Boxing Performance May Benefit from Pertaining of the Boxer to a Given Zodiacal Sign

doi:10.4236/ape.2014.41005

Paper Menu >>

Journal Menu >>

Advances in Physical Education

2014. Vo l.4, No.1, 29-35

Published Online February 2014 in SciRes (htt p://www.s cirp.org/journal/ape) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ape.2014.41005

OPEN ACCE SS

Boxing Performance May Benefit from Pertaining of the

Boxer to a Given Zodiacal Sign

André Mu kala Nsengu Tshibang u

Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, P.O. Box 212,

Kinshas a 11 , De m o cratic Rep ublic of the Co ng o

Email: [email protected]

Received N o v ember 25th, 2013; r ev ised December 25th, 2013; accepted January 5th, 2014

tive Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any me-

dium, provided the original work is properly cited. In accordance of the Creative Commons Attribution License

The aim of t he pres ent study is not to provide the r eader wit h a proof of ast rology’s val idity. Th e present

stud y has b een undert ak en in the a im of pro viding th e coa ch wi th an ori ginal tool for identi ficat ion of t he

candidates more advantaged than others to boxing practice, in the case that the coach has too numerous

candi dates to dea l with. Micr osoft Offic e Excel 200 7 program has b een used in the a nalysis of data gath-

ered fr om BoxR ec .c om, t he web b ased da t aba s e, about t he Wor ld t op 100 mal e boxer s B oxRec . c om-rated,

reti red on Mar ch 26th, 2013 . The study has shown tha t boxi ng perfor manc e may be infl uenced b y pertain-

ing of the boxer to given zodiacal signs: 1) Regarding all victories pulled together, the most disadvan-

taged are Sagittarius signs. As other zodiacal signs related to the element Fire, they probably rarely dis-

play tactful behavior. Their resulting impulsiveness may make them neglectful of their defense. 2) Re-

gardi ng all los ses pull ed together, the most dis advantaged a re Aqua rius signs . As other zodiacal s igns re-

lated to the element Air , they probably think too m uch bef ore they act; and t hey tend to rise a bove conflict

and to float around it. All that may affect negatively their attack velocity and defense velocity. 3) Re-

gardi ng non-KO vic tori es and KO losses , the most a dvanta ged are Sc orpi o signs. Cont rar y to other Wat er

signs which a re used to det est al l form of c onflict , they oft en seek out chall enges and p roblems, sublimi-

nally realizing that such challenges call forth their greatest strength and resources. That may probably

help them not to neglect their attack, what is expectable in other Water signs. 4) Regarding all victories

pulled together, all losses pulled together, and non-KO losses, the most advantaged are Virgo signs. Re-

garding KO victories, the most advantaged are Taurus signs. As other Earth signs, when driven back

agai ns t a wa ll , Vi r go and Ta ur us si gns ar e c a pabl e of hit ti ng t he obs t acl e ha rd w it h ful l for c e. Tha t is par-

ticularly true of T aurus, the fi xed Ear th, who will never seek out confl icts but who is capable of surprising

power . The known s oundn ess of Eart h signs may help Vi rgo and Ta urus signs to contr ol both t heir at tack

and defense actions, performing them only when they feel that they are going to be successful. 5) Re-

garding boxers lif e spans, the most advantaged ar e Libra and Sagitta rius signs.

Key words: Astr ology; Boxing; Element s; Performance; Zodiacal Signs

Introduction

Sport Scie nc e and Sport Talent

Athletes reach their full potential if some factors are com-

bined: physical capacities, biomechanics, physiological capaci-

ties, psychological makeup, a work ethic that includes an ap-

propriated attitude toward training, and the opportunity to

compete with athletes of a similar or superior level, particularly

during the process of sport talent development (Ackland,

Bloomfield, & Elliot, 2009).

If sport talent is to be fully developed, coaching based on

sound sport science principles is an essential ingredient while

“raw athletic talent” is the most important factor in the attain-

ment of high levels of sporting performance (Ackland, Bloom-

field, & Elliot, 2009).

But, as far as we know, raw variables such as zodiacal sign,

the element to which the zodiacal sign is related, or any other

variable related to the athlete date of the birth, have not yet

been used in the identification of sporting talent. However,

obtaining such variables is relatively easy, taking into account

the fact that their determination does not require so sophisti-

cated tools as those required for the determination of most of

other variables (equipment required for complete anthropomet-

ric assessment of athletes, video linked to appropriate software

and a computer, etc).

Astrology

Speaking of an a-causal connecting principle that he calls

law of correspondences “synchronicity”, C.G. Jung, in refer-

ence to astrology, points out that whatever is born or done at a

particular moment in time inevitably bears the qualities of that

moment (Arroyo, 1975).

In the field of psychology, every theory of personality as-

sumes that there is such a thing as “human nature” which the

A. M. N. TSHIBANGU

OPEN ACCESS

new-born brings with him into this world, chiefly in the form of

general predispositions and potentialities rather than specific

traits (Arroyo, 1975).

In the field of medicine, Dr. Eugen Jonas, a Czecho slo vakian

psychiatrist and gynecologist, found that a child conceived

when there is an opposition of the sun and any larger planet (i.e.,

when the sun and the planet were 180˚ in longitude from each

other) has a much greater chance of suffering birth defects,

miscarriage, mental retardation, and other factors which nega-

tively affect his health (Arroyo, 1975). It is not unsound to

expect that such a child be disadvantaged in the practice of

boxing.

Elements

Reading Arroyo’s book Astrology, psychology and the four

elements: An energy approach to astrology & its use in the

counseling arts (1975) may help one learn what follows about

the elements: 1) Every individual is composed of all four ele-

ments (F ire, Air, Water, and Ear th ) and cann ot exist if even one

of the elements is missing, for he would be totally devoid of the

function of the related energy both psychologically and physi-

cally; 2) After the Medieval-Renaissance theory of the four

humors (choler or yellow bile, blood, phlegm, and black bile)

which was related to the elements of astrology, when these four

humors were mixed in exactly the right proportions in an indi-

vidual, he would be healthy and have a well-balanced person al-

ity, while a slight predominance of one humor or element

(whic h we all have, according to our natal charts) affects not

only a man’s physical characteristics but also his complexion

and temperament; 3) The elements most emphasized in a natal

chart b y planetary place ment and the element of the Ascendant

show what energies one is capable of utilizing rather easily in

his o r her everyday li fe, as well a s i n what real ms o f exper ien ce

one can participate naturally and spontaneously; and 4) Ele-

ments that are lacking emphasis in the chart reveal an attune-

ment which must be consciously cultivated and developed in

order to afford the individual the minimal participation in that

field of experience required for a full and well -rounded lif e .

It is not hence unsound to expect that boxing practice may be

influenced by the predominance of any element (which we all

have, accor ding to our natal ch arts).

Zodiacal Signs

The zodi acal signs are the twelve primary patterns o f energ y

resulting from the combination of the four elements and the

three vibrational modalities: 1) cardinal (Aries, Libra, Cancer,

and Capricorn); 2) fixed (Leo, Aquarius, Scorpio, and Taurus);

and 3) mutable (Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo, and Pisces).

The four elemen ts are rel ated to the zo diacal signs as follows:

1) Fire (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius); 2) Air (Libra, Aquarius,

and Gemini); 3) Water (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces); and 4)

Earth (Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo).

Thus, the element ‘Earth’ in the ‘fixed’ vibrational modality

results in the zodiacal sign of Taurus, for instance.

Astrology as a Tool for Identification of Boxing

Talent

As astrology enables a person to determine the type of activ-

ity in which his or her life-energies can flow with the greatest

ease and satisfaction (Arroyo, 1975), used properly, it can help

an individual to develop a greater degree of self-reliance and

self-confid ence: so often , a person feels d eeply that h e has spe-

cial abilities in a cert ain area, for example, bu t the lack of con-

fidence or trust in self may make it difficult to act upon this

feeling (Arroyo, 1975).

Fro m a standpoint of interest for the boxing coach we are, we

expect astrology be used as a tool for identification of the can-

didates more advantaged than others to boxing practice, in the

case that we have too numerous candidatures to deal with.

That has strengthened our desire to point out whether or not

boxing performance is influenced by the 12 zodiacal signs (Ar-

ies, Leo, S agittari us, Lib ra, Aquari us, Gemini , Cancer, Scorpi o,

Pisces, Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo) and/or by the 4 elements

to which the 12 zodiacal signs are relat ed.

Thus, the aim of the present article is not to provide the

reader with a proof of astrology’s validity: the article is aimed

to provide the coach with a parameter that relate to success in

boxing practice.

Material and Methods

The subjects enrolled in the present study are the World top

100 male professional boxers, BoxRec.com ranked, and retired

in the period of time lasting from the beginning of professional

boxing practice t o March 26th, 2013.

Microsoft Office Excel 2007 program has been used in the

analysis of data gathered from BoxRec.com, the web based

databas e, about the boxers.

BoxRec.com failed to show the day of birth of one of the 100

boxers. We have thus dealt with the 99 remaining. The 99 box-

ers have been split into their respective zodiacal signs. The

boxers falling into the different zodiacal signs have been

grouped according to each of the 4 elements related to the signs:

that resulted in 4 groups, each composed of boxers pertaining to

3 different zodiacal signs.

The number of all victories pulled together and all losses

pulled together, the number knock-out (KO) victories and KO

losses, as well as the number of draws made it possible to

compute 1) non-KO victories and non-KO losses as well as 2)

all matches fought pulled together for each boxer.

For each boxer, as a function of all matches pulled together,

percent ages have b een computed : per cent ages of 1) all victories

pulled together, 2) KO victories, 3) non-KO victories, 4) all

losses pulled together, 5) KO losses, 6) non-KO losses, and 7)

draws.

For each boxer, career length h as been co mputed sub tracting

the debut year from the retirement year .

Regarding the boxers concerned by the present study but

dead on March 26th, 2013, life span has been computed sub-

tracting the boxer’s year of birth from his year of death.

As a function of each zodiacal sign and as a function of each

element, for each variable taken into account, it has been noted

the number of the boxers concerned and it has been computed 1)

a mean, an d 2) the variance about th e mean.

For each variab le t aken in to acco un t, the d ifference s bet ween

the means have been examined for significance, considering

both boxers number and the variance about the mean.

The number of values in each sample being less than 30, and

the data being presented not in the form of measurements but

taking the form of percentages, we felt uneasy to assume that

the popu lation variances wer e equal (Par ker, 1979). Testing the

significance of the difference between two means by the Stu-

A. M. N. TSHIBANGU

OPEN ACCE SS

dent’s t test, we have thus used the following expressions in our

computations.

( )

1 21122

t XXsNsN



=−+



 

()()()

212

111 1fuNu N

= −+−−

( )( )()

2 22

1111 22

u sNsNsN



= +



In those expressions, t is the Student’s t; Ẍ is the mean of a

sample; s2 is the variance about the mean of the sample; N is

the number of values in the sample; f expresses the degrees of

freedom; and u is defined by the above mentioned expression.

Probability significance level has b een set at p = .05 or less.

Results

All Victories Pulled Tog ethe r

Regarding all victories pulled together (Table 1), it appears

that 1) Virgo signs are significantly advantaged over 8 signs:

Aries (p < .05), Sagittarius (p < .002), Aquarius (p < .01), Libra

(p < .01), Pisces (p < .01), Cancer (p < .05), Scorpio (p < .05)

and Capricorn (p < .05); 2) Cancer signs (p < .05) as well as

Capricorn signs (p < .05) are significantly advantaged over

Sagittarius signs; 3) Cancer signs (p < .05) are significantly

advantaged over Libra signs and 4 ) other examinations showed

no significant advantage of a sign over any other.

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when comparison was call ed for (Tabl e 2).

Tabl e 1.

Zodiacal signs and all victories pulled together.

Zodiacal sign Ẍ N s2

Aries 83.9 1318734 12 83.8066278

Leo 81.60009743 6 97.5130136

Sagittarius 76.0 3149533 8 73.89508743

Aquarius 79.16251 863 8 31.85124549

Gemini 83.66430069 9 95.00474424

Libra 78.30557205 9 51.39683343

Pisces 73.19526559 6 1 26.0123499

Cancer 84.99041357 12 44.51835664

Scorpio 82.94824515 5 37.60085205

Capricorn 84.64545933 9 50.33843022

Taurus 84.77353878 10 99.17500424

Virgo 92.4350745 5 31.96920193

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 2.

Elements and all v ictories p ulled together.

El ement Ẍ N s2

Fire 80.5149267 3 16.41346387

Air 80.3 7746379 3 8.286061958

Water 80.37797477 3 3 9.73609629

Earth 87.28469087 3 19.8 989397

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

KO Victories

Regarding KO victories (Table 3), it appears that 1) Taurus

signs are significantly advantaged over 3 signs: Sagittarius (p

< .05), Aquarius (p < .05) and Scorpio (p < .05); and 2) other

examinations showed no significant advantage of a sign over

any other.

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when comparison was call ed for (Table 4).

Non-KO Victories

Regarding non-KO victories (Table 5), it appears that 1)

Scorpio signs are significantly advantaged over 2 signs: Cancer

(p < .05) and Taurus (p < .02); 2) Sagittarius signs are signifi-

cantly advantaged over 1 sign: Taurus (p < .05); and 3) other

examinations showed no significant advantage of a sign over

any other.

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when comparison was call ed for (Table 6).

All Losses Pulled Together

Regardin g all l oss es pull ed to gether (T able 7 ), i t ap pears that

1) Virgo signs are significantly advantaged over 3 signs: Sagit-

tarius (p < .01), Aquarius (p < .01) and Libra (p < .01); 2) Aries

signs (p < .05), Cancer signs (p < .05), Scorpio signs (p < .05)

and Capricorn signs (p < .05) are each of them significantly

Table 3.

Zodiacal signs and KO victories.

Zodiacal sign Ẍ N s2

Aries 46.84293353 12 486.5956 572

Leo 44.4479851 6 313.1653282

Sagittarius 33.14471636 8 338.3689657

Aquarius 37.37080691 8 238.4347602

Gemini 46.49254903 9 365. 0702419

Libra 37.40654348 9 431.2477423

Pisces 38.34717 284 6 381.2088096

Cancer 49.2523434 12 234.4680 05

Scorpio 30.19826532 5 348. 1327246

Capricorn 42.288821 9 399.4293451

Taurus 54.80314877 10 248.5211085

Virgo 56.49559635 5 576.568537

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 4.

Elements and KO victories.

El ement Ẍ N s2

Fire 41.478545 3 53.5234693

Air 40.42329981 3 27.62715891

Water 39.26592719 3 91.39755505

Earth 51.19585538 3 60.21754066

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

A. M. N. TSHIBANGU

OPEN ACCESS

Table 5.

Zodiacal signs and non-KO victories.

Zodiacal sign Ẍ N s2

Aries 37.0 7025381 12 319.7290171

Leo 37.15211233 6 118. 6470845

Sagittarius 42.8 8677897 8 146.7620997

Aquarius 41.79171 172 8 175.9270857

Gemini 37.17175165 9 178.2631472

Libra 40.89902857 9 282.4080593

Pisces 34.84809276 6 1 51.3189416

Cancer 35.73807017 12 116.0983419

Scorpio 52.74997983 5 180.0105193

Capricorn 42.35663833 9 306.7192033

Taurus 29.97039001 10 116.7584076

Virgo 35.93947815 5 479.1889427

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 6.

Elements and non-KO victories.

El ement Ẍ N s2

Fire 39.0363817 3 11.12084454

Air 39.95416398 3 6.005584574

Water 41.11204759 3 101.7791152

Earth 36.0888355 3 38.37151 758

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 7.

Zodiacal signs and all losses pulled together.

Zodiacal sign Ẍ N s2

Aries 11.2 9042244 12 54.67385 975

Leo 15.30725303 6 100.227858

Sagittarius 17.3 8010321 8 46.93096084

Aquarius 17.49755 347 8 21.50414768

Gemini 11.35434061 9 48.64422998

Libra 16.19893442 9 20.58879611

Pisces 15.45423872 6 8 8.92567927

Cancer 12.13432083 12 36.34393642

Scorpio 11.4731742 5 11.53450347

Capricorn 11.35057511 9 38.48425728

Taurus 12.38874 365 10 66.51521347

Virgo 6.32 5166291 5 24.35500007

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

advantaged over 1 sign: Aquarius; and 3) other examinations

showed no significant advantage of a sign over any other.

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when comparison was call ed for (Table 8).

KO Losses

Regarding KO losses (Table 9), it appears that 1) Scorpio

signs are significantly advantaged over 4 signs: Aquarius (p

< .05), Pisces (p < .05), Cancer (p < .05) and Taurus (p < .05);

and 2) other examinations showed no significant advantage of a

sign over any other.

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when comparison was call ed for (Table 10).

Non-KO Losses

Regarding non-KO losses (Table 11), it appears that 1)

Virgo signs are significantly advantaged over 3 signs: Sagitta-

rius (p < .02), Aquarius (p < .05) and Libra (p < .05); and 2)

other examinations showed no significant advantage of a sign

over any other.

Table 8.

Elements and all losses pulled togeth er.

Element Ẍ N s2

Fire 14.65925956 3 9.585974616

Air 15.01694 283 3 10.4 8259415

Water 13.02057792 3 4.551307393

Earth 10.02149502 3 10.51658303

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 9.

Zodiacal signs and KO losses.

Zodiacal sign Ẍ N s

Aries 3.001703214 12 6.145236 275

Leo 3.293868626 6 4.87 0855998

Sagittarius 2.437144414 8 1.246708591

Aquarius 3.957281385 8 5.762328159

Gemini 1.863145238 9 1.90 9107821

Libra 3.589898907 9 7.834428762

Pisces 3.689208 654 6 3.786382572

Cancer 3.025605571 12 4.332431888

Scorpio 1.412244726 5 .650928522

Capricorn 2.913095863 9 9.908470539

Taurus 3.68102577 10 7.534817 256

Virgo 1.696871293 5 3.64 0733892

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 10.

Elements and KO losses.

El ement Ẍ N s

Fire 2.910905418 3 .189677274

Air 3.136775177 3 1.250342387

Water 2.70901965 3 1.371311166

Earth 2.763664309 3 1.000964589

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

A. M. N. TSHIBANGU

OPEN ACCE SS

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when comparison was call ed for (Table 12).

Draws

Regarding draws (Table 13), it appears that 1) Virgo signs

showed significantly less draws than 4 signs: Aries (p < .02),

Sagittarius (p < .02), Libra (p < .02) et Cancer (p < .05) ; and 2)

other examinations showed no significant advantage of a sign

over any other.

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when comparison was call ed for (Table 14).

Career Length

Regarding career length (Table 15), examinations revealed

nothing but non-significant differences between the means of

zodiacal signs.

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when compari s on was called for (Table 16).

Life Span

Regarding life span of the boxers concerned by the present

study but dead on March 26th, 2013 (Table 17 ), it app ears that

1) Libra signs had life spans significantly longer than those of 3

signs: Leo (p < .02), Capricorn (p < .05) and Taurus (p < .02); 2)

Sagittarius signs had a life span significantly longer than that of

1 sign: Leo (p < .05); and 3) other examinations showed no

significan t advantage of a sign over any other.

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when comparison was call ed for (Table 18).

Table 11.

Zodiacal signs and non-KO losses.

Zodiacal sign

Ẍ

Aries 8.288719 228 12 57.67072 52

Leo 12.0133844 6 108.1005093

Sagittarius 14.9 429588 8 48.65849526

Aquarius 13.54027208 8 17.36519814

Gemini 9.491195369 9 41.66439525

Libra 12.60903 551 9 29.3493229

Pisces 11.7 6503006 6 103.5700311

Cancer 9.108715 263 12 28.24934391

Scorpio 10.06092947 5 13.91625899

Capricorn 8.437479248 9 54.18521268

Taurus 8.707717885 10 66.02220865

Virgo

4.628294998

31.46452108

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 12.

Elements and non-KO losses.

El ement Ẍ N s

Fire

11.74835414

11.12240684

Air 11.8 8016765 3 4.497191827

Water 10.31155827 3 1 .811113175

Earth

7.25783071

5.204100776

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 13.

Zodiacal s igns an d draws.

Zodiacal sign Ẍ N s

Aries 4.79 639022 12 17.51136478

Leo 3.092649548 6 11.1 4163748

Sagittarius 6.588401461 8 18.75747076

Aquarius 3.339927903 8 7.109209626

Gemini 4.981358704 9 31.5 1504344

Libra 5.495493529 9 14.67484805

Pisces 11.35049 569 6 106.8584545

Cancer 2.875265599 12 3.894615946

Scorpio 5.578580654 5 12.0446888

Capricorn 4.003965554 9 12.29146562

Taurus 2.837717564 10 4.90196972

Virgo 1.239759213 5 1.00 1023988

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 14.

Eleme nt s an d dr aws .

El ement Ẍ N s

Fire

4.825813743

3.055719667

Air

4.605593379

1.267515477

Water

6.601447314

18.74207342

Earth 2.69381411 3 1.925740 326

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 15.

Zodiacal s igns an d care er le ng th.

Zodiacal sign Ẍ N s

Aries 18.41666 667 12 39.71969697

Leo 17.33333333 6 16.26666667

Sagittarius 18.375 8 25.41071429

Aquarius 15.75 8 14.78571429

Gemini 17.66666667 9 43

Libra 19 9 55.5

Pisces 16.5 6 17.1

Cancer 17 12 34.90909091

Scorpio

17.6

56.3

Capricorn

15.55555556

14.52777778

Taurus 17.8 10 40.62222222

Virgo

15.8

43.2

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 16.

Elements and career len g th.

El ement Ẍ N s

Fire

18.04166667

.376736111

Air

17.47222222

2.668981481

Water 17.03333333 3 .303333333

Earth

16.38518519

1.516213992

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

A. M. N. TSHIBANGU

OPEN ACCESS

Table 17.

Zodiacal s igns an d life sp an.

Zodiacal sign Ẍ N s2

Aries 68.4 10 145.3777 778

Leo 54 5 188.5

Sagittarius 74.375 8 347.9821429

Aquarius 67 6 1 20.8

Gemini 64.85714286 7 3 39.8095238

Libra 79.71428 571 7 120. 5714286

Pisces 68.66666 667 6 347. 8666667

Cancer 71.16666 667 6 92.1 6666667

Scorpio 69.25 4 172.25

Capricorn 68.42857143 7 5 5.95238095

Taurus 64.71428571 7 58.9047619

Virgo 68 3 417

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Table 18.

Elements and life span.

El ement Ẍ N s2

Fire 65.59166667 3 1 09.7002083

Air 70.5 2380952 3 64.49659864

Water 69.69444444 3 1 .710648148

Earth 67.04761905 3 4.129251701

Ẍ is the mean of a sample; N is the number of values in the sample; s2 is the

variance about the mean of the sample.

Discussion

No significant difference has been found between the means

of the 4 elements when comparison was called for, regarding

any of the variables taken into account in the present study.

However, t he functions of energies r elated to the four elements

may explain the few significant results found between the

means of th e 12 zodiacal signs when co mparison was called for,

regarding afore said variables ta ken in to account.

In her book on chart comparisons How to Handle Your Hu-

man Relations, Lois H. Sargent gives great importance to the

elements as a means of understanding how different people

approach problem-solving (Arroyo, 1975). Psychologist Ralph

Metzner studied the relationship that exists between the ele-

ments an d personali ty types, as well a s the astro logical cor rela-

tions with the elements (Arroyo, 1975). According to those

studies, from the standpoint of dealing with conflicts or obsta-

cles in their lives, there exist four types of people: Fire signs,

Air signs, Water signs, and Earth signs.

Success in boxing competition requires from the boxer quan-

titatively to neglect neither attack nor defense actions; to per-

form those actions with sufficient velocity; and to manage

soundly one’s energy, attacking only when one feels that he is

not going to fail the intended action.

Fire Signs and Boxing Competition

The impulsiveness of a boxer may make him neglectful of

his defense. Th e legal targets of hi s body are thus easy to reach

by his opponents. The boxer is hence more prone to be won

than to be winner of his opponent.

In Sargent’s opinion, the Fire signs respond to situations with

intensity, desiring direct action in the solving of problems, and

tending more to impulse than deliberation. According to

Metzner , the Fire signs tend to overpower obstacles, to burn

them up, or to scare them away through show of force, and they

rarel y display behavior that co uld be termed tactful.

It is not thus surprising that regarding all victories pulled to-

gether, it appears in the present study that the most disadvan-

taged are Sagittarius (Fire) signs: they show less victories than

3 signs: Cancer (p < .05), Capricorn (p < .05), and Virgo (p

< .002).

Air Signs and Boxing Competition

The attack velocity and defense velocity may be negatively

affected in a boxer who is busy thinking too much for a pugilist

as well as in a boxer who attacks with a too low frequency. The

boxer is thus more loser-prone than winner-prone.

According to Sargent, the Air signs people like to reason

things out and generally think before they act. In Metzner’s

mind, the Air signs tend to rise above conflict and to float

around it.

Consequence of that may be reflected in the results we have

obtained, according to which, regarding all losses pulled to-

gether, it ap pears that th e most disadvan taged are Aquar iu s (Air)

signs: they show more losses than 5 signs: Aries (p < .05),

Cancer (p < .05), Scorpio (p < .05), Capricorn (p < .05), and

Virgo (p < .01).

Water Signs and Boxing Competition

When a boxer has no control over his emotions, he may be so

impressionable that he may be most of the time defending him-

self and neglecting his attack of which normally depend any

victory his, either KO or non-KO.

In Sargen t’s mind, th e Water signs are impressio nab le, sensi-

tive, and intuitive. They incline to wait on circumstances for

guidance in solving problems. In Metzner’s opinion, the Water

signs also detest all form of conflict (with the exception of

some Scorpios). They tend to flow around it, over it, or – if all

else fails – to slowly wear away the person or thing in their path.

Scorpio, however, often seeks out challenges and problems,

subliminally realizing that such challenges call forth their

greatest strength and resources. Still, Scorpio most of the time

will maintain a pregnant sil ence, not wantin g to cause unneces-

sary conflict.

That may explain why, regarding non-KO victories, it ap-

pears after our results that the most advantaged are Scorpio

(Water) signs: they show significantly more victories than 2

signs [Cancer (p < .05) and Taurus (p < .02)], despite the fact

that 2 Ear th signs are the most advant aged, sp eaking of all vic-

tories pulled together and KO victories. The Scorpio (Water)

signs also show significantly less KO losses than 4 signs:

Aquarius (p < .05), Pisces (p < .05), Cancer (p < .05 ) and Tau-

rus (p < .05).

Earth Signs and Boxing Competition

A boxer may be so sound that he controls both his attack and

defense actions, performing them only when he feels that he is

A. M. N. TSHIBANGU

OPEN ACCE SS

going to be successful.

In Sargent’s opinion, the Earth signs are motivated by the

desire for practical, useful results. They usually have sound

common sense, whether they use it or not. According to

Metzner, the Earth signs tend to disdain conflict. However, if

they are driven back against a wall, they are capable of hitting

the obstacle hard with full force. This is particularly true of

Taurus, the fixed Earth, who will never seek out conflicts but

who is capable of surprising power and anger if pushed too far.

That is consistent with our results according to which: 1)

Regarding all victories pulled together, it appears that the most

advantaged are Virgo (Earth) signs: they show significantly

more victories than 8 signs [Aries (p < .05), Sagittarius (p

< .002), Aquarius (p < .01), Libra (p < .01), Pisces (p < .01),

Cancer (p < .05), Scorpio (p < .05), and Capricorn (p < .05)]; 2)

Regarding KO victories, it appears that the most advant aged are

Taurus (Earth) signs: they show the afore mentioned surprising

power, being significantly advantaged over 3 signs [Sagittarius

(p < .05), Aquarius (p < .05) and Scorpio (p < .05)]; 3) Regard-

ing all losses pulled together, it appears that the most advan-

taged are Virgo (Earth) signs: they show significantly less

losses than 3 signs [Sagittarius (p < .01), Aquarius (p < .01) and

Libra (p < .01)]; 4) Regarding non-KO losses, it appears that

the most advantaged Virgo (Earth) signs show significantly less

losses than 3 signs [Sagittarius (p < .02), Aquarius (p < .05) and

Libra (p < .05)].

Signs and Bo xing Career Length

Regarding career length, significant difference has been

found when comparison was called neither between the means

of the 4 elements nor between the means of the 12 zodiacal

signs. The functions of energies related to the four elements do

not help us explain the reason why.

Signs and Bo xers Life Spans

Regarding life spans, the functions of energies related to the

four elements also do not help us explain 1) the absence of

significant difference between the means of the 4 elements; 2)

the significantly longer life spans of Libra signs over 3 signs

[Leo (p < .02), Capricorn (p < .05) and Taurus (p < .02)]; and

the significantly longer life spans of Sagittarius signs over 1

sign [Leo (p < .05)].

Conclusions

At the end of the present study dealt with in the top 100 male

boxers BoxRec.com-rated, retired on March 26th, 2013, we

draw the following conclusions:

1) No significant difference exists between the means of the

4 elements when comparison is called for, regarding any of the

variables taken into account in the present stud y.

2) Regarding all victories pulled together, the most disad-

vantaged are Sagittarius signs. As other zodiacal signs related

to the element Fire, they probably rarely display tactful behav-

ior. Their resulting impulsiveness may have made them ne-

glectful of their d efen s e.

3) Regarding all losses pulled together, the most disadvan-

taged are Aquariu s signs. As other zod iacal signs related to the

element Air, they probably think too much before they act; and

they tend to rise above conflict and to float around it. All that

may have affected negatively their attack velocity and defense

velocity.

4) Regarding non-KO victories and KO losses, the most ad-

vantaged are Scorpio signs. Contrary to other Water signs

which are used to detest all form of conflict, they often seek out

challenges and problems, subliminally realizing that such chal-

lenges call forth their greatest str ength and r esour ces. That may

probably have helped them not to neglect their attack, what wa s

expectabl e in other Water s igns.

5) Regarding all victories pulled together, all losses pulled

together, and non-KO losses, the most advantaged are Virgo

signs. R egarding KO victo ries, th e most advant aged are Tauru s

signs. As other Earth signs, when driven back against a wall,

Virgo and Taurus are capable of hitting the obstacle hard with

full force. That is particularly true of Taurus, the fixed Earth,

who will never seek out conflicts but who is capable of surpris-

ing power. The known soundness of Earth signs may have

helped Virgo and Taurus signs to control both their attack and

defense actions, performing them only when they have felt that

they were go ing to be successful.

6) Regarding boxers career length, significant difference has

not been found when comparison was called for between the

means of th e 12 zodiacal signs.

7) Regarding boxers life spans, the most advantaged are Li-

bra signs and Taurus signs.

Perspective

In some poor regions of the World, there exists a lack of

modern tools for identification of the candidates more advan-

taged than others to boxing practice. The present study has

revealed pertaining of the boxer to a given zodiacal sign as a

cheap tool usable for the purpose. We are already in search of

other deep tools usable for the same purpose.

REFERENCES

Ackland, T. R., Bloomfield, J., & Elliot, B. C. (2009). The assessmen t

and modification model. In T. R. Ackland, B. C. Elliot, & J. Bloo m-

field (Eds.), Applied anatomy and biomechanics in sport (pp. 3-9).

Champain, IL: Human Kinetics.

Arroyo, S. (1975). Astrology, psychology and the four elements: An

energy approach to astrology & its use in the counseling arts. Se-

bastopol, CA: CRCS P ublica tions.

Parker, R. E. (1979). Introductory statistics for biology (2nd ed.). New

York: Cambrid ge University Press.