University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2009 Fail to prepare, prepare to fail boxers' experiences of training for competition Duncan Simpson University of Tennessee Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Recommended Citation Simpson, Duncan, "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail boxers' experiences of training for competition. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2009. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/5999 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Duncan Simpson entitled "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail boxers' experiences of training for competition." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Education. Craig A. Wrisberg, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Duncan Simpson entitled “Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail: Boxers’ Experiences of Training for Competition.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Education. Dr. Craig A. Wrisberg, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Dr. Leslee A. Fisher Dr. Sandra P. Thomas Dr. Lars Dzikus Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) FAIL TO PREPARE, PREPARE TO FAIL: BOXERS’ EXPERIENCES OF TRAINING FOR COMPETITION A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Duncan Simpson May 2009 ii Copyright © 2009 by Duncan Simpson All rights reserved. iii Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the efforts of those who made significant contributions not only the completion of this dissertation, but during my entire Doctoral program at The University of Tennessee. In particular I would like to thank my committee members. Dr. Wrisberg for being the best advisor anyone could ever hope for. You are the reason I came to Tennessee and I could not have learned from anyone better. Both academically and practically I’ll never forget the lessons I learned. Dr. Fisher who opened my eyes to multicultural sport psychology. Dr. Dzikus for challenging me with new perspectives. Dr. Thomas for your passion and for advice with phenomenology. I would also like to acknowledge the nine participants that made this research possible. Their willingness to give of their time and share their experiences is greatly appreciated. There are a few other people that have helped me along the way. Greg Young and Jenny Withycombe provided constant support and advice. The interpretative research group at the University of Tennessee for their help with data analysis. Lastly, my entire family who have supported me financially and lovingly through these three years. Without my family my achievements could not have been possible. Thank you. iv Abstract One-on-one physical and mental competition involving the possibility of injury or even death makes combat sports good candidates for applied sport psychology interventions (Lane, 2008; Schinke, 2007). To date limited research has been conducted on the psychological demands of combat sports, particularly boxing. A few studies (Lane 2006; 2008; in press; Schinke, 2004, 2007) have focused on the researchers’/practitioners’ perspective on the world of boxing, but they have failed to discuss the experiences of the participants’ themselves. Some scholars in sport psychology have called for studies that ‘give a voice’ to marginalized or neglected groups (Fisher, Butryn, & Roper, 2003; Ryba, 2005; Ryba & Kashope-Wright, 2005; Schinke et al. 2006). As a group, boxers are among the least researched athletes within the sport psychology literature. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to explore boxer’s experiences of training for competition. To accomplish this purpose phenomenological interviews were conducted with nine professional boxers ranging in age from 22 to 42 years. Each participant was asked to respond to the following open-ended question: “When you think of your experience of training for competition, what stands out for you?” All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative analysis of the transcripts revealed a total of 341 meaning units, which were further grouped into sub-themes and general themes. A final thematic structure revealed six major dimensions that characterized these boxers’ experiences of training for competition: Achieving Potential, Preparing, Sacrificing, Finding Support, Fearing and Loving/Hating. The current study found a substantial amount of new findings not previously discussed in research. For example, v Achieving Potential was central to their experiences. They feared of losing and letting themselves and others down. Boxers had both strong positive and negative feelings towards their sport. Gym partners provided advice, bonded and provided fun and humor and yet, were needed for rivalry and competition. Lastly, the boxers wanted to know that their trainers ultimately cared about their health above all else. The results from this study offer several practical implications for trainers, boxers and sport psychology practitioners wishing to enhance the quality of the training experience for its participants. vi Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 Brief Review of Literature.......................................................................................... 1 Purpose........................................................................................................................ 4 Significance................................................................................................................. 4 Assumptions................................................................................................................ 5 Limitations .................................................................................................................. 5 Delimitations............................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2 ....................................................................................................................... 6 Literature Review................................................................................................................ 6 Overview..................................................................................................................... 6 Part One: Physical Components of Boxing Training.................................................. 6 Floor-work. ............................................................................................................. 7 Ring-Work .............................................................................................................. 7 Body-work. ............................................................................................................. 9 Road-work............................................................................................................. 10 Part One: Psychological Aspects of Training ........................................................... 11 Building confidence.............................................................................................. 12 Developing discipline and commitment. .............................................................. 12 Managing emotions............................................................................................... 13 Using social support.............................................................................................. 13 Enhancing life skills.............................................................................................. 14 Dealing with injury ............................................................................................... 14 Developing control................................................................................................ 15 Dealing with adversity .......................................................................................... 15 Goal-setting........................................................................................................... 16 Part Two: The Social World of Boxing .................................................................... 17 The business and the gym....................................................................................