Frequently Asked Questions
I've never boxed before. Am I too unfit, too uncoordinated, too old to do fight-style training?
TotalFighter fit is for all fitness levels and ages.
I’ll help you wrap your hands and walk you through the basics. We’ll start and progress at a pace that is comfortable for you. I won’t push you beyond your limits or expose you to unnecessary pressure.
Training with purpose is not about making you uncomfortable. Quite the contrary. It’s to provide comfort in the form of developing your confidence and the lack of pressure will help make it fun too. If you feel gawky and, uncoordinated and all-limbs with little finesse don’t be concerned. We all have to start somewhere. The most important thing, and I know it’s a cliché, is to have a go.
Your fitness and skills WILL develop.
And take note, it really is okay (and recommended) to learn as we age. The therapeutic benefits are worth every bit of apprehension, anxiety or even fear of embarrassment you may have.
Is Fight-style training only for the boys?
I give you a name… Ronda Rousey. Sure, she has been on the receiving end of a beating or two but at one time she was one of the more popular athletes in the United Fighting Championship (UFC) (the world’s number one Mixed Martial Arts competition). Mixed Martial Arts was once the sole domain of the male but no longer.
Stepping outside the cage (or the ring) and away from the high-end of the combat sports, more and more women are participating in boxing and the like. Once purely, the domain of the male, boxing and kick-boxing workouts are now enthusiastically embraced across the feminine gym landscape. Even Vogue magazine is espousing the hit-and-kick way to fitness.
What do I need to bring in the 1st session?
Water bottle, towel and an open mind
Which is the most effective fighting style?
There is no right answer here
The 3 disciplines that I practice and teach are:
I’ll keep this discussion relatively brief without involving the myriad of others such as karate, wrestling, judo, taekwondo etc.
There are guys and girls who favour one discipline over another and that’s fine. Anyone whose trained for years in a particular discipline is understandably protective of their sport. Each discipline offers something different and all have fantastic self-defence and health benefits, if trained properly. At the end of the day, it’s what you enjoy that’s important and so without going too deep into the well of debate, I’ll briefly touch on each…
Obviously a boxer specialises with his/her fists but boxing is so much more than just hitting people. Often called the “sweet science”, it’s footwork, striking and defensive strategies.
Muay Thai, a combat art born in Thailand, is arguably, the most effective stand-up fighting style. It makes potent use of the 8 limbs…
- fists
- elbows
- knees
- and shins
to overcome and defeat opponents.
A Muay Thai workout is total body conditioning. From a pure cardio perspective, I favour it because all the major muscle groups are called into action and that means your lungs and heart will be working super hard to oxygenate all of you. If you seek super-cardio and the self-defence powers that go with it, Muay Thai will get you there.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) came into international prominence during the 1990’s when Brazilian proponents of the sport won tournaments against much larger opponents of various fighting styles and disciplines in the United Fighting Championship (UFC).
If you close the distance between yourself and an attacker, it is much more difficult for him/her to strike and hurt you with their power. Then it’s possible to overcome the other with grappling techniques designed to fatigue him/her and/or apply a submission or choke with minimum damage to yourself or the attacker.
I train all 3 for variety and balance.