Social Needs For Street Boxing Success

A street boxing champion must always be in touch with reality. If he is confined to his cocoon of
training programs, schedules, and gym practices, exposed only to his coach and teammates, he
will tend to form a false image of himself and his team. He might deceive himself into thinking
he or his team is the best without any basis for it. When competition day comes, he might get the
shock of his life when faced with the decisive moment.

The rigors of boxing for the street training often makes the fighter miss the necessity of stopping a while to
look around and see what others are up to lately. It pays a lot to watch other players in a
competition, see how well or bad they play, see them in training, meet them and befriend them
(this can later ease tensions when you face each other in a game), meet their coach, and learn lots
from all of them. These things are necessary gauges you can use to form a realistic image of
yourself and your team. Then you can determine where your weaknesses and strengths really are.

Muhammad Ali, a champion boxer in the late 1900s, studied the fights of his would-be foes in
person and in films. You can even collect clippings from magazines and newspapers about
events and other facts about your sport and broaden your view. This will keep you broad-minded
and updated in your boxing training.

This chapter ought to have given you an idea that top fighter does not only mean
rigorous workouts. It is much more than that. In fact, it is a life to be lived. It has many needs
that must be looked after—some of which are non-athletic, but also important. Many fighters
often overlook these things and pay a painful price.