FAQ

Can I just turn up to class?

No, due to capacity all tickets must be booked in advance through Outsavvy at the link above. If you do not have a valid ticket in your name, you are not covered by our insurance policy in the event of an injury.

I am currently not feeling fit and/or bad at sports, is it okay for me to join?

Absolutely. Your experience is not a unique one at Knockout. As LGBTQ+ people, we have faced many different pressures and struggles around our bodies or fitting into different social groups.

Being unfit and bad at sports are not immutable traits and Knockout exists to help you learn a new set of skills in a positive and welcoming environment. Many of our coaches are people who started off feeling the same way and now know boxing well enough to teach others.

If I have boxed before, can I come to the experienced class first?

Yes, but please attend a Monday or Thursday class where we have more coaching capacity to support new experienced members.

At a minimum, we’d expect you to know how to:

• Hold a boxing stance

• Throw straight shots (jab/cross)

• Throw bent arm shots (hooks/uppercuts)

• Move without bringing your feet together

Should you demonstrate the right level of ability in this first class, you would then be welcome to attend any class we offer (except sparring – see ‘Questions about the club’).

These are also our most social classes so you will get a better feel for the club and meet more people this way.

Can I bring a friend?

Of course! You’ll need to book the ticket in their name though as we need an accurate register for health & safety and insurance purposes.

Are allies allowed to attend?

We do not ask anyone to ‘prove’ their identity but we trust people to exercise their judgement about if Knockout LGBTQ+ Boxing Club is best suited for them given our limited capacity.

My LGBTQ+ child wants to learn to box, is Knockout suitable for them?

Yes! We offer a free class for LGBTQ+ young persons (ages 13-18) every Sunday. You will find the booking information here. You must fill in the parent/guardian consent form before your child can attend the class. Please note that parents/guardians will not be permitted to spectate but are welcome to use the waiting area at the leisure centre.

How do I cancel my ticket?

Outsavvy allows you to do a ‘Ticket Change’, whereby you can swap a ticket for another class.

Outsavvy currently requires ‘Pay What You Can’ tickets to be refunded or cancelled manually. As a volunteer-run club, we do not have the capacity to do this.

In exceptional circumstances where Ticket Change is not an option, we may process refunds but these need to be requested at least 24 hours before a class.

How does Ticket Change work?

You need to access your ticket on Outsavvy using a web or mobile browser (it doesn’t seem to be available on the app yet).

There should be an option to change your ticket. Click through and follow the instructions. If it asks you to pay for a ticket, you have mistakenly clicked on the event page.

Also note that while Outsavvy will show all training dates, you will get an error message if you try to swap to a class that is not currently on sale.

What do I need?

At your first class, you only need to bring yourself wearing comfortable clothing that is suitable for sports. We recommend that you wear shoes with a flat sole as a chunky heel can make it difficult to move around in your boxing stance but this is not a must. We will provide the rest of the equipment.

After your first class you must purchase your own handwraps for hygienic reasons. These can be purchased directly from the club for £9.00 or you can buy them elsewhere. We recommend 4.5m wraps for most people, or 3.5m if you have slender wrists.

Please see our equipment guide for more information, including advice around gloves.

I am currently injured, can I come to class?

It depends on the nature of the injury. A minor muscle ache or similar is probably fine but as we are not medical professionals, we cannot give advice beyond that. At the start of each class, the lead coach will usually ask if anyone has any injuries they wish to disclose. This can be done privately and enables the coach to keep you safe and suggest possible modifications. It is up to the coach’s discretion if they think you are able to train and if they say you cannot train, their decision is final.

I wear a binder/I've recently had top surgery. Is it okay for me to come to class?

We know how important binders are to those who wear them. However, we do not recommend that one is worn during class as they can impact your breathing and mobility.

With regards to top surgery, we are not medically trained to advise on this. You should speak to your doctor for advice and clearance. Since boxing and training uses the arms a lot, some movements may feel uncomfortable. You should never push yourself to do anything that causes you discomfort and pain - let us know if this happens.

I have access needs. Can you support me?

Without knowing the specifics, we cannot give a definitive answer. If there are adaptations or adjustments that would mean you could participate in a safe way then we are happy to explore this with you. Drop us an email and let’s chat.

In general, you may find it useful to know that the gyms we use all require the use of stairs, are brightly lit with white overhead lighting, and that there will always be a significant level of background noise. We have control over some of these aspects but not others.

How will you keep me safe?

All of our coaches have been trained by England Boxing. This qualification requires coaches to attend an assessment course of their coaching skills, along with first aid training, safeguarding training and an enhanced DBS check. The coaches meet regularly as a peer network to upskill, including training around neurodiversity. The venues have all been risk assessed and the club is insured.

We have a dedicated Welfare lead on the committee, who is responsible for managing all safeguarding issues in line with our policy. The committee also has an Equalities and Diversity lead to ensure any concerns around participation and representation can be addressed. We are always looking to improve our services and welcome any feedback or support from members.

Do you take photos and videos?
Yes, from time to time our social media officer or a coach will film clips of class that we use to show what our classes look like and encourage more LGBTQ+ people to try. It’s our main way of reaching potential boxers. Feel free to let coaches know if you don’t want to be on social media. Though we would do our best to honour any requests you have, as a volunteer-run club we may not have the capacity to do this quickly and would only do so under exceptional circumstances.

Do you only offer boxing classes?

Yes. We are an amateur boxing club, officially registered with England Boxing. If you want to do other combat sports with LGBTQ+ people, check out the Out for Sport directory.

Do you offer 1-2-1 coaching?

We do not since we do not have our own space. That said, many of the coaches offer this on their own time but this is not through Knockout. If you would be interested in this, you should come to class and speak to some coaches.

Do you offer sparring?

Yes! We run sparring classes on a weekly basis. These are open to anyone 18+ who has been approved by the head coaches and has passed a medical. We also run a regular ‘Intro to Sparring’ course which helps prepare you over 5 weeks to give it a go.

Isn’t sparring dangerous?

As with any sport, boxing is dangerous even when practiced correctly. Sparring is an opportunity to practice your skills against another person in a more dynamic and reactive environment. In sparring, boxers wear protection for their head, mouth and groin (and may also choose to wear chest protection) and use gloves with more padding. These all help minimise injury.

Each session is supervised by a trained coach who will step in should they have any safety concerns. There is no pressure on anyone to spar, or to finish a round of sparring should they change their mind. We take a dim view of any boxer who uses excessive force and shows a lack of respect for their sparring partners.

I am doing university research and I think Knockout would be a good fit, can you help me?

No. We get a lot of requests like this and it is very time-consuming on our part with very little benefit to the club. If you are a regular member of the club, then we may have a different position.

I am a journalist and I want to write about Knockout, would you be interested?

Potentially. We have already had a lot of media exposure so any coverage would need to be something new that has not already been covered elsewhere. It will be a definite no to any requests from publications which harm the LGBTQ+ community.

Could you run a private class for my organisation?

It would depend on the nature of your organisation, the work involved, and the benefit to Knockout. We would only work with organisations whose values are in line with our own, and whose work does not harm the LGBTQ+ community.

I have emailed previously, why haven’t you responded?

As mentioned, we are a volunteer-run club so our capacity is limited. Additionally, if you have selected the box that says you’ve read this FAQ but ask a question that’s been answered here, we will not respond.