The more than 350 boxers from across the nation who converged in Hot Springs this week for a championship tournament learned more than just how to land a punch, one of the event coordinators said Friday.
"It's not all about the fight and the win," said Chad Wade, co-coordinator of the 2017 TITLE Boxing National Championship tournament. "I tell my parents that what I teach the kids is sportsmanship and how to win and lose gracefully."
The championship tournament began Thursday at the Hot Springs Convention Center and runs through today. Championship bouts will be held today beginning at 3:30 p.m. Admission is $8 for students, ages 6-12, and $15 for adults.
Tournaments like these give boxers the chance to experience new opponents and learn new skills, Wade said.
"It's a never-ending learning process," he said.
If a boxer loses a match, they can go back and review the mistakes that were made and improve on it, Wade said.
The tournament is an all-ages event, with boxers 8 years old and older allowed to compete, he said.
Most children start their boxing careers between ages 8 and 11, but boxing is a lifelong learning process, he said. It includes disciplines applicable to life as well as the sport.
Although many boxing students take up the sport to work out and learn agility, Wade said, adding that, as a boxing coach, he helps "mold those kids into better human beings."
Boxing teaches self-discipline, how to control emotions, leadership skills, and confidence, he said.
He said children who are prone to anger or fighting can benefit by the principles boxing teaches.
"(When a) kid gets in that ring, loses their composure and gets angry ... they get beat," Wade said. Boxing teaches people how to control that surge of emotions.
Taking frustrations out on a punching bag is also beneficial, he said.
After a match boxers can hug and congratulate each other, he said. "We're like a family."
It takes a great deal of discipline and desire from the boxing student to master the sport, according to Wade, and it is extremely important in order to compete at the same level as the TITLE Boxing National Championship.
Wade said the sport of boxing is not growing as it once did, partially because it is not a scholarship sport.
"Kids are going into sports that they can get scholarships for," he said.
The growing popularity of mixed martial arts has also contributed to the leveling off of boxing.
"Boxing is more of a skill," he said, adding that boxers only use their hands as opposed to their whole bodies like in MMA.
The sport is growing in the area of female competitors. Wade said professional female boxers are starting to earn the same salaries as men, which contributes to the increase in popularity. He also said young girls watching the Olympics and seeing a woman win gold medals inspires them to participate.
Although the principles of boxing are a great benefit for at-risk children, it is not a low-cost sport, he said. To sponsor one child usually costs about $1,500 a year. Most of that cost comes from traveling to tournaments, he said.
The 2017 TITLE Boxing National Championship is run by volunteers who care about the children, Wade said.
"I'm not here to make money," he said. "I'm here for the kids."
Volunteers help out in many ways, including doctors who stand by to provide medical care, and people who help with everything from fundraising to setting up the gloves and tables. He said organizers are already looking for more volunteers for next year's event.
Local on 06/10/2017