A woman practices jabbing. (Jiang Xiaowei/SHINE)
Having treated many patients who got injured punching or kicking, doctor Li strongly advises boxing enthusiasts to put on protective gear. "The common injures include elbow and rib fractures, as well as arthrodesis and shoulder dislocation," he says.
He also emphasizes that women should stop intensive training like boxing when they are in the period.
Many female boxers say they would never have discovered their hidden strength if they hadn't tried boxing.
When they take off their high heels, remove their makeup, put on boxing gloves and headgear and step into the ring, these office ladies immediately shift to "fighters."
Chang, who has been training for three years, used to be very shy and quiet, but she says boxing has had a great influence on her personality.
At work, she often needs to challenge others' ideas. Before learning boxing, she was reluctant to argue with others and suffered as a result. But now she is very confident in the workplace.
"Boxing allows me to know that when facing challenges, the best solution is not falling back but overcoming fear first, then defending and finally attacking," she says.
For a large number of female boxing lovers, to prove that they are strong and independent is the reason why they take boxing classes.
Cecilia Zhang, a full-time yoga teacher, is one of them.
"I think boxing is a very cool sport. When you stand in the ring, you will be confident and strong spontaneously, which breaks the gender bias that women are weak. This is why I wanted to learn it," she says.
Zhang learned karate during her school days before Muay Thai in 2015. However, she gave up this vigorous sport one year later and changed to mindful yoga.
"Though I love boxing, it is just not suitable for me. I am an emotional person. When I kicked and punched, I merely let off steam but couldn't remember any footwork or skill, therefore I started to learn yoga which helps me control my emotions."
Indeed, boxing is still not a mainstream sport.
"Many colleagues asked me whether there is a conflict between my job, which requires me to be calm and rational, and boxing, a somewhat violent sport," Chang says. "Actually, boxing is both a physical and mental sport. It allows me to think calmly even when I get the adrenaline rush."
And for a certain number of women, boxing is a good way to protect themselves.
"We don't encourage our female students to fight against enemies," says Gong. "But the training indeed helps women when they face attack."
Though women's boxing dates back to the early 18th century, it was not until the 2012 Olympic Games in London that women were allowed to box competitively.
The recognition of women's boxing as an Olympic sport is fundamentally important to female boxers like Gong.
"People began to know what women's boxing is. It is not about fighting but a sport, just like tennis and swimming," says Gong.
