Bringing back the old school skills.

In this article ”http://www.maxboxing.com/Gerbasi/Gerbasi060308.asp on maxboxing.com

Vernon Forrest talks about what i so much agree with in regards to young boxers development in skills today. Below are two great Forrest quotes from the article.

“I’m one of those guys that was taught correctly and taught the technical side of the game,” he said. “A lot of these young guys aren’t taught that. One thing I know about boxers nowadays are that they are the most athletic boxers in the history of the game. These guys could play any other sport, but they chose to compete in boxing. But in terms of the most skilled guys, those are the older guys that are still around.”

“Back in the day you had the older guys, and then the young guys came in and took them out,” Forrest continues. “Nowadays they can’t do that because the older guys are that much more skilled. Guys know how to roll punches, how to pull away from punches, how to not take the full brunt of a punch, and most importantly, guys know how to not get hit with that second punch. It ain’t that first punch that gets you - 9 times out of 10 it’s the second punch that knocks you out.

I was taught by an old school coach and I'm SO grateful for that. I like to teach these old school skills, but why should we call them old school, this is what boxing is and how it must be taught, I always say, just because it's called boxing that doesn't mean that's what your watching.

I'll never forget being at several coaching clinics to renew my license and listening to the instructor ask coaches who were taking the course for their level 1 coaching license to define boxing. They COULDN'T!! Why the fuck were they there in the first place I was thinking. Know what you are getting into and know how to teach the true skills if you are going to do this. That's bullshit that coaches like this are allowed to train fighters.

I remember being at the NY State Fair back in 98 and watching this team from Niagara compete. I'm serious in saying that everyone of those fighters got smoked. No skill at all. Some in the crowd probably thought that the fighter stunk. It was the trainer that stunk as HE represented those fighters. Learn how to teach the damn skills. I experienced the same shit down here in Florida a few years back from this coach in Green Cove Springs. He told a friend of mine that his fighter was going to kick my fighters ass. I'm confident in my fighters skill so there was no trash talking back from me. In fact one of the best compliments I get is when an old school trainer praises me for my young fighters skill, I take that to heart when that happens and we all should take pride in teaching real boxing skills to our fighters. Getting back to the story, We fought and beat that kid that night and every fighter of that coach lost that night, many getting stopped. I haven't seen that coach since at any show.

Trainers just aren't teaching what Vernon is talking about, not many anyways.

We young coaches must get back to bringing the sweet science back to boxing.