At the moment of writing this, I am about 6 weeks into OC boxing. I simply cannot believe the progress I've made so far as someone who is new to combat sport. I originally tried to learn this from home, but it was just not feasible and proved to be challenging without proper guidance. I tried out several gyms, however OC boxing just had the right vibe. It's diverse with many adults learners, so I did not feel like I'm learning with a bunch of high schoolers like other gyms. The beginner class is taught by coach Uy Long and coach Earnesto, they're both great at breaking down the fundamentals and give you the support needed.
I started going to the morning (all levels) and evening (intermediate) class after about 3 weeks and that was where the real learning began because it involved sparring. The head coaches, Sean and George alternate between leading morning and evening class, so the lessons are completely different. Meaning, if you go twice a day, then you would be getting two different lessons. So in a week, you can get 11 different lessons if you got the time and energy. Sean and George are always present in both classes to demonstrate the offensive and defensive techniques in pairing session. The lessons are broken down into three segments, solo drills, paired drills, and sparring with partners.
The classes are an hour long, I feel like I learn something new each time and get to apply it. Despite the morning class having fewer people (3-7 usually), Sean and George still put in the same attention and dedication that they do for the evening. I appreciate that the lessons are not repetitive, so it makes going twice a day worthwhile. For a beginner like me, it's easy to get demotivated if no progress is made. However, the coaches here really know their craft and the lessons are never boring. They're also very generous with letting me use their headgear while I was waiting for mine to arrive. I look forward attending the morning class everyday. Sometimes people stay back for extra sparring rounds so that's even better.
Coach Uy Long specifically, has helped me progress tremendously over the last several weeks. He's given me a list of tools through our sparring matches that I've been able to utilize and fair better chances in all my sparring matches. The list goes from: feints, infighting, keeping the opponent's jab away, cutting off the opponent's path, keeping the opponent out of range with straight arms/jabs/flag hooks, and many more. These fundamentals have helped me stand my ground against people who have been here longer than me.
Coach Uy Long is also generous with his feedbacks. It's very useful to receive feedback on things that could improve during sparring. Whether that is keeping guard up a certain way or keeping the hand out to block the jab, having those one or two additional feedbacks pave the way for the next sparring round. In the heat of a match, most people won't remember anything they learn in class. By having it pointed out explicitly, it helps you prioritize that action until it becomes a part of your boxing flow. This is how you slowly get better at anything in my opinion, applying one feedback at a time until it is ingrained and becomes part of your arsenal. He did this with infighting for me.
This is completely unimaginable 6 weeks ago as I recall being hesitant to spar with people. The classes teach you the fundamentals, but sparring is where you get to apply those lessons. At the 6th week, head movement during sparring matches is finally starting to click for me. I'm looking forward to see where I'll be at the one year mark. I highly recommend OC boxing for people who started late and new to combat sports. The coaches know what they're doing and it's the right environment to foster boxing skills if you're willing to learn. read more