BOXING.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2403, 19 January 1909, Page 2

BOXING.

SOME SECRETS OF THE FISTIC ART. (By Tommy Burns.) -rt" Although, in whatever country I have been, I have always stated openly that I am a boxer for business reasons, and not for pleasure —'believe me, there are lots of other more agreeable ways of earning a (living than in the Prize Ring—l have noticed, from remarks made in the Press, that there are still quite a number of people who seem to overlook the fact tint boxing is just as much of.a< profession as “lawyering,” “barristering,” or -any other “ing” for that matter. And that’s why, .although other purses were offered, I always stood out for a purse of £6OOO before I would meet Johnson, 'beoaaise I knew I 'should get it-. Do you blame me!

Yes, I should have retired from the fistic business a Hong time ago if only I could have found some other equally remunerative “walk of (life.” For a boxer’s career is—must be, in fact—a very strenuous one if ever he is going to—Well, make a lasting mark. In the first place, he must. make up his mind io suffer the privations which rigid training entails—if he breaks his rules while week in, week out, month in, month out, he must pay the closest attention to all details of health, for perfect fitness is one of the most important secrets of success in the boxing ring. .Maybe it will bo of interest to enthusiasts in tlie noble 'art of fisticuffs if I outline the method I follow when in tlie strictest training—so here goes for a rough sketch of my daily routine. I .get up about eight, and after a plain breakfast followed by a plate of fruit—prunes I am very partial to—l take walking exercises for any distance from five to ten miles, but, as a general .rule, about eight miles suffices.

I do not walk all the time as, after doing three or four miles or so, I generally indulge in a series of short, sharp sprinting bursts for a hundred yards, and so on. By this menus my stamina improves daily, and no boxer can possibly expect to reach within measurable distance of the top of the tree if he cannot stay as long as — well, “a lady in a bonnet shop.” When I get home I am rubbed down thoroughly, after which I indulge in a cold water shower-bath, and am afterwards massaged as hard as possible until! every muscle on my body becomes as (pliable as can be. Then I rest for a while; at noon I have <a substantial mid-day meal of plain fare, then follows more rest until about three o’clock, when [ visit the gymnasium, where for about on hour I punch the ball —fine exercise this- —skip—'real good exercise this, too —and do “shadow” boxing, which means that I box with an imaginary opponent, and duck here and there," lunge and hit out, keeping moving aa 11 the while, just as if I were taking part in an actual contest. Stomach and back exercises follow, and afterwards I am thoroughly massaged once again. There practically ends the real lim'd work of my daily day, for I take no more strenuous exercise as a rule, though generally, after supper, I go for a short stroll of a mile or so before turning in .about ten o’clock. I have long since come to the conclusion that many trainers make the great mistake of insisting on their pupils following out /a stereotyped programme of exercise, quite regardless of whether it happens to suit their individual constitutions. Now, on the face of it, this cannot be a sound policy, as the old maxim, “What is one man’s meat is another man’s poison,’ ’is as time of the boxing ring as it is of the dinner-table. No, one of the secrets of success in the boxing ring, as far ia« training is concerned, at any rate, is for each man to find out exactly what particular regime suits him, and then adhere to it.

! Again, I am convinced that there is nothing like repeated practice with as many different opponents .as pos- . sible, while care should also be taken to select men whose styles are somewhat different, as by that, means a boxer learns new methods of both attack and defence. Yes, versatility is a very valuable ’asset in the fistic art. J In his early days, too, 'before, may- : be, he attains any /particular degree ! of excellence, .a boxer must at all costs 1 be prepared to take, as well as give, .plenty of hard blows. In my own case, when first I took up boxing as a profession, I had a very rough time S indeed, and frequently got pummdlled | most unmercifully. But, happily, 'I was prepared for a pretty rough time, and so stuck to it for all I was worth, J with the result that to-day I liaVe a j list of, roughly, three score victories j “to the credit of my .account.” ! The real secrets of boxing success? i Well, in .my humble opinion, I think 1 there is nothing like plenty of prac- ' tic© with the best opponents ia- m'an | can find, a sound method of training j which suits his constitution, minute | observance of every detail connected ! wit health, .plenty of fire sly, air and i healthy exercise, sefrf-denial, and continuity of purpose. With such a' “stock-in-trade” any and every boxer whose heart is in the right place need never despair of making ,a name for himself. ißut a boxer’s career is by no means “all lavender,” so that I should advise no one to take it up unless he is firmly resolved to cheerfully face endless hard work and a life of self-denial.' In my own case, one contest in particular I shall always remember, and that was. my match with -O’ G rady at the Detroit Athletic 'Club. I had not been long at the game .then, and the moment I entered the ring I heard O’Grady say, “Shall I kill him?” Afterwards, when we met in the middle of the ring, he eyed me up and down in a cynical sort of nyanner, (and then remarked: “So you are here, are you?” “Yes, ,1 am,” I replied. “You won’t be here long, then,” was the terse answer. But O’Grady on that occasion was wrong, yas I won the fight, and he didn’t iwako up again until four days afterwards, when lie found himself in hospital.

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