A good eye or a black eye: the Venum Reflexball doesn’t pull any punches
18.1.2022
Translation: Katherine Martin
One ball, one elasticated string, constant danger: with the Reflexball, boxers hone their coordination. As a novice, I need to fight to get to grips with it.
The consequence of another pandemic winter is that many of us are trying to knock ourselves into shape again; quite literally in my case. Between breaks from my screen, I’ve started trying my hand at the Reflexball – a rubber ball, attached to a headband, which mercilessly retaliates whenever my punches don’t land. The training tool, which is actually used by martial artists, provides a welcome bit of variety as a coordination and concentration exercise. My ambition was quickly stirred. Because as simple as the concept is (hit it, then hit is some more), it’s much trickier in practice.
At the beginning, I get tangled up in the elasticated string after one or two punches; like an excitable puppy on its lead. And that’s when it’s going well. When it’s going badly, I’m threatened with a technical K.O, because the little ball fits my eye socket like a fist. While my gear resembles something between professional and warrior, I flap around helplessly. I feel slightly overdressed during my bouts with the Venum Reflexball.
People who really know their way around a boxing ring, the Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko for example, simply use a DIY version cobbled together from a tennis ball, a rubber band and a baseball cap. The idea behind the exercise is anything but new, but people like him have given the tool a renewed popularity boost. In the meantime,«Loma» has bagged a collection with Venum – and most likely a couple of new Reflexballs.
On the defensive after five hits
Anyone can either buy or create the equipment. What you can’t buy, is skill. My favourite user comment under the pro video reads: «You’d find me unconscious and beaten half to death, wearing a cap with a damn tennis ball hanging off it». Lomachenko on the other hand, ranked every now and then by Ring Magazine as the best boxer in the world across all weight classes, can hit anything. He has the ingredients for success: hand-eye coordination, timing, technique. And reflexes that he can count on. He doesn’t have to duck out of the way, eyes screwed shut when a bright circle comes flying at his face.
Even as a non-boxer, I wish I had a crumb of any of these qualities. Because my average workday only involves hitting the right letters in a keyboard reliably, I’m on the defensive after no less than five hits. Every attempt to imbue my punches with more power is promptly avenged. So I prod away at the ball in front of me, lost in concentration. And, hooray, I make progress!
In the end, the ball always wins
For now, I’m glad to have been successful enough to regularly manage a few bouts with the Reflexball. It’s fun and has a certain addictive quality to it – one more attempt is always on the cards. A beginner’s tutorial with the kickboxer Gabriel Varga helped me with the first couple of hits. It also helped me to find the right length for the string connecting the ball to the forehead. When you hold it sideways, it should be double the length of your arm. The Venum Reflexball comes with two straps which are hooked to the headband with a small karabiner, fed through one of the balls and then fastened to the required length. The balls are differently elasticated – the yellow is a bit harder to handle and is therefore the faster «opponent». That doesn’t change much for me, though. After all, the ball always wins in the end.
Michael Restin
Senior Editor
Michael.Restin@digitecgalaxus.chSimple writer and dad of two who likes to be on the move, wading through everyday family life. Juggling several balls, I'll occasionally drop one. It could be a ball, or a remark. Or both.
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