How to overcome your fear of jumping boxing

Start with a small elevation

If the boxing is too high for you, start with something lower, like aerobic step. The main thing is that you are not at all afraid to jump on it.

If any height scares you, get something flat like a yoga mat. Jump on it as if it were the tallest bollard in the world: you jump in, land exactly in the middle, and then go down.

Gradually increase the height, for example, place thin pancakes on a raised platform. The main thing is that it remains stable, otherwise you will fall down and have to overcome your fear again.

Jumping to a low elevation will not only increase your self-confidence, but also allow you to work on your technique.

Practice the technique

There are several important things that will make your exercises safe for muscles and ligaments and will help you jump higher.

1. Jump above the surface of the box and land softly right in the center, not on the edge.

2. Swing your arms. A good swing helps you jump, but it takes mobile shoulders and upper back to get it done. If you have problems with posture, work on this separately before jumping.

3. Chest and look forward. Leaning too far and looking at the floor will make the jump more difficult. Therefore, do not lower your body and head.

After landing, you should be in the same position as during the start. The knees are bent, the back is straight in a slight slope (the stomach is not on the knees), the chest and gaze are directed forward.

4. When landing, spread your knees to the sides. With the knees apart, the thighs and shins are in the most stable position, so you risk less injury.

If you have trouble holding your knees and curl inward as you land, try joining your legs together. Choose a small elevation and practice jumping with your legs joined.

Imagine your landing

It is not enough to see how high your boxing is. You need to feel where you should land.

Climb onto your platform and stand where you are about to jump, right in the middle. Strike a pose as if you have just landed: your legs are slightly bent, the weight is distributed over both legs.

Don't jump down. It is much safer for your joints and tendons to descend with steps rather than jumping. This is especially important if you are going to do a lot of exercises in a row or if you are jumping onto a really high bollard.

Take a video

If you are afraid of something specific - peeling your shins during a fall or touching your knees behind the box - look at yourself from the side.

Video your best jump, preferably slow-mo, and see how real your fears are. Most likely, you will be convinced that the alarms are in vain: you walk quite high above the box and cannot touch it with your knees.

Also watch a video of boxing falls. You will notice that people are thrown off the platform due to obvious mistakes that can be easily avoided.

If a person clings to the edge of the box with his feet and falls forward, most likely he is tired and jumped not high enough or chose too high a box from the very beginning. But you can choose a small one so you can jump without fear.

If a person falls on the other side of the box, he most likely did not fix the landing. You should land straight down into the position you have presented. This will prevent you from jumping to the back of the box, which could cause it to tip over, and the momentum will not make you fall head first.

You will land like a cat: soft and economical, without unnecessary movements.

Talk to yourself

This internal conversation just before the jump is very important. You have chosen a suitable box height, you know exactly where you will land and how you will do it.

Come up with preparatory moves. For example, put your legs in the perfect position, exhale, go into a squat and swing your arms.

It doesn't matter what your elevation looks like: a wooden box with sharp edges or a soft box with rubber pads. Remind yourself that you are going to land exactly in the middle of the box, so it doesn't matter what the edges are.

You have a well-developed, accurate landing that you have trained hundreds of times on low elevations. So you have nothing to fear. Good luck.