Gilfeather Fans

PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE.
Practising your punches over and over again might feel monotonous, but repetition is what makes them available when you need them.
Get your jab, cross, uppercuts and hooks right. Repeat them until you no longer have to think about them.

THE CROSS IS BOXING’S GOLF SWING.
The cross isn’t just an arm punch. Like a golf swing, everything must work together, feet, legs, hips, shoulder and head, in one fluid transfer of power.
The torque comes from the floor. The hips turn, the shoulder follows, the chin moves offline and the whole body drives through the punch.

One of boxing’s biggest rules is never take your eyes off the opponent. But when you throw a proper cross, there is a split second when the head, and therefore the eyes, goes with the punch.

How do you improve your punching technique?
By practising thousands of punches with your hand in the correct position.
Rule number one in boxing: make a proper fist. That’s why a bag glove needs a flexible thumb, so you can close the hand properly, align the knuckles and develop honest punching technique.

Someone hung this punch bag from a tree for the whole community to use. I’ve been boxing for 76 years, so there was no chance I was leaving it alone.
Twenty minutes on the bag, outside in the fresh air. Nothing complicated—just keep moving, keep enjoying yourself and never give up on yourself.

Prince Naseem Hamed once asked me why I never turned professional.
I’d had the offers, but after 200 amateur contests, I walked away at 21 without really understanding why.
I told him about my final fight. I was sitting on the stool when, for the first time in my life, I thought: after this fight, I’m finished.
Prince Naseem immediately said, “I know what happened. You were burnt out.”

I’m 80 years old, and twenty minutes on the heavy bag helps keep me fit, focused and sharp.
You don’t have to be a boxer. You don’t have to move like you did twenty years ago. Start where you are, work at your own pace and keep showing up.
If I can still put the gloves on at 80, so can you. Movement is medicine, and it’s never too late to begin.

Going back to boxing in my fifties was one of the best decisions I ever made.
At the time, I thought I was simply returning to something I loved. Looking back now, I was investing in the next thirty years of my life.

How to turn an ordinary jab into a serious problem with a few slight adjustments

Saga Magazine asked me why I think so many people follow me across social media.
I think people know when something is real. Boxing is what I’ve lived and breathed for 76 years. When I demonstrate a technique, I don’t just show you what to do, I explain why you do it.