Thread: me and my son

i am 32 my son is 11 is he to young and am i to old

You may not be able to have a huge career bu t I dont think its ever too late to start something that you want to do. I also dont think your son is too young to begin boxing. Just start Him out slow.

Gramm is correct. You probably weren't planning a pro career anyway, but plenty of people take up boxing after their 20's.

I was 57 last year when I started for the first time. And technically you could still fight amateur until 35 here in the US (and likely similar in the UK etc) without having to go to Masters category (older boxers.)

But really, MOST of the people in our gym don't "fight" in competition, they train, they may shadow spar (no or very light contact), or a few will actually spar occasionally. Most of those who spar are among the smaller number who are planning to compete.

You can enjoy boxing with or without competing.

As to your son, he is old enough as long as you can find a gym that supports him -- probably with other young boxers. AND especially as long as he ENJOYS it.

I started when I was 30, and I wish I would have started much sooner. I think your son is the perfect age to start, and it would be an awesome sport to do together. Drills and working the pads etc would be a blast.

I started when I was 12. Coaches said it was a great time to begin, because your body is beginning to develop and the skills learned early will marry nice with the growth. In Canada you cannot fight until you are 12...so 11 seems a perfect age for here. The age limitations do vary by country.

Agree with everything Herb said regarding yourself. AIBA sanctioning for fighting cut off is 34. After that it is master class. But lots get into the sport of all ages for the conditioning, confidence, social outlet...lots of reasons. We have a few 60 yr old women in our gym who come for cardio, and do mitts once in a while.

Originally Posted by mikeymans

i am 32 my son is 11 is he to young and am i to old

Nope.

Originally Posted by God.in.my.corner

I started when I was 30, and I wish I would have started much sooner. I think your son is the perfect age to start, and it would be an awesome sport to do together. Drills and working the pads etc would be a blast.

Ya man I started when I was 19 and really wished I started sooner too. My dad is 58 and he just started training.

When i was competing i had specific goals and i guess at the time i thought that being competitive is what it's all about.

Now I've retired though in hindsight it's the day to day normal aspects of learning something active that was the best part. You can do that at any age as long as you listen to your body.

Maybe if you do it but just let it be a fun thing, mix it up with other activities that appeal. Will give you a good overall fitness and let your son workout what he enjoys without a lot of pressure and avoiding early over-use injury.

Honestly even if you like being competitive there are so many things before an official bout that will entertain that side of you. You might find yourself in controlled sparring and still have a HUGE amount to work towards and specific goals for improving in relation to your sparring partners. You don't have to diet to make weight or fork out ridiculous amounts of travel money to do it in your local gym either!

I joined our local boxing club with my 16 year old daughter about 3 months ago. I am 42 years old. We are really enjoying it and learning lots.