Kenny Weldon on Elite-Level Coaching

[ringsidemike]

This is being reprinted with permission..
It will appear in the next issue of a local publication for which I and others in the area contribute articles on both pro and amateur boxing.




Things coaches must know and be able to identify and communicate to the boxer and other coaches:

How to get into their stance, and how to move in all four directions while throwing all ten punches.
How and when to punch.
How to pivot, turn and flow.
How to cut off the ring.
How to keep an opponent in a corner. How to get out of a corner.
How to pursue an opponent across the ring. How to retreat backward and around the ring.
How to get off the ropes. How to keep an opponent on the ropes.
How to bait an opponent. How not to be baited by an opponent.
How to improve offensively and defensively on the ropes and in the center of the ring.
How to practice all the above on the gym floor, while also doing roadwork and sparring.
Knowing how to be specific with each boxer about his negatives. Then with the boxers' approval, working these skills in with his or her own natural skills.

IF YOU AS A COACH CAN NOT RECOGNIZE AND TEACH THESE SKILLS TO TALL, SHORT, LEFT HANDED AND RIGHT HANDED BOXERS IN ALL WEIGHT CATEGORIES, YOU ARE NOT AN ELITE COACH.
IF YOU CAN NOT MAKE A BOXER AS GOOD AS HE CAN BE WITH THE BODY AND SKILLS THAT HE HAS AT THIS LEVEL, YOU ARE NOT AN ELITE COACH.
YOU MUST BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE YOUR BOXERS’ NEEDS TO STRENGTH TRAINERS AND NUTRITIONISTS AS YOU ARE THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR BOXERS’ NEEDS.

Some coaches have acquired a fair amount of boxing knowledge, good manners and all the other things necessary to become a level three or four coach by studying a coaches manual and passing written tests talking about everything except teaching boxing. I have personally taken these tests many times over, passing them with flying colors. I could have passed them if I had never coached a corner in my life.

TODAY, WE NEED REAL BOXING COACHES.

God bless….Kenny Weldon
Galena Park Boxing Academy

[JMac]

If you have to have somebody type this message for you, you are not an elite coach

[ringsidemike]

?? I dont get ya JMac.

He wrote it for my magazine, and I liked it and thought ppl in this forum may find it interesting to read so I posted it here as well.

[PREMIER]

nice message

[Zelley]

sometimes folks that have passed the various level of coaching
may not have the right stuff to be effective coaches.

When all is said and done, boxing is not rocket science so it doesn't take
a PHD or a B A in coaching to be an effective boxing coach and cornerman.
In reality, the boxing skills part of the game is simple i.e. start with the basics.
Stance, footwork, left jabs, blocking and slipping. As time goes by, it is time to
throw the blueprint in the trash can as all boxers should have their own style, and will learn advanced skills at their own pace.

Assisting a boxer in the corner between rounds is another story. it doesn't take
an elite boxer or an elite coach to be the best of the best in the corner. An important
talent is being able to judge the strengths and weaknesses of your boxer and his opponent,
analyze the situation quickly, and plan a very simple strategy, and inform the boxer
in a few words at the right time.

How many times have you seen the head cornerman start talking as soon as the boxer sits down between rounds with a non-stop verbal message of pointless comments.

Take any average boxer in the gym training for a big tournament. If you have the right stuff,
you can select a below average boxer, and spend a couple of weeks dealing with the basics
and likely they will perform well above their expected performance level.

[therealPunchDrunk]

What's the point of this? Bashing anybody in particular? If it's a general statement, I think the logic behind is somewhat flawed. It's like saying a boxer can be good without training. It's true to a certain extent, but no doubt a talented boxer will be better with proper training than without. Likewise, a talented coach will be better with a proper education than without it. The wider his base of theoretical knowledge is, the better he can apply his talent, and experience as a coach.

[Zelley]

What's the point of this? Bashing anybody in particular? If it's a general statement, I think the logic behind is somewhat flawed. It's like saying a boxer can be good without training. It's true to a certain extent, but no doubt a talented boxer will be better with proper training than without. Likewise, a talented coach will be better with a proper education than without it. The wider his base of theoretical knowledge is, the better he can apply his talent, and experience as a coach.

I believe the point Weldon is making is we need "real coaches",
and the coaching levels could be passed without real experience.

In the last twenty or so years, there has been a significant increase in
demands for higher coaching levels, but the performance of
amateur boxers in the USA and Canada is not of the quality of
the Sixties, Seventies or Eighties.

[therealPunchDrunk]

Well, that's the way education works, whether you're learning the theoretical background required to be an electrician, a doctor, or a coach. You learn the theory behind your craft, then you go out and get real world experience. To me, both sides of the coin are absolutely necessary.

Edit: And I think the reasons behind why American amateurs aren't doing as well internationally as they used to, are numerous. For one, a lot of the countries that are doing well now, are educating their coaches, using modern training techniques, and have generally just caught up. They use the same scientific approach to training that other Olympic sports have done for decades. It seems to me (without knowing) that American coaches/boxing spend too much time looking backwards, and so you're not moving forward. Just my two cents...

[JMac]

?? I dont get ya JMac.

He wrote it for my magazine, and I liked it and thought ppl in this forum may find it interesting to read so I posted it here as well.

It was a joke. . What you posted from Kenny said if a coach can't do this or that...,they are not an elite coach so I just joked that if he had to have somebody else write what he said.... 8)

[JMac]

Well, that's the way education works, whether you're learning the theoretical background required to be an electrician, a doctor, or a coach. You learn the theory behind your craft, then you go out and get real world experience. To me, both sides of the coin are absolutely necessary.

Edit: And I think the reasons behind why American amateurs aren't doing as well internationally as they used to, are numerous. For one, a lot of the countries that are doing well now, are educating their coaches, using modern training techniques, and have generally just caught up. They use the same scientific approach to training that other Olympic sports have done for decades. It seems to me (without knowing) that American coaches/boxing spend too much time looking backwards, and so you're not moving forward. Just my two cents...

Good points.

[Zelley]

More on education and elite boxing:

Likely, based on the last Olympic Games, the one group that could do with a little theory
would be the judges. Some of the decisions may have been political, and some may
have been the lack of training to hit the little button to record the point.

Looking back judges used to score them as they saw them, now its all about the timing
of button pushing based on scoring blows, regardless of the effectiveness.
It seems skills like defence, lacks a button.

Then there are the referees, of which some appear to have been taking a holiday
from the senior citizens rest home
One of the big issues with the referees, is the lack of consistancy in calling
fouls - issuing cautions and warnings.

Getting back to the elite boxers, what happened to the Cuban boxers.

Getting back to the original points made by Weldon. He was right on the money,
But for the other points of view, yes coaching clinics are an important and necessary
part of the coaching process in amateur boxing. Everybody can learn, and in a boxing clinic setting, it enables the coaches and observers to share in the growth curve of all coaches.

In any coaching clinic, it is my opinion, that some referees and judges should attend
Also, coaches should attend referee and judges clinics.
This process should be expanded to have local officials attend the training gyms and
referee some of the sparring and to remind all that decide to box, that the three key words to remember are STOP, BOX & BREAK.

[jimbrown]

JMac, You are right - so don't back off just cuz someone pushes you!
kenny Weldon has proven he is a real arrogant ass time and time again. Who the hell says there are 10 punches in boxing besides weldon!
It is the "Style" of the fighter that determines how many punches he has. You CANNOT paint all boxers with a broad brush. Every single fighter is different and must be trained a little different than anyone else. Boxing is an ART, not a science! If you put 10 different trainers in the corner of a boxer; after each round, the boxer would be given 10 different instructions! And a few of them would be correct, even though they could be a little different.
Weldon is more crooked than a pretzel! His fighters always win at big tournaments cuz of his Houston judges and political influence. It happens time and time again at the Ringside WCs. Where are all the great world champions he trained from scratch?

[Dennis]

10 punches in boxing? How do you figure? I would say there are way more than 10 if you count the body punches as different punches than the head punches. The basic 6 to the head for an orthodox boxer: Left jab, straight right, left hook, right hook, left uppercut, right uppercut. Then there are derivatives of these like the overhand right and the up-jab. Anyone else have any thoughts about this?

[Zelley]

10 punches in boxing? How do you figure? I would say there are way more than 10 if you count the body punches as different punches than the head punches. The basic 6 to the head for an orthodox boxer: Left jab, straight right, left hook, right hook, left uppercut, right uppercut. Then there are derivatives of these like the overhand right and the up-jab. Anyone else have any thoughts about this?

Starting with the little old left jab:
There is a measuring jab and a counter jab and the safety jab
Then there is the point scoring jab to the facial target area
and the point scoring jab to the body.

There is a straight right to the body and to the facial area
Then there is the right jab and all its variations by switching from orthodox to southpaw
if against a southpaw (I would consider this tactic to be an advanced
tactic for the experienced boxer, but you never can tell what a well trained
novice can do when they learn the basics first),

And then there is the right cross, the overhand right, the right hook & uppercut/

Then there is the left hook in various forms with a variety of purposes.

Now when these punches are used in combinations one would need
a tax auditor to figure out the numbers.

Take the left jab: the best tactic is the single, double and triple jab
used in various combinations with a few feints and right hand feints
with various foot and or body movements to dazzle the fans and opponent.

[boxmel]

Looking back judges used to score them as they saw them, now its all about the timing of button pushing based on scoring blows, regardless of the effectiveness. It seems skills like defence, lacks a button.

I guess if you want to manipulate the one-second window, it's about the timing. However, I personally push the button whenever I see a legal effective blow land. Defense has never been part of the scoring criteria.

[ringsidemike]

April installment:

On ELITE COACHES AND BOXERS…
BOXING IS AN ART by Kenny Weldon

Outstanding coaches are sometimes deceiving. They come in all sizes: short, tall, fat, skinny, brown, black, oriental, white and whatever. They are patient, good communicators, laid back and most of all knowledgeable about all aspects of teaching the art and science of boxing.

They are not always the most intellectual people in the world, because they have spent most of their lives in a boxing gym. They can only teach what they know. Being a good guy with a good vocabulary and a degree in physical fitness is no different than a guy who had never finished high school, when it comes to boxing. Boxing is a very complex sport understood by few, with even fewer who can communicate it.

Getting a degree in boxing takes about 30 years, if you have access to the right people and situations.

It is normal for a guy to say “I have been in boxing for forty years,” but in most cases he has either boxed, coached or watched fights on television for forty years. He probably has not been in a gym running a program and teaching boxers for forty years. Having a boxing club and having one or two amateur champions over a twenty year period of time is commendable, but not outstanding.

BOXING IS AN ART WHICH TAKES DECADES TO LEARN.

There is one CORRECT WAY to do every aspect of it and 36 variations of the correct way. Size, weight, height, left handed, or right handed all make no difference when trying to develop the boxer into a complete fighter. Being able to recognize the boxer’s natural talents and having the knowledge and expertise needed to build around those natural talents, with wisdom the boxer will listen to and adhere to, takes great ability on a coaches part.

A boxer does not learn his skills from a book. He must be durable and resilient, while absorbing the punishment he takes through hours of sparring and thousands of rounds on different types of bags. Having the ability to feel his body’s every muscle and fiber is necessary for him to execute a full arsenal of punches, while moving all four directions. He must know the boxing ring that he is in as well as he knows his Mama’s face. He must know what to do and how and when to do it with each opponent he faces, depending on his opponents liabilities. Every opponent is different, yet they all seek the same thing. A VICTORY AT ALL COSTS! SOMETHING THAT A COMPLETE FIGHTER WILL NOT GIVE HIM…

God bless…. Kenny Weldon

[ringsidemike]

May installment:

HOW TO DO BOXING ROADWORK

The other day, I was talking to a coach who was told by a boxer that I did not believe boxers should do roadwork. HMMMmmm? Not only do I believe that a boxer should do roadwork, I believe how your boxer does his or her roadwork is very instrumental in the boxer’s development in the coming years.

Hearing who the boxer is, made me laugh a little as I remembered our conversation in my gym one day when the boxer had come down to box with one of my fighters. Someone had told me the kid ran 6-8 miles each day and trained hard for every event. So I asked the kid, who just recently turned professional, why he ran that far for an amateur fight that lasted only 8 minutes? He said that it was how he was taught. I explained to him running that long on concrete each day would eventually give him bad knees and that it wasn’t how far he ran that prepared him to fight, but how many minutes he ran and “how he runs them” was important to his upcoming fight. Somehow he must have interpreted this to mean something else.

Of course our boxers do roadwork and always have. We are known for developing some of the best conditioned boxers in history out of our gym and will continue to do so because we do not teach track. We teach boxing. We are the most productive amateur boxing program in America.

If my boxer is going to be fighting for 30 minutes, I want him running for 30 minutes specific to the boxer he is fighting. If he is boxing a very aggressive opponent, I want him running backwards more than normal. I want him pivoting and staying low, with his legs bent and shoulders turning for power and vision. If he is fighting a runner, I want to make sure most of his roadwork is done going forward with his legs slightly bent and moving his head side to side while bumping to his left and right with lead punches to the body.

Following this, these boxers will do left and right push-offs with their knees turned in, up the side of a 30 foot hill, ten times up and ten times down, stopping and taking deep breaths in and out of their mouths for 1 minute after each up and down. Amateur boxers will learn more about their bodies and how to breathe when boxing, from doing their roadwork the correct way, than they will learn any other way except fighting.

COACHES, run your boxers specific to their next opponents’ negatives and unless they are fighting 12 rounds, run them 30 minutes. Amateurs and pros need to run on grass or dirt and when your amateur is preparing for a tournament, run them differently each day, specific to one of the four styles he will be fighting in a tournament.

I hope that this helps and “contempt” does not bother me in the least…. It comes with the territory. Oh, and you guys keep on thinking that our kids don’t do roadwork and are out of shape. Somebody is lying to you again… Remember, distance means nothing.

God bless…. Kenny Weldon

[Zelley]

I agree on the roadwork issue, but when it comes to running
there are two aspects to running - speed and endurance.

I believe boxers should train for speed by running 100 and 200 yards.

I also believe that the boxers should build up endurance with
one mile runs on the track and 5 mile cross country runs
with various hills and wooded trails.

Another type of running that may be like the activity in the ring is to
jog, sprint and jog with different combinations at two or three minute stretches with one minute rest periods.

Boxers should also skip with the same flexibility of speed and endurance.

For the skilled skipper and runner, the next twist is to run and skip backwards and sideways for various periods of time.

When training for tournaments, there is no one kind of opponent, thus the trainee needs to be flexible in all that they do in training.

[Zelley]

Looking back judges used to score them as they saw them, now its all about the timing of button pushing based on scoring blows, regardless of the effectiveness. It seems skills like defence, lacks a button.

I guess if you want to manipulate the one-second window, it's about the timing. However, I personally push the button whenever I see a legal effective blow land. Defense has never been part of the scoring criteria.

Defense may not be part of the scoring process, but it sure prevents the other
boxer from landing punches. But, what the heck, I'm sure some of the judges push the button even if the punch is blocked, or push the button if a feeble arm punch grazes the target area, then become blind when a few good body shots land.

[ringsidemike]

43 YEARS AND COUNTING

I have now had an amateur boxing team for 43 years. I have watched the Gulf Association (Southeast Texas) grow from 12 clubs to about 70 today. I have been asked many times to compare the two eras of boxing in Houston and have found it almost impossible to do. There is very little one can compare.

When I fought my first fight as an amateur, it was in front of about 9000 people at the Sam Houston Coliseum. I was eleven years of age and the boxing club I fought for had about six other boxers. My coach also coached professional boxers. The year was 1957 and a boxer by the name of Frank Garza was the king of the amateurs.

Today, with 70+ boxing clubs competing at whatever location becomes available to the sponsor, it is really hard to find even one Frank Garza, or Jesse Valdez, or Termite Watkins or Anthony Wiley or any ultra-talented kid who stands out. The newspapers covered the Golden Gloves like they now cover the Super Bowl.

I have been a part of and have watched hundreds of coaches come and go as well as boxers. I have seen the greatest and the worst in both categories and have learned from all my experiences here in Houston, good and bad. I know the fans have changed as well. They are of course less educated in the science of the sport and have little interest in watching the likes of Jesse Valdez, Termite Watkins or Frank Garza outsmart and execute greatness in exchange for today’s face-first fighters attempting to prove themselves with their courage.

This seems to be the way we are moving as an association with less and less knowledgeable coaches, many of whom have never boxed in their lives. The scoring system has changed greatly, allowing less knowledgeable judges to be used by eliminating "ring generalship" and allowing judges to just count punches to determine winners, and therefore taking away from the science, knowledge, and even the athletic ability of the boxers involved. To those who go to the fights to see blood and guts, this may be good. The people who once came as educated fans of the sport have all but faded into the sunset.

USA boxing teams have been and continue to be beaten up all over the world by boxers who are half as talented as our own. But ours have limited themselves to face fighting. Our country sent the first team ever to the Olympics Games that won only a bronze medal in boxing.

We have a good guy as the Gulf Association President and several promising coaches, a few of whom have actually been fighters. Juan Moya, our new president is an ex- military guy with a good head on his shoulders and several years now in the business. I would love to see the head official disallow an official or several officials who came from participating clubs NOT BE ALLOWED to officiate when that club has a boxer in the ring competing, and ESPECIALLY AT AN ADVANCEMENT TOURNAMENT. Also if they represent a club and must referee, please make them remove their TEAM’s tee shirt from beneath the whites they wear, so as not to give a bad impression to the poor kid they are fighting against.

Things have changed in boxing since AIBA (United Nations of amateur boxing) has taken over in this country. We should all pray each day for a different scoring system and officials with knowledge and integrity.

God bless.....Kenny Weldon

[Front Page Boxing]

I hope everybody looks into the point that is being made here. Coaches are responsible for training their boxers how to box. As we know.. this isn't a contact sport... it's an impact sport that can hurt you if you don't know what you're doing.

I've been fortunate to have trained under an Old Chicago boxer from the '40s who was very old school. However, he was very strict to make sure you had 3 mos of boxing before you stepped into the ring for sparring. (Unless if you're too arrogant to listen then a little humility in the ring would be required. lol) His focus was on safety for his boxers.

I've been to many other gyms and it saddens me to see kids who don't know how to jab get thrown into the ring like a piece of meat. It happens and many of the trainers have the best intention at heart but they don't understand a thing about training. Heck... the problem with a lot of American Amateur boxing trainers is that they haven't read USA Boxing's rule books on amateur boxing! lol You'd be surprised. Don't ask the coach... ask the boxers if they know what the rules are! lol

I now cover amateur boxing in the Kansas area and I do what I can to give the boxers critiques and feedback for them to work on. The biggest thing is not keeping their hands up... I tell many of them that some of the most dangerous amateur boxer to face is the one whose jabs don't hurt at all! Because you're going to ignore it and he's going to rack up points on you! lol

Some of the biggest critiques I have is many don't know how to cut the ring, don't know how to retreat by pivoting or weaving out, don't know how to fight a taller or shorter boxer, and don't know how to get off the ropes.

The point is not to talk about styles and punches but about the general basic foundations of coaching. Every disciplines has its foundations and it's a scary thing if a coach doesn't know it. Every coach should be required to teach the rules to their boxers before they even spar.

Now we'll have to open a new topic if we're going to talk about officials!!! lol

[coachingGOLD]

Mel I like your point. In Am. Boxing one cant score being defensive. White part of glove hits scoring area then button should be pushed. Points Scored. Thats it. Mel knows her stuff.

Hey everybody let have fun. Not every fighter need to win and not every fighter needs to be a champion. I do believe in life that at times we learn more in losing in trying to win than by winning it self. Many kids have nothing but these programs to go to and the only travel they do is in boxing even its only across town for a little show. Its a cool thing. Many coaches think this is about them. ITS NOT ABOUT YOU and who is the best trainer. You had you time and your turn back in the day now its these new kids turn. Help them to be better than you and not just in boxing should be the main goal. Everybody just get along.

Besides IM THE BEST coach...
look here @ my fighter on the bag and here is my other one shadow boxing

Oh ya God Bless and see you all and mostly you best coaches in London 2012!

[hbomb2]

Mel I like your point. In Am. Boxing one cant score being defensive. White part of glove hits scoring area then button should be pushed. Points Scored. Thats it. Mel knows her stuff.

Hey everybody let have fun. Not every fighter need to win and not every fighter needs to be a champion. I do believe in life that at times we learn more in losing in trying to win than by winning it self. Many kids have nothing but these programs to go to and the only travel they do is in boxing even its only across town for a little show. Its a cool thing. Many coaches think this is about them. ITS NOT ABOUT YOU and who is the best trainer. You had you time and your turn back in the day now its these new kids turn. Help them to be better than you and not just in boxing should be the main goal. Everybody just get along.

Besides IM THE BEST coach...
look here @ my fighter on the bag and here is my other one shadow boxing

Oh ya God Bless and see you all and mostly you best coaches in London 2012!

You truly are the best! I love it Ha Ha! I like your philosophy!

[boxmel]

Things have changed in boxing since AIBA (United Nations of amateur boxing) has taken over in this country. We should all pray each day for a different scoring system and officials with knowledge and integrity.

Hasn't AIBA always been our International Federation dispensing rules and regulations? Every sport has an IF. And not one has "taken over in this country." USOC is in charge of the Olympics sports in the U.S. How long has Kenny been around?

[usaboxing142]

Kenny Weldon is recognized around the world as one of today´s finest boxing trainers. He has developed 26 national amateur boxing champions (14 from scratch) and has worked with many of the great fighters of the past 40 years “one on one” including such boxers as Evander Holyfield, Mike McCallum, Vinny Pazienza, and many more including world heavyweight champion Sergei Liacholvich. He has developed 3 USA Olympians. He has served as coaches committee chairman for USA boxing and he is beyond a doubt the top boxing technician and teacher of the “sweet science” in the world today. He has given clinics to thousands of coaches throughout the world