Boxing has been around for thousands of years in some form or another. Whether it was the Ancient Greeks or Romans or the Brits and later the rest of the world competing under the Queensbury Rules – which are still used today – the sport has remained one of the purest forms of competition a man can experience.

It doesn’t get much more competitive than two guys standing face to face in a “fair stand up boxing match”1 where the winner is determined either by a judge’s decision, a referee stoppage or a knockout. It’s called the sweet science because it combines the strategy of a game of chess with the physicality that can only be found when two supremely conditioned athletes go head-to-head in battle.

It’s just you in the ring. What you’ve done to get there in the way of training and learning accompanies you, but other than that it’s just you vs. your opponent, and whoever’s better, more prepared, smarter and more disciplined usually ends up winning.

In boxing, like in any sport, it’s important to learn the fundamentals. Much like you learn to do a lay-up before you learn to shoot 3-pointers, learning a proper stance before you learn to punch is a necessary progression. Over the next few weeks I’ll be taking you through a video series that goes over the basics of boxing.

By Chad Howse Via: Art Of Manliness