Gilmer, Frank – Push Yourself. A Book for Amateur Boxers and Boxing Fans

Description

Gilmer, Frank ‘Push Yourself. A Book for Amateur Boxers and Boxing Fans’ 1941 1st edition. 86-pages. Contents: Foreward, Position, Footwork, Hitting, Counterpunching, Attack, Infighting, Generalship, Training and Supervision. VG. Another in Good condition with faded covers. $25 ea.

Push Yourself: A Book for Amateur Boxers and Boxing Fans is an instructional sports handbook written by Frank Gilmer and published in 1941. The 86-page hardcover book was independently printed by the Keystone Printing Service in Libertyville, Illinois.

Target Audience: True to its subtitle, the book bridges the gap between practice and spectatorship. It was written simultaneously as a technical manual for young, up-and-coming amateur pugilists and an educational guide to help casual boxing fans better understand the nuances of the sport.

The text focuses on the foundational rules and athletic demands of amateur boxing. It outlines proper conditioning, ring movement, defensive positioning, and clean punching technique—emphasizing the title’s theme of self-discipline and “pushing yourself” to achieve physical and mental fitness.

Frank Gilmer was an authoritative voice in the mid-century amateur fight racket. He specialized heavily in the technical, regulatory side of the sport, later leveraging the training concepts in this book to write his prominent 1960 manual, How to Judge Boxing.

Due to its localized midwest printing on the eve of World War II, original copies are highly elusive. The book notably holds unique cultural significance among martial arts historians, as a rare original 1941 printing was preserved as a prized reference piece within The Bruce Lee Library Research Project.