What should a boxer think about when fighting/sparring?

[HerbM]

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, i have to say this is quite a good subject and its had me thinking about things i have never really thought about before, but basically i would say there are tiny little thoughts going on like you mentioned when you get the better or worse end of an exchange, when you see an opening you might go for the next time it appears etc but atleast in my case these types of thoughts just seem to happen automatically without really considering them as actual thoughts, maybe thats because ive fought in different martial arts since a young age and im just used to these thoughts so much that they dont really seem like a big part of things while fighting if you get me?

It being automatic is pretty much similar to my experience.

A big part of my motivation for the question is to decide if this is a 'good thing' so as to change it if it's not the optimum.

My goal is to think about as many things as possible AHEAD of time, outside the ring, so as to avoid having any unnecessary indecision, delay, or distraction in the ring.

And this includes 'thinking about thinking' -- figure out as much as possible ahead of time and keep the brain cycles for critical items that need focus in the moment.

...i think by getting into this system way of fighting it allows alot more speed because when you think about it in a fight speed isnt just being able to physically move fast, its a mixture of 3 things, reflex on how quickly you react to your opponent starts with you eyes i think, they see whats going on and then its your brain/reflexes turn to make a decision on what you will do to evade this attack, and then its the physical speed in which you can actually do the selected counter movement that is the final contribution to the overall speed of things, wouldnt it be great if there was a way to train and improve this process?

There are ways to train this process, and this was another major part of my reason for the question.

The best set of tools for directly changing your neurological responses are from NLP (neuro-linguistic programming.)

sort of getting side tracked from my point, anyway to answer your question, yes there are little thoughts going on in there but i think they are more like your sub con just sort of relaying bak to you whats actually happening during the fight like a check list, rather than actual thought of what im going to do next. this is a good subject though im definently interested on what other people think or dont think while boxing?

Me too -- but most people responding so far has just said to avoid thinking. About the only responses of people describing their (desired) thoughts were simple things along the lines of "move" etc.

I know that I do decide consciously (sometimes) things like moving around to the right versus going left -- or whether I will bob and weave or just through while advancing.

I don't do either of these or many other things automatically (i.e., in the same way each time) and I believe that is a good thing since it make my movements less predictable, but it can be a bad thing if it slows down those.

Usually these types of thoughts and decisions are active when we are separating to re-engage. That is we are on a break or one of us escapes from the ropes or from an attack, and gets a lot of space between us etc.

There is a bit more time for complex thoughts before the re-engagement.

It's also possible (effecitive) to do this when my opponent and I have closed only enough to 'feel each other out', but not enough to deliver heavy blows without changing the separation.

It's a little more dangerous at this range since a sudden forward drive by your opponent can quickly change the situation and getting distracted is NOT a good thing.

There is also the issue of how much thought vs. how automatic to make the jabs and other shots to open areas. Decisions on how deep to drive or whether to just take the quick hit and get away again etc.

it probably comes down to everyone being different and having their own way of dealing with things, just like personality the way someone would approach a fight or any task depends on their brain and how it works things out and that depends on the everyday interactions and experiences that have helped to form that brains opinions on things as its gone through life,

Absolutely true that everyone is different, but I asked the question to avoid assuming that my natural (untrained) methods were the best or most effective even for me.

I wanted to hear as much as possible of what others do and bring this into the area of conscious decision (outside the ring) so as to optimize the effectiveness of whatever thought we do have -- or avoid.

Just like planning footwork or combinations, figuring out these things ahead of time, practicing even this seemingly automatic activity can improve our performance in the moment.

It's possible that staying in some sort of 'zen no-mind' state ALL of the time is best. It's also possible that some other, or some combination of mental states (changing as the situation changes) may be best.

Once we have some idea of what the best methods are, we can train and practice those, just like we train and practice other skills and techniques.

The oddity here is that most boxing coaches (or other physical activity trainers) don't usually discuss these issues.

i watched a programme on the brain the other day it was really fascinating to find out how it might actually work and how the everyday interactions and situations that youve experienced through life is what sort of moulds you ,determines your personality/views on certain things and gives people their indervidual personalities, oops gone off track again >.<

Not a problem -- the above is true, and precisely because it is true we can consciously work to affect this molding.

There are training methods for the brain that are very nearly as explicit as those for the body.