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(Photo by Bogdan Yukhymchuk<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>)<\/p>\n Boxing has lasted centuries without a colored belt system, but that\u2019s not a reason to avoid one now. Tradition shouldn\u2019t be an obstacle to progress. A formal progression system (like martial arts have) would strengthen boxing for teachers, students and the sport\u2019s future.<\/p>\n I say this not from the cheap seats but from inside the ring. I\u2019m 51 years old, a writer and professor by day. For the past four years, I\u2019ve trained and sparred at Valverde Boxing Club in Azusa four days almost every week. I know I\u2019m better than when I started,\u00a0 I just don\u2019t know how much better. There\u2019s no real marker, no explicit or formal acknowledgment of progress.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, my cousin Chino recently earned his Black Belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. It\u2019s a serious accomplishment, one made sweeter because it wasn\u2019t vague. His advancement was measured, tested, recognized. It struck me: why doesn\u2019t boxing offer the same kind of structured system?<\/p>\n It should.<\/p>\n Teachers would benefit first.<\/p>\n A belt system would require coaches to have a clear curriculum. Instead of vague advice and endless yelling, they could guide fighters through structured levels: footwork, combinations, defense, strategy. It would also standardize advancement. Skill would be the benchmark, not just grit, athleticism or how many left hooks to the moneymaker someone can take.\u00a0<\/p>\n Better coaching, better culture.<\/p>\n Students would benefit next.<\/p>\n Belts would provide visible milestones. Right now, boxing measures progress by survival. You know you\u2019re improving when you\u2019re slightly less hurt than last week. That\u2019s not enough. Formal recognition of skill keeps motivation high, especially for the everyday dad who\u2019s not aiming for a title fight.<\/p>\n Retention would improve, too. Boxing gyms lose too many students early. Only one of the five students I started with are still training today. Structured progression (e.g., small wins, clear goals) keeps people engaged long enough to appreciate the sweet science.<\/p>\n Society benefits, too.<\/p>\n Boxing teaches discipline and patience, but it\u2019s rarely formalized. A belt system would reinforce those values. It would also raise boxing\u2019s public image from a blood sport to a lifelong craft with levels of mastery, just like Jiu-Jitsu or Kung Fu.<\/p>\n The critics are predictable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s too hard to implement.\u201d It\u2019s not. Every coach already knows who\u2019s a beginner, intermediate or advanced boxer. A belt system would just make that judgment more consistent and visible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s too subjective.\u201d So is scoring a boxing match. Clear, skill-based criteria\u00a0 (e.g., training hours, combinations thrown, defensive techniques executed, rounds sparred) can make advancement both fair and demanding.<\/p>\n Boxing wouldn\u2019t lose its toughness. It would amplify it.<\/p>\n A belt system wouldn\u2019t hand out trophies for showing up. It would set higher, clearer standards and help boxing grow stronger as both a martial art and an exercise option for people of all backgrounds.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no good reason boxing gyms can\u2019t adopt a belt system. The sport is growing beyond the ring, into fitness classes, martial arts academies, even college programs like at Occidental. If boxing wants to thrive, it needs to show students, not just fighters, where they stand and where they can go.<\/p>\n Boxing has always been about progress. It\u2019s time to make that progress visible.<\/p>\n Carlos Aguilar is editorial director at Quantasy and Associates, a full service ad agency in downtown Los Angeles, lives in Covina and trains at Valverde Boxing Club in Azusa, CA.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Photo by Bogdan Yukhymchuk on Unsplash) Boxing has lasted centuries without a colored belt system, but that\u2019s not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[123422,123419,2320,703,49,48,1172,123420,1264,1262,123418,82,123421,123423],"class_list":{"0":"post-268415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-advanced-boxer","9":"tag-american-kenpo","10":"tag-belt","11":"tag-boxing","12":"tag-ca","13":"tag-canada","14":"tag-coach","15":"tag-combat-hapkido","16":"tag-individual-sports","17":"tag-martial-arts","18":"tag-red-belt","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-valverde-boxing-club","21":"tag-writer-and-professor"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}