Boxing
It is common to think of a punching bag when we speak of alleviating stress. It seems easy, but boxing, in addition to requiring lots of coordination, also involves tremendous physical preparation. Jumping rope, knowing how to position oneself within the ring, and waiting for the right moment to attack, it’s not as simple as it looks. If you are interested in burning a lot of body fat and learning some good moves to help defend yourself, look for a health club or boxing gym that offers the sport that is gaining popularity and is even practiced by women.
History
Boxing, known as pugilism, appeared in Crete in 1500 A.C. and was practiced in Greece and Rome as an Olympic sport since 688 A.C. The word pugilism comes from the Latin term pugil “fighter with Cestus”, which is a set of leather belts and iron and lead plates worn on the hands of the Roman fighters in ancient Greece. A “pugillus” refers to the “closed hand in the form of a fist”. Boxing in English now means hitting with the fists and has appeared in the English language since the 17th century, when fights were practiced without gloves and free-style punches were used to take down the adversary. In the United States, boxing grew from 1850 - 1920, and after this time became popular in other countries.
Fists have been used as weapons since the beginning of humanity. Ancient documents found in Sumeria (a civilization that rose in the region that is now Iraq) and Egypt, reveal that pugilism hsa been a sport for 4,000-5,0000 years. There are many styles of pugilism: the Sumerian, Babylonians, Egyptian, Minoan, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, French, Chinese and various types of Indian boxing – muki and malla-yudha. The most common style, in Brazil, and throughout the world is English boxing. Some radical specialists insist that the word box only refers to English boxing based on the Rules of Broughton, created in 1743, and use the word pugilism to denote any “boxing” before this time.
Nobles from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance practiced many sports, but boxing was not one of them, because their sports always imitated, in some manner, the techniques of war and of hunting with the goal of making the members of the nobility “strong and valiant”. The aristocrat was supposed to be a swordsman, horseman and archer, and know how to swim, hunt, jump run and even throw stones. Fighting with punches was considered something “inferior” and relegated to the peasantry, for those who did not have the arms of war and much less the ability to pay instructors to teach them how to use them. If a nobleman was involved in a dispute, it would be resolved with swords, probably in a formal duel. Peasants would fight with knives or an improvised exchange of punches, with no formal technique.
Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his book, The History of the British Kings, from around 1150 A.C, writes that King Arthur organized a festival to celebrate his conquest of territories in France. The festival began with a banquette and ended with various competitions among the nobels of the court: from a simulated battle to various types of games of men fighting against men, among which he clearly mentions fisticuffs. It is safe to maintain that these fights were mere pastimes of the nobles and consisted in improvisations or gross imitations - without any formal technique - of what the Europeans had heard of Greek and Roman boxing.
Jack Broughton (1704-1789) was the first champion of systematized boxing in England. He used a less simple technique than his adversaries, emphasizing the fight in the combat of fists and legs. Jack Bourghton’s style gave rise to new rules that survived until 1838, with the arrival of the new code of London. Another great fighter was John Jackson, known in the 18th century as "Gentleman Jackson" who conquered the English title by beating Daniel Mendonza. Jackson was the first fighter to technically use leg and body play. He founded a boxing academy in London, introduced padded gloves and attracted young boys from the English elite to his school. Jackson established rules known as the Marques of Queensberry, which govern the sport until today, and emphasize the art and dexterity of the fighters.
The first tournaments in which fighters were weighed and divided by categories were held in 1872. The first fight without gloves was held between the Americans John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain, on July 8, 1889. It lasted 75 rounds and 2 hours, 16 minutes and 23 seconds. Sullivan was the winner. There was no pre-established time for the fights and they only ended when one of the competitors gave up. Even after falling, an adversary could be hit.
The ring marked off by cords at three levels appeared in the early 20th century. The English dentist Jack Marks invented the teeth protector that is used until today. The British Amateur Boxing Association was founded in 1884, to control and organize boxing in Great Britain. In the United States, the Amateur Athletic Union was created in 1888.
Boxing was included as a demonstration sport in the Olympics of 1912 in Stockholm, and became a modern Olympic sport in 1920 at Antwerp.
The Sport
The current rules were based on fencing, such as the use of gloves. Boxing is also considered a martial art and involves defense and attack. Boxing is now in the Olympics and the Pan-American games.
In professional boxing, there are 10 -12 rounds and head protectors are not permitted. Points are won by the boxer by hitting the opponents torso or the side of the head. Blows to the arms are not scored as points.
Another way to win is by knocking out the adversary, which occurs when he or she is hit and falls to the mat on any part of the body, except the feet. If the adversary holds the ropes to not fall on the mat, or falls outside of the ring, a 10-second count is given, if the boxer does not get up, the boxer loses. Even if the boxer stands up, the referee can decide to end the fight if he believes that the fighter is not able to fight. The referee can also declare a fight over if he perceives that one of the boxers is being hit hard and is unable to defend. The boxers’ own assistants can throw a towel in the ring as a sign of surrender.
There are five judges at a fight, with one in the ring. Fouls are very common, such as grabbing, blows below the belt, blows to the back of the neck, open-handed punches and passive posture. A warning is earned after two cautions and after three warnings the fighter is disqualified. A fighter on the ground cannot be hit; when a fighter goes to the ground, the fight must be stopped.
Boxing in Brazil
Boxing came to Brazil with German and Italian immigrants and there are reports of fights in the late 19th century and early 20th century, but the fights were always associated with capoeira or marginality. This prejudice was especially strong among members of the country’s ruling elite. The first boxing exhibitions were made by European sailors who docked at Santos and Rio de Janeiro, at a time when sailors were recruited from the lower classes.
In 1919, Goes Neto, a sailor from Rio de Janeiro who had made various trips to Europe, where he had learned to box, began boxing in Brazil, presenting several exhibitions in Rio de Janeiro. Rodrigues Alves, a nephew of the country’s president, fell in love with the sport. His support helped promote boxing: which began to be practiced at gyms and soon took on “legality” as a regulated sport. Municipal boxing commissions were organized in São Paulo, Santos and Rio de Janeiro in 1920 and 1921. The first competent trainers appeared in the early 1920s and the first important ones were the Jofre brothers, Atílio Lofredo, and Chico Sangiovani. In 1923, the first boxing academy was created in Rio de Janeiro: the Brasil Boxing Club, which promoted the sport widely among city residents. The Revolution of 1932 paralyzed the activity, causing a large impasse.
Maguila began his professional career in1983. In 1986, at the peak of his fame, he began to train with Miguel de Oliveira who profoundly changed Maguila’s style and corrected his defense. As a result, in 1989, he reached second place in the CMB and was hoping for a fight with Mike Tyson, who at the time was the world champion.
Maguila faced two of the greatest heavy weights of the 20th century: Evander Holyfield and George Foreman. He lost both fights and thus the chance to dispute the title and he fell into obscurity. To make things worse, Maguila gained a lot of weight and got out of shape. Nevertheless, in1995 he became champion of the WBF (World Boxing Federation), an association that had still not won great respectability. With no sponsor, Maguila was soon stripped of his title for inactivity. Boxing in Brazil as a whole fell along with Maguila, and quickly lost the considerable space it had on television.
Acelino de Freitas, aka Popó, rose in the late 1990s as a promise. He was sponsored by the giant Rede Globo television network, and held the WBO world championship title.
Weight Categories
Light Flyweight - Up to 40 Kg
Flyweight - Up to 51 Kg
Super Flyweight - Up to 53 Kg
Featherweight - Up to 54 Kg
Super Bantam - Up to 59 Kg
Lightweight - Up to 62 kg
Junior Lightweight - Up to 64 kg
Lightweight - Up to 67 kg
Junior Middleweight - Up to 70 kg
Middleweight - Up to 73 kg
Super Middleweight - Up to 80 kg
Light Heavyweight - Up to 86 kg
Heavyweight - Above 86 kg
Training
Boxing requires tremendous discipline and tactical command. There is great movement, reaction, defense, dodging and attacking. The boxer must concentrate on defense and attack. Defense does not mean avoiding punches and attacking excessively, without reserve, can lead to the mat.
Weight, height and reach are important, but does the sport does not depend on genetics alone. It is possible to develop great skills and become a great boxer.
Cardiovascular training is very important to be better prepared than the adversary. This is an essential factor for winning a fight: preparation to sustain the pace. Jumping rope and training punches while carrying weights, or simply hitting a sand bag, improve not only physical capacity but help given rhythm to the fighter.
Jumping rope helps to improve footwork and strengthen the shoulders. The punching bag allows improving the strength of the blows, as well as the technique. It is good to train combinations of punches.
Feel like relieving stress through boxing? Then find a good trainer to begin taking your first punches. Agility, flexibility and reflexes are important. Put it all together and begin soon!
Sources:
http://www.boxergs.com.br/histori4.htm
http://www.colegioweb.com.br/curiosidades
http://www.cdof.com.br/boxe.htm
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