In wakayama there seem to be very few boxing gyms and the ones that are here are either very kid oriented or only open for like 3 or 4 hours in the evening.
What the hell is the >10,000円 monthly fee for exactly?
Why can’t there be a solidly equipped, basic gym that’s open for decent hours?
Thought I’d give lifting a break and learn boxing again for cardio but fuck me, I’d never be able to go with the opening hours and probably lack of sparring partners, which is another thing that boils me. 10 years ago I couldn’t spar because I was too heavy so I quit. My weight is still high now so I guess itd be the same issue. No sparring means it’s boring.
Edit: ok I called a place and they said people can’t spar straight away, which makes sense. She said only pros can spar, which means people become pro without sparring? Sounds odd. She said there’s マス which is with headgear. Way back when I did マス and it meant no contact. No contact meant nothing to stop the pull of the glove on my shoulder and I got injured and quit. Is this the same thing? Also a 100kg man OBVIOUSLY won’t have a training partner here in Japan. She said maybe 60kg? But I think I’d be dead at 60kg as my bodyfat would likely be low single digits or 0.
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Go for a run or skip rope. One is free. The other is a one time fee for the rope. Cheapest options.
I’ve searched for many gyms. I currently do Muay Thai. All of them are expensive not just mine or my specific combat sport.
I’d like to guess gyms are apart of the luxurious life style. It’s one of the reasons I built a home gym for weight training. Saves money.
Some of them are 一万 for once a week. Some add fees for more times a week. My particular gym is monthly for unlimited training a month.
Best of luck to you.
>What the hell is the >10,000円 monthly fee for exactly?
That is for keeping and managing the gym every month.
>Why can’t there be a solidly equipped, basic gym that’s open for decent hours?
I think it’s because boxing is no longer popular in Japan.
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There are boxing gyms in Wakayama like [this](https://wakayama-eco-gym.wixsite.com/ecogym)
Running and Skipping are heavily implemented into combat sport training.
Sparring is very exhausting . Within sparring you have you’re base endurance and plus you have to focus on hitting someone and not trying to get hit back. Also controlling yourself at the same time because sparring isn’t a bout. It’s practice. You don’t try to kill someone.
That will increase you’re heart rate even further past your base. If you’re worried about your heart. I would not jump right into sparring. I would definitely ease myself into it. If you happen to join the gym and they tell you to spare right away that’s also a sign of not a great gym. Coaches have to know they’re “students/customers “ abilities so no one gets hurt.
Sparring is great exercise but it is dangerous and something to think about. I don’t know you’re experience with combat sports but is not an easy thing to do. I am not trying to tell you to not join but as Mike Tyson says “ everyone has a plan until there punched in the mouth” .
I took a knee to the face , took me two weeks to recover physically, then I had to build my confidence back up to even attempt sparring again.
As far as time the gym hours are, I’m not sure. Maybe because there’s not many people at night in Wakayama ? My gym goes until 10pm.
check your goals:
prioritize them
check your restraints.
come back and give us the list. Why boxing?
Most small gyms work like that. The reason is that usually the coach works a different job during the day and then works at the gym after 16 or 17pm. Plus kids are easier to teach, so many places focus on kids.
Try to look up a “chain” gym. I’m at a Muay Thai gym and they’re open from 10am to 11pm everyday except for Sunday and national holidays.
Sparring is all on you, so if you get hurt or hurt someone else is your problem. They do recommend you to join a sports insurance. Even if you don’t spar, it is fun.
If you want cardio, jump rope and go running. It’s a big part of cardio in Muay Thai, but no idea about boxing.
>No contact meant nothing to stop the pull of the glove on my shoulder and I got injured and quit.
If you are relying on the other guys face to stop your punch, you’re punching way too hard to be sparring
Try joining the UFC gym at futagotamagawa
Everyone is different. For me, the best weight loss results came from lifting. I don’t use supplements, and concentrate more on my diet. Chicken breast is extremely cheap here.
Luckily for me, in Fukui, there is a 24/7 boxing gym that has a full weight room upstairs. Only 5000¥ a month. I lift for a hour and then do speed and heavy bag for 30-45 minutes.
That all being said, my honest opinion about boxing, you’re not going to get into a gym and just start sparring and there’s your cardio. If you don’t find motivation to run or skip rope, I have bad news about boxing. Most gyms I’ve been to (US and Japan) typically have you do 3, three minutes rounds of jump rope, shadow boxing, speed bag, double ended bag and heavy bag as training. If you can’t get into those workouts, you’ll be gassed one round into sparring.
If you have bad knees, I would advise finding lower weight exercises to strengthen smaller muscle groups. Punching power comes from your legs. And there’s a lot of footwork. If you can get over the mental hump of jogging and rope, you get endurance results quickly.
Lower your caloric intake. Just eat less. I still drink and eat what I like, just less.
Boxing is a lot of fun, I find it to be one of the best workouts when combined with lifting. I’ve been at it for over ten years. I’m in my 40’s and typically don’t break a sweat until halfway through my boxing exercises after lifting.
Make yourself a solid playlist, focus on your breath, let the mental go, get some runs and rope in.
I believe マス is mass for mass sparring. And yes, it means light contact, but at the level you’re describing it sounds like you shouldn’t go above 10% power. With the weight difference between you and your opponents, even less power. As a bigger dude, it’s totally your responsibility to refrain and not hurt your partner.
If I were you, I would consider learning to control your strength and applying proper techniques with limited force as half the training. The other half is having fun! There is practically no situation where you need to even give 10% of your power in a spar because you’re not actually training to fight. You can give 2000% to a bag or pad though. 🙂
Speaking personally as someone who has done several fights, if your goal is to just lose weight while learning some techniques, I don’t think stressing anymore than that is worth it.
I understand the desire to have someone closer to your weight / level to spar with, but sometimes that’s not practical. I think you can still have a lot of fruitful sessions learning how to keep up with the speed of someone smaller than you (~60kg) while using minimal to no power.
If you are concerned about your joints and want cardio to lose weight, I’d highly suggest swimming as an alternative to running and jump rope.
That’s the first time I hear they can’t let you spar because of your weight.
I would say start running just to get your cardio going and look for a different gym or start going to the one that’s close by.
Coaches sometimes don’t allow new guys to spar because they can’t control their output and they might hurt themselves and others, but once you start training and do it for some time you learn to control your power and body and there should not be anyone stopping you from sparring. As long as the goal is to train and not to fight that is, otherwise you’ll get smacked no matter what your weight is lol
I’m 93kg now but when i started i was 107kg and spar almost everyday with different levels of contact. I am always told to go light, even if the other guys are trying to take my head off lmao.
Only pros sparring sounds like a pretty shit deal tbh. How are you supposed to get ready for amateur competitions like that? Like, マス is just light technical sparring which is great for getting a feel for the sport.
Is it exclusively a pro orientated gym or something or has the coach been watching too much ippo?
How much boxing have you done? What are your fundementals like? how often do you go/practice?
If you show fast improvement, ability to learn and defend yourself im sure your coaches stance will change.
Very few people go pro without amateur bouts. So unless your coach is stealing fighters I don’t understand how he has any fighters lmao.
Edit: whats your height and weight. A lot of people underestimate their body fat %. I’m 6ft and dropped from 117kg to 93kg. when i was around 100% I thought my body fat was lower than it was. You can probably get away with Light heavyweight before you hit single digits (79kg). Or just fight as a heavyweight in the 80-90kg range.
being in kansai you’ll have far more foreigners and big Japanese dudes in your amateur circuits.