blog 20: Exit Interview

(1) What is your essential question and answers?  What is your best answer and why?

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

1) My essential question is: What is most important in winning an amateur boxing match? 

Answer 1: In order to win a boxing match, A fighter must be in his stance and ready to work.

Answer 2: For a boxer to win a boxing match, he must be mentally and physically faster than his opponent

Answer 3:In  order to win a boxing match, a boxer must outlast their opponent despite taking more hits and by appearing less tired.

The most important would have to be answer 2 because anyone can fight if they have the drive and many people can take a hit and show little damage, but it takes hard work and dedication to be able to move without your opponent ever seeing you were there. It takes a lot of work to refine the skills needed to be fast enough to win. 

2) As I continued sparring, I realized a few of the guys were getting more hits in on me and I wasn't able to defend my self quickly enough to avoid getting hit. It was then I realized they were faster than I was, when I tried moving faster I would get caught up in thinking about what else I had to do, from which came the second part to the answer: Faster mentality. 

3) The biggest problem I faced was lack of confidence, which led to over thinking and a busier mind, which led to slower reaction time. I also tried being faster while sacrificing technique or form and it caused my punches to lose power and making me lose form. One of the ways I overcame the physical speed was by performing aerobic weight training. Using weights to perform tasks more quickly every time, like punching or moving. How I overcame mental slowness was by slowing down, taking the time to perfect form at a slower speed and outside of the ring and working up to faster movements and gradually to moving while getting punched. Over thinking was solved by relaxing before entering the ring, by not underestimating or overestimating my opponent and by trusting my abilities to perform within the ring. 

4) The two most significant sources I used were; a website called "Expert Boxing" founded by a Boxing Coach who trained and taught along side many notable trainers including Freddie Roach and fighters like Vince Phillips. My second most important source was my coach, who taught me hands on about the skills I needed to be, not just a good fighter but, a great fighter. He taught me many techniques and training methods that would give me a winning edge over the competition.