One of Kenya’s top female boxers Christine Ongare is among the three women attending the coaching course
It’s been a lively week in the Boxing Federation of Kenya National Coaching Course at the Alliance Francaise Cultural Centre situated in the affluent suburb of Nyali in Kenya’s port city of Mombasa.
Chief facilitator Musa Benjamin, David Munuhe and CS John Waweru aka Mr Rulebook – all coaches of Kenya’s national boxing team – have spiced up the course with dynamic content and productive interactive sessions that offered the participants drills and motivational tips presented in an engaging and friendly format for all to understand the right boxing techniques to share with the boxers at their respective clubs.
Proper boxing techniques from the fundamentals of the sweet science of boxing involving footwork, defence and offensive skills, different type of punches, guard, scoring punches, foul punches and injury preventive measures were all shared by the facilitators to the satisfaction of the participants.
Upcoming and already active coaches were also taught strategies to inspire and encourage their boxers to excel and build confidence in their performance.
The impact of coaches in boxing and what’s expected of them has been clearly spelt out in this important course which is no doubt an eye opener to the grassroots coaches involved in BFK’s Ndondi Mashinani project, thanks to the Mombasa County Boxing Association in conjunction with the French Embassy through Alliance Francaise for making it happen.
On Thursday, June 19, I briefly became a participant when Waweru asked me to chip in and share my experiences in the four decades I’ve covered boxing from the time I joined Hillary Ngweno’s Weekly Review/Nairobi Times publications in 1980.
One of the issues I shared with the coaches is tips on seconding their boxers and how to politely tell a boxer he/she is not suited to this gruelling combat sport.
I reminded my buddy Waweru how the famous Irish coach Maxie McCullough of Nakuru Amateur Boxing Club used to kick out boxers he felt were wasting their time in the gym with no hope of excelling in this tough combat sport that calls for immense perseverance for one to succeed.
Coaches should be open with their boxers they feel are wasting their time in the gym, and tell them to try other disciplines instead of giving a boxer false hopes of doing well in the future.
Waweru somewhat differed with me saying there’s a breed of boxers you need to give them the time and eventually they become tigers in the ring but he nevertheless accepted on the need for coaches to be ruthlessly honest with boxers they feel cannot make it.
At this juncture, Bomu Boxing Club coach in Changamwe, Humphrey Omenda, gave us an example of one of his boxers who would train very well but on the day of the competition he starts sweating profusely and develops high blood pressure.
“During the weigh-in he’s okay but the moment he sees his
opponents he sweats a lot and comes up with all sorts of excuses to avoid taking part in the competition,” he told the participants.
The only solution for such a boxer is to tell him off politely to try his luck in another sport but not boxing to avoid a possible disaster.
Waweru also told the coaches that much as they’re the mentors, teachers and guardians of the boxers, they can’t do everything for them.
“It’s fifty-fifty, let the boxer also use his/her own mind to learn some boxing techniques especially on the internet or through fellow boxers,” said Waweru.
“Of course it’s the duty of the coach to refine any new technique learnt by the boxer but we can’t spoonfeed them, they need to be independent also,” said Waweru who took the coaches through the different types of scoring punches, use of the spitting bucket at the corners, safety concerns of the boxers and when the seconder should throw in the towel to save his/her boxer from receiving further unnecessary punishment.
Picture design by Duncan Kuria
It’s encouraging seeing Kenya’s famous female boxer Christine “Petit” Ongare and two other women coaches, Evelyn Mutheu and Consolata Bomu, attending the coaching course.
“I have now transitioned to a coach, l want to inspire female boxers mostly and of course male boxers,” said Ongare, a bronze medallist at the 2017 Africa Championships and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
“Having been a boxer, I know of the challenges ahead especially on finance because at one time or another you have to part with some cash to assist your boxers,” said Ongare who is now under Machakos County.
“I’m therefore appealing to Kenyans to assist me in this important journey I’ve taken,” said Ongare.
