I am a shy, petite woman. Jabb is a boxing gym in Chicago. I want to take lessons and learn to box but I am afraid I will be bad, or not good enough. Is boxing just for men? It’s a training center for professional fighters, I don’t want to look stupid. Should I just suck it up and go? Why am I so torn?
There are some female boxers. That having been said, the object of the sport is to inflict pain and do bodily harm to your opponent. Your opponent will be trying to do the same to you.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, go for it!
Personally, I like to watch boxing but haven’t had the urge to participate since that long ago day at the YMCA when Butch Martin bloodied my nose and loosened some of my teeth.
Are you sure you want to box? Or are you looking for a way to build confidence. There are many (better?) ways to do that. The point of boxing is, when you strip away all the foofoorah, to hurt your opponent more than and before she/he hurts you.
Have you talked to any boxers?
BTW; Size, and gender, have very little to do with amateur boxing. Except when it comes to finding someone to box.
Have you seen the movie Girl Fight?
Peace,
mangeorge
Well, technically, you will start off being bad at boxing. But you’ll get better, if you stick with it. Don’t worry about it, everyone starts somewhere. Call and ask if they have lessons for women, and take it from there.
You haven’t said why you’re thinking of boxing. If it’s for self defense, I’d certainly reccomend Aikido for a woman rather than boxing. If it’s for exercise, you still have the heavy bag for when you don’t feel like taking a punch. Every new boxer gets his/her bell rung at least once in their training, maybe you’ll have a better idea once this has happened. Perhaps you could start off at a location more suitable to beginners first?
Boxing takes a very specific mindset in order to be any good, or even effective at all. If you’re really shy or timid, boxing might not be the best option for a hobby/exercize/self defense. Without that certain urge to do damage and hurt your opponent, you’re going to get hurt yourself.
If this is a self defense type decision, I absolutely second the idea of taking Aikido. Its fantastic, easy to learn, and very effective.
Don’t let these people tell you size doesn’t matter. You’re going to want to fight similarly sized opponents, because size (reach especially) makes a huge difference. Good luck!
It’s possible that you’ll train for a long period of time before you actually step in the ring with someone else, which would give you time to decide if you want to continue and would probably get you in really great shape. It’s also possible that your first sparring would be with the coach/trainer, which would be way safer than sparring with another beginner.
Have you ever thought of studying an Asian martial art? Picking the right discipline and school could influence the safety and self-image aspects immensely.
11811
My wife (5’ 3", 140 lbs, muscular) took up boxing at the age of 46. She’s pretty mild-mannered except for that (and the ice hockey.)
She was already doing weight lifting 3x/week and wanted to add something aerobic that wasn’t boring. Boxing was offered at her (slightly iron-head) gym, so she tried it and was instantly hooked.
Boxing is great. She loves it. The guys snickered at first until they see her in action.
To be clear, there’s boxing training for the purpose of becoming an amatuer or preofessional boxer, and then there’s boxing training for the purpose of boxing training & general fitness. Her trainer is a retired pro, but he’s got no expectations that any of his clientele, male/female, youth or old, will be boxing for real.
Normal training is an hour-plus with the instructor and 1 or 2 students. They learn all the moves and they beat the shit out of the various bags and some days they spar with each other wearing headgear. The odds on injuries worse than body bruises are very low.
As self-defense, boxing is not ideal. As a general confidence and concentration builder, its superb. Likewise it’s awesome aerobic conditioning. And the abdominal-specific exercises make for a firm flat tummy.
If yur goal is to do something like my wife is, rather than to become like the gal in Girlfight, I’d suggest you probably don’t want a genuine hard-core boxing gym. That’s a whole different world, and as others have pointed out, you’d have to overcome a lot of BS from the regulars.
Call around to all the gyms in your area. Not the chain “fitness centers”, but the gyms with small listings in the yellow pages. Ask if they offer boxing or even if have any boxers who work out there regularly you could talk to. A decent boxer can also be a decent teacher for the level you’ll need for awhile.
Expect a lot of folks to not take you seriously at first. **ck 'em. You want it; go get it.
There are several varitions on Tai-bo out there which “fitness centers” tend to sell. My wife calls it “boxercise” (after the Jazzercise craze 10 years ago). They’re all essentially dance aerobics while waving your arms sorta in the same direction as a boxer might. They have no relationship to boxing.
If you’d like to email my wife, she’s at AJ1120 @ yahoo.com. She teaches weightlifting and now boxing and would be glad to give you specific info & advice.
Good luck & keep us informed.
I second (third? fourth?) Akido, for self-defense especially. In boxing, Mike Tyson has the edge because he’s got arms like drill presses and the ability to absorb punches like a concrete piling. In Akido, the small, wiry SOB who can use leverage and small, quick motions has the advantage. As a physically small woman, you need leverage to take on anyone but a child.
If you want to do this for confidence, keep in mind that all boxers at a certain level have cauliflower ears and redecorated noses. The padding is intended to keep you from killing the other person, not to prevent physical injury. In Akido (and other martial arts), the idea is to avoid hits and focus on leveraging the other person into a fall.
Back to self-defense: If you’re serious about defending yourself, get a concealed carry permit and become extremely familiar with a 9mm of your choice. Shoot it at the range until you no longer close your eyes when it goes off. Muggers aren’t looking for sparring partners, and you need to be able to kill if it comes to that.
I find it interesting that the OP never mentions anything about self-defense as one of her goals, yet most of the answers are opining on that point.
Thank you so much for your words. I am not interested in boxing to fight or compete. I actually have heard that a lot of women have been taking boxing at this particular gym and really like it (women from my “regular” fitness center). As one of the posts mentioned in his wife’s case, classes are taught by ex-pro fighters. I’m just looking for a stress release, effective workout and something different. I was partly fearful, because some of the women I know that box there are beautifully built and I am small framed without a butt or much else! You guys are right! I’m not going to let my fears get in the way!! The snickering guys?? Well, I guess that is ANOTHER issue!! Thanks again! kisses!
Use of the butt in boxing is against the rules. 
I said above that size doesn’t matter. That’s not exactly what I meant. I meant that there are size classes for most all, and that you might have trouble finding someone to fight if you are truly so little. You probably don’t want to fight someone who’s 5’ 7" and 140lbs of muscle.
Who’s snickering?
My daughter, 14 at the time, was beaten up by four other girls at what we laughingly call ‘The Mall’. She was/is quite small & petite.
Learned kickboxing double-quick at the local gym, aided and abetted by my #1 son, who is a bit of a martial arts expert and ex-police.
God help anyone who messes with her now.
I was going to say, '“There are no kisses in boxing!”
Sure there are. Just ask **Myglaren **.
Oh. Kickboxing. Sorry.
An old fart like me has to take his kisses where he can get 'em. Even cyber-smooches. 
First, go for it! Really, you have nothing to lose. There is no better all around workout than a good boxing workout. You can get more exercise in less time that will work out your entire body with strength and cardio. You have to do the full routine, heavy bag, speed bag, abs, jump rope and work on technique and defense with the trainer.
That being said, there are very few good trainers. A lot of trainers in boxing gyms really don’t know the correct basics. They teach bad habits and let students develop bad habits because they never really learned correctly. It doesn’t matter whether they boxed professionaly or have been hanging around the gym for years. They probably had their careers ended early because they never really learned the art. Now they are just taking people’s money. So be careful. There are a lot of professional boxers out there that have terrible fundemantals and, of course, they get knocked out.
As for women boxers. . .
I went to the New York Golden Gloves Finals a couple of weeks ago. A couple of the best matches were females. They had good fundementals, threw solid punches and were relentless. A few years ago hardly any women knew how to box correctly. I was suprised by what I saw. Look out, guys!