The Mental Aspects of Boxing

I have known from day one that a great deal of this sport is in your mind. It's easy to say that. It's easy to theorise about what you should do and what you shouldn't. Tonight I learned the hard way how important your mind is. There are so many difficult things happening in my world at the moment and today I let it affect me in the ring. With a million things going on in your "normal" life it's important to try and stay positive irrespective of how tough things are. Today this didn't happen. Today I doubted myself and for those that no me that doesn't happen that often. If I'm honest I doubted myself outside of the boxing environment and I let unrelated events play on my mind. Believe me I paid for it. I found the warm up tough. I found boxing drills slow and powerless and I only sparred one round, in which I was well and truly beaten up by Zack. My hand hurts and my nose still hasn't stopped bleeding. I'm not sure you can get a better lesson on how important your mind is than my state today.

I'm not sure that this is the reason I started this blog. I don't really want it to be a forum for a rant or a moan by a beaten up Naz. However I do want it to be a true reflection of how I'm feeling during this whole saga. I'd like to think I'll read this in 6 months time and there will be a good mix of good times and difficult times but I'll be able to take something positive from the experience as a whole. It'd be interesting to hear my Dad's analysis of my mind at the moment (he's a psychiatrist) but that would mean I'd have to tell him what I'm doing and he'll beat me harder than Zack did tonight!! Perhaps I'll ask him to read this on June 7th and diagnose me then!

Here's what I've learned from today. I CANNOT let stuff outside of boxing affect me as much as it has today. I CANNOT allow emotions and doubts cloud my thoughts and my belief in myself. Finally I CANNOT let Zack, or anyone else, keep punching me in the nose without at least throwing something back to show him he's fighting a man not a boy.

There is something raw, wild and unyielding that occurs when you step into the ring and face up against your opponent. It's now clear to me that preparing for this requires more than physical preparation, it also requires spiritual strength, or what some people call heart.

It's now nearly 10.30pm. I will wake up in 6 hours and head to the gym again. There is no way I'm going to waste this opportunity to better myself, I know, deep down in my soul, I can do this and however much it hurts today, inside and out, it isn't going to stop me in my tracks.