Women's Boxing: Dan Vos

Tassie boxer Dan Vos tells Cherrie all about her experiences in the sport of women's boxing

How did you get into boxing?

I grew up in Tassie and when I was young I asked my dad to buy me a punching bag, but it was nothing really serious until I moved to Sydney in 2007 and I met my coach, Nadine Champion, who is a kick-boxing and boxing trainer. She asked me if I wanted to come into the gym and I said sure. Since that day I haven’t looked back.

What do you think has lead to more women getting into it?

I think the fact that it has become legalised in NSW and the fact that women feel that they should be given the same opportunities as men. We shouldn’t be treated as though we have to be wrapped up in cotton wool and protected. Up until recently there weren’t that many women involved, now we are kind of taking over and we have this little group where we can spar and train together. It becomes this empowering thing for women, which is great.

And do you find there is a really strong camaraderie between women boxers?

Yeah definitely. We hang out together, and even though it’s competitive in the ring, you can shake hands at the end of it and look each other in the eye and know that it stops there. You don’t take any feelings outside of it.

What was the hardest thing for you to learn as a boxer?

I’d say for me it’s the stamina that’s required. And also just trying to keep your arms up by the end of the round and keep punching. My favourite thing about the sport ironically is the footwork. I like to kinda dance my way around the ring.

What did you have to do to go from hitting a bag to hitting a person?

For me, when I started out sparring, the idea of hitting someone in the face was really daunting because I’m not an aggressive person at all. And even though the sport can be perceived as quiet brutal I actually don’t think it’s quite like that. But as my coach said to me, you have to give that person the respect of hitting them. When you’re sparring you agree on what level from one to ten that you’re going to spar at and we test that before we get into the session. And the more you spar, the more confident you get in being able to hit people.

Have you ever been really hurt?

I think maybe I’ve had a tiny blood nose, but nothing severe. The hardest punches I’ve had have been to my body, and of course when we're sparring were wearing head gear and mouth guards. It can be dangerous, but I’m at the point where I’m working towards my first fight and the intensity of the sparing is just starting to heat up now.

When is your first fight?

I’m looking at within the next six months so I’ve been going to a few amateur bouts to see who’s around, suss out my competition!

Do you know who it might be yet?

No, and to be honest you sometimes don’t even know till the night. I actually did have a fight lined up a while ago, but I had to go to Tassie for a wedding, so I didn’t want to mess up my face just before I had to be a bridesmaid. I don’t think the bride would have been too happy. So, it will be in the next six months, but I won’t be going in until my coach thinks I’m really ready, which makes me a bit more confident.

How strict is the regime you’ll be going through up until that time?

When you’re starting to get really serious leading up to a fight it does get tricky in terms of restriction. I wouldn’t be going out drinking for eight weeks in the lead up to a fight. I would be training several sessions with my coach in the gym each week and a couple of those would be sparing sessions fighting with girls and guys.  Then on the days in between I’d be running, doing sprints, weight training, working on the speed ball, shadow boxing and working on technique.

Do you think women’s boxing is being taken as seriously as men’s boxing yet?

I don’t think it’s being taken as seriously yet. It has a bit of a way to go, but certainly the amateur fight nights I’ve been to, within the boxing world itself, it is being taken on a more serious level than it was. The girls are respected, but I think outside of that, that most people who aren’t heavily involved in the sport would perceive guys to be the real deal when it comes to fighting. I think it has the potential to get there especially with women’s boxing being on the cards for the 2012 Olympics.

Have you ever had any negative experiences involving the guys in the gyms?

I’ve never really experienced any negativity, but sometimes when you’re just coming into the gym and you’re just training off your own back, it’s hard in the sense that the guys like to take up space, and as a female you almost feel like you’re not entitled to that space. My coach says never be afraid to take up space, you gotta go in there and if you want to be in that spot for twenty minutes then claim that space and own it cos it’s yours.

Have you got a boxing hero?

That would have to be the great Muhammad Ali. I have posters of him up on my wall. Like I said, I love the footwork and he was a really beautiful mover in the ring.

What about your nickname, have you got one?

[Laughs] Well, I like to call myself ‘The Dutch Touch’ cos I’ve got a lot of Dutch blood running through my veins, but most of the time my coach just calls me ‘Killer’, and I say no it’s ‘The Dutch Touch’, so I’m still trying to make that one stick...we’ll see how we go.