is boxing good for a pianist ??

[mila5405]

all my friend started training boxing, i thaught about starting but i don't know if it will have bad effect on my piano playing..

help me please, what do you se, is boxing good or absultly not??

[steve jones]

I used to train Muay Thai before I got into piano (but was very into guitar). I found it to be a great contrast and very beneficial. Kind of like caring for both the body and mind.

Im not sure how good boxing is for the hands mind. Be sure to use the right gear - bag gloves, wraps etc.

SJ

[counterpoint]

You could make some Tai Chi, that's surely not harmful for pianists 

[berrt]

It might be useful if you get bad critique.

B.

[steve jones]

It might be useful if you get bad critique.

B.

 

BB

[bench warmer]

Forget about damage to your hands. It's the concussions to the head that'll get you.

You won't even notice you can't play piano. You might not notice anything at all.

Not as bad as actually banging your head repeatedly against a wall, but damn close to it.

[tds]

i did boxing for several years when i was younger. i didnt break anything. tds

[jlh]

Haha you gotta love threads like this one! 

They all usually go something like this:

"If I do something with a high potential for injury to my hands, wrists or body (boxing, American football, weight lifting, mountain climbing, etc).... will it affect my playing as a pianist?"

Of course it won't affect you!  It's actually great for you...until you get injured.  Once you get injured, forget about practicing or performing. 

[bench warmer]

I've played Russian Roulette a lot of times and never have been injured!

As a matter of fact I'm playing it right now and I don't th

[thalbergmad]

It's actually great for you...until you get injured.  Once you get injured, forget about practicing or performing. 

Indeed that is completely true.

I used to think that powerlifting was OK until my tricep took exception to an attempted bench press.

Thal

[pianowolfi]

I've played Russian Roulette a lot of times and never have been injured!

As a matter of fact I'm playing it right now and I don't th

Lol I fell in a pile of vinyl records as a child and it didn't damage me..didn't damage me..didn't damage me... didn't damage me...

[tds]

"I am going to burn in the fires of hell, for i am a non-believer" (thal)

i thought ur a believer

neways....

[bench warmer]

 
 You guys are making a mockery of this!  (That Russian Roulette thing was only a flesh wound)

It's getting me really upset. The only way to settle this conclusively is by duking it out for a couple of rounds in the ring.

Whoever doesn't get hurt wins. 

[timothy42b]

Well, if you're bad you'll get punched in the head.

If you're good you'll punch him, and hurt your hands.

Either way......................

I saw a weird karate match once.  It was called kyokushinkaikan or something like that.  They really hammered on each other, but were only allowed to punch to the body, so they didn't hurt either their hands or head.  Might be a solution.  (Yeah, they kicked too.  But who cares if you hurt your toes.) 

[ted]

I fail to see how an organised series of blows to the head can be good for anybody, pianist or not.

[tds]

I fail to see how an organised series of blows to the head can be good for anybody, pianist or not.

hah. ted, the wise.

reading your posts is often like drinking chilled mineral water. cheers, tds

[ail]

Well, if you're bad you'll get punched in the head.

If you're good you'll punch him, and hurt your hands.

Either way......................

I saw a weird karate match once.  It was called kyokushinkaikan or something like that.  They really hammered on each other, but were only allowed to punch to the body, so they didn't hurt either their hands or head.  Might be a solution.  (Yeah, they kicked too.  But who cares if you hurt your toes.) 

I did karate years ago. I got slight injuries on my hands several times but I was not at that moment playing anything regularly.
Still, at those times, I couldn't play for about a whole month. Twisted fingers last for a lot, at least for me and they're very easy to happen. One of the worst times was when I punched a colleague directly fist to fist. hurst, believe me, and  your fingers have to stop for some time.
This might be something you want to consider.
Plus, I read in a karate book about a specific exercise to the hands: you had to dip your hands outstretched into a bucket full of sand. I don't remember the objective, but the book warned that if you were a musician you should not do it because it would destroy your sensitivity.
I don't know anything about boxing. You use gloves and all so your hands may be protected, but if I were training piano seriously, I would not do karate for the above reasons. The change of you having to stay for long periods without playing is very great.

Alex

[alejo_90]

Emil Gilels was a Boxer, lol
This was perhaps the secret behind those very particular Fortissimos of him.

Best
Alex

[richard black]

I know plenty of folks who box and I can't think of one complaining of any real hand injuries. One or two of them have been shot or knifed the odd time but that's mostly because they hang out with dodgy people at the gym. But why cossett yourself? I ride a bike without gloves, fix cars, hammer nails, cut timber - and I'm no more likely to sustain a real injury (as opposed to cuts and bruises which are nothing more than a minor irritation) than a non-pianist. In fact I'm convinced my fingers, hands and arms are healthier for it all.