Customer Reviews

Boxing: The Complete Guide to Training and Fitness

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The author packs an awful lot of information into the text; there's hardly any gratuitous fluff. She covers basic boxing equipment, how to wrap the hands (three different ways shown), basic stance & footwork, basic punches & combos, very basic defense, different styles & ring strategy, and physical training. That last part is given the most space in the book. That's what makes the book a little confusing; it's hard to tell if the author is trying to produce another "boxercise" book (as advertising indicates: "The Ultimate Workout!") or is trying to give an introduction to fight training. If it's the former, there's a lot of unneccessary sections on strategy & equipment that someone just doing a routine for excercise wouldn't need; if it's the latter, there's really not much info on the psychology of a fighter, on having the discipline to train for a fight, on finding the right gym & living the fighter's life. While the author highlights some very important points and corrects common mistakes that begginers make as she goes along, I just get the sense that in trying to cater to both the "I don't want to be hit" gym rat and the "where's the ring, lemme fight" potential boxer, she ends up taking away a little from both. Speaking as a martial artist and someone who trains for fights, I'd still recomend this book to anyone who wanted to learn the basics of boxing for fighting (and learn them WELL), or someone who wants to add a little recreational boxing into their workout routine. It could easily be a textbook for the physical aspects of boxing training, though I'd prefer Mark Hatmaker's "Boxing Mastery" for a concentration on the fight game and Ned Beaumont's "Championship Streetfighting" for the use of boxing in self-defense.

As a beginning boxer, I found this book to be very helpful; Danna outlines all the basics from the orthodox stance, to standard punches and combinations, to ring strategy--all with detailed photographs as how-to's. The book is very informative, easy to follow and makes even hand-wrapping look like an art form. I highly recommend it to anyone who is entering the wonderful sweat-filled world of boxing.

(4.75 Stars)

This is a very easy read. It's brief and to the point without skipping important details and without being incomplete. The tone is instructional and educational and speaks to you like a friendly trainer.

Great for the beginner.

The photographs are some of the most complete and effective photos for training I've seen. You know how in some books an explanation of a technique is given and the photo along with the explanation just doesn't make any sense whatsoever - well - this book should be used as a model for future books as the photos along with the explanations are among the best I've seen.

The book is broken up into 9 chapters - from equipment to sparring.

Boxing Equipment
Wrapping Your Hands (among the best I've seen)
Stance
Punches
Movement
Combinations
Defence
Ring Strategy and Boxing Style
Training

Chapter 8 is my favorite - Ring Strategy and Boxing Style. The descriptions of boxing styles are complimented by descriptions on how to fight against that style. I thought that was a great touch.

The one thing I would have liked to have seen is more of an explanation as to why specific exercises are recommended - ex: what are the benefits for doing pull ups.

Again - great book - great for the beginner and for the more advanced student this is a good reference for honing your techniques.

it can be intimidating to enter a class like boxing having no clue as to what you're doing. danna scott's book is an excellent resource for any boxer, but particularly for a beginner who really wants to master form. not to mention that the shiny, high-waisted shorts are just so flattering on those models; i feel a new trend coming on....

I am an avid martial artist and wanted to start training in boxing. My sparring group decided we would research the subject and I came across this book. I was very pleased with the clear photos and simple presentation.

I started boxing in my basement for physical fitness purposes, and I loved this book. I still refer to it from time to time, even out I memorized most of it. Highly recommend!!

I got this book just as I started boxing as a beginner. The author covers a broad range of topics and has pretty good pictures that does a decent job of illustrating the concepts.

However, the text is really quite lacking for the beginner. One example is the section on the speed bag. I searched on Amazon.com and found an entire 222 page book just on the speed bag. In this book, there is half a page of text, actually, more like 5 sentences where the only thing she says is that you have to get the rhythm down. No detailed description of elbow location or range of motion for your forearm.

Overall, it does cover a nice broad range of topics in general terms, so I think it's good as a review, but I would go with a more detailed book (Fighting Fit) if you are trying to refine technique or are learning for the first time. If you are really serious about boxing, look for the out of print "Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defence" by heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey. That is unquestionably the best instructional boxing book in existence.

Boasting of only 127 pages, I was very reluctant to believe that this book: "Boxing: The Complete Guide to Training and Fitness", is in any way near 'complete'. But surprisingly, it proved me wrong. I read it. And, I witnessed that it is 'complete' in a way.
This book is nicely illustrated. It is 'complete' in terms of providing succinct information and directives that will benefit anyone who would like to workout using a pugilist's routine. Danna Scott did a good job; although that I noted that most of the chapters were overtly abridged.
Nevertheless, I will still recommend it for any boxing-beginner (or enthusiast). It is a very good guide. Very comprehensive and well-illustrated!

I highly recommend this book to beginners as well as advanced boxers. Scott has a fresh perspective and articulates her understanding of the sport clearly. The photographs are also helpful in understanding how to apply the skills described.

I've been taking fitness boxing classes for the past few years & have purchased several of the published training guides. Danna Scott's have been by far the best. The explanations along with the photographs are first rate. I highly recommend this book for beginners or advanced boxers. There's something for everyone.