For this new issue of sisterMAG, writer Sophia Schillik told us about her personal experience at a women’s boxing camp in Bad Gastein and what is included in the intense training. You can also read more about inspiring female boxers and boxing for women in general.
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My alarm sounds at 6.30 am, interrupting my dreams. It is completely dark outside. I reluctantly crawl out of bed and squeeze into my workout clothes, put on my running shoes. Then, together with six other women, I slowly start running and breathe in the clear, cold air. I have a sore head; my legs are heavy; my muscles still burn from yesterday. But my mind says »no mercy«. It is 16 December, the second to last day of the women’s boxing camp. The runs in the morning for activating our muscles are the easiest part.
Five weeks ago, in a mad rush, I registered for this camp in Bad Gastein. By chance, I saw the picture of a woman in the Instagram timeline and felt instinctively drawn to her look of steely determination, the thick boxing gloves and the idea to let off some steam. The caption read: »The Future is Female«. The next day, I called Tim Yilmaz from the Mariposa boxing club in Munich. »Boxing,« he says, »is a high-quality training for your coordination and your muscles. In other words, the perfect sport. And it is perfect to unwind.« Then he says that it will be intense and that I should bring a lot of sweat-absorbing workout clothes. »But it’s not as bad as it sounds,« he jokes before we hang up. Uncertain, I look at my biceps. I have virtually no muscles. Registration at your own risk.
I search the internet and read about the history of boxing. I find a few films and many male idols. I scroll down the Hall of Fame of the last 200 years: Max Schmeling, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Wladimir Klitschko, Henry Maske. Do I know any female boxers? I have to think for a moment. I can only think of Regina Halmich. Then I see a picture of Katie Taylor. The 32-year-old stands for a new image of women in this profession. Between 2005 and 2015, she won several gold medals at the European and World Championships and won an Olympic gold medal in 2012. A pretty epic moment, because this was also the first year that women’s boxing was included in the Olympic Games. 2012? It’s true. The Amateur Boxing Association of England only lifted its ban on women’s boxing in 1996. A sport dominated by men in a male-dominated society. And although there have been female fighters in the long history of boxing, from Ancient Greek boxing to the recurrence of fistfighting in 17th century England, women’s fights were effectively banned for social reasons. Until, well, almost today.
»Fist to chin,« says Kai, »remember your guard.« Of course I forgot that, because I am trying to concentrate on keeping the right distance between my feet, distributing my weight evenly on both legs, doing the step sequence correctly and positioning my arms and shoulders right. Boxing stance, leg placement and footwork are the foundation for all technical and tactical action. Then there are the different types of punches and while doing all of that I am also supposed to keep my eyes on my opponent the whole time. The basic principle of boxing is to hit someone without taking a significant hit yourself. There is a defensive technique for basically every punch from your opponent. Parrying, slipping and evasive movements. I put up my guard, duck, do sidesteps, counter and parry with relative success. From the outside, it all seems like a choreography that only sometimes follows rehearsed patterns. Because boxing changes with each situation. The distance to your opponent constantly changes. I have to be flexible to adjust to each new situation. Ok, brain off, autopilot on. I only manage to recall the sequences automatically on day three. Well, almost.
Our training includes many facets. We test our sense of balance and our explosive force and combine elements of training involving strength and coordination on the one hand and strength and dynamics on the other. Learn the basics. We do squats, push-ups, jumps, jump around slings and walk through the room dribbling tennis balls. We practice punches again and again, on the sandbag, with punch mitts and in partner exercises. Wrap our hands. Of course, I do not leave this box camp a champion. But what I start to understand in these four days is the essence of this all-encompassing sport. Boxing is action and reaction. Proximity and distance. It shapes the body and the mind. Trains your reflexes and capability to anticipate. I get an understanding of movement patterns that are specific to boxing and of coordinative sequences. And that is not very easy. I constantly put my foot down the wrong way or put the wrong foot in front, mix up the leading and the tipper hand, tilt back. Kai corrects my leg stance, posture, the position of my hands and tells me the rhythm for my jabs: »Left, right, left« or »left, left« »right, right«. On day two, I feel a slight twinge in my right tendon. I am unbelievably tired. All of us learn quickly.
In the award-winning independent film Girlfight, directed by Karyn Kusama, there is a scene in which Michelle Rodriguez alias Diana Guzman goes into a local boxing club for the first time and says to the trainer Hector: »I wanna be a boxer. For real. I wanna fight.« And he answers: »Well, you can train. But you can’t fight.« »Why not?«, she asks. His initial response: »You just can’t. Girls don’t have the same power as boys.« This scene illustrates well how boxing is or was often reduced to pure muscle power. And how little confidence people have in women when it comes to this sport, which was admittedly quite archaic in its original form. Although it is based upon much more than potency. To be able to box, you need endurance and control of your body, speed, coordination and concentration, tactical calculation and the knowledge of a lot of techniques. But above all, you need a lot of discipline, an iron will and, last but not least, courage.
These are all qualities that women can acquire just as much as men. And they should, because they are also useful in real life. Neither sex was born with these qualities. In the film, a banner reads: »Champions are made, not born.« And that is exactly what it is about: You have to fight to win. And learn how to fight. Boxing is good training, both physical and psychological. If you know how it feels to get punched in the nose, you can handle it better. Boxing not only clears your mind, helps you shed a few excess pounds and makes you fit and beautiful, but also inspires resilience, shapes your personality and increases your self-confidence.
Mariposa boxing club and box camp Bad Gastein:
»Women have the techniques of boxing down earlier than men and they also advance more quickly,« say Tim Yilmaz and Kai Melder, founders and owners of the Mariposa boxing club in Munich. At their club, there is no room for gender stereotypes. Every Thursday from 8 pm on, there is women’s only boxing.
During the camp, the focus is on building a solid foundation of the basic punches and movement patters used in boxing, in other words footwork, the different punches and punch combinations.
The fact that amateur and professional boxing for women is now permitted shows the increased interest of women in boxing as a sport.
Info box:
Boxing for beginners
What is the camp about?
getting a solid basic training in boxing
acquiring a basic technical and tactical repertoire
internalising complex motion sequences
training of one’s strength, explosive power and endurance
training a sense of balance, speed and responsiveness
What is boxing about?
strength
endurance
technique
tactic
body control
confrontation
action and reaction
What should I know?
Boxing training is an all-encompassing training which requires all motor skills and, due to the combat aspect, effectively influences and benefits your personality profile.
There are few types of sport where your entire organism is utilised during training as comprehensively as boxing.
When choosing the training tools, it is initially not important for you as a beginner why you train as a boxer – whether it is for fitness reasons, to improve your performance or you want to enter the ring one day.
The physical performance in boxing comprises
– complex performance in a competition
– performance prerequisites specific to the type of sport
– overall psychological, coordinative and fitness performance prerequisites
The psychological performance in boxing comprises
– confronting yourself
– overcoming your fear
– training your discipline and strength
Inspiring women in boxing:
Zeina Nassar
Zeina Nassar, 20, is a practising Muslim. For her, there is no conflict between her religion and her passion whatsoever. The German champion boxes in full gear and hijab and thus defies not only the existing views on gender and stereotypes, but also all prejudice. It is due to her that the German Boxing Association, as well as the International Boxing Association AIBA, have changed their dress code for women’s fights.
Katie Taylor
Katie Taylor, 32, participated in the first women’s boxing match that took place on Irish soil. She is thus a role model in the boxing scene. Between 2005 and 2015, she won several gold medals in the European and World Championships and won Olympic gold in 2012. Today, she is the world champion of the two boxing associations WBA and IBF.
