It’s quite theatrical and dress-up, which you don’t realise until you see a kid do itIt’s more or less a fitness universal: high-risk, low-risk, intense or mindful, you don’t really want your children around. All exercise is solipsistic and kids drive a coach and horses through enjoyable self-regard. On the other hand, Kobox is running boxing for children through summer, and my stepdaughter, C, is a natural. Not a natural pugilist, and her death stare is like being given a dirty look by a really cute cat, but a natural mover, naturally determined, highly appreciative of costume and cinematic situations, with a strong inclination towards anything girls in sitcoms don’t do. That’s how I ended up in a ring with a 10-year-old and Ollie Lee, who is so serious about boxing’s benefits that he’s teaching his own daughter to do it, and she’s only four. “It’s great for discipline, self-esteem…” he says. These are the advertised benefits to children of most sports, but in this context, raise the droll prospect of teaching a child to get really good at disciplining other people.There’s a lot of Rocky fandango, as you’d expect: rolling bandages round your wrists in a precise way, getting your gloves on. It’s quite theatrical and dress-up, which you don’t realise until you see a child do it. Even in your nursery moments, learning the basics of punching, shielding and ducking, you look infinitely more convincing. The jab – a straight punch with your lead hand – is number one (we’ve been through this before, I know, but it’ll help when I start yelling “One! Three! Six! Five!” At you). The cross – straight punch with your rear hand – number two; the hooks, circular sideways punches with lead and rear hands – are three and four; the uppercuts, vertical punches from below, five and six. That takes about four minutes to learn, then who knows how many years to remember. Related: ‘I’ve been to tons of lidos, but I’d never swum in one’ | Zoe Williams Continue readingread full article
