Blog 1

The following Blog will compromise 60hrs of how I (Army Boxing Coach) can improve on my communication, trust and decision making skills with both boxers and coaches in the heat of the battle in boxing bouts.

For this blog I will be using boxers and coaches from the Army Boxing Team in Bouts and Competitions over the next month to gain my knowledge and feedback for this Blog.

Personally I will be asking for feedback pre and post bouts on my performance and ability to get the important messages across during boxing bouts at an elite level.

Within the course of the 60hrs, feedback between coaches and boxers will improve everyone's ability to make key decisions at the most important times.

I will be sitting down with both coaches and boxers to identify where improvements need to be made and post bout discussing what has happened before, during and after to see where improvements can be made. I will be using reflective models to get the best use of the feedback;

During  - Rolfe (2001) reflective model, this model will be used during bouts where decisions need to be made quickly and without fuss.


I will also use the Schon (1983) reflective model for during and after the bout.

 Lastly I will use the Kolb (1984) reflective learning model for post bout analysis.



The idea will be to dip in and dip out of models to maximise the best outcome for different situations and therefore getting the best possible results for the next bout.

Blog 4

English Title Belt Series - 18 Feb 2017

Our last show was in Rotherham, we had 5 boxers boxing. This was part of the English Title Series so a very good standard of opponent.

Our boxers were on after each other so no time to reflect on any of the bouts. Because of this I used the Rolfe 2001 reflection model to make quick decisions as the bouts were happening.

I had 5 boxers on and the opportunity to win 3 English Titles and 1 Southern Area belt. The other bout we had was an eliminator for the English Title.

The 1st bout on was the Eliminator bout and after a close 1st round the decision was to increase the tempo and take the fight to the opponent, unfortunately after the 2nd round we felt we were down in the bout, during the minute interval I spent the time trying to convince the boxer he needed a big round, not hold back and be confident in upping his work rate. The boxer did do better but we lost the bout, we agreed that are lack of tempo in the earlier rounds was the reason and this is what we would work on in training.

The 2nd bout was at heavy weight and boxing for the Southern Area title, we had lost this same bout 2 weeks ago so had worked on a number of drills and communication points to make sure where we went wrong previously didn't happen again. During the rounds we confirmed between us what was happening and anything picked during the round was highlighted and communicated. Both boxer and coach were in agreement and the result of the bout was positive.

The 3rd bout saw another heavy weight contest this time boxing for the English title, we communicated and agreed on tactics but in the end this was a bout where the boxer was unable to execute the information given, on a de-brief and reflection later it was down to a personal issue that prevented the boxer being in the correct frame of mind and hampered his ability to perform to his potential.

The 4th bout was another closely contested affair, I have a very good relationship with this boxer and there is trust and mutual respect, he trusts me as a coach and will try and deliver on the information given. At the end prior to the decision I was honest and told him I wasn't overly confident of the result and it was literally down to the opinion of the judges. We were victorious and on reflection the decision was correct and maybe sitting on the fence was the wrong thing to do but we were not in control of the result at that time.

The 5th bout was rematch from 18 months ago, a bout that we had won so we knew our tactics and plan would need to be executed well as our opponent had been boxing for England, was the current belt holder and had been training up at GB. Prior to this bout we had sat and talked through how we would win and put emphasis on trust and how we would communicate during the bout and how I would require the feedback so I knew he was aware of the task. As a team in this bout we worked very well giving and gaining feedback to make changes during the rounds. A great bout that again we were victorious.

During this Blogg I have learnt how to use the reflective models to help the boxer and most importantly myself to understand what is needed at critical times in bouts and then how to constructively analyse the post bout information to be able to use for training and the next bouts.

                                          ABT - Listening, learning, delivering!

Blog 3

Boxing competition at Hoddesdon - 4 Feb 17

After a good weeks preparation with the boxers and coaches we travelled to Hoddesdon to box against an Italian select team. 2 of my boxers were boxing Italians and 1 other was boxing a home boxer from Hoddesdon.

Prior to this show the coaches had sat down and discussed the tactics that were going to be deployed and how the corner work would happen and how we would best communicate to each other and the boxers the instructions. We had 3 boxers on so there would be learning and action during and after the bouts, I looked at the Donald Schön - Reflection-in-action/Reflection-on-action model to make sure the we could look at a situation, act on it and make the correct decision and therefor give our boxers the best chance of winning.

The first bout was a tough bout for our boxer as we were up against a GB kid on his home show, we had done our homework and knew the game plan of the opposing boxer, although our strategy was understood by the boxer and coaches we were unable to get the result and lost this bout. On reflection and feedback from the boxer we had done what we had planned and the plan was what we were after but we were beaten by the better boxer on the night.

The second bout was against a tricky Italian and this had the added prize of the Southern Area Title Belt. Again the game plan was to keep distance, the boxer and coach was aware of these tactics and were in agreement that this would win the bout if the boxer stuck to the game plan.
During the 1st round all was good and the I was able to communicate to the boxer when slight changes were needed. There was good feedback from the boxer as he was able to act on the instructions, then was able to give feedback during the round.
The result did go our way and gave a positive discussion post bout for how we would go about the final bout.

The final bout was a female bout, my girl had been out of boxing for 18 months and this was also her first as a senior. She was boxing an experienced Italian girl and was understandably nervous due to the time out of competition. For this bout especially it was very important gain the trust of the boxer as this would also be her 1st bout for me and working with myself in the corner.
The bout went well with our boxer working at a high tempo following the instructions given. There did seem to be some confidence issues in the breaks where she was not confident in her performance but I knew she was boxing well and ahead in the bout. At the end of the bout we were confident she had won but she did not feel she had done enough, the decision went our way and so it should have as the performance from my boxer was very good. Before the decision she was still very negative although I was telling her how well she had competed. Post bout this was addressed and we will be doing some more bonding, earning the trust and confidence from coach to boxer and boxer to coach.
I learnt that although I may be confident and precise in what we are trying to do, the boxer may be thinking differently, this may be due to a number of reasons, points that need to be addressed prior to her next bout;
1. Trust
2. Confidence
3. 2 way communication
4. Positive feedback.

Looking forward to the next competitions this weekend, I feel that I am learning a lot from reflecting during and after the bouts, only good results can come from using the reflection models.
   

Blog 2

Boxing competition at Poole, 27 Jan 17.

We took 2 boxers down to Poole to box 2 top lads on their home show in Poole, generally when you go away to shows boxing their top lads you are generally up against it regarding the results. We needed the bouts and although we hoped the results would go our way we were realistic and new if it was close we probably wouldn't get the result we wanted.

We had a long drive down to Poole at the height of rush hour traffic on a Friday evening so had plenty of time to discuss our tactics and scenario's.

Before the bouts we used Donald Schön - Reflection-on-action model to discuss past bouts and tactics used, we talked about what went wrong in the bouts and if there were tactics we could use during these bouts to hopefully give us the outcome we desired.

we were able to use the Donald Schön - Reflection-in-action model during the bout and as we had a plan we were able to use this to give a more structured reflection of the rounds during the 1 minute interval.

At the end of the evening we sat down to discuss the results and how we could improve as both coach and boxer and whether the information during the bout was clear enough to be followed by the boxers?

For the post bout reflection we based our conversation on the Graham Gibbs - Reflective Cycle. We were able to talk through the headings and base a plan for our next match based on these processes.

Results - both lost on split decisions, both good performances and unlucky not to get the wins.

Example of what was discussed:

What happened? Tactics - information given - how it was given.

What are/were your feelings and emotional responses? Levels of responses, ie excited, agitated, panic.

What was good/bad? Clear instruction, instruction given at the right time - random instruction, information sometimes given too early or late.

What sense can you make of the situation? Being confident in the information given therefor making best of the situation.

What can you conclude generally from the experience? Working better as a team to give the information across in a more relaxed manner, not shouting over each other we can get clearer messages to boxers.

What will you differently in the future? One voice, calmer approach to giving information across, get clearer feedback from boxer during bout.


Next show this Saturday in Harrow.