Which is the toughest sport?

Boxing

My first experience of boxing was at the tender age of thirteen, the Golden Gloves, Toxteth, Liverpool. A few of us from school had decided we wanted to try our hand at traditional pugilism, the age old national tradition of boxing. We didn’t realize getting hit could be so painful, especially by guys in their late teens who probably were not even giving it everything they had!! Then there was the training!!! To this day I have never experienced anything as tough as the training that I experienced over the two years that I stayed there before moving on to do Ju Jitsu and combine the boxing with using my legs to do kickboxing. Skipping, bag work, circuit training with weights, three two minute rounds on the bags up to eight two minute rounds, a twenty minute run before training with sprints before we even started, I hated it while I was doing it! But I couldn’t wait to get back there the following week for some more punishment. It was a love hate relationship that burned out and fizzled when I found a different kind of punishment but the experience of those early days has molded me as a coach today and I adopt a lot of the traditional methods used then, now. The body conditioning of boxing coupled with intense training routine using the legs has developed a program that I use today in my academy.

Ironman Triathlon

Money can buy you many things nowadays, but one achievement stands out, you have to EARN an Ironman finish with sweat and dedication. What is an Ironman (Triathlon) exactly I hear you say? OK well start with a 2 ½ mile swim, follow with a 112 mile bike, and finish with a marathon. For many each individual leg is tough enough (e.g. the swim, bike or run), but transitions count too, and in which other sport is a sub-10 hour finish the Holy Grail? Then add sea waves, hills, sun, wind, or rain and you’re understand why you need AT LEAST 6 months prior training – adding up to around 20hr per week in total of swimming, biking and running, alongside everything else you juggle into your week. Just imagine too “the warm-up” is a 1hr plus swim, followed by a 6-7hr hour cycle, only to then face running a marathon… So is the Ironman the toughest sport? Well let me ask you; how many Ironman finishers do you know? What about burning 10,000+ calories in one day! And just how long would it take you?

Muay Thai Kickboxing

The ancient martial art and national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai (Thai boxing) is for sure one of the toughest sports around. It’s history can be traced back as far as 2,000 years and is known as “The science of eight limbs” where fists, elbows, knees and legs are used as weapons against your opponent.
Its a no-holds barred form of stand up fighting where almost anything goes. There are very few rules restricting the fight where throws,  punches, elbows, knees and kicks to the body, head and face are allowed. The head is the only part of the body which is not allowed to be used as a weapon.
Fights take place in a ring, the same as with western boxing. The number of rounds and the length of rounds varies. At professional level, fights are for five rounds of three minutes duration. This may seem short compared to the 12 rounds that make up heavyweight boxing matches, but it is because the techniques used in Muay Thai require so much energy. It is estimated that it takes four times as much energy to throw a kick as it does to throw a punch.
Fights can be won either by knockout, technical knockout (where a fighter cannot continue due to injury or cut) or by points awarded by 3 judges for aggression, technique, domination of opponent and skill.
It’s a tough sport!

Rugby

It’s a sport where players, weighing up to 20 stones (120kgs), run head on at each other and challenge their opponent to stop them! Yes, there are plenty of rules, but the sheer physicality of rugby makes it standout from other sports. While discipline is at the forefront of every successful team, the odd deserved punch or stamp is part and parcel of the game, and what happens on the pitch is always forgotten after the game. Not only does rugby require players to be physically prepared for the hits and tackles, but with a free flowing game lasting 80 minutes, players must be aerobically fit as well. In contrast to football, a game in which players do their best to over state any pain or injury, rugby players pride themselves on hiding any pain and not letting their opponents see their discomfort. A full contact sport, with little or no padding, rugby combines the highest degree of physicality with endurance fitness and mental discipline.