Expert: Jack Rose - 4/12/2007

Question
I've trained in 2 different styles of Martial Arts for 14
years.For the past 10 months I have been training at nothing but boxing.
The thing is I am 45 years old,very healthy with no bad
habits to mess up my dicipline.My instructor and his family
moved to Arizona so now I am on my own.I've been told about
a division known as the masters for fighters my age.My
instructor said that I should pursue this because of the
power and determination that I pocess.I live in Maryland,
and would likr to know how to go about boxing without my
trainer anymore,if possible. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Answer
Hello Bill,    they do have a masters division in several boxing tournaments throughout the year. The most notable one is called the "ringside world championships". This is a huge tournament usually held in Kansas City. You may want to consider this tournament. I fought in it back in 01 and it was a lot of fun with plenty of good competition. Go to www.ringside.com and find the link for the tournament. As far as your training I highly recommend you find a Golden Gloves to train at. Go to goldenglovesofamerica.com and click on franchises on the left. See if there is one near you. The trainers are normally former boxers who care about the sport so you'll get some attention, especially if you tell them you are training for a tournament. You will register as an amateur boxer also. Your membership will last one year and you can fight in as many shows as you want. All the equipment is provided for you except mouthpiece and hand wraps. I recommend getting boxing shoes. You may also want to get some extra gear like trunks and a headgear but thats up to you. You can get all this at ringside.com at fair prices. Also once you register, you will be put on a mailing list for every boxing show for the year and you can choose the ones you want to compete in. Although not all of them have masters, normally the big tournaments have the division. The main thing you should start doing is conditiong yourself to fight three 3 minute rounds or possibly four 2 minute rounds depending on the tournament setup. This entails a lot of running. Also, your martial arts training will help in some respects but there are some big differences you'll need to adjust to. Hand position, head movement, footwork to name a few. But you already have big head start and from the way it sounds, you already have your ducks in a row. I suspect you will make an easy transition. Bill I think you should go for it, you'll love it. The tournament is in late July so you have plenty of time to train. Be sure you get plenty of sparing in leading up to the fight but no more than two sparing sessions a week....and stop sparing all together 5 days before the fight just in casae you have an injury that needs to heal.....
let me know how you are doing and best of luck....

thanks for the question

jack