BOXING FEDERATION OF KENYA TO UNIFY COACHING SYSTEM

Kenya boxing is set for a major overhaul with the introduction of a unified coaching system this year.

National team head coach Musa Benjamin said the unified coaching system will culminate in Kenya having its own identity and boxing philosophy like the Cubans did in the early 1960s by standardizing their coaching system, a project which was fully backed by the government.

The Cuban training system emphasizes technique, work ethic and discipline with their style revolving around elaborate footwork to enable them be constantly on the move with more emphasis on defence over offence and a pawing jab to find openings.

Floyd Mayweather used the Cuban defensive philosophy making it very difficult for his opponents to hit him.

The Kenyan head coach said the successful implementation of the unified coaching system will be a major milestone in the development of boxing in the country.

“From the grassroots to the national level coaches countrywide will use the same coaching system,” Musa Benjamin told boxersworld.co.ke in an exclusive interview.

Question: Boxing Federation of Kenya intends to unify the coaching system just like the Cubans did in early 1960s standardizing their coaching system so that all coaches from the grassroots to the national level are on one page. How do you intend to implement this massive project?

Answer: To achieve this goal, BFK intends to hold National Level Coaches training in all the active county associations across the country to prepare them for this change. This will be done with the help of both the County and National Government.

We will then invite foreign trainers from boxing power houses to start the exercise of imparting lessons to the selected coaches on the unified coaching system.

After they’ve gone through national level course, they will be in a better position to grasp lessons from the foreign coaches on what is involved in the standardized system. They will then be well equipped to impart that knowledge to the boxers in their clubs and at the grassroots level regarding the unified system. This will make our work easier when some of them graduate to the national team because Kenya boxing will then be having its own identity instead of us again wasting time to take some of them back to the basics.

Q: Expound further what it entails to unify the coaching system and its benefits

A: The main aim here is to have a particular boxing philosophy/identity right from the beginning, school boys/girls up to the elite level.

The products of such a system will be good in basics and will have mastered the fundamentals of the game. As you know club coaches in Kenya right now use different training systems but with the new changes, they will be using the unified system across the board, and this makes it easier for the coaches and boxers to gel faster in a national training camp because they will all have gone through the unified system in their respective clubs. Once it begins to take shape boxing fans will be able to notice Kenya’s identity in the ring through a distinctive style and punches. Of course styles in the ring vary depending on the opponent you’re facing but that identity will still be there. One can tell that’s a Kenyan fighting.

Q: Why has BFK decided to unify the coaching system in Kenya?

A: To simply have a proper and smooth flow of good boxers to the various national teams, juniors, youth and elite. And to increase depth also.

Q: What challenges have you encountered as the national team head coach that BFK has now decided to introduce a unified coaching system?

A: The biggest challenge has been getting boxers at this level with very poor basics/foundation. Correcting and improving them becomes a herculean task.

Q: To succeed in this ambitious plan, BFK will definitely require the expertise from some of the advanced boxing nations like Cuba and Uzbekistan, for instance. This means hiring a foreign coach to take up the role of a Technical Director. Who will foot the bill?

A: ⁠ Since BFK has currently no sponsors, a humble request will be made to the government. There’s also a government to government partnership between Kenya and Cuba which we will try to exploit.

Q: Once you get started, how long do you think it will take to successfully implement the plan?

A: This is a very ambitious project and will definitely take time to complete and of course more time to see the results. This means if we hire a foreign coach to assist us in the unified coaching system it will take us at least two years to implement the plan.

Q: You have often told me one of the major problems with Kenya boxing right now is poor basics at the grassroots level. Elaborate please.

A: There are a lot of prospects at the grassroots but very few qualified,technically and tactically sound coaches to nurture these talents. This results to less skillful boxers coming onto the scene. Boxers are rushed to take part in tournaments when they’re not ready and have not mastered the fundamentals of boxing as well as deciding which style they will adopt.Q: Thank you for your honesty on the problem at the grassroots. This means some coaches don’t have the basic knowledge on how to handle rookies and share the ABC of boxing.

A: ⁠Partially true. We end up with half-baked boxers without good ‘boxing brains’ and this also affects our performance at the international stage.

Q: I have noticed some of the Kenyan boxers at the big stage just throw punches at random without timing and rhythm wondering whether they’ve mastered the art of scoring points.

A: They are adopting different styles. It’s a process. Our boxers need to find the right balance between attack and defence.

Q: In your honest opinion, what’s the biggest problem with the Kenyan boxers when taking part in international competitions outside the country?

A: Due to lack of exposure in build-up tournaments, our boxers are yet to grasp how to handle the different boxing cultures and styles like having good movement in the ring, keeping fighting distance and getting into good counter-punching positions. They ought to know when to use lighter punches to set up for the big punches, knowing when to press and retreat and when to throw punches in bunches. The unified coaching system will help us a great deal because we will now have our boxing philosophy that will be very helpful at the big stage but they will also need to be constantly exposed to implement the various styles they’ve been taught in the new system. This lack of exposure has affected us a great deal unlike the 60s to 80s when Kenyan boxers were regularly exposed in tournaments like the annual King’s Cup Championships in Bangkok. This is where we need sponsors to come on board and assist us take part in the several tournaments held in Europe and Asia. Owing to lack of exposure some of our boxers have found themselves making their international debut in big events. For instance in 2023 our top female welterweight Friza Anyango made her debut in the World Championships in India. In her first fight she met Olympic champion Imane Khelif. You all saw what happened she couldn’t cope with a boxer of Imane’s calibre.

Q: I agree with you Musa exposure is crucial for Kenyan boxers to excel. Therefore as you prepare to introduce the unified coaching system, a lot must be done with the private sector also chipping in to ensure the Kenyan boxers are exposed as well as having an elaborate junior and youth programme to go hand in hand with the unified system.

A: A vibrant and proper junior and youth structures and introduction of boxing in schools is vital here. Regular youth competitions and exposure will help improve our ringcraft and mould future champions to take over from the elite boxers when they retire. The biggest hurdle here is money. That’s why we need the support of the corporates to help us in revamping our boxing by investing on the junior and youth programme and exposing our boxers. We’re very grateful to our government for supporting us participate in various international competitions but due to the fact that the government is also burdened in financing other crucial sectors, we can’t rely on them for everything. I’m humbly reminding would-be sponsors there’s still a lot of potential in Kenya boxing. It’s only boxing and athletics that have brought us medals in the Olympics so this year let them come on board to boost out kitty. Our President (Anthony “Jamal” Otieno) has really sacrificed using a lot of his own money to support boxing. Not many leaders in our local federations can spend like Jamal has done but now it’s high time the sponsors chip in to lift us higher.

Q: Away from the unified coaching system, share with us your experience in the national team’s 2023 training stint in Havana, Cuba ahead of the Africa Olympic qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal. That must been a precious moment for all of you.

A: It was a memorable and nostalgic experience to visit the greatest school of boxing in the world. The training in Cuba will forever remain etched in my mind.

My major observation comparing what I saw there and what we have is lack of equipment and a proper training facility for our national team. Effecting the training program with less equipment becomes challenging.

There is a serious investment in the government-owned facility we were using. The facility is in a huge compound with hostels, basketball court, dispensary, equipped strength & conditioning gym, office block besides the boxing training gym.

In the gym, they have nine boxing rings (improvised ones included) and 45 different punching bags.

They have doctors, physios, nutritionists, strength & conditioning coaches and about 10 boxing coaches with the national team at all times.

They are literally in fully paid-up camp the whole year and take part in 12 to 20 exposure tournaments across the globe in a season.

While comparing notes, the Cuban coaches were categorical that it was going to be difficult for us to effectively compete with them considering our poor preparations and lack of facilities. Our boxers queue to take turns on the punching bag whereas in Cuba each boxer has his punching bag during the training sessions. In sparring here we have one ring and in Cuba as I said earlier they have nine rings.

Photos by Duncan Kuria