Guangxun Jin | 金光勋 | 김광훈

I signed up for a boxing class and started learning boxing. There are four coaches in this class and roughly around twenty students. There are two training sessions each week. The four coaches are divided into two groups: two of them are responsible for one of the weekly sessions, and the other two are responsible for the other day. On the first day, we only met two of the coaches.

After the class began, we started doing some warm-up exercises, such as stretching and joint mobility. Then we started doing some movements to warm up the body. I want to put this part into the training section later for explanation.

After finishing the preparation, we officially started learning.

We began by learning the boxing stance. We needed to clench both hands into fists, then press the palms of both fists against both sides of the cheeks. This is a defensive posture to prevent the opponent’s punches from directly hitting our chin. Of course, if it were bare-knuckle, the surface area of the fists might not fully cover the cheeks. But I am learning boxing as a sport, so boxing gloves are essential. When wearing boxing gloves, the size of the gloves is enough to cover the cheeks. And when placing the gloves on both sides of the cheeks, they must be tightly pressed against the cheeks with no gap between the fists and the cheeks. Otherwise, if someone punches our gloves, our gloves will bounce back from that gap and hit our own face.

Then we stand with our feet shoulder-width apart, and depending on our dominant punching hand (left-handed or right-handed), we move one foot backward. I am right-handed, so I will explain it based on the right-handed stance. The right foot should step back. Then the toes of both feet rotate 45 degrees to the right. Both knees bend slightly, lowering the body a bit. The elbows stay tucked in and slightly downward, ready to protect the abdomen at any time. This is the boxing stance.

(Image of boxing stance)

Next, we moved on to learning how to throw punches. In the first class, we only learned the jab, which is thrown with the non-dominant hand. To throw it, we needed to rotate our body. Starting with the left foot pushing off the ground, the left knee turns inward, and the left hip rotates to the right. Then, as the upper body makes a larger rotation to the right, the left jab is thrown. However, the head must stay facing forward—meaning you keep your eyes on your opponent and do not let your head turn to the side with your body. In addition, when throwing the left jab, you should lower your head slightly and tuck your chin inside the left arm.

We practiced this for a short period of time. Then we put on boxing gloves and continued practicing. At the same time, we needed to find a partner so we could work in pairs. One person wore boxing gloves, and the other wore boxing focus mitts. According to the coach, many boxing classes focus only on punching and rarely teach how to use focus mitts for partner training. This made it a great learning opportunity, because in the future, it means I will also be able to help others by holding the mitts for them.

(Image of focus mitt)

When doing partner training with focus mitts, it’s important to know how to use the mitts properly. It’s not just about holding up your hands for the other person to punch. First, we need to raise the mitts to serve as the target. But the mitts should be kept at a slight distance from our body to prevent them from bouncing back and hitting us. We also shouldn’t fully extend our arms, because that could cause injury to ourselves. And when the other person throws a punch, we must meet their punch with the mitt—moving the mitt slightly in the opposite direction of their punch to give them a sense of impact, like the feeling of hitting a heavy bag. If we don’t meet the punch at all, the other person may feel like they are punching into empty air, which can easily lead to injury. On the other hand, if we press too hard against their punch, their wrist could also be at risk of getting hurt.

(image of mitt work)

In the first class, my partner and I practiced hitting the focus mitts while wearing gloves. As my first time throwing punches in so many years, it felt great—especially throwing punches with the correct boxing form.

At the end of the class, we did some conditioning exercises, which I will also cover later.

Before leaving, I was curious about something, so I asked the coach. I noticed that there were two types of beginner boxing classes, and I wondered why. The coach explained that the class we were taking focused specifically on boxing techniques, while the other class combined basic boxing with general physical training, with more emphasis on fitness. If the goal is to learn boxing itself, then this is the right class. Overall, the first lesson felt really good and made me look forward to the training ahead.

At first, I thought about writing this in chronological order—starting from the very beginning stage and moving gradually to the later stages. But after thinking about it, I decided that it would be more suitable to organize it by overall content and categories. So I will write the chapters according to categories. These skills weren’t learned all at once; rather, they were learned one by one throughout the entire learning process. I will, however, categorize and summarize them in writing.

Since boxing is a striking art, punching is naturally its core. The most fundamental types of punches are the jab, cross, hook, and uppercut.

Jab: The lead hand (the hand positioned in front in the boxing stance, also the non-dominant hand) throws a straight punch. It is fast with a short trajectory. As I described before, it starts with rotating from the foot, through the leg, waist, upper body, shoulder, and then the punch is delivered and quickly retracted to maintain the defensive position. The jab is used to probe the opponent, maintain a safe distance, and disrupt the opponent’s rhythm and attack. Almost all combinations start with a jab, creating openings for more powerful punches. It can also quickly block the opponent’s line of sight and attack path.

(I originally wanted to include images of the corresponding movements, but unlike judo, boxing movements don’t have standardized photos organized for reference. So these images are temporarily left blank and will be added once suitable ones are found.)

(Image of jab)

Cross: The rear hand (opposite the lead hand, and the dominant hand) throws a straight punch with more power. Because it is the opposite hand from the jab, for a right-handed person, it starts with the right foot pushing off the ground to rotate, and often the heel will lift due to the large rotation. Then the right knee bends inward, and the right waist rotates to the left, simultaneously driving the upper body and transferring body weight into the punch with a straight trajectory. While punching, the head must stay facing forward, toward the opponent. Do not let the head turn to the side along with the rotation. The cross, as a primary heavy-hitting punch, is often used when the opponent’s rhythm has been disrupted by the lead hand or when the chin is exposed; it is suitable as a counterattack or a power punch aimed at a knockout. During practice, I could clearly feel that the cross has much more punching power than the jab.

(Image of cross)

After that, most punches follow a body rotation similar to the jab or cross. The lead-hand punches rotate the body like a jab, while the rear-hand punches rotate like a cross, with slight variations depending on the direction and type of punch.

Hook: The hook is a side attack, with the arm bent roughly at a 90-degree angle (adjustable depending on the situation), striking the opponent’s head in a curved trajectory. There are lead-hand hooks and rear-hand hooks. The lead-hand hook is faster and shorter, relying mainly on small rotations of the lead foot and hip. The rear-hand hook has strong explosive power and can knock down the opponent; it is especially effective at close range.

The power of a hook comes from the vigorous rotation of the waist and hips, not just swinging the arm. Therefore, body rotation is the core action in punching. Hooks are very effective at close to mid-range, targeting the opponent’s side of the head or jaw (to create dizziness) and disrupting the opponent’s attack line. They are also commonly used in punch combinations. For me, the hook feels like the easiest punch to generate power with. When I am in good form, I can often deliver explosive punches using the hook, and both the coach and my partner have complimented the power of my hook. When throwing a hook, the fist can be oriented with the knuckles up or forward, depending on personal preference.

(Image of hook)

Uppercut: The uppercut is a vertical punch thrown from bottom to top. While rotating the body, the knees bend slightly and then instantly push off the ground, using the rising force from the legs to strike the opponent’s chin or torso from below. Uppercuts are also divided into lead-hand uppercuts and rear-hand uppercuts. The lead-hand uppercut is fast and can disrupt the opponent’s defense or guide the opponent to lift their head. The rear-hand uppercut has more power and can cause a knockout; it is especially effective when the opponent’s head is down or their defense is tight.

The uppercut is used when both fighters are very close, or when the opponent is bent over. When delivered with maximum power, it can break through the opponent’s guard and strike the chin from underneath. When practicing, I felt that my uppercut was somewhat difficult to use at full strength because of the angle, and its power was often less than other punches. Later, I realized this might also be caused by an incorrect punching angle.

(Image of uppercut)

These punches primarily target the head, but there are also versions aimed at the body.

Body Jab: The punching method is generally the same as a jab, but while punching, the torso should lower slightly and the lead foot should step forward. The target of the punch is the opponent’s ribs or lower abdomen. When retracting the punch, the lead foot steps back, and the defensive stance is maintained.

(Image of body jab)

Body Cross: This also targets the opponent’s ribs or lower abdomen. The punching method is similar to a cross, but sometimes a forward step is needed to cover the distance.

(Image of body cross)

Body Hook: A curved punch aimed at the ribs or liver area. The punching method is similar to a regular hook, but the center of gravity is lowered, and the punch trajectory is shorter than a standard hook—short but powerful. When practicing the body hook with a partner, we usually do not throw it with full force, but rather just lightly tap. Even with mitts and boxing gloves, hitting the abdomen can still be very uncomfortable.

(Image of body hook)

Body Uppercut: A bottom-up punch aimed at the upper abdomen or lower ribs. It starts lower than a standard uppercut, using the knees and a forward step to drive the punch upward, and the fist is quickly retracted after the strike.

(Image of body uppercut)

One very important point in all these punching techniques, which beginners often forget, is that after throwing a punch, you must immediately return to a defensive stance, protecting your chin and torso.

There is one more thing I feel I must mention. When you see boxers throw a punch, they often make a “whoosh” sound with their mouth. Did you, like me, once think this was just mimicking the sound of the punch in the air? ? In fact, this is a technique—a breathing method. When making this sound, they are exhaling rapidly. In boxing, your breathing needs to be steady, and forceful exhalation with each punch helps maintain a consistent breathing rhythm. At the same time, this short exhale makes the body more compact at the moment of punching, concentrating the force and enhancing explosive power. Additionally, exhaling automatically tightens the abdomen, helping stabilize the center of gravity and reducing the risk of injury from counterattacks, thereby protecting the core.

The basic boxing stance already includes some defensive elements, such as protecting your chin and keeping both elbows close to your ribs. However, relying on these alone may not provide the most effective defense. Additional techniques are needed to better protect yourself while creating offensive opportunities. In this boxing course, I learned the following basic defensive techniques.

Block: Without moving your feet, use sturdy parts of your body—such as gloves, arms, or shoulders—to directly absorb and block incoming punches. For example, press the gloves against your forehead to defend against a straight punch, or lower your elbows and arms to protect the body. Another example is using a bent arm to shield the side of the face or using the shoulder and arm to block hooks. Blocks are mainly used to defend against fast combinations or heavy punches that are difficult to evade. While they can effectively reduce some of the force, the body still absorbs some impact.

(Image of block)

Parry: From the basic boxing stance, use the palm or the side of the glove to lightly and quickly deflect (usually tapping) an incoming straight punch from the side, changing its trajectory. The motion is small, often requiring only a wrist movement, and timing is crucial. Parrying is mainly used to defend against linear attacks (such as jabs or rear-hand straights). After deflecting the opponent’s glove, their body may be exposed, creating a perfect opening for a counterattack.

(Image of parry)

Slip: Through subtle rotations of the waist and hips, with corresponding movements of the legs and feet, allow the opponent’s straight punch to slide past your ear or shoulder. Slipping does not require lowering your center of gravity significantly; it is more like a side dodge to the left or right, specifically for linear punches. A side slip allows you to stay within striking range while avoiding the punch, putting you in an ideal position to counterattack immediately. Especially, your stance after slipping is very advantageous for generating power in your punches.

(Image of slip)

Roll: By bending the knees and lowering the body, combined with a rotation of the waist, the head moves along a curved path to avoid the opponent’s arcing attacks (such as hooks). Unlike the slip, the roll requires a larger downward motion, with the trajectory forming a “U” shape—dipping down and then rising on the other side. For example, if after dipping your head is on the opponent’s right side, you need to quickly move your upper body and head to the opponent’s left side while staying low, then rise. The roll is mainly used to defend against hooks or uppercuts. It not only neutralizes attacks but also allows you to counter from underneath or outside the opponent’s swinging arm, making it a key technique for close-range offense-defense transitions. When rising, you can use a hook or uppercut to counterattack, especially a body hook.

(Image of roll)

Catch: This looks similar to a block, but while a block is purely defensive, a catch is defensive and counteractive. When the opponent throws a punch, you “catch” or press their fist or arm open with your glove to neutralize the attack. For example, if the opponent throws a hook, I bend my entire arm to block it. But it’s not just a simple block—it is performed while pushing outward, as if colliding with their punch. After stopping the opponent’s punch in this way, the defending hand naturally opens and can immediately deliver a counterattack, such as a hook, with the same hand.

(Image of catch)

High Guard: Both fists are raised high, gloves pressed against the sides of the forehead, elbows tucked in to protect the ribs, and chin tucked. Small adjustments are made to respond to attacks from different angles. It is a comprehensive defensive posture, used to defend against combination punches, when defending passively near the ropes, or when close to the opponent. The field of vision is limited, but it provides a solid “shield” in the midst of a storm. This defensive stance can sometimes also lure the opponent to throw a straight punch at the chin. Once we anticipate the opponent’s next move, we can make an effective counterattack.

(Image of high guard)

Although the direct attacks in boxing are delivered by the fists of the upper body, the movement of the lower body is equally important. The lower body not only assists in generating power for punches but also serves a crucial function. The coach asked us, “How can you make it so your opponent cannot harm you at all in the boxing ring?” The answer, he said, is: keep your distance. As long as you are outside the opponent’s striking range, they cannot hit you, and you are completely safe. But at the same time, you must attack as well, which is why footwork in boxing is very important.

First, moving forward, backward, or sideways in boxing is not like normal walking—left foot forward, then right foot passes left foot, and so on. In the standard boxing stance with the left foot forward and right foot back (for right-handed people), moving forward means stepping the left foot forward first, then the right foot forward the same distance, always keeping the left foot in front and the right foot behind. Moving backward is the reverse: the right foot moves back first, then the left foot moves back the same distance. Essentially, the foot on the side you are moving toward steps first, then the other foot follows. For example, moving left means the left foot steps left first. This kind of footwork stabilizes your center of gravity and allows you to punch quickly.

(Image of basic boxing footwork)

When facing an opponent, we can initially maintain a safe distance—outside the opponent’s punching range. However, from that distance, we cannot strike the opponent. In this case, we need to step forward quickly while punching. After throwing a punch (or a combination), we quickly step back to safety. Most of the time, this is the standard approach. Standing in place and using a jab to attack is not that common, maybe when measuring the exact distance between yourself and the opponent, you may do so.

(Image of stepping through)

For situations like this, there is a footwork technique called the shuffle step. Both feet move quickly in short, alternating steps, with the upper and lower body kept stable, knees slightly bent, center of gravity low but flexible, and hands maintaining defense. If you frequently jump rope, you may be familiar with a common method: jumping first on the left toes, then on the right toes, repeatedly. The shuffle step is like a vertical version of this jump rope movement. It is used for quickly closing distance or retreating, adjusting angles, and maintaining balance while avoiding combination punches, emphasizing speed, agility, and reaction time.

(Image of shuffle step)

Another footwork I learned is used to change angle and position when approaching the opponent, called the step shift. When moving to one side, the foot on that side slides laterally first, and the other foot quickly follows, restoring the boxing stance. It is like a fast lateral slide. You can circle to the opponent’s side to find openings for attack or to confuse them.

(Image of step shift)

Overall, footwork is an very important aspect of boxing.

Regular training always starts with stretching and joint mobility exercises, followed by a warm-up. Warm-ups usually include push-ups, bodyweight squats, and jump rope.

These are all exercises I often do during my regular workouts. Although I don’t always do push-ups, the principle is similar to the bench press, but the bench press is more intense. So these warm-up exercises are quite easy for me—especially jump rope. Jump rope is extremely familiar to me; even though my fitness level had declined a bit at the time, my jump rope technique was still solid. One of the coaches even specifically complimented me on my jump rope skills.

During jump rope, we often need to change the rhythm. For example, slow for 20 seconds, fast for 40 seconds, then slow again, then fast again. Boxing requires maintaining rhythm—attacks can be extremely intense, but during a standoff with an opponent, you need to conserve energy. So during jump rope, the coach also has us practice alternating between fast and slow paces. The coach occasionally asks us to try different jump rope styles, such as high knees, cross jumps, and double unders.

(Image of cross jump and double under)

Although I jump rope often, but the way I normally initiate my jump is the standard take-off method: hold the rope handles in each hand, stretch both arms forward, with the middle of the rope near the heels, then swing it and jump into the rope. But here, I learned the swing rope method: before jumping, swing the rope from side to side with both hands (one hand under another hand), then step into the rope to start jumping. I had seen this method in the gym before but never paid much attention. After learning it this time, I found it quite interesting. However, this method requires good skill and practice to jump smoothly. I usually have to jump very high when stepping into the rope, which feels unnatural.

(Image of swing rope jump)

After the warm-up, we move on to shadow boxing. Shadow boxing is a practice method without a partner, used to practice boxing techniques (punching into the air). But it’s not just standing in place and throwing punches—it also combines footwork and rhythm training, requiring movement forward, backward, sideways, and turns. Shadow boxing serves both as a warm-up and as a way to improve technique and body control.

After that, we start learning various boxing techniques, which have already been covered in the sections on punches, defenses, and footwork, so I won’t go into further detail here.

Next comes the actual training session. This part varies as the course progresses.

At the beginning, we practiced stationary drills with a partner. For example, one person wears boxing gloves while the other wears focus mitts, and then they practice punching. The person holding the mitts calls out which punches to throw and positions the mitts accordingly. For example, they might say “jab, cross” and hold their hands in front. The person wearing the gloves then throws the jab and cross according to the instructions. As the course develops, more elements are gradually added, such as evasive movements (e.g., slips, combinations of slip and roll, catch, etc.), body shots (we lightly tap during body shots instead of throwing full force to avoid injury), and a series of combos (explained later).

We start with stationary drills, and then various footwork is incorporated. For example, the person holding the mitts moves randomly instead of standing in place. Sometimes they step back, sometimes they move toward us, sometimes they move sideways. We must constantly adjust our distance—if they move back, we move forward; if they move forward, we retreat. We also need to stay facing them at all times. When throwing punches according to instructions, we step forward with each punch, then step back into a defensive stance after completing all the punches.

An important element during practice is combos. Boxing is not just about throwing a single punch; often multiple punches are thrown consecutively to attack. A basic combo might be jab-cross-jab-cross (four punch combo), or jab-cross-uppercut-hook. Usually, after a cross, the lead hand is used for an uppercut because after a cross, throwing a rear-hand uppercut in sequence is very difficult, and it tends to break the rhythm and continuity entirely. Similarly, after lead-hand uppercut, a rear-hand hook is often thrown. Basically, the punches in combos are thrown in an alternating left-right sequence. The combination of a lead-hand uppercut followed by a rear-hand hook is particularly effective: it can first lift the opponent’s head and then deliver a powerful strike to the chin.

However, combos are not strictly left-right sequences. There are combinations like a double jab (two punches with the same hand) or a body hook-hook combo, where a rear-hand hook strikes the opponent’s side abdomen, immediately followed by another hook from the same hand to the chin. Defensive movements such as slips or rolls can also be incorporated into combos. Examples include:

1.jab-cross-slip to the right-rear hand hook-lead hand hook-rear hand uppercut

2.jab-cross-slip to the right-roll-body hook-lead hand hook

Although combos often start with a jab, they can begin with other punches as well, e.g., cross-jab-rear hook-lead hook. At the start, we perform combos according to the coach’s instructions—doing exactly what we are told. As we become more proficient, the coach encourages us to create our own combos.

(Image of combo)

After completing the previous segment, we move on to the next part of the training. This segment usually works on both punching and overall fitness at the same time. For example, sometimes we practice rapid, continuous punches. One person wears gloves while the other wears mitts, and the person holding the mitts keeps their hands fixed in front. The person wearing gloves then repeatedly throws jabs and crosses as fast as possible. By the way, when you are quickly and repeatedly throwing jabs and crosses, instead of rotating your body fully, you could just tap your feet when you need to rotate body. The coach times the session, and you have to keep pushing and punching until the time is up. Why “keep pushing”? Because throwing punches this fast is extremely exhausting—by the end, your arms feel heavy and sore, and sometimes just raising them to punch becomes difficult. No wonder when watching videos of non-boxers stepping onto the ring, they often run out of energy after one intense flurry of punches, barely making it through the first round.

We also practice punching heavy bags. There are three or four bags, and every three or four people form a line, each group is assigned to a bag. Sometimes we practice rapid punches like above; other times we focus on punching with power—speed doesn’t have to be maximum, but the punches must be as strong as possible while maintaining a consistent pace. The coach times us, and when time is up, the person hitting the bag moves to the end of the line and rests one or two minutes before their next turn. Actually, before returning to the end of the line, we need to hold the bag for the next person. Yes, the bags need to be held, otherwise they swing too much and you can’t punch continuously with force. This was probably the first time I punched a heavy bag at full force while wearing boxing gloves, and it felt really great ?.

Sometimes we also combine sprints. For instance, sprinting from one side of the training room to the other, throwing rapid, continuous punches, then sprinting back. Or two people work as a pair in the center of the training room—one with mitts, one with gloves—throwing fast punches left and right. At the coach’s signal, they sprint in opposite directions to touch the far wall and then return quickly to the center to continue rapid punching with their partner. This is repeated for a couple of rounds.

Honestly, this segment can be quite intense and stressful, especially midway through. After throwing continuous punches, my arms often feel too heavy to lift, and I’m frequently out of breath. Yet, at the same time, it’s exhilarating, and I was looking forward to this training part every time. In short, it’s thrilling and satisfying.

At the end of the training, we do another round of fitness exercises. Honestly, I was already completely exhausted. Doing another round of conditioning was exhausting but exhilarating. Sometimes we focus on core exercises, because core strength is crucial in boxing. The core (waist and abs) transfers punching power, stabilizes the body, and increases resistance to body shots. Although I work out regularly, I hardly ever train my abs. I’ve always thought that exercising other parts of my body also works the core, and I usually leave abs exercises for last. But by the time I get to them, I’ve already used up most of my energy, so I just do a few reps, and over time, I’ve ended up hardly training them at all. During this final conditioning segment, I also really felt how challenging it is to work the abs. Sometimes it even requires gritting my teeth to push through.

Speaking of gritting my teeth, what really stood out for me was the burpee. It’s an exercise where you do a push-up, then stand up, jump, and clap your hands overhead, repeating the sequence continuously. You have to do it for a set period of time. It may look simple, but in practice, it’s incredibly exhausting. By the end, you really have to grit your teeth; even just standing up after the push-up feels extremely hard. Honestly, while doing it, I sometimes felt like slacking off ?. But after all, I was already there, so if I was going to do it, I would do it properly. I gritted my teeth and pushed through to the very end. My overall impression of this exercise: it’s really exhausting.

(Image of burpee)

By this point, a boxing class was basically over. My body condition? Exhausted, drenched in sweat every single class without exception. My mood? Excited, exhilarated!

Getting injured is inevitable when you train in any sport. When I was training in boxing, I also ran into an injury that kept bothering me.

As the training progressed, my control over my punches improved, and the power behind them increased as well. Like I mentioned before, my punching power was often praised by both the coach and my training partners.

But gradually, I noticed that my wrist started to hurt—and it was my rear-hand wrist (my right hand). At first, I thought it was just a normal side effect of boxing training. But the pain wasn’t limited to when I was punching. Even after the session was over and I was already back home, it still hurt. Sometimes I couldn’t even use my wrist for a day or two. This was definitely not a “normal side effect.” Something was clearly wrong.

I looked it up online and found out it might be an issue with punching angles. For example, when throwing a hook, if the fist is angled too far upward or downward. Or whether you land with your first two knuckles or your last two also matters. If the last two knuckles make contact, the wrist tends to bend out of alignment, and when combined with a powerful punch, it can get injured. After that, I tried to pay attention to my angles during training. But my wrist still hurt—especially when throwing uppercuts. It got to the point where I didn’t dare to put power into my hooks or uppercuts.

But I go to training to go all-out and enjoy that intensity. I don’t want to hold back just because of my wrist. And more importantly, this wrist pain is likely caused by a mistake somewhere—not something that should be considered “normal.”

After class, I asked the coaches about my wrist pain. One of the coaches taught me how to train the joints in my wrist to reduce the chance of injury. Another coach gave me a quick and effective solution—using hand wraps. She said I could bring a pair to the next class and she would teach me how to wrap them. After going home, I looked it up and went to buy a pair. Although the coach said she would teach me how to wrap them, the hand wraps were already in my hands, and the next class wasn’t until the following week. I couldn’t wait, so I looked up how to wrap them myself and practiced wrapping them at home.

When the next class came, I tried punching again. Sure enough, my wrist felt much better. From then on, I started wearing hand wraps for the rest of the sessions. Although most of the time my wrist no longer hurt, I would still occasionally feel some pain.

Overall, wrist pain became my main injury throughout the process of learning boxing.

Since I’m learning, practicing on my own is, of course, essential. And boxing happens to be very suitable for training at home.

When I first started learning boxing, I would practice shadow boxing at home—working on my stance, punches, and some footwork. This helped reinforce what I learned and allowed me to become more familiar with the movements.

Later on, I gradually started practicing with full gloves and hand wraps to hit the heavy bag, because I happened to have a punching bag at home. When buying boxing gloves, I also learned that they actually come in different sizes. The size of boxing gloves is not determined by hand size in the traditional sense, but by body weight and training purpose.

Boxing glove sizes aren’t labeled with something like S, M, or L. Instead, they use the weight unit “oz.” Common sizes include 8oz, 10oz, 12oz, 14oz, and 16oz. The larger the number, the more padding inside the glove, the better the cushioning, and the heavier the glove. Bigger gloves require more effort to throw but provide better protection. Among them, 8oz–10oz are usually for very lightweight users and are also the standard weight used in professional fights. The padding is thinner to deliver the cleanest striking feel, but they require extremely good protection technique; amateurs should never spar with these, as injury is very likely. 12oz is one of the most common sizes for general training. It provides a good balance between protection and speed, and is generally used for mixed training (mitts, bag work, light sparring). 14oz is a size for heavier training/sparring, offering strong protection and commonly used for sparring. 16oz is the standard sparring size with the highest level of protection; because it is heavier, it also doubles as conditioning work. Some boxing gyms even require this size for sparring and don’t allow smaller gloves. There are also 18oz gloves or even heavier ones, which may be used for high-intensity sparring or specific strength training purposes.

The uses mentioned above are really just a rough selection guide. You still need to consider your own body weight and hand size. For example, within a certain weight range, a specific glove size might be more suitable—such as 12oz for people between 60kg and 75kg. I originally wanted to list these standards, but it seems there isn’t a fully unified guideline. You can find many different versions. The one mentioned above is just one version, and there are others that say 12oz is suitable for people under 54kg. The differences can be quite significant, so I decided not to list any specific standard. But it’s important to know that this is still a key reference when choosing gloves. The heavier your body weight is, the harder your punches may be, so better protection is needed. And sometimes, even if your body weight matches a certain glove size, the glove might still feel tight because your hands are big. After all, people of the same weight don’t necessarily have the same hand size. If the glove feels tight, you can simply go up one size.

At that time, my body weight was roughly between the recommended ranges for 12oz and 14oz gloves (based on comparing multiple different guidelines), so I narrowed my choice down to 12oz and 14oz, but I was a bit hesitant. I felt that 12oz would be lighter and allow more speed when punching, while 14oz offered better protection. After some thought, I felt that 12oz might be more well-rounded—for example, the balance between protection and speed might be slightly better. So I decided to buy 12oz gloves. I also bought hand wraps.

With gloves, hand wraps, and a heavy bag, I could start practicing. I practiced based on what I had learned, combining some footwork while training my punches and combos. Hitting the bag felt good, but one thing I noticed was that it was difficult to throw uppercuts on a heavy bag. The bag is a long vertical shape, while uppercuts come from below, so the punch can only graze the bag rather than land with force. Another thing is that even with gloves and wraps, I could still feel pressure on my wrist when throwing powerful hooks. In more serious cases, I couldn’t even use strength through my wrist for a couple of days. I noticed that if I hit the bag with moderate force using hooks, my wrist was fine. But when I tried to throw full-power hooks, the pressure on my wrist appeared. I looked it up—it could be that the bag is too hard or that the gloves are kind of light, but more likely, my technical precision simply wasn’t good enough yet to match the absolute power I was trying to generate 😂

To be honest, I don’t practice boxing at home with high frequency or high intensity. But whenever I have some free time, I still practice it.

As I mentioned earlier, there are four coaches in total, working in pairs, with each pair responsible for one class per week. Each of the four coaches is extremely dedicated. They clearly explain the key points of each technique and common mistakes, and during the actual training sessions, they carefully observe and guide every student.

During training, I also met some very friendly partners. I had a regular partner at the time, an Asian guy. From his appearance, I could tell he was probably of Korean descent. Since I am also ethnically Korean, I can easily distinguish between different East Asian ethnicities. So I spoke to him in Korean. From our conversation, I learned that he came to Canada with his parents when he was two years old. Generally, for someone who came to Canada at that age and grew up there, their Korean would likely be limited, since Canada doesn’t have the natural Korean language environment that my hometown does.

But surprisingly, his Korean was excellent—just like someone who grew up in South Korea. I was amazed and asked him why his Korean was so good even though he grew up in Canada. He said it was because his parents insisted that he speak Korean at home. This reminded me of my own hometown. When I was in school there, the Korean-language environment was very strong. Daily life and school instruction were all in Korean. Even entrance exams, including the college entrance exam, were all in Korean. At the same time, because I am Chinese in China, and around that time, access to information and media started to expand, I watched various cartoons in Chinese. Plus, my father began teaching me Chinese characters at a very early age, and I studied Chinese seriously in school. Now, I can not only speak my native Korean fluently, but also speak Chinese as if it were my mother tongue.

However, over time, my hometown has changed. Nowadays, almost no schools teach in Korean anymore; it’s just a single course, which is not even included in entrance exams. As a result, many young Korean-Chinese there can no longer speak Korean. While I don’t support this change, it is said that due to population mobility (or loss) among the Korean-Chinese community, it is now even difficult to have as many Korean-Chinese students as when I was young—even forming a full class of Korean-Chinese students might be hard. I don’t know if this is entirely accurate, but it’s certainly possible. Because my hometown is a relatively small place, the Korean-Chinese population is quite mobile. Many people move to other large cities in China, or to South Korea (where there is no language or cultural barrier), or to other Western countries like the U.S. or Canada (like me), and so on.

To adapt to partners of different body types, the coach often had us switch partners. One of my partners was a local Canadian, a white guy. He asked if I was from China. At the time, I didn’t think much about why he asked that, but then he surprised me by asking me a question in Chinese. I was amazed because his pronunciation was very accurate. Later he explained that he was learning Chinese, though he had just started. The question he asked me was something he had just learned. But I have to say, his pronunciation was excellent. Besides Chinese, he was learning other languages as well. Once, he noticed me speaking Korean with my Korean descent partner and was curious. I explained that I was a Korean-Chinese, which is why I could speak Korean.

I also encountered other partners. For example, there was a student who brought his own boxing gloves. The gloves in class were shared. Since boxing training usually leaves you drenched in sweat, the shared gloves often end up really wet, which didn’t feel very hygienic. Also, the glove sizes (weights) were unknown, so you’d just use whatever was available. I suspected that sometimes my wrist pain might have been caused by some of the gloves being too light. This student had taken this boxing class before and was retaking it, so he probably had experience. Bringing his own gloves meant they were clean, and he could choose the right size and the preferred style. He also lent his gloves to partners. When I partnered with him, he lent me his gloves.

I’ve also partnered with people who were very different in size. Once I paired with a girl shorter than me; naturally, her punches didn’t carry much power. But boxing as a sport isn’t about how powerful a punch you can throw; it’s about everyone being able to enjoy it. When working with her, I also dialed back my power a bit. On the other hand, I partnered with a taller, strong-looking left-handed guy. He looked imposing, but when training together, he was actually very gentle. As one of the few left-handed students, it took some adjustment when doing mitt work or other exercises with him because I had to move in the opposite direction.

Another point I want to mention is that partner training is very exhausting. Some students encourage their partners with phrases like, “You can do it,” “One more punch,” or “Keep going! Keep going!” I thought about trying to encourage my partner like that, but it felt too far from my reserved personality, so I didn’t 😅. If I need to encourage my partner, I may do it in different way.

Overall, everyone was very friendly. Even though boxing involves some forceful contact, no one acted aggressively. On the contrary, everyone was kind and supportive, because I believe we were all there to enjoy the sport.

The first regret came in the later part of the boxing class, when I had to skip a couple of classes and failed to attend all the classes. I’ve already explained the reason in the “orange belt” section of my judo articles. At that time, I had overestimated my own energy and endurance. With a full-time job that physically demanding, I was simultaneously trying to practice high-intensity sports like judo and boxing, on top of maintaining 2–3 sessions of moderate-to-high intensity fitness training each week. There wasn’t a single day for proper rest and recovery, which caused cumulative fatigue that eventually affected my life and work. I had to compromise: during roughly the last month, I would skip one class per week, whether boxing or judo. Since I’ve already explained this in detail in the judo part, I won’t go into it further here.

The second regret is that throughout the course, I never got to experience the joy of free sparring like in judo randori. This is less a shortcoming of the course itself and more a regret about not continuing boxing further. For beginners, jumping into free sparring is risky: with limited experience, one cannot defend effectively and may throw punches without control, potentially injuring their partner. This course is for beginners, and the next level would be intermediate boxing. The course focuses mainly on tactical exercises and light-contact sparring—punches are delivered lightly rather than at full power. To participate in proper free sparring, one would need to join a boxing club and practice consistently over time. At that point, I wasn’t planning to devote that much time to improving my boxing skills to a high level. My original goal was simply to experience it, and that goal was accomplished. After completing this course, I had other experiences I wanted to pursue. So I think stopping here was necessary. Not being able to try free sparring remains a small but understandable regret.