(edited, originally posted by Arcaro Boxing)
There are things in life that seem to haunt us. Things from our past that never leave our bodies, our sub-conscious. Boxers know this better than anyone.
When you step in the ring, adrenaline rises as does everything from your sub-conscious. Recently I’ve been calling this The Haunting. It surges through your veins with every bit of footwork, with every punch delivered and taken. It takes over your thoughts and interrupts your instinct. The Haunting usurps your focus and keeps you from the task right in front of you.
The most successful boxers learn how to address the sub-conscious in training so that when the fight comes, the Haunting doesn’t take over.
Being aware is key for a fighter to move into higher skill levels of boxing and being. The more awareness, the more conscious choices one has.
We all come to boxing for different reasons. But, the thing I think we all have in common is the desire to fully express ourselves. To let stuff out that has been Haunting us for awhile. The only way to be able to fully express oneself is not to get rid of the Haunting, but to fully embrace it. To show up with it and slowly give new expression experiences. You have to know what you are experiencing before you can consciously choose new experiences
For instance, for a long time, if I got hit clean, I would feel bad. I’d start thinking I was a terrible boxer. I’d have a million other thoughts I wasn’t even aware of. My mood and performance would plummet and pretty soon, I wasn’t even boxing. I mean, my body was in the ring going through the motions, but my whole self wasn’t. I was essentially in a different time zone mentally and emotionally. Pretty soon, I didn’t let any more of my punches go I’d take even more clean punches. I was ignoring what I was feeling and it took over to my detriment.
Being more aware is key for a boxer and a person to move through into higher skill levels of boxing and being. The more interest and awareness, the more conscious choices one has. With more conscious choices comes a lot more fun and a lot more skill.
