Looking to box but have concerns.... advice?

**OZZ** · Posted On: 4/28/2008 10:48am

This is obviously for the best. Anyone who has had serious surgery to their eye(s) should be very careful before making a decision to start boxing. Detatched retinas are a much more common injury than the sport's statistician's would care to reveal...even in the amateur ranks I boxed with guys who had this happen to them.
As far as having blurry vision goes, one of my old instructors had pretty bad eyesight without his glasses and I recall him telling me that when he was young and training hard he would often only see a big blurry shape in front of him when sparring full contact, so he would just go nuts and pummel the blur. He actually thought it gave him a bit of an edge because although he might not have been as precise as others were, he was instilled with a tiny bit of panic due to his eyesight and this made him pretty ferocious in the ring.

**ignatzami** · Posted On: 4/29/2008 9:45am

I realize it's for the best, but it just upsets me. I'd gotten myself all set with the idea of looking like a half blind fool pawing ineffectually at the air. Now this, oh well.

**Whosthemaster** · Posted On: 5/03/2008 2:30pm

Originally Posted by ignatzami

I realize it's for the best, but it just upsets me. I'd gotten myself all set with the idea of looking like a half blind fool pawing ineffectually at the air. Now this, oh well.

Can't you prepare for the idea of being the one eyed fool pawing ineffectually at the air?

**Poo-Jitsu** · Posted On: 5/04/2008 11:08am

There are worse things than being forced to train only in the grappling arts.

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 5/04/2008 11:16am

Originally Posted by ignatzami

So, no boxing for me.

I spoke to the gentlemen who did my eye surgery and he strongly recommends I don't box, or in fact do any striking at all. Given the surgery performed the outer muscle in my eye is much weaker then it would be in a person who has not had surgery. He worries that the concussive trauma of boxing may cause the muscle itself to tear, causing bleeding, or separate entirely necessitating surgery to reattach it.

This officially.... sucks.

Back to BJJ and Judo then.

Dude, have you considered taking on boxing without having to spar? That is, just concentrate on the conditioning, footwork and bag drills (and focus mitts drills to the extend it simply is you hitting the mitts and not having to duck when the trainer tries to tag you with it.)

Talk to a boxing coach and ask for his opinion or suggestions. Yeah, it will never be the same w/o sparring, but that doesn't mean it would be completely useless and devoid of benefits.

**ignatzami** · Posted On: 5/05/2008 9:26am

Originally Posted by Teh El Macho

Dude, have you considered taking on boxing without having to spar? That is, just concentrate on the conditioning, footwork and bag drills (and focus mitts drills to the extend it simply is you hitting the mitts and not having to duck when the trainer tries to tag you with it.)

Talk to a boxing coach and ask for his opinion or suggestions. Yeah, it will never be the same w/o sparring, but that doesn't mean it would be completely useless and devoid of benefits.

*blink**blink*

Ok.... stop being logical!

**muddy** · Posted On: 6/08/2008 1:31pm

Have a look at this article talking about a couple of great fighters (Joe Harris and Harry Greb) who were blind in one eye. There would probably be more (and more recent) examples if it were something that could get past an exam.

http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxin...e-interrupted/

quote from same article:
"They lived by their own formless code, fought blind in one eye, often overwhelmed opponents with volume and strange angles instead of power"

**Lars** · Posted On: 6/08/2008 7:22pm

I have no experience with this, but I wonder if having a lot of head movement might help. Parallax from bobbing back and forth could give you a bit more distance information. Bonus: you'll look extra silly bobbing and weaving and slapping the air.