Women Box … Wordless Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Women in Boxing Gloves, Hampstead Heath, Kenwood Ladies’ Pond, London, UK, 1920s.
Credit: Caitlin Davies, Taking the Waters: A Swim Around Hampstead Heath
Boxer Diana Prazak – Bittersweet …
Australia’s boxing phenomenon Diana Prazak (12-2, 8-KOs) won her WBC Female Super-Featherweight title in dramatic fashion in June 2013 when her knock out of Swedish boxer Frida Wallberg (11-1, 2-KOs) left Wallberg to suffer from a burst blood vessel at the outer edge between the meninges and the brain. What was lost in the frightening minutes and hours until word was received that Wallberg would likely recover, was the fighting brilliance of Prazak who under the tutelage of the great Lucia Rijker had come a long way in the six months since she fought a respectable bout against Holly Holm (33-2-3, 9-Kos) in December 2012, and further still from her first professional fight less than two years before that.
Prazak will be defending her title on March 1, 2014 against boxer Shannon O’Connell (8-2-0, 5 KOs) at The Melbourne Pavillion in Flemington, Victoria, and has otherwise been very busy keeping up with her training.
She’s also the subject of a documentary by Dutch filmmaker Marieke Niestadt, tracing Prasak’s experiences in the run up to her epic battle in the ring with Wallberg and its aftermath. The film is an official selection of the upcoming Macon Film Festival 2014 and the Charleston International Film Festival 2014. If the trailer is indicative of anything, it is a sensitive portrayal of Diana Prazak’s boxing journey.
For more information on the film, click the link: www.mariekeniestadt.com/bittersweet
Sometimes only a chocolate cupcake with mocha icing will do …
Or sometimes two, along with a really good cup of coffee and the sense that whatever ails will pass.
I’m recuperating from the sneezing, running nose, sore throat, coughing and general malaise that goes with the territory of a winter cold.
A box of tissues, a package of cherry-flavored sugar-free cough drops, countless draining with the netty pot and several episodes of Dr. Who later (finished series six and halfway through seven), I’m beginning to bounce back, albeit having missed two of my three gym days for the week, and what with the snow, no running.
I know, I know, cup cakes are the LAST thing I need having not worked out since last Monday, however, the calls to the soul of a perfectly formed chocolate cupcake (or two–GERD be damned) sometimes just overrules all possible objections.
And tomorrow is another day.
One thing good that came out of my Dr. Who binge (not to mention having watched The Expendables 2, Red Dawn (the remake), and Olympus Has Fallen — yep serious B-movie trashy, action-packed, shoot-em-ups), was the realization that I’d truly over done it, which prompted me to actually write last night. Well not exactly write, but edit and think through material I’d written a year ago (dare I say on the way towards a novel?) — along with an insight or two that gave me a new sense of the work as well as a few added paragraphs.
I guess it’s all a long way of saying that while not exactly a new project, I may well have tapped into a fresh perspective, that will see me “bend-it-like-Beckham” into something with a bit of wow for myself because it screams out into new territory layered on top of stuff I’ve written about off and on for years.
Not too sound mysterious, but in the scheme of things, writers tend to revisit the questions over and over (at least this writer does), and to find a new angle for those questions opens up all sorts of possibilities.
The coming weeks will tell as I begin to settle into some sort of writing schedule for the work — and also tease out how to better plan out the blog with days for pure reportage and other days for the general stream of freely written thoughts.
I’d also like to thank everyone for hanging in with me! It seems I’ve hit 400,246 all time views–an extraordinary feat in my estimation with all of you to thank for it, because let me tell you, when I started back in October 2010, I never thought I’d see a 1,000 visits!
It really has been an incredible honor to write about women’s boxing from every angle I can think of–and then to have folks stop by to read what I’ve been up to just adds to how joyous this all makes me feel.
So kudos to all of you for sharing in my daily something — even when I can’t make the daily part of it all!
2014 USA Boxing Nationals #Womensboxing Final Results!
Olympian Queen Underwood won the closely fought battle with Mikaela Mayer for the 2014 USA Boxing National Women’s Lightweight (132 lbs) championship gold medal in Spokane, Washington. Credit: @HerBoxing
The finals of the 2014 USA Boxing National Championships were an exciting mixture of the expected and the unexpected.
Olympians Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood and Claressa Shields each came away with a national championship in their respective Olympic weight class, but each in her own way.
Esparza won a decisive and unprecedented 8th National title by out boxing her able 112 lbs. division opponent Virginia Fuchs. In the lightweight (132 lbs.) division, Queen Underwood fought a tough battle against “rival” Mikaela Mayer who gave a terrific performance. Underwood came out ahead with the split decision, 2-1, but all things being equal — both fighters deserved the crown.
18-year-old Gold Medal Olympian Claressa Shields jumps for joy after winning the 2014 USA Boxing National Championship in Spokane, Washington. Credit: @HerBoxing
Claressa Shields for her part fought a hard an unrelenting battle against veteran Franchon Crews to take the middleweight (165 lbs.) national title — her first as an elite woman fighter, in a performance that rivaled any in her gold medal winning year.
Alex Love a member of the U. S. Army’s elite athlete team put on a terrific performance to gain the title with her 3-0 win over Natalie Gonzalez, and perennial winner Christina Cruz also won 3-0. Other winners included Tiara Brown who out-fought Lisa Porter in a tough bruiser to gain the split decision, as well as Destiny Chearino who gained her first title in her bout against Jasmine Singh.
To round out the winners, defending 152 lbs. champion Danyelle Wolf impressed with her 3-0 victory over Melissa Kelly. In the heavyweight division (178+ lbs), Krystal Dixon gained an upset winner over last year’s champion, Denise Rico, with a 3-0. Dara Shen also impressed with a 3-0 win over Heidi Henriksen in the 178 lbs. division.
And the 2014 USA Boxing National Boxing Champions are:
106 lbs/female: Alex Love, Seattle, Wash./U.S. Army, dec. Natalie Gonzalez, New Rochelle, N.Y., 3-0
112 lbs/female: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas dec. Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas, 3-0
119 lbs/female: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Amanda Pavone, Burlington, Mass., 3-0
125 lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Lehigh Acres, Fla., dec. Lisa Porter, Valley Village, Calif., 2-1
132 lbs/female: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., dec. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., 2-1
141 lbs/female: Destiny Chearino, Warwick, R.I., dec. Jasmine Singh, Anaheim, Calif., 3-0
152 lbs/female: Danyelle Wolf, San Francisco, Calif., dec. Melissa Kelly, Somerville, Mass., 3-0
165 lbs/female: Claressa Shields, Flirnt, Mich., dec. Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., 3-0
178 lbs/female: Dara Shen, Alexandria, Va., dec. Heidi Henriksen, St. Louis, Park, Minn., 3-0
178+ lbs/female: Krystal Dixon, New Rochelle, N.Y., dec. Denise Rico, E. Los Angeles, Calif., 3-0
2014 USA Boxing Nationals #Womensboxing FULL Semifinal Results!
Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields celebrates her Semifinal win over the highly skilled middleweight Raquel Miller at the USA Boxing 2014 Nationals in Spokane, Washington
What a GREAT showing by the female amateur boxers who fought at the 2014 USA Boxing Nationals Semifinals in Spokane, Washington!
The finals will be held in two sessions today, January 25th at Noon and 6:00 PM PT. Bouts are available to view live at the link! USA Boxing Watch Live!
The full list of semifinal bout is as follows. Opponents for the finals will be in bold! There are some GREAT matchups including champion Mikeala Mayer vs. Olympian Queen Underwood in the 132 lbs. final, Olympian Marlen Esparza vs. Virginia Fuchs in the 112 lbs. finals and the battle of the titans: Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields vs. champion Franchon Crews. Esparza comes to the final having defeated Katie Durgin by TKO in the 3rd round of their semifinal bout. Tiara Brown’s bout with Lisa Porter in the 125 lbs. final will also prove to be a terrific bout. Other matchup include Danyelle Wolf, no stranger to nationals vs. Melissa Kelly who won on a walkover over Fallon Farrar (no word yet on why) in the 152 lbs. category, and Destiny Chearino who shocked with her win over Bertha Aracil at 141 lbs. vs. Jasmine Singh.
106 lbs/female: Natalie Gonzalez, New Rochelle, N.Y., dec. Sarah Dawson, Spring, Texas, 3-0
106 lbs/female: Alexandra Love, Seattle, Wash./Army, dec. Maureeca Lambert, Glen Ellyn, Ill., 2-1
112 lbs/female: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas, won on TKO over Katie Durgin, Boston, Mass., TKO-3 (1:21)
112 lbs/female: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas, dec. Ayesha Green, Trenton, N.J., 3-0
119 lbs/female: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Kathy McPherson, Mesa, Ariz., 3-0
119 lbs/female: Amanda Pavone, Burlington, Mass., dec. Melanie Costa, Norton, Mass., 2-1
125 lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Fort Myers, Fla., dec. Kristin Carlson, Carol Stream, Ill., 3-0
125 lbs/female: Lisa Porter, Valley Village, Calif., dec. Carmen Vargas, Houston, Texas, 3-0
132 lbs/female: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., dec. Rashida Ellis, Lynn, Mass., 2-1
132 lbs/female: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Melissa Parker, New York, N.Y./Army, 2-1
141 lbs/female: Destiny Chearino, Warwick, R.I., dec. Stacey Parker, Aurora, Ill., 3-0
141 lbs/female: Jasmine Singh, Anaheim, Calif., dec. Faith Franco, Duarte, Calif., 2-1
152 lbs/female: Danyelle Wolf, San Diego, Calif., dec. Jobette Nabarro, Keaau, Hawaii, 3-0
152 lbs/female: Melissa Kelly, Somerville, Mass., won on walkover over Fallon Farrar, Brooklyn, N.Y./Army, W/O
165 lbs/female: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., dec. Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., 3-0
165 lbs/female: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md., won on TKO over Krystal Correa, Yonkers, N.Y., TKO-1 (1:04)
2014 USA Boxing Nationals #Womensboxing Semifinal Afternoon results!
Alex Love defeated Maureeca Lambert 2-1 in the 106 lbs. semifinals at the 2014 USA Boxing Nationals. Credit: Raquel Ruiz
Well … here they are so far … the afternoon session Semifinal results from the 2014 USA Boxing Nationals in Spokane, Washington!
By the way, the evening session is available live at the link starting at 5:00 PM PT! USA Boxing Watch Live!
Claressa Shields will be battling Raquel Miller in the 17th bout. Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood, Christina Cruz, Mikaela Mayer, Franchon Crews, and Tiara Brown will also be fighting in the evening session.
106 lbs/female: Natalie Gonzalez, New Rochelle, N.Y., dec. Sarah Dawson, Spring, Texas, 3-0
106 lbs/female: Alexandra Love, Seattle, Wash./Army, dec. Maureeca Lambert, Glen Ellyn, Ill., 2-1
141 lbs/female: Destiny Chearino, Warwick, R.I., dec. Stacey Parker, Aurora, Ill., 3-0
141 lbs/female: Jasmine Singh, Anaheim, Calif., dec. Faith Franco, Duarte, Calif., 2-1
152 lbs/female: Melissa Kelly, Somerville, Mass., won on walkover over Fallon Farrar, Brooklyn, N.Y., W/O
152 lbs/female: Danyelle Wolf, San Diego, Calif., dec. Jobette Nabarro, Keaau, Hawaii, 3-0
2014 USA Boxing Nationals #womensboxing Quarterfinal results!
Destiny Chearino with tears of joy after defeating reigning 141 lbs. 2013 national champion Bertha Aracil, 2-1 in the USA Boxing Quarterfinals on January 22, 2014. Credit: Raquel Ruiz
The USA Boxing Nationals Quarterfinals were held on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 with some stunning results.
In the 125 lbs. category, Kristin Carlson defeated the reigning 2013 championship Jennifer Hamann 2-1. Destiny Chearino defeated perennial national champion Bertha Aracil in a stunner by the score of 2-1. Champions Christina Cruz, Tiara Brown and Mikaela Mayer each moved on to the semifinals with 3-0 scorces over their opponents.
Semifinal action will pick up again on Friday, January 23, 2014, which will include gold medal Olympian Claressa Shields’ return to the ring as an Elite female fighter.
The quarterfinal scores are as follows:
112 lbs/female: Katie Durgin, Boston, Mass., dec. Brianna Sanchez, Tucson, Ariz., 2-1
112 lbs/female: Ayesha Green, Trenton, N.J., dec. Ivette Delgado, Yonkers, N.Y., 2-1
119 lbs/female: Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y., dec. Jamie Mitchell, Pacific Grove, Calif., 3-0
119 lbs/female: Melanie Costa, Norton, Mass., dec. Elizabeth Leddy, Portland, Maine, 2-1
119 lbs/female: Amanda Pavone, Burlington, Mass., dec. Samantha Salazar, Dallas, Texas,
119 lbs/female: Kathy McPherson, Mesa, Ariz., dec. Rory Santos, Waipahu, Hawaii, 3-0
125 lbs/female: Lisa Porter, Valley Village, Calif., dec. Ashleigh Moore, Buzzards Bay, Mass., 3-0
125 lbs/female: Kristin Carlson, Carol Stream, Ill., dec. Jennifer Hamann, Seattle, Wash., 2-1
125 lbs/female: Tiara Brown, Ft. Myers, Fla., dec. Jenelle Leal, Corpus Christi, Texas, 3-0
125 lbs/female: Carmen Vargas, Houston, Texas, dec. Felisha Estrada Gonzalez, San Jose, Calif., 2-1
132 lbs/female: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. Franci Davila, Kapaa, Hawaii, 3-0
132 lbs/female: Rashida Ellis, Lynn, Mass., dec. Christella Cepeda, Yonkers, N.Y., 3-0
141 lbs/female: Destiny Chearino, Warwick, R.I., dec. Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y., 2-1
141 lbs/female: Jasmine Singh, Anaheim, Calif., dec. Griselda Madrigal Santana, 3-0
141 lbs/female: Faith Franco, Duarte, Calif., dec. Monayah Patterson, Warren, Mich., 3-0
141 lbs/female: Stacey Parker, Aurora, Ill., Aurora, Ill., dec. Aleah Dillard, Dallas, Texas, 2-1
Women Box … USA Boxing Nationals … Wordless Wednesday, January 22, 2014
USA Boxing Nationals 1/21/2014: 112 lbs Ayesha Green (NJ) defeats Ivette Delgado (NY) 2-1 Photo: Raquel Ruiz
UPDATED RESULTS: Light Welterweights
119 lbs/female: Jamie Mitchell, Pacific Grove, Calif., dec. Leesa Daniel, Austin, Texas, 3-0
141 lbs/female: Destiny Chearino, Warwick, R.I., dec. Catarina Lentini, Whitehall, Pa., 3-0
141 lbs/female: Monayah Patterson, Warren, Mich., dec. Jessica Radtke, Bloomington, Minn., 2-1
2014 USA Nationals in Spokane, WA!
USA Boxing’s 2014 Nationals is underway in Spokane, WA! The elite women’s boxing bouts get underway with preliminaries on Tuesday, January 21nd, quarterfinals on Wednesday, January 22rd. Semifinals will be on January 24th and finals on Saturday, January 25th.
Olympians Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood and Claressa Shields will all be competing–and in Shields case her first competition as an elite woman since the rules changed in 2013.
The bouts are as follows:
Light Flyweight: Semifinals (January 24)
Natalie Gonzalez (NY) v Sarah Dawson (TX)
Alexandra Love (WA) v. Maureeca Lambert (IL)
Flyweight: Quarterfinals (January 22)
Marlen Esparza (TX) – Bye
Brianna Sanchez (AZ) v Katie Durgin (MA)
Ayesha Green (NJ) v Ivette Delgado (NY)
Virginia Fuchs (TX) – Bye
Bantamweight: Quarterfinals (January 22)
Christina Cruz (NY) – Bye
Jamie Mitchell (CA) v. Leesa Daniel (TX)
Kathy McPhereson (AZ) – Bye
Rory Santos (HI) – Bye
Melanie Costa (MA) – Bye
Samantha Salazar (TX) – Bye
Amanda Pavone (MA) – Bye
Featherweight: Quarterfinals (January 22)
Jennifer Hamann (WA) v Kristin Carlson (IL)
Jenelle Leal (TX) v. Tiara Brown (MD)
Lisa Porter (CA) v. Ashleigh Moore (MA)
Felisha Estrada Gonzalez (CA) v. Carmen Vargas (WX)
Lightweight: Quarterfinals (January 22)
Quanitta (Queen) Underwood (WA) – Bye
Rashida Ellis (MA) v. Cepeda Christella (NY)
Mikaela Mayer (CA) v. Franci Davila (HI)
Melissa Parker (C)/NY) – Bye
Light Welterweight: Preliminaries (January 21)
Bertha Aracil (NY) – Bye
Destiny Chearino (RI) v. Catarina Lentini (PA)
Stacey Parker (IL) – Bye
Aleah Dillard (TX) – Bye
Santana Griselda, Madrigal (WA) – Bye
Jasmine Singh – Bye
Monayah Patterson (MI) v. Jessica Radtke (MN)
Faith Franco (CA) – Bye
Welterweight: semifinals (January 24)
Fallon Farrar (NY) v. Melissa Kelly (MA)
Jobette Nabarro (HI) v. Danyelle Wolf (CA)
Middleweight Quarterfinals (January 22)
Raquel Miller (CA) v. Claressa Shields (MI)
Krystal Correa (NY) v. Franchon Crews (MD)
Light Heavyweight: Finals (January 25)
Dara Shen (VA) v. Heidi Henriksen (MN)
Heavyweight: Finals (January 25)
Denise Rico (CA) v. Krystal Dixon (NY)
Martin Luther King Day, January 20, 2014 …
“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr., A Testament Of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
The following is a rarely heard speech from August 1967.
Dr. King spoke about the historical ramifications of slavery and inequality–with the strong belief that there was still so much work to do and unwincingly put himself on the line as a leader who would never stand down from what he felt was necessary to do.
He gave the speech at the National Association of TV and Radio Announcers convention.
What to do next …
With my book, A History Of Women’s Boxing, in the beginning stages of production (copy editing, proofreading & typesetting) — there’s not much to do except wait. And yes, I have to starting on the marketing side (more to come in future posts), but aside from that, all the hard work is done.
The question is now what?
I’ve started back at boxing three days a week (check), and am even running in the early AM with the prodigal thereby getting more workout time plus extra mother-daughter bonding time (double check), and otherwise, I’m back to blogging daily (check), not to mention working really hard at my job, but what to do with the rest of the time?
Sit back? Hang? Catch-up on series 6 of Dr. Who? — I started that today.
So many decisions!
Write another book — a novel this time? A one-woman show? A book of poems? Start a women’s boxing film festival? Lose the ten pounds I gained writing the book this past year? Cook? — I made Potato-Leek Soup from Julia Childs tonight for dinner. Take up tap dancing? — I can still do the time step I learned at Charlie Lowe’s Dance School in 1966! Work on my ancestry.com family tree again? — Last time I was in between things I got back several generations.
Even my family is getting into the act figuring that I really need a project given that they’re already sick of me “meddling” in theirs!
And as I think of it I’ve had my extracurriculars for years what with lots and lots of schooling and all of the rest.
The other side of it is I feel out of time–and like a small child who doesn’t want to go to bed for fear of missing something, I don’t want to slow down for fear that it may be my last opportunity.
In that sense aging plain old sucks, but then, as my grandmother used to say of anything that was scary or painful , “first you cry, then you get up, wash your face and do.”
So … that ‘s the ticket. I need to “do” and in the absence of a plan, just do something so it’ll just have to be writing daily blog posts, jogging with the prodigal in the dark and facing each day with a smile of on my face! Oh … and lose the ten pounds!
Saturday afternoon at the boxing movies …
When I was a kid, we used to go to the movies on Saturday afternoon. It cost a dollar, and we could see two films and a short! Time to grab the popcorn!
First up is Shadowboxers by filmmaker Katya Bankowsky. The 49-minute documentary from 1999 followed the early career of boxer Lucia Rijker. It received rave reviews at the time.
A short film from 1901 entitled Gordon Sisters Boxing from the Thomas A. Edison company.
Filmed in 2002, Thai Boxing: A Fighting Chance by Susanne Cornwall Calvin, follows three fighters: Gong-Prai Sorjintana, a 13-year-old from the town of Ayutthaya fighting to raise money for University, Sam Sheridan a 27-year-old Harvard Grad named and Boon-Term Kitmuti, a 29-year-old mother of two who wanted to box when she was younger, before Muay Thai was legal for women. The film is narrated by Jason Statham.
Fight Like A Girl – The Movie …
I’ve been thinking a lot about my friend Jill Morley’s film Fight Like A Girl lately.
It had its world premier at the American Documentary Film Festival in April 2012 and went on to showings at the Phoenix Film Festival, won the best documentary award at the Other Venice Film Festival, and most recently played at the Shadowbox Film Festival in New York this past December.
A highly personal film, it is not so much a documentary as a cinematic memoir that follows the lives of Jill, Susan Merlucci, Maureen Shea, and Kimberly Tomes as they train to box and compete in the ring.
The exploration, however, cuts deep into the heart of boxing where the physical act of extending one’s body with its full force to hit at something (or someone) can exact deep emotional turmoil, just as being on the receiving end of a barrage can trigger thoughts and feelings that may have been buried under the surface for years without having been truly dealt with.
Jill’s film delves at the heart of it all–and the opening scene with its stuccato pacing and highly stylized images sets the table, so to speak, for a cinematic exploration of exactly what it means for women to push themselves physically and mentally in the realm of the boxing’s squared circle.
For Jill in particular, boxing brought out a range of dark feelings that exacted a huge toll on her psyche. What she shows us, however, is a rare form of bravery as she uses the physical act of boxing and the witnessing of the camera as a way of uncovering and ultimately reconciling memory.
She is also able to use her camera to negotiate the emotional minefield that boxing uncovers for her other subjects–and in so doing not only reveals the courage that it takes for them to enter the ring, but the raw emotion necessary to work through hard truths in order to perform at the peak of their game.
This is a film worth seeing and represents the sport with all its complexity as it is …
For more information on Jill’s remarkable film, you can click on the link to her website here: Fight Like A Girl – The Movie. Please also check out her Facebook page for updates here: Fight Like A Girl-Facebook.
Old dog … new tricks …
When I first walked into Gleason’s Gym a million years ago–as in January 1997–my first trainer, Johnny Grinnage started me off on the wall bag throwing the jab and eventually a seven-punch combination that went jab-jab-straight right-left hook … dip right … straight right-jab-left hook … dip left … and repeat, repeat, repeat. From the wall bag, I graduated to the mirror where I practiced the same grouping of punches — and eventually went on to the slip rope and the heavy bag. Oh, and once I made it to the heavy bag, my first round was always left-left-left hook … dip left and repeat … dip right and repeat … and sometimes for two rounds.
What I didn’t get was any time in the ring–or the sense of *why* I was practicing those punches.
Eventually Johnny added in upper cuts, straight body shots and even some shoe-shines that had me throwing upwards of 18 punches in a row wearing 18-ounce gloves and crazy wraps underneath because he had me throwing those punches on the super-heavy bag for 12 rounds. Oh–all the while listening to Johnny admonish me *not* to throw any pitty-pat punches!
Suffice it to say, I sure did get strong! And after months of that I was in shape, but I knew nary a thing about boxing.
This went on for a while–and my relationship to boxing went in fits and starts, and was more about the emotion of actually hitting something than the fine points of the sport–and I ended up taking breaks that would last a year, two years or more.
Back in the gym after a particularly long break (2 years), I began training with Lennox Blackmoore.
I basically started all over again–and came a very long way, but ring time was still somewhat light, and it has literally taken me until the last couple of weeks to realize that so much of what he has been showing me and teaching me for years has passed right over my head. I mean I listened, and became proficient at things like the speed bag and the double-ended bag, but I still hadn’t grasped in any kind of visceral way what my body was actually supposed to be doing.
Call me dense (as in ridiculously so)–but the YEARS I spent being told to slip, bob and weave, were never about GETTING OUT OF THE WAY for me because maybe there’d be a punch rending its way down broadway squarely for my nose, because I JUST DIDN’T GET IT.
I didn’t get the dance. The absolute pas-de-deux. The improvisational hopped-up bang-pow-bang of it all.
I mean it’s crazy!
It’s the danciest dance ever.
Move, throw, move some more, drift in, drift out, squeeze impossibly low, fight tall, fight small, stay out of range, jam in and jam out, shoulder roll back, throw forward, sidestep … CRAZY STUFF.
Get it?
It’s crazy tap dancing–but you can’t dance if you don’t know the steps.
DAMN. I’m almost 60 and I finally get it!
Women box … Wordless Wednesday 1/15/2014
Women Boxing, Gleason’s Gym, April 20, 2013
Girlboxing 