy/shot at oneself with less hurt to the opponent (and for oneself also).  It's a different mindset...and as you know, incredible to see this sport art, in action .....not hurting the other person....but disarming physical violence/deflecting/avoiding an opponent's fists, etc.  I am certain if this is not already part of your personal philosophy as a "warrior", it will become closer to your core values one day. 

I never watched much boxing nor MMA. Now after a concussion where it took me 6 months to fully recover after being transported by ambulance, unable to walk for first few weeks unaided by another person....and I was disability leave from work...  I no longer can watch boxing nor MMA.  I cannot celebrate the "winners" at all.  I feel sorry for them.

[JerrySTL ★]

December 26th.

[Wilbur ★]

I boxed from age 9 to 20.   9-10 is a good age to start.   Truly, an excellent sport. 

[Zealot]

20 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

I never watched much boxing nor MMA. Now after a concussion where it took me 6 months to fully recover after being transported by ambulance, unable to walk for first few weeks unaided by another person....and I was disability leave from work...  I no longer can watch boxing nor MMA.  I cannot celebrate the "winners" at all.  I feel sorry for them.

What caused your concussion, Shootingstar? 

 

Yes, I am deeply familiar with Bushido. I am trained in TaeKwonDo, Aikido, Krav Maga, Boxing and Greco-Roman Wrestling. And I believe fiercely in conflict resolution by peaceful means first. But there is an old proverb:

”A student asked his master: "You teach me fighting but you talk about peace. How do you reconcile the two?"
The master replied: " It's better to be warrior in garden than to be a gardener in war.”

When one learns to fight, he is far more able to ‘choose’ not to. We practice our arts to never have to employ them.

However, the original topic concerns competition- where two competitors meet on the mat or in the ring to test their skills.  This is consensual. And this is a rite.  In training and to be promoted, you engage in randori and other attacks which you must successfully defend against. 

Anyway, I’m not trying to convince anyone to like martial competition. Explaining simply from my point of view.

Peace.

[Wilbur ★]

5 minutes ago, Zealot said:

What caused your concussion, Shootingstar? 

 

Yes, I am deeply familiar with Bushido. I am trained in TaeKwonDo, Aikido, Krav Maga, Boxing and Greco-Roman Wrestling. And I believe fiercely in conflict resolution by peaceful means first. But there is an old proverb:

”A student asked his master: "You teach me fighting but you talk about peace. How do you reconcile the two?"
The master replied: " It's better to be warrior in garden than to be a gardener in war.”

When one learns to fight, he is far more able to ‘choose’ not to. We practice our arts to never have to employ them.

However, the original topic concerns competition- where two competitors meet on the mat or in the ring to test their skills.  This is consensual. And this is a rite.  In training and to be promoted, you engage in randori and other attacks which you must successfully defend against. 

Anyway, I’m not trying to convince anyone to like martial competition. Explaining simply from my point of view.

Peace.

Well stated. 

[shootingstar]

9 minutes ago, Zealot said:

What caused your concussion, Shootingstar? 

 

Yes, I am deeply familiar with Bushido. I am trained in TaeKwonDo, Aikido, Krav Maga, Boxing and Greco-Roman Wrestling. And I believe fiercely in conflict resolution by peaceful means first. But there is an old proverb:

”A student asked his master: "You teach me fighting but you talk about peace. How do you reconcile the two?"
The master replied: " It's better to be warrior in garden than to be a gardener in war.”

When one learns to fight, he is far more able to ‘choose’ not to. We practice our arts to never have to employ them.

However, the original topic concerns competition- where two competitors meet on the mat or in the ring to test their skills.  This is consensual. And this is a rite.  In training and to be promoted, you engage in randori and other attacks which you must successfully defend against. 

Anyway, I’m not trying to convince anyone to like martial competition. Explaining simply from my point of view.

Peace.

Another cyclist crashed into me, when I turned around a bend. I lost my short term memory for several hrs. Meaning my eyes were wide open and I was babbling but I don't remember this.  No memory of the crash,, ambulance ride, CT scan, etc.  It was just like the movies....I suddenly awoke in pain, in emergency services ward in hospital with doctor and dearie bending over, asking me questions, testing my memory.  I was incredibly fortunate my vision was not affected.

My sleep patterns were disrupted in a major way for 2 yrs.

[Further]

I was about 3 or so when the toy box concept was explained. 

I'm still not very good at it, tend to leave a mess.

[Ralphie ★]

In Canada they can start on their first Boxing Day.

[Longjohn ★]

Before my wife and I adopted we had a bunch of foster kids. A couple of them were siblings from a family of 8 kids. The two boys would fight all the time and it was hard to get them to stop. For Christmas we bought them each a pair of “Socker boppers”. They were inflatable boxing gloves and looked like giant marshmallows. We told them if they wanted to fight they needed to wear these and have at it. They would start to fight all mad at each other and before long they were laughing so hard they couldn’t go on. I wonder why they don’t sell those anymore?

Whelp, I guess they do still sell these.