START THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Boxingyoga is the unlikely amalgam hitting the fitness world where it hurts. But is it a killer combo or sucker punch?

You’d be forgiven for believing Boxingyoga sounds oxymoronic. Possibly just moronic. How can an hour-long fitness class fuse the explosive power of boxing with the quiet, introspective posturing of yoga? The short answer is: it can’t. The briefly popular Piloxing – a lazy portmanteau of pilates and boxing – had already attempted to flit between rounds of uppercuts and downward dogs, with predictably limited success.

However, Boxingyoga isn’t a one-two combo of opposed philosophies, but the latest attempt to make yoga – most recently the domain of Lululemon-clad women – more accessible for, you know, blokes. This isn’t yoga and boxing, but yoga for boxers. Or as the punchy strapline suggests: “Yoga for tough guys”. From increased musculoskeletal strength to enhanced flexibility, boxing coach Matt Garcia saw how regular practice could turn his fighters into more robust athletes. But he just couldn’t stomach the esoteric mumbojumbo, as he saw it, that the age-old institution seemed to be wrapped up in. It was after his yogi insisted he try breathing through his left lung that he finally decided to set up his own, more palatable off-shoot of the dynamic yoga form, ashtanga vinyasa.

Since then, Boxingyoga has become a global trend. Fitness First has added it to its timetables, while elite performance coaches at Saracens RFC attribute their players’ rehabilitation to regular sessions.

But is this merely Broga by another name? Or, by drawing on the specific needs of boxers, could it be the ultimate yoga practice for the modern man? We went the distance to find out whether Boxingyoga is a genuine contender or heavyweight flop.