Why I love boxing

Exploring the parallels between boxing and startup life, and how both push me beyond my comfort zone to foster personal growth, resilience, and continuous learning.

Recently, I finished reading “The Art of Learning” - a really good book that I’ve recommend to everyone (btw, here is a page of all the books I’ve read in the past few years).

In it, the author Josh Waitzkin, reflects on his journey from chess champion to martial arts practicioner - and how anyone can master the art of learning.

It made me wonder, why at 29 years old did I decide to step into a ring with boxers who have been fighting for 10+ years? 🥊

As my friend Max says, “You don’t play boxing”. So why am I doing it?

Similar to setting up a startup, this isn’t something that’s easy to explain. The most rationale thing to do would be to go for a run outside or just go to the gym.

Yet, I hop in a ring to fight.

Why?

For starters, there’s something thrilling about stepping into the ring and knowing that you are going to get punched.

You need to get comfortable with something that - by definition - it’s uncomfortable.

Boxing is the physical to what startups are for the mind

Think about it. Most activities that people do in their spare time have a “controlled” level of intensity. You get progressively more tired but “know” it’s coming - e.g. gym, swimming, tennis, running, etc.

Contact sports are in general like this too, although every now and then you can get injured. Although this rate is small, and sports in general equip athletes to be protected against injuries.

Boxing (and martial arts) don’t work this way. You step in the ring and within the first few seconds, you may get a hook that gives you a bruise next to your eye or a uppercut that makes you stop breathing for a few seconds.

My point is that with boxing, you don’t know when you are going to get hurt, but you learn to be comfortable with it and over time your body gets used to that level of pain - so it will take even more to make you uncomfortable.

First sparring session

I still remember my first sparring session, I got hit on the nose and had tears coming out of my eyes from it. My nose hurt for 3 days in a row. It doesn’t matter how many times the coach told me to keep my hands up, nothing taught me quicker than that cross on my nose.

For the remainder of the fight, I was mostly protecting myself and keeping my distance. I was “humbled” by the other fighter, and was pushed to outside my comfort zone.

This is not so much different from startup life where mentally you have to be in uncomfortable places - for me this is the equivalent to speaking on a stage. For an introvert like myself, that was something that was hard to overcome. Although I am still not comfortable on a stage, I am much more comfortable than I used to be.

Presenting at CIBC a few weeks ago at New York AI meetup

Next sparring sessions

Currently when I step in a ring I have mixed feelings, I’m somewhat anxious but also excited about it.

It’s weird.

I mean, I know full well that I’m going against folks who’ve been in a ring since they were young - and I also know full well that I’m going to get hit much more than I will hit.

However, there’s something exciting (poetic maybe?) about knowing that each time I step into the ring again, I will be able to land more punches, avoid more hits and be better mentally.

Learning is the nature of the game.

And the only failure is to not take any lessons from each fight.

This is the same for startups. I like what Bezos has to say on the topic, about pushing Amazon to embrace failure.

This picture was what convinced me to buy my own head gear

So, why do I love boxing?

I think ultimately, the reason why I love boxing is the same as why I love startups.

Startups push me everyday to be the best that I can be in so many different areas, there isn’t a role that - for me - is as stimulating mentally as being a startup founder.

There are 100 different initiatives ongoing at all times, you have a team of composed of human beings (by nature, highly complex with different backgrounds and life experiences), you have startups trying to disrupt your business, you have well established incumbents, etc..

Boxing is the same... but at the physical level.

I step in the ring and need to be the best I can in multiple verticals - it isn’t enough to be the best in one.

I need to have a faster reaction to avoid punches, be light on my feet to surprise an opponent, land the combos where I put most of my energy in, trade-off balance between combos and stamina, and obviously all the mental side that comes from it too - which turns out is quite a lot.

Ultimately, as cheesy as it sounds, being a startup founder and doing boxing make me feel alive.

Taking my father-in-law for a class