Robotic Boxing Trainer (RBT)
Train without the pain (and protect the brain)
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Boxing Enthusiast,
Thank you for visiting the RBT website. These products are so unique and really work well to give you an edge.
New RBT Freestyle
freestyle as mitt training video
Slip Punch
See boxing trainer Rey Perez, owner of 12 Rounds of Boxing Fitness Gym, use the Slip Punch below.
slip punch at body (front view)
Boxing trainer Rey Perez commentary
The Slip Punch is one arm activated by the trainer or by the boxer themselves just by activating a hand switch. This way any sequence could be followed. Since the hand switch gives great feel, the punch could be started slow or fast, the punch does not have to retract fully to engage again, and the overall speed is controlled by the air pressure for consistent speed of punches from 5 to 13 MPH.
If desired, a separate module could be added to activate the Slip Punch at random so no hand activation is needed. A "boxing glove" (as shown in the videos) can be added to the arm or it can be taken off for more of a challenge.
Now compare the slip bag/ball video
Please let me know your thoughts.
Based on a review of reaction time research, the authors of an article in Perceptual Motor Skills concluded that “reaction time must be considered a skill dependent upon experience and learning.”-------------------------------------------------------------------
This website is a beginning point and under construction. It will improve over time. The RBT you see in the video is a working prototype and not exactly a finished product. By "working prototype", I mean that it is holding up to as much reasonable "use and abuse" as I could throw at it and still continue working as it should.
"Its original purpose to train boxers and fighters of all sorts safely and efficiently, not to mention at a fraction of the injuries caused. I knew anyway that there is NO sparring partner that can throw very consistent speeds time after time, and progress those speeds as the trainee developed their ability to avoid getting hit by slipping, ducking or blocking. NO sparring partner that mimics the RBT realistic punch speed can have it hit the trainee with no injury. Physics does not allow it and the RBT makes what throughout history was impossible, now possible. Please think about that a moment. No device until now allowed a person to train at RBT jab speeds from 5 to 13 mph and not get hurt so that a trainee could progress at avoiding getting hit in a unique, set fashion. No device throws a jab 4 mph slower and faster than a healthy young male's average jab speed of 9 mph. It covers slow to superman jab speeds. THAT is a big deal. Feel free to heavily research all the boxing robot competition videos and related device patents or un-patented projects, and except the challenge to find one better than the RBT. Not just that, find one that can take the abuse the RBT can. Try to find one that can be blocked in any 360 degree direction with about the same feel as deflecting a human's jab. Does it have a fast return speed ANYWHERE along the punch length if blocked, like the RBT? Does the shoulder return to a straight position quickly after being deflected as the RBT does? Obviously, it is asked that you fairly weigh all the RBT features.
Note: The RBT is a training tool with a specific, needed purpose, just as a punching heavy bag, double-end bag, etc. The RBT will most definitely help in a fighting scenario, but it is NOT a substitute for a sparring partner. NOTHING can mimic that. The RBT is a means to an end, just as any fighting equipment practiced on. Existing boxing tools allow the trainee to practice as to HELP when actually fighting a human. The RBT does the same; it helps for the real situation but it is NOT the real situation.
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Best regards,
John Signorino
Find out more about me in the About Us section.
Videos on YouTube demonstrating the RBT:
video 1 covers adjustments, 1 arm at slow
video 2 covers 1 arm at medium speed
video 3 covers 1 arm at fast, deflection/retraction
video 4 covers boxing 2 arms at slow speed
video 5 covers front view 2 arms almost slow
Reviews:
"I have to say that it was fun and challenging, a very helpful tool for boxers and fighters as well, when it comes to blocking and especially head movement. If there is one thing that is neglected nowadays in boxing is head movement and I felt that after using the Robotic Boxing Trainer my reflexes were sharper, it had me on my toes. If you are a boxer I highly recommend John's system it helps you on balance, reflexes, speed, counterpunching, core strengthening, but more importantly to protect yourself at all times."
Rey Perez, trainer and owner of the fantastic gym, 12 Rounds of Boxing Fitness in South Austin.
"I've only been practicing for 2 years. Before I started boxing I've been involved in various martial arts since I was young. I'd like to think that I'd have some idea of what sparring is vs. training vs. actual combat. This is definitely a tool for training. One of the first basic and important things I was taught (and I agree with) was the jab. It's very simple and very effective. The other important thing is head movement. On a basic level, the jab is meant to set up your other punches. It is also meant to deter the opponent from setting up their punches. In a simplistic view, if the opponent cannot slip a jab then they will never be able to throw a punch without being seen a mile away. Sure there's counter-punching techniques and condition/style of the fighter etc--but let's keep this simple. This tool is excellent for slipping. You can slip jabs or rights (lefts if you're southpaw). You can practice drills with the RBT on one arm. You can go "freestyle" with both arms. You can adjust for speed to get the real timing of a fast punch or you can slow down to understand how your body should move. In my opinion, the RBT will train what most people forget: head movement. If you want positioning, then change your angle of attack during the slip. A little bit of footwork in the pocket can be learned as well especially when you're trying to meet or beat the machine's timing. There's quite a bit to learn from this machine. What you cannot do is beat back on the tool. You also may not be able to afford to stare at the machine and bank on your reflexes to take you places. Natural head movement needs to be developed. I think if someone were to become fairly decent at slipping/positioning almost naturally, then wailing on the opponent is the easy part."
Reynard Blasa
"Rey and Reynard are truly great examples of fast head movement, which I don't possess at their caliber, but I thank them for teaching me. Through their analytical ways of looking at fighting, I see I have a lot to learn and it is a pleasure learning from such kind souls."
John Signorino
"After we trained using the robotic boxing trainer I had a few ideas and comments. First, I really liked the slipping drill, there are no tells with the machine as oppose to a real live opponent or trainer where you can begin to read a rhythm or guess by using foot work or other queues. I also like that you could control it and fire at will using an unpredictable pattern, it also makes you work harder forcing your head to slip or bob and weave, there is no recovery time needed from the machine making the punches come at the same speed or even go faster while you begin to fatigue pushing you farther. Although in it's current state it is a great tool I would suggest in an open forum the following possibly. If the machine can throw one punch it would be nice to have a second arm throwing a soft hook or another straight shot to simulate a real fighter, the catch would be to have them coordinate so that it seemed real, but the advantage of having the machine is that it will force you to move quicker and make you slip, bob and weave and stay light on your fight which is again a positive. If I could add something it would also be another arm throwing punches to the midsection(Note: Chris was at a gym that used the one arm version of the RBT), not hard but to just remind the fighter to protect himself at all times even while engaging, again the machine can do what a real person could not thus forcing you to train against a machine you can't beat and will do things that a person cannot and make give you an edge in reaction time and proper footwork. The last thing is to maybe have it to where it could move side to side a few inches while throwing punches (Note: the RBT can do this but the RBT version there did not have that movement), for example if I slip slip and then bob and weave and let's say I roll out to my right or left and it was just be there firing again, a jab and a body shot, it would force me to react and would improve the fighters training. Overall using it for the first time even in it's current state was pretty good and I would use it again."
Chris after using the fixed one are to slip
The RBT will allow you to train along with protecting the brain
It only takes 7 lbs of pressure to break the nose.punch damage-1
"Doctors from the Sahlgrenska Hospital in Sweden performed spinal taps on boxers within 10 days of a fight. They found that their cerebrospinal fluid had four times the level of a protein called neurofilament light—which is associated with nerve damage—compared with levels found in non-athletes. Some boxers who took more than 15 hits to their head in one bout had brain damage equivalent to that of a minor stroke. Even wearing head gear, boxers’ brains smack against the skull with each blow, stretching blood vessels and damaging cells. Some good news though: the levels of markers for cell damage returned to normal after a three month hiatus from boxing. Dr. James Kelly, a brain injury expert at the University of Colorado said there might be the hope for some recovery for partially injured cells."
punch damage-2
"Amateur boxers are as likely as professional ones to suffer brain damage after fights in the ring,"
"Data suggest that participation in an amateur boxing bout is directly associated with neuronal and astroglial damage, as reflected by the increase in NFL, T-tau, and GFAP concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid," explained the authors."
"But the same tests taken after 3 months of rest from fights in the ring proved that boxers presented decreased, therefore normal, levels of the fibrillary acidic protein (marker for astroglial injury). However, levels of neurofilament light protein (marker for neuronal and axonal injuries) were still higher in amateur boxers as compared to healthy people not involved in any kind of violent sport."
punch damage-3
"Any bang or knock to the cranium, sometimes even the most minor of incidents, can result in serious internal injuries."
"The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., said in an editorial written at the time that nearly 900 boxers have died as a result of injuries in the ring since 1920."
"Even among prizefighters who walk away, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons estimates 15-40 per cent of ex-boxers have some form of chronic brain injury and most professional fighters - whether they have apparent symptoms or not - have some degree of brain damage,"
"If fatal blows can be delivered by someone wearing boxing gloves, what's going to happen when someone is beating at a person's head with bare fists?"
punch damage-4
"The American Association of Neurological Surgeons say that 90% of boxers sustain a brain injury."
"It is estimated that when a boxer gets a direct blow to the head it is like being hit by a 12lb padded, wooden mallet travelling at 20mph!"
"Ex-boxers are more vulnerable to natural aging of the brain and diseases of brain. They may be more likely to suffer diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease."
punch damage-5
"Our findings suggest that brain injury can cause Boxer’s Syndrome by activating mechanisms like the ones that cause tau lesions in Alzheimer’s,’
"These findings lead us to believe that the events of brain injury lead to the same sort of biochemical effects that cause the tau lesions in Alzheimer’s,"
"Boxers, of course, participate in a sport that exposes them to repeated acts of brain trauma. Even those who seem fine after a traumatic event may not realize the injury’s full impact until years later. "The effects of these self inflicted brain injuries are not always readily apparent, and we are only beginning to understand the long-term secondary effects of the trauma,"
punch damage-6
"The upper cut, or rotating injury to the opponent's head, is the main objective in professional boxing, Dr. Hietala said. The rotational force in such a blow can greatly exceed 600 kg, and is delivered in less than one tenth of a second."
"Over the long term, 20 percent of professional boxers develop the punch drunk syndrome, or dementia pugilistica, which was first described in 1929."
"Despite the extra padding in gloves and helmets used in amateur boxing matches, and rounds that are shorter and fewer than in professional fights, Dr. Hietala found a marked increase in neurofilaments, tau, and GFAP one week after boxing. The value for boxers was more than four times that of controls, and in boxers hit the most and the hardest, the average value was more than seven times as high. A few boxers exceeded fifteen times the control value. This is equivalent to a lacunar infarction of half to one centimeter in diameter, he said. After three months without an intervening fight, the values for all the brain proteins normalized."
"Animal models also showed that a linear hit - a jab - is much less likely to cause concussion than an upper cut of the same force."
"Truly, there is simply no way to make a sport safe in which the stated objective is to produce a brain injury in your opponent before he produces it in you. Even amateur boxing causes brain injury. We had suspected that, but now we have better evidence."
Let me know what you think.
Now that I have patent pending on the RBT and could show it and how it works, I need your input.
Please send your thoughts to john@roboticboxingtrainer.com
Reaction times Can Improve
reaction time study-1
"Although there are inherent limitations to reaction time, each athlete can improve—shorten—response time and offset some of the limitations that still exist through experience and anticipation."
"The difference in reaction time was measured in hundredths of seconds, but at the elite level hundredths of seconds can mean the difference between winning and losing, fame and relative obscurity, and first place money versus lower payouts."
"Each athlete has a built-in, limited time range to react, but within those boundaries is plenty of room for improvement."
190 milliseconds (0.19 seconds)
The amount of time it takes a college-aged person to react a visual stimulus
140 - 160 milliseconds (0.16 seconds)
The amount of time it takes a college-aged person to react to a sound stimulus
0 - late 20s
The ages during which simple reaction time shortens (get faster)
Late 20s – 50s & 60s
The ages during which simple reaction time slowly increases (gets slower)
.375 seconds
The amount of time a baseball players has to react to a 90-mph fastball
"Movements that are practiced in game-like situations are the ones most likely to be used in competition."
reaction time study-2
"If there is only one possible response (simple reaction time) it will only take a short time to react. If there are several possible responses (choice reaction time) then it will take longer to determine which response to carry out."
John speaking: Think how the above plays into one RBT arm vs two arms to try to avoid.
"Reaction time itself is an inherent ability, but overall response time can be improved by practice."
"Controlling anxiety - which slows reaction times by adding conflicting information."
"The cue for the reaction to take place can be visual (movement of an object) or a specific command (voice) or sound (starter's gun). The cue should be appropriate to your event or sport"
reaction time study-3
"For about 120 years, the accepted figures for mean simple reaction times for college-age individuals have been about 190 ms (0.19 sec) for light stimuli and about 160 ms for sound stimuli (Galton, 1899; Fieandt et al., 1956; Welford, 1980; Brebner and Welford, 1980)."
"Many researchers have confirmed that reaction to sound is faster than reaction to light, with mean auditory reaction times being 140-160 msec and visual reaction times being 180-200 msec (Galton, 1899; Woodworth and Schlosberg, 1954; Fieandt et al., 1956; Welford, 1980; Brebner and Welford, 1980)."
"Reaction time is fastest with an intermediate level of arousal, and deteriorates when the subject is either too relaxed or too tense (Welford, 1980; Broadbent, 1971; Freeman, 1933)."
"They found that moderate muscular tension (10% of maximum) shortened the precontraction reaction times of subjects who were asked to extend either their left or right leg in a choice reaction time task. Again, it seemed that muscular tension allowed the brain to work faster."
"Simple reaction time shortens from infancy into the late 20s, then increases slowly until the 50s and 60s, and then lengthens faster as the person gets into his 70s and beyond"
"..in almost every age group, males have faster reaction times than females"
"The authors concluded that left-handed people have an inherent reaction time advantage."
"The fastest reaction time comes when a stimulus is seen by the cones (when the person is looking right at the stimulus). If the stimulus is picked up by rods (around the edge of the eye), the reaction is slower. Ando et al., 2002 found that practice on a visual stimulus in central vision shortened the reaction time to a stimulus in peripheral vision, and vice versa."
"Sanders (1998, p. 21) cited studies showing that when subjects are new to a reaction time task, their reaction times are less consistent than when they've had an adequate amount of practice."
"Fontani et al. (2006) showed that in karate, more experienced practitioners had shorter reaction times"
"Fillmore and Blackburn (2002) found that subjects who had drunk an impairing dose of alcohol reacted faster when they were warned that this was enough alcohol to slow their reaction time. Unwarned subjects who drank suffered more decreased reaction times. However, the warned subjects were also less inhibited and careful in their responses. Even subjects who drank some nonalcoholic beverage and then were warned (falsely) about impairment by alcohol reacted faster than unwarned subjects who drank the same"
"Brebner (1980) found that extroverted personality types had faster reaction times"
"Welford (1980) found that physically fit subjects had faster reaction times"
"Shocking a subject when he reacts slowly does shorten reaction time" The RBT gives a slight shock when not avoided.
"there is a slight tendency for more intelligent people to have faster reaction times"
"As might be expected, brain injury slows reaction time" The RBT allows training without the brain damage
Mental fatigue, especially sleepiness, has the greatest effect (in slowing reaction times).
...reviewed studies showing that distractions increase reaction time.
...found that stimuli that were predictable elicited faster reaction times, probably because of decreased computational load on the brain.
....found that reaction time was faster when the stimulus occurred during expiration than during inspiration (in breathing).
Overspeed Training
You can also improve your reaction time by training yourself to react to things that move faster than the needs of your sport. A baseball player might take batting practice while using a special pitching machine that throws pitches at 130 to 150 miles per hour. His brain would adapt to seeing the faster pitches. In turn, this would improve his ability to react to a 90 to 100 mile an hour pitch. A NASCAR driver might use a special driver simulation device that mimicks driving a race car at 200 plus miles per hour. This makes driving at 130 miles per hour seem slow and easy by comparison. You don't necessarily need a special machine. For example, an offensive tackle who has bad reaction time and continuously gets beat off the ball against defensive ends might practice pass protection drills against speedier linebacker types. Their greater speed would improve his ability to react to the slower defensive end. study
Researchers in France performed a study that proves reaction time is a skill that can be improved and/or learned.
Reaction time and explosive quickness is an important part of overall speed training for football and the best football players have this quality. study
More info:
Sight signals take 50 milliseconds to zip from eye to brain and for the brain to see.
Visual stimuli takes slightly longer, about 150 milliseconds. It appears with intense training, however, people (like fighter pilots) can speed up their visual detection and integration to stimuli to 33 milliseconds.
Automatic processing has a much greater capacity and is much faster at mapping stimuli to correct responses. Familiarity with stimuli is a hallmark of automatic processing.
Make him miss, by a little bit
You don’t need your opponent to miss you by a foot or two; you just need him to miss you. Actually, you just want him not to hit you flush and direct. If he just grazes the side of your head, great! He didn’t do any damage, and it won’t be counted as a point.
So, just like in blocking and in your footwork, stay under control with small movements. -Boxing Trainer
The idea of non-telegraphing is to initiate your punch without any forewarning (tensing your shoulders or moving your feet or body) so your opponent does not have enough time to react. If you punch with jut a slight motion of your feet or body, you have "telegraphed" or warned your opponent of your intention. -Bruce Lee
RBT reaction times needed
The RBT punch length is like a real arm general punch length of 18 inches. So if a person is just at the end of 18 inches but still in range to get hit, see the mph below and reaction times needed to avoid the hit. Anywhere someone is closer than the 18 inches, then their reaction time has to be even quicker.
13 mph = 80 milliseconds (ms) needed reaction time
12 mph = 85 ms
11 mph = 90 ms
10 mph = 100 ms
9 mph = 110 ms
8 mph = 120 ms
7 mph = 140 ms
6 mph = 170 ms
5 mph = 200 ms
Note: A snake bite in comparison is slow. Although the max speed of a rattlesnakes reaches 10 mph, from it's set position to strike, to the point of actually striking, takes about a half-second (500 ms). Study here.
"A rattlesnake strike, start to finish, takes only half a second and covers just a few inches."
"It reaches maximum velocity of 10 miles an hour just at payload delivery."
RBT hits with 2300% less force
To get a decent perspective of the RBT power in ft-lbs of kinetic energy felt as the result of the mass and speed vs the same in a human's, see the below calculations of the extremes.
Note: foot-pound, abbr. ft-lb, unit of work or energy in the customary English gravitational system; it is the work done or energy expended by a force of 1 pound acting through a distance of 1 foot.
Approximate weight of RBT arm that moves forward = 8 oz
Average weight of human arm of male = 9 to 12 lbs
Below is the kinetic energy generated going by an 8 oz RBT arm vs a 12 lb human arm at the various speeds we are dealing with.
RBT is black vs human arm is red
13 mph = 2.82 ft-lb vs 67.8 ft-lb
12 mph = 2.4 vs 57.8
11 mph = 2.0 vs 48.5
10 mph = 1.67 vs 40.1
9 mph = 1.35 vs 32.5
8 mph = 1.0 vs 25.7
7 mph = .8 vs 19.7
6 mph =.6 vs 14.4
5 mph =.4 vs 10
The increase of felt energy from the human arm vs the RBT arm is approximately 2300% across the spectrum of speeds.
Keep in mind I am only going by arm weights. When someone puts their shoulder and body twist movement also into the punch, the percentage increase in difference greatly increases.
Now, which would you rather train with?
Note: It is not posted yet, but the new RBT (RoBerT) has boxing gloves put on since there have been many requests for them. I found a way to use them and still keep the same speeds, but even re-stuffing the gloves with lighter foam still brought the weight of the arms to 16 oz, so the percent difference in feel compared to the human arm is 1100%, still very good.
