Hello i have some questions

hello guys im new to this site,but it looks good so i think im gonna stay! :)
ok heres the deal i am wanting to get into boxing so my dad is trying to check into local gyms and stuff for me.right now at the moment i am self teaching,which i dont think im gonna get far in.a few questions i am having is
Do i have to buy a Speed bag to get speed up?or can i juss go fast on my heavy bag? also what is the importance of skipping? i skip for 25 minutes every morning before school.also will up hill hiking(Jogging) be good for me? and i heard that strength training tends to slow you down but as a good boxer i want to be all around, like have good stamina,speed,heart,strength, etc.
i know most stuff about the general of boxing but i would also like to know
what i can do for better heart and stamina.
also my defence is quite poor and i want to have good defence like the greatest,just fast and effective.
Thanks everyone who anwsers there best.

what do you mean by heart? Heart as in you get up when you're knocked down or heart as in cardiovascular fitness?

Heart in the figurative sense isn't something you learn, in my opinion. you're born with it, you're either a fighter or your not. I could go on and on about how American society in this day and age is seriously lacking HEART!!!! as a firefighter, a (relatively new but extremely eager) boxer, a former all-league football player/captain, wrestler and coming from a blue-collar family, it makes me sick!

If you want heart, get on youtube and watch Arturo Gatti fight Irish Mickey Ward. that's heart, my friend. heart is when joe frazier told muhammad ali, "WELL THEY TOLD YA WRONG, PRETTY BOY!"

heart is getting out of bed in the morning and right away dropping to the floor and doing 50 pushups, because thats 50 MORE than the other punk is doing!!!!

ok, sorry, I'm good now.

you really do need to get into a gym and have a trainer teach you. otherwise you'll never really have proper technique. a trainer will also show you how to defend yourself.

if and when you get into a gym, after you get all your paperwork squared away you'll start sparring. that's when you really learn defense, because you'll either keep your gloves up and block those shots or get tagged time and time again.

alright, so this is more the opinion of myself and my coaches.
the speed bag isn't necessarily to develop hand speed. it's more for developing stamina and strength in the shoulders and arms so you can throw combinations harder for longer periods of time. Ive seen guys in my gym throwing hooks and combinations at it, but I dont see the point when you can just do that on a heavy bag.

for your stamina... the absolute best way is to get a good pair of running shoes and run yo butt off. I run six days a week, mon, wed, friday are 3 mile days and I do "interval training" on tue, thurs, and saturday. sunday was set aside by God for boxers to rest. ;)

oh by the way, welcome to the boards. ;D

oh thanks for all the info, as for the heart yeah i know what u talking about.. and yep im going buying some running sneaks..hehe thx for the info.

oh yeah i dont think i can get in a gym until next month so i must continue self training. one more question would be ,how can i improve my defence?
yes i will get professional help on this stuff but i would like to know now just to fool around and practice.

right, well, I'd hate to tell you how to do it incorrectly. I'm just not experienced enough as a boxer to give you advice that is THAT technical. bad habits are hard to break, savvy?

somebody more experienced will come along and see your thread here and throw you some good advice

in the meantime, check out Clinton Woods's videos. they are stickied at the top of this section of the forum under "Clinton Woods Boxing Master Class" or something to that effect. he shows you how to do stuff like blocking, parrying, slipping and rolling, which is all defensive

check out the "Joe's Corner" section of the forums too. we got this guy named greynotsoold who's a veritable encyclopedia of boxing technique and mentality. he's great ;D

just for the sake of conversation, are you orthodox or southpaw? what's your height and weight? do you want to compete or are you just doing it for fitness benefits or to learn to defend yourself?

ok im a southpaw :),im 5'9 160lbs,and i want to train myself to the best i can go,i also want to compete,im not expecting to see any of the big names,just a nice few bouts to have a blast and learn some new lessons from each bout.
i'm in to learn,to have a blast,get in shape doing it,and to keep acheiving my goals of becoming a good boxer.

good stuff, Im a southpaw too ;D I personally like being a southpaw, there's advantages to knowing both styles though