By CATHRIN SCHAER
After they see Girlfight, don't be surprised if your mother, daughter, wife and the girl next door all start punching the air and acting like Sly Stallone (minus the stubble).
Women's boxing is a growing trend, and not just at the movies.
Since 1997, when the sport was recognised, the number of participants has doubled, and there are now around 30 registered amateur female boxers in this country. Hundreds more don't compete officially but box simply for fitness' sake.
In November New Zealand will send a team of boxers to the first women's amateur world championships, in the USA. And it is possible that women's boxing might be included in next year's Commonwealth Games (in Manchester, England) for the first time.
"Women aren't usually allowed to put their dukes up and smash something," says Ruth Pirihi, group fitness manager at the Les Mills gymnasium in Auckland, explaining the popularity of the body combat classes she teaches. "That's why it's so popular. It's legitimised aggression for women in a society that doesn't usually allow them to hit out."
Body combat classes at gyms are probably the easiest way for beginners to try out this more aggressive sport. It's not real boxing, but a combination of boxing stances and martial arts kicks and poses, all done to motivational music.
About half the class is spent teaching techniques such as footwork and how to throw punches. The rest is spent on fitness work using skipping ropes or other equipment.
Classes are kept small (usually 15 people maximum) and two qualified coaches give all participants attention. "Because this isn't aerobics. This is real boxing," says Cameron Todd, who manages Boxing Central in Mt Eden, Auckland, and coached last year's national amateur middleweight champion, Melanie Horne. "We want to make sure they're doing it right."
"It's a mental and physical challenge," says Horne. "And an incredible buzz. I now have this sense of confidence in my own skills; I feel stronger in myself and have a real awareness of what my body is capable of. Not that I walk down dark streets looking for trouble or anything," she laughs.
The 29-year-old Auckland school teacher, who's been boxing competitively for about two years, originally took up the sport to improve her fitness.
Like Horne, most women start boxing as a way to get fit or lose weight; only a handful of the 300 members of her gym actually get in the ring and fight.
Whatever your aim, when you head to a boxing gym for the first time it might be worth doing a couple of one-on-one introductory sessions with a trainer, says Todd. "That's just to get a handle on some of the techniques."
Another way to start out at a boxing gym is by getting a group of friends together and employing a personal trainer to show you all a few basics.
The next step for the more committed boxer is sparring, that is, fighting in a ring, but with a light touch.
Until now you won't have experienced any physical contact and your average beginner probably hasn't even been in the ring.
"People see a lot of movies and assume all boxers end up bloody or in a coma," Todd explains. "But amateur boxing is a lot more safety conscious."
Amateur competitors concentrate on scoring points through skill and technique rather than on knocking each other out. They also have to register with the New Zealand Boxing Association. The youngest boxers are aged around 12 and the oldest you can be to register is 34.
Upon registering, boxers receive a booklet in which they record their fights - so they know they're being matched with suitable opponents. The booklet also contains medical information about their fitness in the ring.
Finally, for the truly committed, there's turning professional - which is not such an easy thing for any New Zealand boxer to do.
One of this country's only professional female fighters, 36-year-old mother-of three, Wena Karaka, from Northland, competed for the world welterweight title last year. Although she went the distance, as boxing pundits say, she didn't win the fight against her Dutch opponent.
Overseas there's big money in women's boxing. Rumour has it that Christy Martin, also known as the Coal Miner's Daughter, has a six-figure contract.
"Here in New Zealand a professional female novice might fight for four rounds," explains coach Chris Martin, who's been in boxing for around 25 years and who recently trained New Zealand's male super-heavyweight champion.
"And maybe she'd get $300 for that - it really depends on the promoter. A hundred dollars a round is around what you'd expect."
* For information on on a boxing gym near you, phone the New Zealand Boxing Association on (04) 389 0890.
Auckland boxing gyms include Les Mills (ph 379 9550), Boxing Central (ph 630 0750), and the Auckland Boxing Association's facility (ph 307 0720).
Girlfight reviewed
In the ring with women boxers
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