Sal's Boxing Clinic

26/06/2026

🐝🍯

24/06/2026

18/11/2021

“Sparring and Toughening People Up”

My thoughts and feelings about certain drills and how we coach/develop students (be it boxing, MMA, K1, Karate, Kickboxing or whichever art) to handle themselves in sparring.

There’s so many better ways to deal with this then what the various posts show and want to thank .china and posts with highlighting these unsafe practices!!

I’ll be talking of my own introduction to sparring and how I developed an appreciation of safer training with and the distinction between his approach and others!!

FYI, these pages DO NOT advocate those methods at all and I’ve only mentioned them out of respect and acknowledgment as I would never have come across those videos!!

Any questions, thoughts and feelings?

Would love to hear your input!!

31/12/2020

Its been so long and I’ve been attempting to find the words to inspire after such a horrible year full of setbacks.
The truth is .... I can’t!!
For me, contracting the covid virus, a related heart attack, being cared for by selfless staff of the NHS first hand, coping with the lockdown has made me dig so much deeper only to realise that if it was solely down to me - I’d have failed miserably!
The support of others and people being kind, and considerate (no matter how little) has been what’s helped me through and it’s something that has stayed so true over this period!
I wanted to quickly share with you one of my own personal heroes other than my colleagues and friends.
(My thx to a wing chun senior instructor, .chun.kuen.study.group for reminding me!!)
Being a massive fan of the Sylvestors Stallones, “Rocky” character, this rang true!
“Let me tell you something you already know.
The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows.
It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.
But it ain't about how hard ya hit.
It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
How much you can take and keep moving forward.
That's how winning is done!"

Rocky Balboa

So:
One step at a time folks,
One day at a time,
One moment at a time!!

I’ll do my best to make this a better resource for you all and be much more available for those who need help.
Here’s to a Happier and Healthier New Year.
Sal X

28/05/2020

😡😡😡 Alert

This is why I do what I do!

Anger and sadness is probably what I feel right now with a restraint related death that did all intents as most likely avoidable!

Whilst I can’t comment on the wider related issues of racism, racial police violence, unfair targeting and stereotyping of ethnic minorities until an official account is drawn up and the history of the various police officers involved is released.... I can talk about restraint related deaths ...

Minimising deaths whilst exercising force on an individual is very precarious, and full of “what if’s” and hopefully I’ll do my best to write my thoughts out.

It has always has become a key aspect of why I teach not only self defence but conflict management, the use of force, understanding/preparing to manage volatile situations and the risks of restraint are brought home with these situations cropping up time and time again!..... and it’s not just the police but with the mental health and even prison related sectors (Olaseni Lewis comes to mind) too.

Upon investigating a number of deaths whilst being restrained be it in the prison, health and police, many have said,
“I CAN’T BREATHE!”
and just shows that without a proper risk assessment and adequate training to back it up to suit the needs of officers (as well as recruitment and adequate supervision) to protect and safeguard the public - the risk of these situations occurring again and again is more likely.

The Mississippi mayor echoes some of the very big myths in an attempt to justify the position namely he says:
“If you can say you can’t breathe, you’re breathing.”

This kind of reasoning has been the cause of death for a number of high profile examples we use when arguing against this.
- I’ll put up a link as to why this is a BS statement!

I’m so wound up about it because for years training restraint has come on in leaps and bounds and yet... this still happens!

Additionally, something like this undermines the good hardworking officers working tirelessly to protect and build a positive relationships with the wider community.... but instead trust/confidence is undermined (if not broken) ....

Hopefully the findings and subsequent action allow for not only more professionalism and humanity but better and more effective training as well as enforce an accountability factor and goes some way to heal the rift created by such a disastrous incident.

My thoughts go out to the family of George Floyd and pray for a peace that I already know will never happen as once you lost someone close to you under such horrific circumstances and that could have been avoided (in my opinion) - you will live it with it forever 💔

11/12/2019

“Depression”
One of the biggest things I haven't actually talked about, but it's so, so important is that of depression.
As much as it can be an emotional thing, it's also has an effect mentally (in the way of how and what we think..) but also combined with a very, very physical effect on your body (too in terms of feeling heavy, lethargic, fatigued).
Studies time and time again have actually given the thumbs up to physical exercise and moving as a way of preventing as well as managing depressive symptoms.
Definitely for me, when I used to go through (my very down days), I would take myself to a class! Even though, I didn't have the pressure to mingle with people - (just) being around people helped me, and also because we did exercise together, in itself, that became a bit more motivating.
(So) one thing I hear a lot of is for some people, feel a bit intimidated or don't feel they're fit enough to go to a gym. So..... if that is you and you're feeling very uncomfortable, but realise the need and are ready for physical exercise in your lives, then drop me a message and I'll send you a personal workout, okay!
DM me on here and I’ll send u a private link!

08/12/2019

“Coping with the Inner Struggle Following an Assault!”
Being a victim of crime has two effects:
- mental and emotional as well as
- physical.

Physically, we can get the:
- shakes/trembling,
- we can flinch if someone comes too close to us too quickly.
- we can also feel heavy / lethargic.
On an emotional / mental level, we may suffer from:
- depression after the incident,
- have feelings of anticipation and anxiety,
- feelings of fear, especially of panic and
- not feeling very safe at all.
As both the physical and emotional aspects are linked together, one can offset the other (so is there a way of breaking the vicious cycle to develop a sense of inner peace?).
We mention talking therapies (or confiding in friends and family), in an earlier post, as a way of sharing your feelings and not suffering in isolation, and to also process and cope with the event itself.
Another side of it, on another level, (of) what we could do is also perhaps look at the aspect of:
Physical exercise (by way of) how that can enhance mood and also make us feel physically stronger, and more capable, that could hopefully that offset the downward moods that we may have.
Personally, for me, as I worked through my own sense of fragility post incidents in terms of physical violence and emotional abuse!
It took a while before I could finally come to terms with everything that happened as well as move on. Physical exercise / martial arts allowed me to mingle with people so I didn’t stay alone as well as feel better due to the endorphins and a sense of accomplishment after finishing a class. Counselling provided a space to talk and to offload so feel supported so for me it was a win-win though it was a tough road to walk.
My gratitude goes to and Mark Hewett during those early years that helped give me a foundation to developing a more profound sense of deeper healing. 🙏🏽

06/12/2019

If you have ever been a victim of crime and having a hard time.
I want to discuss about the aspect of mental health, emotional wellbeing, and also being a victim of crime, because obviously, this can have a massive, massive impact on yourselves if you've ever had the unfortunate experience of being attacked, (verbally) abused, intimidated, (also bullied) or anything to that effect.
How we are affected is very, very individual and unique to us. In those cases, sometimes it is probably advisable to NOT go through it alone and reaching out to a friend.
Consider contacting the GP and getting some help in terms of a talking therapy, which will allow you to air what's going on, to deal with the anxieties, your fears and to hopefully come through that as best as you can in order to continue living your lives.
Going beyond the video, other organisations such as victim support, and the BACP (google them to get a counsellor close to you!
If I can be of any help, please feel free to reach out!

05/12/2019

The Benefits of Personal Training - Specialisation!
So the third and final benefit for me in particular is about specialization. So, that could be:
- Mass gain/Bodybuilding,
- Fat loss/Weight loss.
For me, my training incorporates all of that, especially when it comes to sports performance. In particular, the martial arts and competitions such as White Collar Boxing, K-1, Kickboxing events, and even grappling!
I have a big interest in personal safety and self defence and how we cope under pressure. So a lot of my training is geared to developing you psychologically and having a mental attitude in handling stress in everything.
My qualifications go back to the Institute of Human Performance for strength and conditioning for MMA, as well as various boxing qualifications and a functional striking qualification by the legendary .
So if that sounds really interesting, please feel free to get in touch and I'll be happy to help you.