Boxing In Chesterfield

Boxing Classes in Chesterfield will not only give you great self defense, but improve your fitness and confidence. Out of all the martial arts, boxing would appear to be one of the oldest forms of combat. The origins of this martial art, in a competitive form of sport, date back to ancient Greece – where in 688 BC it was entered into the Olympic Games. This martial art however dates back even earlier in a primitive form to 3000 BC.

Boxing in those days differed immensely from how we know the sport today – leather wraps around the hands instead of gloves, these wraps later included metals studs – quite barbaric and often resulting in a fight to the death.

Changes In Boxing

Whilst boxing continued throughout the decades, the resurgence in popularity was credited to Britain around the 16th Century in the form of Bare Knuckle Boxing (also known as Prizefighting). This form of combat had no rules, no weight limits, limits on the number of rounds – or even a referee. Only in 1743 were any form of rules introduced – Broughton’s rules – which brought in rules such as:

• If a man was knocked down and could not continue after a 30 second count, the fight was over
• Hitting a downed fighter was banned
• Grasping below the waist was banned

Broughton also invented a form of padded gloves known as mufflers – something that boxers use to this day in the form of boxing gloves.

The Boxing Ring was introduced in 1838 with the introduction of The London Prize Ring rules

Rules further developed in 1838 with the introduction of London Prize Ring rules
The London Prize Ring rules stipulated:

• Fights occurred in a 24 feet square ring surrounded by ropes.
• The 30 second rule applied
• Biting was banned
• Headbutting was banned
• As was hitting below the belt

Modern Day Boxing

In 1867 the Queensbury Rules were invented – and to this day are followed

• Rule 1 — To be a fair stand-up boxing match in a 24-foot ring, or as near that size as practicable.
• Rule 2 — No wrestling or hugging allowed.
• Rule 3 — The rounds to be of three minutes’ duration, and one minute’s time between rounds.
• Rule 4 — If either man falls through weakness or otherwise, he must get up unassisted, 10 seconds to be allowed him to do so, the other man meanwhile to return to his corner, and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to be resumed and continued until the three minutes have expired. If one man fails to come to the scratch in the 10 seconds allowed, it shall be in the power of the referee to give his award in favour of the other man.
• Rule 5 — A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state, with his toes off the ground, shall be considered down.
• Rule 6 — No seconds or any other person to be allowed in the ring during the rounds.
• Rule 7 — Should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee to name the time and place as soon as possible for finishing the contest; so that the match must be won and lost, unless the backers of both men agree to draw the stakes.
• Rule 8 — The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality and new.
• Rule 9 — Should a glove burst, or come off, it must be replaced to the referee’s satisfaction.
• Rule 10 — A man on one knee is considered down and if struck is entitled to the stakes.
• Rule 11 — No shoes or boots with springs allowed.
• Rule 12 — The contest in all other respects to be governed by revised rules of the London Prize Ring.

And with these rules we now see a form of boxing as we know it in the modern day.

Boxing In Chesterfield

Boxing in Chesterfield has been taken up by many a person, but a special mention should go to Sol Severns who fought out of Chesterfield, who was a lightweight boxer fighting 127 times. He won 86 of these fights (27 by Knock Out) lost 33 and drew 8 – completing a staggering 1031 rounds.

Boxing For Women

Whilst the sport is predominately practised by men, women’s boxing is a fast growing sport – influenced greatly by the 2012 Olympic Games here in the UK. where Women, for the first time were allowed to take part, producing the world’s first 12 female Olympic medalist boxers. Great Britain were represented at each of the three weight divisions and most famously Flyweight category where Nichola Adams from Leeds,won a Gold Medal with a convincing display over Chinas Ren Cancan.

This sparked a huge interest in women’s boxing in Chesterfield, as well as the rest of the UK – something we are proud to have taught to many women wanting to learn an effective self defense skill, as well as improving their confidence and losing weight. But it isn’t just women who have been inspired by Nichola, we have had quite a few children wanting to learn boxing, knowing that Nichola Adams had her first fight at the tender age of 13 – developing her skills through hard work and dedication. It isn’t just children wanting boxing lessons.

We feel that boxing is an ideal way for women to learn a martial art and possibly explore all the different range of Martial Arts available to them.

So there concludes Marsden Martial Arts overview of boxing – a wonderful combat sport, where strength, speed, reflexes, and endurance are all attributes required to succeed.