Boxing and Weed?!?

With today being 4/20, I thought we would take a break from our regularly-scheduled programming and talk about marijuana and boxing. Marijuana has become quite popularized and much more mainstream over the last 20 years or so, now being legalish in many states. Used to be you'd only smell it in public when you went to concerts but now, I smell it in the Pittsford Wegmans parking lot! No judgement, I am just saying that the times, they are a-changing. Can smoking weed actually help with your boxing though? Man, I never thought I would actually pose such a question but in the years we have owned a boxing club, I have noticed that a fair amount of people come into classes, sometimes even their very first class, totally stoned. While I have nothing against anyone who wants to partake, I can tell you that it does not seem like the best choice to accompany anyone's boxing training. Here are 5 reasons why you should just say no!

1) Speed/Reaction Time

Boxing is fast by nature whereas the standard marijuana high tends to slow people down. Their reflexes, reaction times and physical movement in general. Can there be some value to slowing things down a little bit to learn boxing? There can but ultimately, the physical mechanics of the punch require velocity. As such, learning how to defend a punch requires fast reaction time.

2) Mental Processing

Learning how to box is not an easy thing because you are learning how to move your body in a brand, new, completely unnatural way. I've seen enough home boxers and people who just follow what they see on the internet to know that it is not something one can properly learn on their own. Takes coaching and cueing and demonstrating and the whole feedback loop that can be clouded when someone is under the influence of just about any narcotic. Really, any distraction can be an impediment to learning, whether you are thinking about a tough day at work or completely baked from hot boxing in the car 15 minutes before class. Speaking of the car, marijuana also distorts your perception. These are reasons why it is illegal to drive a car while under the influence of pot. If there were no mental impairments (in addition to the slowed reaction time), there wouldn't be much of an issue.

3) Coordination and Balance

Boxing requires just as much balance as any sport, save for gymnastics. There is also coordination of the hands, feet, head and every other part of your body. Throwing an effective punch, just like hitting a powerful forehand in tennis, requires proper body mechanics, rhythm, and timing. Has nothing to do with how strong you are. It is undeniable that marijuana impairs both balance and coordination so you are essentially handicapped when boxing while stoned. Not only is it harder to box under the influence but it is less safe and can lead to bad habits that get harder and harder to fix.

4) Memory

It is also undeniable that the average human remembers less during any kind of impairment. Besides just learning, you want to try and remember as much as you learned as possible. So for someone learning how to box, which is a process that takes years and years and never really stops, it is important that they are able to retain as much as possible from each training session so they can build on those skills. 

5) Cardio and Stamina

Sleepiness and fatigue are the most common side effects of smoking pot. Cannabinoids bind to receptors in the brain that increase the levels of sleep-promoting adenosine and suppress the brain's arousal system. This is one reason why it is sometimes prescribed medically for people who have sleep disorders. So you probably don't need me to tell you that you are not going to perform as well, athletically and stamina-wise, when you are sleepy. What's more though, is that your heart rate does increase, which just leads to you feeling more tired faster, with less heart-rate recovery.

Benefits?

But what about the benefits of smoking weed? Are there any? First and foremost, marijuana is not an athletic performance enhancing drug on any level. You are not stronger or faster or more explosive or have better stamina when you are stoned. The only thing I have heard anyone make a case for is that it could increase your pain tolerance but I think the amount of pot required for any significant impact would render a person pretty motionless. Pain is also not really an issue (and should not be an issue) when you train in boxing OR when fighting in the ring. Even when you get punched, you don't necessarily feel pain in the way you would normally. Your adrenaline and focus takes care of that, at least in the interim. Pain may come later but not during the fight, When people get hurt in boxing, like being knocked out or staggered, they aren't necessarily in pain. Their nervous system is disrupted in some way. (Kickboxing is a little bit of a different story as leg kicks and even having your own kicks checked sometimes can hurt like the dickens but if you competing at any level, you have probably built up a pretty good tolerance to this).

It is true that I am often telling people to relax when they box, that they are too tense, and you might think that maybe being stoned would help such people. Even if that is true, and I doubt that it is, the benefit would likely be very temporary and not even close to worth the dulling of the senses. Especially while in the learning stages. Maybe if you have trained for years and are a pretty good boxer and want to see if it gives you any epiphanies, it is worth a shot, but is not a long term plan.

If you don't believe me, look at any top level athletes. Besides the Diaz brothers in MMA, do any like to compete while stoned? Sure, cannabis is on the banned substance list in many sports, including boxing, but it is not because it is performance enhancing. And you don't find many athletes training WHILE high either. There are certainly some who smoke pot after training, to help rest, recover and maybe manage some pain. Even Mike Tyson, who is now a major proponent of marijuana and even sells his own weed as well as hosts a podcast called "Hot Boxing With Mike Tyson," is staying off the herb in training camp for his upcoming "fight" with Jake Paul.

I do know that there are some people who train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, most notably Joe Rogan, who have espoused the benefits of training under the influence. BJJ is very different than boxing though. Besides the obvious differences between grappling and throwing a punch, there is a completely different vibe to how one performs the mechanics. BJJ has a feel and flow to it that I could see working a lot better with being high. Boxing is faster, more explosive, and less of a feel sport. Even still, despite Joe Rogan's claims, no world-class BJJ players who compete do so under the influence and I have also heard plenty of people say that it does not help them at all.

Like everything else, every individual is going to be different. Everyone has a slightly different reaction and I know for some, getting baked takes a little bit of the anxiety away they may feel in their daily lives. Could that be beneficial to taking a boxing class, where just about 100% of the people going in are nervous? Maybe. But the cons far outweigh the pros, from everything I have seen and experienced. And if you want to take your boxing game to the next level, you will need to have a more permanent solution to nerves and anxiety from training. Then there are those who smoke so much, being sober just feels completely wrong and messes them up. I would put the aforementioned Diaz brothers into that category. I am not sure this is a good place to be but that's up to you, I suppose.

Along those lines, don't get me wrong and think that I am just some cranky, old man who doesn't want you hippie kids smoking your drugs and whatnot. I mean, I am a cranky, old man but I am very much a "live and let live" kind of old man. Whatever you do on your own time is your business, so long as it harm none. But if you want me to teach you boxing and make you a better boxer, I ask that you please stay off the sticky icky until our session is over. My only dog in the fight is helping you achieve your goals and just as I wouldn't tell you to come in and eat an entire bucket of fried chicken right before training, I wouldn't want to spark up either.