Humbled

Last night I went to a boxing class. Now I've been doing some one-on-one sessions for the last two months or so but haven't been in a class with people who can box for years.

I was one of the fitter people in the room and I would say definitely the strongest.

I got absolutely humbled

You know what it's like: you look around the room and think, 'I've got this. No matter how good they are, I'm much fitter, I'm much more sporty, I'm much stronger than these people' and then you get down to it and it doesn't work out that way.

There are countless reasons for this:

• My technique isn't good.

• I waste energy.

• I try too hard.

• I'm too tight.

• I'm completely inefficient.

Which all resulted in me blowing a gasket, and being pinned up against a wall getting punched (gently) in the corner, by someone much less fit than me.

These days I'm less competitive than I used to be and this really would have bothered me when I was younger, but I was chuckling to myself on the way out and it made me realise something.

I don't know what I don't know.

No matter how fit I am, how strong I am, unless I actually know how to box well, how to save energy, and how to read an opponent, there's no way I'm ever gonna win.

The people who train with me would be perfectly represented by me walking into the gym thinking that I know it all and thinking that I'm going to succeed. They know how to train. They've been to the gym. They read up on their sport...

....but they still don't know what they don't know, and because of this, they get re-injured or humbled, and end up being punched in the corner by someone much less fit than them..

... and most importantly, they never achieve what they know they can achieve.

Because the detail is everything.

Not effort. Not commitment. Not fitness.

Knowing exactly where to start, understanding weaknesses, filling in the gaps, and how to load progressively without breaking it down again.

Not swinging wildy into the abyss.

Final point on my boxing realisation: I don't actually care that I'm being humbled. I knew I'd be rubbish to start with and I've solved that by getting some help. I've long been looking for something to replace rugby and more specifically something that allows me to hit something, and I love it.. no matter how bad I am at it.

In order to do it right I know I need help

if you want to do it right and you know you need help, give me a shoutw I need help

if you want to do it right and you know you need help, give me a shout