BOXING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 212, 28 August 1908, Page 4

BOXING.

■SHOULD IT UK TAUGHT IX SCHOOLS' At what age should bovs be taii"jt the noble art of self-defence? This is „ question that suggests itself to fathers, and Is one to which a large variety of answers should lie given. Without drawing a hard-and-fast line, I should sav that ten year, of age i, a safe average, iheie are those who fear that the lighting instincts inherent in the male animal may be, and probably will be, brought out by the practice of antagonistic:! ; n any form, but we who have been ••through the mill" know better. Boeing as an exercise lias for some years been rather under a cloud, because in the (.-eorgian and early Victorian davs the lashion was to encourage prizehgiits; and there are many to-day who have a very vague idea of tlie vast difference between the two. and who consequently fear that the one must lead to the other. Let us briefly consider the advantage gained by a boy who undergoes an early training in boxing. First, it is admitted to be one of the most .healthy forms of exercise. There is not a muscle that is not brought into play and it is particularly good for lung development. Secondly, it undoubtedly teaches self-control, as to lose one's temper. is to put oneself at the mercy of the opponent. Thirdly, it encourages the virtues of perseverance and endurance, and he who has in good temper withstood the bullets of his friends will surely be more fitted to withstand the' harder knocks, both mental and physi- 1 cal, that he must inevitably meet wilh as lie goes 011 in life. The first llush hit j on the nose from a boxing glove comes as a surprise, and is distinctly unpleasant; but after a bit one gets used to this kind of thing, and familiarity oegins to breed contempt for such minor discomforts.—From an illustrated article in the July Pall Jlall Magazine. 1