Tag Archives: girls boxing

The gym is closed?!?

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The gym is closed?!?

What?!? I’m off from work and the gym is closed?!?

How often have you asked yourself *that* question on a holiday when you’re itching to get out of the house and you’re overcome by the sudden onset of your exercise “mojo”?

Funny how that always seems to happen at 8:00 AM on Thanksgiving morning or better yet, at sometime around 2:00 PM on Christmas day.  And oh the shock and surprise when you remember that the gym is closed!  You’d think that there had been a murder with all the carrying-on that happens.  The “oh man, it’s closed? But I *really* want to work out *now*!”

It reminds me of speaking with Rabbi Richard Chapin formerly of New York’s Temple Emanuel about the meaning of faith.  He talked about the religious experience as more than what one often feels are mandated appearances on High Holy days.  Rather, it is the sum total of all of those Friday night services and the attendant repetition of ritual that can give one the chance to glean meaning.  And so with boxing or running or yoga or aikido or any of the host of activities one does at a gym or dojo or on a running track.  It is not the ritual “appearance” on a holiday that give meaning to work and sweat, it’s the every day.  The daily something.  The things we repeat over and over as a mantra to the places we want to go and the person we want to become.

As an advocate for boxing, I’ll always talk about the ring as a place to take care of those sorts of longings, but really it doesn’t matter.  The point is to find those things have meaning to you and to give it a whirl in a way that makes sense and is achievable.  And no, you don’t have to go 15 rounds your first day or promise to run 12 miles or do 200 sit-ups or 10 sets each on every apparatus in the gym.  Nor do you have to suddenly remember that you haven’t been to the gym in a while (shall we say weeks or months?) and figure the best day to start is at 7:30 AM on New Year’s Day.

So enjoy your Thanksgiving Day — and if you really feed the need to move around, I’d suggest dancing the Superbad Slide (and because it’s James Brown it’ll link you back to You Tube).

Sad story

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Sad story

Championship boxer Christy Martin was allegedly stabbed and shot by her husband, Jim Martin on Tuesday evening and taken to a local hospital near her Florida home.  Known as the “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Christy is an important pioneer in women’s professional boxing.

The LA Times is reporting that she was shot in left leg and stabbed in her torso and is also reporting that the police had been called to their home earlier in the day on Tuesday.  The LA Times has the story here. Fox News has it here.

Our prayers should go out to Christy for her quick recovery.

Update:  More stories here and here.

For information on domestic violence click here.  And if you or any of your friends and family are victims of domestic violence, you are not alone — you can seek help from the many wonderful organizations that support women in their efforts to free themselves from abusive relationships. 


Boxing roundup

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Boxing round-up

There was some exciting boxing this weekend what with the Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams fight on HBO and the replay of last week’s Pacquiao-Margarito fight for those who didn’t watch on pay-for-view.

Martinez’s bullet in the second round was incredible to watch, not the least of which to see Williams out cold doing a face plant on the mat — a vivid reminder of the old adage to “protect yourself at all times.”

As for the Pacquiao-Margarito fight, the image of Margarito’s face and knowing of his subsequent facial surgery to correct his fractured orbital bone leaves one to question why the fight wasn’t stopped if not by the ref, then by his own corner. There would have been no dishonor in that and perhaps he’d have been left in better shape to fight another day.  As it is, one wonders if he will have lasting damage beyond his healed fractures after the 12 rounds of head-pounding he received.  Time will tell.

Women’s boxing was pretty exciting too this weekend.

Saturday, November 20th was the final night of bouts in the Women’s International Dual Series held in Oxnard, California.  The fights were terrific with an upset win by flyweight Alex Love over the 2008 Polish champion, Karolina Michaelczuk.  Boxing News 24 has good coverage and stats of the event here.  This puts Alex Love in a great position for medaling in the upcoming Pan American games this summer in Mexico.

Over at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, pro-welterweight Jill Emery had a first round knockout win over her opponent Addy Irizarry that reportedly sent Irizarry to the hospital with a possible broken ankle. Fight News has a paragraph about it here and WBAN (Women’s Boxing Archive Network) has it here.  The fight was on the undercard of the junior welterweight Paul Spadafora-Alain Hernandez fight — and nice to see more women’s boxing on the roster of these sorts of bouts.

Sit-ups

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Sit-ups.

So I went back to Gleason’s Gym yesterday and had a fabulous if slow, training session with Lennox Blackmore.  I managed to get through it all without needing to call for an ambulance and acquitted myself reasonably well, except for the sit-ups.

Talk about embarrassing…

Back in the day (all of three years ago), sit-ups became my favorite province.  I’d do my 100 with Lennox, and then start crunches, reverse bench sit-ups, or sitting on the sit-up bench doing 15-minute sit-up sets. Not that I ever developed a six-pack or any thing resembling even the slightest ripple, I did know that somewhere under my ample padding I was solid as a rock!  Plus, I knew that the core strength was there and even if I didn’t see the actual evidence of my work in the form of the aforementioned six-pack, my improved back strength, tighter stance, crisper jabs, hooks and upper-cuts proved it.

Well I’m here to tell the cautionary tale of use it or lose it!

I mean doing those sit-ups yesterday was painful, pitiful and beyond awful. Suffice to say it’s one of the parts to a work-out that can come back quickly, and doesn’t need any sort of fancy gym apparatus to do.

So … this morning, I hauled myself up nice and early, pulled out the pad and started doing crunches.  I took it nice and slow and while watching my favorite British police procedural on Netflix, did about 15 minutes worth.   I still ache – but, something did click, ‘cause while I may not be able to find the time I need to get to the gym, I can carve the time to do some sit-ups.  Well, at any rate, I’m going to try – so that next time I see Lennox I can at least get through the third set without stopping in the middle!

Gym bound!

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Gym bound!

I am determined to get to the boxing gym this afternoon.  I mean really, it’s been weeks, and here I am attempting to keep a blog going on boxing!  Well, okay. So I’ve been busy at work, true.  Busy writing papers for grad school, true.  Busy being a wife and a mom, true.  But, but, but … I say to myself, that is no excuse, sister, get your butt to the gym!   So today, after dropping the prodigal off at her dance class, it’s off to Gleason’s for some serious huffing and puffing as I attempt something resembling a work out.

The plan?  Hmmm. A short run, maybe 15 minutes worth at a slow pace to be followed by three rounds of shadow boxing.  By then I’ll be warmed up and ready for the most embarrassing part, facing my trainer, Lennox Blackmore.  He will be as he always is, the consummate professional with a mushy heart of molten gold — while I shall be mortified by how slow I am, not to mention out of breath by about 30 seconds into the first round!

Oh well.  I’ve been here before and no doubt will be here again.  The point is that I shall haul myself over there to begin anew and after a while feel the absolute thrill of working hard.  Once I get over the initial shock of working out, I really do have to give it my all and find there is nothing so satisfying as feeling my muscles dissolve into the delicious agony of having been worked to death.  Of course there will be tomorrow when I’ve got to work through the obstacle course that is my life lately to get myself back to the gym for a second day, but that is in truth a problem for another day.

PS – Don’t forget to catch the last night of the Women’s International Duel Series bouts tonight live from 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM Eastern Time.  I watched last night and they were terrific.  The link is here.

PPS – Read this GREAT story about women boxers in India who have made extraordinary strides in the recently held Commonwealth Games.  The NY Times has it here.

Also, learn about Mary Kom’s Boxing Academy in the northeastern state of Manipur, India here.


Notre Dame Women’s Boxing Club: Baraka Bouts 2010

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Notre Dame Women’s Boxing Club:  Baraka Bouts 2010

The University of Notre Dame’s annual women’s boxing challenge – the Baraka Bouts started on November 18th.  The women’s boxing club has been active in promoting women’s boxing on campus since 1997 and is well worth supporting.  Aside from the challenge of boxing in the ring, the series will raise money for the Lakeview Senior Secondary School in Uganda.  What’s also nice is that all women in the program have a chance to box — no matter what their skill level.

All about the club here.

2010 women’s international dual series

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2010 Women’s International Duel Series

For those who are interested, the 2010 Women’s International Duel Series will be broadcasting live video from 6:00 PM Pacific Time – 9:00 PM Pacific Time.  The live broadcasts will feature boxing in the three Olympic weight classes and should show a terrific evening of boxing each night from November 18 – November 20.

The link is here.

Fighters include:  Queen Underwood, Pikacs Mercedesz, Alex Love, Vivien Nizsei, Kalita Marsh, Lidia Fidura, Mikaela Mayer, Karolina Graczyk, Stephanie Han, Debbie Richards and Tiffanie Hearn.

If you happen to be in the area of Oxnard, California, tickets can be purchased in advance through the Oxnard PAL website at www.oxnardpalboxing.com, via phone at (805) 385-8230, or in person at PAL office on 350 S. K Street, Oxnard, CA, 93030.

USA Boxing has a nice piece on this as well here.

PS.  Victories on Wednesday Night, 11/17 included three wins by US Women:  NYC’s Christina Cruz, and from the state of Washington, Alex Love & Queen Underwood.


Boxing News 24 has it here.

The best of the best

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The best of the best

My prodigal has been feeling ill over the past few days with a headache she can’t shake and a runny nose that could have won the NYC Marathon.  True champion that she is at the offer of a day home in bed, she’s in the shower clearing her mind and her nostrils to do battle with the day.  In her case, her usual array of 6th grade classes and a make-up science test in an attempt to better her grade.

This is par for the course for her though.  And I’m reminded that as a second grader she stayed up till the then unseemly hour of 10:15 PM to finish a project for class.  She was studying bridges that year and she could barely remain awake as she completed the last final touches to make her bridge that much better.

I was in awe then at her resolve to work through the problem — and though my husband and I had to fight our instincts to demand that she go to bed, her tired but triumphant self-satisfaction the next morning was inspiring and brought much more than a tear to the eye.

She is no less triumphant this morning, exiting from the shower with a smile and saying, “I feel happy and I’m awake!”

Would that all of us could take a cue from that simple construct.

Guilting you into it

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Guilting you into it

Ever have one of those mornings when even the cat has her hooks into you?  I mean it’s not even 6:00 in the morning and the day is already all about getting stuff done, and done fast.

“Raining outside?  Oh, that’s okay, use an umbrella to go out and get me my latte!,” say’s he who wants desperately to be obeyed.

Yep, one of *those* mornings where only the premium flaked cat food will do.

My answer other than to take care of the “damn” nonsense of life including lattes in the rain and the last round of studying for my daughter’s make-up science test, always goes back to freezing time for my morning something.  Today that means the daily write and sun salutations and the occasional foray into a tap dance, say in the elevator of where I work where the acoustics make my taps sound perfect.

And later, say at lunch time, I’ll tune out for a few on my iPad and have a think about something other than coming home to sort the laundry.


P.S. – Nothing like the vision of a Starbucks barista in a Santa hat to make the day seems sunny after all!

New beginnings

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New beginnings.

Mondays afford the possibility of new beginnings.  A bit like a new year, Mondays begin the week and hence offer the chance to take a stab at starting over.   This mini-New Year also offers the start of new resolutions such as getting back to the gym, beginning a diet, or waking up an hour earlier to start that novel that keeps beckoning from the keyboard.

The point is that we have that opportunity to take a stab at new things all the time; whether an adventure in cuisine, creative endeavors, physical prowess, or something as simple as drinking one less cup of coffee.

And sure, Thursday can come when cake is the overriding motivation of the day, but you do have Monday or any other day you choose as your start day to look forward to.    That’s the day when you have the opportunity to move yourself along to where ever it is you want to go as a fresh beginning, whether its shadow boxing in the dark as your morning sun salutation or greeting your gym mates at the end of the day having missed their company for a while.

Missing a day

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Missing a day.

When one commits to a daily something as a specific task, missing a day can be a big emotional ouch.

Back when I boxed everyday, whether at the gym or at home, missing a day felt like a betrayal.  I had gone ahead and signed some sort of blood pact with myself to train everyday and then blown it!

The next day always felt awkward.   I found myself discounting the days and weeks of effort and sweat as if I had to start all over again.

Of course, I didn’t have to.  Sure I lost the day, but it didn’t mean having to give up training or all the good that working out in the ring had done for me.  It just meant that I had to work a bit harder to get my groove back; a few extra sit-ups to make up for the ones I’d lost.  Perhaps throwing in an extra bit on the treadmill during the warm-up, or the three rounds on the slip rope I’d been meaning to work into my routine.

The point is not to beat yourself up.

Things happen.  Work, family, a rotten cold, or maybe a jammed feeling that leaves a blue cast over the day that you just can’t shake.  The next day will be there for you to do your daily something again — and really, it’ll be okay.

You might also like:

The daily something

Friday movie: Girlfight

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Friday movie:  Girlfight

The film Girlfight directed by Karyn Kusama was one of the first films out about girl boxing.  Released in 2000 it won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Girlfight stars Michelle Rodriguez as Diana, an angry high school senior who is struggling to find her place in the world.  As a boxing genre film, it shares some of the elements of the classics, the wrinkle of course being that Diana must also contend with the being a woman in the ring.  It should be remembered that the film came out only a few short years after women began competing in the Golden Gloves, so some of the issues dealt with were still as raw as portrayed.

As far as fight movies go — this one’s fun and well worth adding to your queue on Netflix.

Safe space

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Safe space.

I came home from work last night to see my husband and my daughter sprawled on the living room floor doing math together.   My day had been exhausting and I was no less so after seeing them.   The lovely part of it was knowing how safe my daughter was as I excused myself and went into the bedroom to take a short nap.

Having missed out on a lot of that sort of intimacy in my own childhood, it got me to thinking that the boxing gym can offer that same sort of comfort.  My meaning is not necessarily tied into the idea of “Father” / “Daughter,” but “Trainer” and “Trainee.”

As a “student” of boxing one is seeking out guidance and learning from others. That learning encompasses all the usual pathways of acquiring knowledge; however, it occurs as a close physical experience and it is that closeness that can garner trust and comfort.   To sit in a boxing gym is to observe a myriad of small moments of loving intimacy. A sort of safe space for working through the actual problems of how to box; but more so the intangibles of relationship that dog many of us as we go about the everyday work of life.

Of marathons and dreams

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Of marathons and dreams.

Yesterday was the annual New York City Marathon.  Elite runners aside, the NYC Marathon is made up of the tens of thousands of little stories about endurance and heart that see runners  pursuing their dreams of completing the 26-mile course through the streets of the five boroughs.

It’s a day when runners are cheered on by the crowds of New Yorkers lining the route; clapping and pulling for the ones that seem tired or lagging, and reading all the special dreams on people’s T-shirts.  We recognize ourselves in those dreams; of work we pursue with dogged determination and grit, or friends we know and love who endure hardship.

We are each marathoners in one way or another in how we ply our boards day after day to accomplish goals large and small.  For the boxer, it’s not so much the fight as the pursuit of perfection in each jab thrown in the daily grind of the gym.

To my mind, yesterday was a celebration for all us who push to accomplish something, so congratulations to all of us for getting the job done.

 

 

No time

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No time …

for anything today except finishing a paper!  For anyone needing inspiration here’s some fight footage of Alicia “Slick” Ashley: