Tag Archives: musings

Waiting for the end to come.

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Waiting for the end to come.

Today was one of those gym days when if found myself waiting for the end. Whether it was the end of the round, the end of the set, or the end of the training session, my entire body seemed to be keeping rhythm to the “why are we here?” mantra.

We’re talking muscles yelling at me, head throbbing from a migraine, lungs shouting “wtf!?!” and legs that refused to bend.  Len (bless him) was a sweetheart about it and aside from a half-hearted, “wake-up, wake-up” during our first round on the focus pads, figured it was best to just go with the low-flow of energy.

Still, I did manage to get through the entire circuit, and even picked up some energy towards the end of my last couple of rounds on the double-ended bag and during my speed bag rounds.  By then I realized that by working it all out on the bag, I was finding a way to push through the physical morass and even found myself working a little past the bell on the last two rounds.

On the sit-up chair it was pretty much more of the same, but at least the head-throbbing was gone by then, and now that I’m home and adequately “coffee’d”,  I’m actually starting to feel a smile coming on.

So, what does it all mean?  I guess to haul your booty out the door anyway even if you’re feeling like dog-doo.  In my case, because I’m on a once-a-week schedule, I really feel that I have to go regardless — and let’s face it, while I’m still not at 100%, having made it through, I feel energized if only because I did complete the circuit. And who knows, I might even find the energy for a run later in the day.  I’ll see how it goes.

Getting the skinny on Women’s Boxing!

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Getting the skinny on Women’s Boxing!

Women's Boxing, Photo: Nathan W. Armes

Finding resources about Women’s Boxing can be a real challenge!  Take if from me, I google “women’s boxing” and “female boxing” at least once a day under the news tab and often come away with the same three dull stories and barely a word on results.

That’s where our friends at Women Boxing Network Archive (WBAN) come in!  Their website is a fabulous resource for just about everything you need to know about Women’s Boxing from amateur bouts through the latest results of pro-boxing battles across the globe.  WBAN is also a terrific resource for upcoming events, boxer’s biographies and photographs, not to mention their series of wonderful articles on the history of Women’s Boxing.

WBAN is the brainchild of Sue “Tiger Lily” Fox, one of the true trailblazers of the sport.   Sue fought as a professional boxer in the 1970’s, but her love of the sport never abated for a moment and propelled her to start the WBAN website nearly 13 years ago in June 1998.

Chevelle Hallback and Holly Holm at the weigh-in for their March 2010 “Warrior Vengeance” fight

To mark the tenth anniversary of WBAN’s presence on the web in 2008, WBAN created their own “Best of the Best” independent world title belt and chose two of the sport’s greatest, Holly Holm and Chevelle Hallback, as the first honorees.

Readers hankering for access to WBAN’s extensive archive of data can also purchase a membership subscription for unlimited access to boxing records, photographs and even streaming videos at minimum cost.

So next time you have a hankering for everything you can possibly learn about women’s boxing, click on WBAN – Women Boxing Archive Network. (You’ll find a permanent link listed under Boxing Blogs.)

And next time you stop by WBAN, give a shout-out to Sue “TL” Lyon for her steadfast dedication to the sport of Women’s Boxing!

Cool Jerk

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Cool Jerk

I went to my first dance when I graduated from the sixth grade. It was 1966 and, in and of itself, the dance with its steady stream of soul music was pretty amazing as a punctuation mark on my childhood.

Coming out of my school in the early evening, I felt the power of what embarking on a new road meant. Okay, not exactly how I would describe 7th Grade at I.S. 44 on West 77th Street — or the move from my beloved downtown to the upper west side of Manhattan, but I didn’t know that at the time and as tears stung my eyes, I felt elated by the prospect of engaging the unknown.

The next morning, I remember coming downstairs early and sitting on the stoop with my brand new AM/FM transistor radio in hand — a birthday present from my grandmother.

By then I had discovered jazz on WLIB-FM and the other stations on each end of the dial. Those were the cool stations, the ones that played jazz and soul 24-7.

Sitting there watching the world unfold in the light breeze of the early morning air I felt invincible.

It’s a feeling I get from boxing sometimes, when going through my paces I feel completely in tune.  I have it traveling too; walking down a back street in a town, listening to the refrains of life as I pass my, a walking spirit through countless unseen lives.

Later that day, the song Cool Jerk by the group The Capitals came on.  That song was like a hyped-up tonic to me and seemed to optimize the feeling I had of beginning a new journey. Every time I listened to it that summer I felt the thrill of it – and even now if I want a giant pick-me-up I’ll just play that song and something will kick-in to bring on a great big smile.

Yep, I felt like the heaviest cat, the world had ever seen.

If you have your health …

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If you have your health …


I have close friends and family who are in varying states of getting their butts kicked by illness and the uncertainties that ill-health can bring.   Whether life-threatening as in some cases or debilitating to the point of being life-altering, the old adage that goes, “if you have your health you have everything,” rings truer than I can say.

Watching formally healthy and robust people impaired by illness — even for the shorter term is difficult to reconcile.  And yet those of my friends and family who find themselves at that place where the fight for a modicum of normalcy equates to a lot of wishful thinking puts me in mind to how grateful I am  to be able to choose or *not* choose to haul myself to the gym to work out, or to fight my way from dreamland on to the mat for morning Yoga.  Which of course reminds me of the fact that I’ve blown it off of late — and in working through how to get back into the habit of pre-dawn downward-facing-dog poses I am not only thinking of it as a matter of will power, but of something deeper:  taking responsibility for my health, frankly, while I still have it.

As every boxer knows, the dedication to workouts, healthy eating, making weight safely, and importantly, a training routine that works with one’s body not against it are what’s needed before ever stepping into the ring.  And why not with life too — and with the everyday fun of work and play with minds and bodies free of the stresses that too many late nights, fast-foods loaded with fats and sugars and not enough time spent attending to the prevention of illness can bring.

Goodness knows I am not one to talk having just eaten the delicious slice of Mother’s Day cake my daughter lovingly bought me, but … that’s not to say that one can’t have one’s cake and “eat it too.” One can put some thought into eating and living healthily with the occasional cake and ice cream carved in to it — and no, not a pint of chocolate chocolate chip at one sitting, but a hearty scoopful.

I guess the point is to mind what your mother always told you, stuff like, “a good breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” or “take your vitamins,” or “don’t watch too much TV, it’ll rot your brain.”

Well you get the drift.  Doing what you can to stay healthy really does count for something, so please, for your Mom, try to remember yours.

What condition my conditioning is in

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What condition my conditioning is in.


Given my conditioning, I’m beginning to think that the best thing to do is to get a Navy Seals video and start getting in some beach time!

I mean, wow!  Four rounds with Lennox Blackmore this morning just about blew out my lungs!

We’re talking “panting” city — meanwhile, we had a LOAD of fun, and when I wasn’t gasping for air, I actually managed a few moves.  The great thing about the experience was Len’s patience in showing me ways to GET OUT OF THE WAY — as in when to slip and when to block to set up my next flurry of punches.  It reminds me of what a great counter-puncher he is, and like the great game of chess, everything in boxing is about setting things up for what you plan to do several moves ahead.

Having not been in the ring for a while, I found myself stymied by some of what Len was doing. The good part was I have actually been learning a thing or two and so I had crisper more accurate punches that actually followed form — when I wasn’t abjectly staying out-of-the-way to catch my breath!

Oh well — it just means I’ve got to get on the CARDIO train and step it up several notches if I hope to have a prayer in the ring.

Meanwhile, I did manage a couple of rounds of shadow boxing, three on the double-ended bag, four on the speed bag and four rounds of slow sit-ups on the funky old Gleason’s sit-up chair before heading on up the Washington Street hill for home.

It made for a great morning and the kind of day when I all I could do was smile!

Mr. Softee

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Mr. Softee.

Between hearing my first Mr. Softee truck of the season, sitting in the sunshine for a few minutes at mid-day, and an otherwise hellacious week that left me with noodles for brains, I’m feeling a wave of summer somnambulance tempered only by the relative cool of the evening.  Summer will come though, along with feeling all sweaty and hot in the gym, my muscles pre-oiled and loose without ever having to step out onto the pavement for a run.

Growing up, I used to love the first days of summer. I lived on the lower east side then and could sit out on the stoop till the sun went down. The block was always peopled with kids running around and playing in groups that seemed to interchange with the ease of the wind — as their parents talked, smoked, drank beer, played dominos or called out from the window for this or that kid to come upstairs.

Sometime in early June, my mother would take my brother and I down to Orchard Street to buy our summer clothes.

I’d get short-sleeved shirts, camp shorts, tan jeans and a new pair of white PF Flyer sneakers. I’d also get a new pair of flip-flops which I’d wear out practically through the rubber by the end of the summer.

The best part was watching older kids on my block dance.

I learned a lot of moves. And as I got older I came to love listening to the music of Martha and The Vandella’s, The Marvellettes and of course The Supremes — and even though they were a little too prissy for my taste I used to love the song, You Keep Me Hangin’ On.

I miss having a stoop to sit on or a block that has an edgy feel of danger — maybe that’s why I love boxing so much.  It feels like summer.  Full of promise and thrill and just that little hint of something you can’t quite keep control of.

Road to dreams

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Road to dreams.

AIBA the amateur international boxing association has just completed their AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships.  As part of the 10-day event, the organization sponsored young female boxers and their coaches by providing the funds necessary not only to attend the event, but to train for the bouts at a specially held training camp.

As noted on the AIBA website, 23 boxers from seven countries were afforded the opportunity to train in Antalya, Turkey ahead of the recently concluded games resulting in a gold and silver and a bronze for training camp participants:  Thi Vy Voung (Vietnam) won a the world Junior title in the 52kg weight class for the Gold, her teammate Thi Phuong Pham won the silver in the 48kg weight class, and Moldavia’s Irinia Gilca took the bronze in the 64kg weight class in the Youth championship competition.

Otherwise, boxers from India, China and  Russia dominated in the Junior and Youth competition — heating up competitive opportunities ahead of next year’s Olympics (Team USA did not take part).

The idea of a road to dreams resonated with me — can you imagine, really, think about this a road to dreams; sponsorship of athletic prowess in the sport of women’s boxing!  And apparently, this is not the first time.  AIBA sponsored 33 boxers ahead of the 2010 Women’s World Championships in Barbados last year in a program called “Road to Barbados.”

Still, I like the idea of a road to dreams.  A place where young women, some as young as 14, are given the opportunity to practice the sweet science under the auspices of an organization that truly supports their efforts.  What could be better than that!

For more information on AIBA click here.

Nine of Twelve!

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Nine of twelve!

Nope that’s not a new Borg designation — rather I am 9 of 12, having finished nine of my twelve classes toward my masters degree.

Having just written a paper on one of the classic Star Trek episodes, I thought it might be fun to link up to a few of the original series coming attractions. They really are a hoot. Oh, and there’s a bit of Picard too!

Blessings where we can get ’em!

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Blessings where we can get ’em!

Gleason's Gym 4/30/2011

I know I sometimes get a little bit cranky and complain-y on these pages, but after a morning like this one where the work of the gym was hard, but fell into place, let me tell you all I AM BLESSED.

The workout out itself had ragged moments because despite coming at this hard once a week since January, my conditioning is still not where it should be.  Working with Len on the pads, and then having him coach me through some double-ended bag work focusing on the right hook put it all into place.

So, yes, I did get to a near-on physical s-t-o-p on the 4th round of pads, but still managed my sweet 16 feeling strong, confident, and as if I’d come away with something I hadn’t had at the start of it.

Plus … I was surrounded by an amazing group of women going through their third day of Gleason’s Gym’s first Female Boxing Clinic …

And if that wasn’t enough, Lennox feels I’ve come along enough for us to start sparring again beginning next week!  Yay!  We’re talking cloud 9 here people — and as the song says, “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day”!

Oh and a big P.S. – If you can make it … come on down to Gleason’s First All-Female Amateur Fight Card 2night!  The bouts begin at 6:00 PM, @ 77 Front Street in Dumbo (Brooklyn).  You can also catch the bouts on http://www.golivetv.com with Gleason’s own Sonya Lamonakis providing the commentary! $20 bucks @ the door, $15 for gym members or for folks with a boxing card.

Of knees, fingers and toes …

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Of knees, fingers and toes …

So, there I was dodging the sudden rain at lunch time yesterday and out of nowhere, my knees screamed out, “you’re 50-something woman, WHY are you trying to bend!”

Similarly, my fingers and toes have been yelling at me lately — all of which is another way of saying (a) they’re still cold from the long winter or (b) I’m becoming a woman of a “certain age” that has got to sort out how to oil-up these joints!

For the latter, my usual response is to say, “give me a hot sweaty gym in mid-summer and I’ll train forever.”  Really, there is something to walking in sweaty that just gases me to train longer and harder.  Otherwise I find that I have to stay in the hot shower that much longer in the morning not to mention taking a lot of extra time warming up.

Okay, we’re not talking gnarly knees here yet, but I went to do a knee bend last night and thought I might get stuck mid-way forever.  And on last Saturday’s run — ah, make that S-L-O-W jog — I had the feeling that if I wanted to run faster, say if my life depended on it, I couldn’t have!

Oy, so what to do! 

In checking it out, I found some tips that seem intuitive and smart, and may prove useful to Girlboxing friends with stiffening joints whether from all that over-use in the gym or the age thing!

1.  Range of Motion Exercises:  This one makes a lot of sense, especially for the knees, but shoulders, neck, wrists and other “cold spots” can gain a lot of benefits.  You can start with a small circular movements, and when it comes to your shoulders, giving them a good shrug really helps.

2. Strengthening Exercises:  Building up your muscle strength to help support your joints is another terrific way of helping overcome stiffness.  The joint issues may not go away per se, but by strengthening the muscles surrounding your joints, you can maintain or increase your muscle strength while giving support to your joints.  The key here is that you don’t necessarily have to go running to the gym to lift thousands of pounds.  Rather, strengthening can also be accomplished through repetitive exercises that can isolate specific areas of your body.

I’ll throw in Yoga as another terrific way to perform strengthening exercises — and there are a lot of focused Yoga movements that you can perform for specific parts of your body in addition to gaining overall conditioning.

3. Aerobic Exercises: The key here is to build endurance without hurting yourself, i.e., my slow jog versus a full-on pounding run (which I can’t do anyway). but you get the drift.  Walking, swimming, dancing and our favorite boxing, are great examples of the kinds of aerobic exercises that can improve overall conditioning, keep your cardio in check and maybe even your weight.

The key here is if you’re noticing a slow-down, morning stiffness or other subtle changes you’ll likely want to work at your own pace. If you’re really hurting though, get yourself to a doctor to check out what’s going on.  Years of pounding on your body does take its toll even if you are fit and keep to a regular fitness program.

Most of all, have some fun — and if you’re like me, you can get some entertainment out of cracking your knees in time to the music!

Inspiration

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Inspiration.

Afghan Girl's Boxing Team

I’ve been in a back to the drawing boards phase for the past couple of days.  I likely should have just put up the “gone fishing” sign, but what I’ve really needed is to draw on some inspiration.  Here’s what I’ve come up with:

1.  I have a friend in the throes of a tough fight against breast cancer.  She’s ridiculously young to be going through this sort of “shite,” but if you ever needed to move on from a “what’s this all about” moment — take a read through Mandy’s terrific Breastcancerography blog to put it all in perspective!

2.  Life got you down, try heaving 60+ extra pounds around during a four-round fight!

That was Sonya Lamonakis’ task when she fought Gigi Jackson last week — and somewhere from the depths, Sonya brought it forward.  Talk about inspiration — that’s how champions are made.  Finding the place in oneself where one can move past difficulty and seemingly insurmountable obstacles to succeed at the task at hand and if that’s not possible, walking away knowing that one did give it one’s all, which in my book is something to be just as proud of.

3.  Every time I get to the gym, someone catches my attention and I am riveted by the precision of their work and more importantly by their work ethic.  Sometimes it’s a trainer, explaining the nuance of a technique while at other times it’s a fellow gym denizen shadowing boxing in front of the mirror or heaving weights or doing sit-ups for the umpteenth time in a row.

Whatever it is keeps me coming back because I know that I’m part of the chain of a terrific community that inspires by showing up to do the work.  And whether it’s 6:00 in the morning or close to the end of the day, the da-da-da da-da-da of the speed bag gets into my soul like a heart beat that reminds me how much the gym can mean.

On the road (and I don’t mean roadwork)

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On the road (and I don’t mean roadwork)

Yep, I’ve hung up the old “gone fishing'” sign and found my way up to Montreal, Canada with my daughter for our spring break.  We had a terrific flight up this morning — and aside from some wishful thinking on the weather, enjoyed a couple of fabulous long walks through town plus some reasonable eats.

And who knew that one city could have the same name pronounced two different ways: Montreal and Mon-re-al.

We are staying in the old part of the city called “Vieux Montreal” — along the old Port on the St. Lawrence seaway.  It is quite beautiful and while it certainly has the feel of a big city, the architecture is decidedly European in the older neighborhoods.

Having not been away for some time — especially with the young one in tow, it’s been quite a treat to experience something outside of our usual routine.  Tomorrow, I hope to find out where the locals box to see if we can pay a visit.

Until tomorrow then — bon nuit!

Boxing by myself …

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Boxing by myself …

There are times when I find myself training without a trainer.  Today was one of those days and I have to admit I missed Lennox who is up @ Foxwoods to work Sonya Lamonakis’ corner tonight for her 6-round heavyweight bout on the Berto-Ortiz undercard.

Still, as I approached my sweet 16 — I found myself luxuriating in the time I had to focus on stuff at my own pace and in my own sequence.

Lately, I’ve been pretty orthodox with my four-round sets — but today, I thought it would be fun to indulge in the things I like so, I did a total of 8 rounds on the double-ended bag, 4 rounds on the heavy bag, and finished up with 4 rounds on the speed bag before I did my first plus 4 on the sit-up chair.

As I write this I have to admit that my upper arms are leaden not to mention a right knee that is feeling pretty inflamed, but … and this is a big one, as an antidote to a pretty tough work week and the specter of yet another paper to write, I am that sort of wasted “noodlish-body” kind of happy that will even see me through the cart-load of laundry staring at me from across the living room.

I’ve also gotten over that momentary by-myself panic I experience in the gym sometimes when I start to feel a bit lost all on my own.

Today though, I fist-bumped my gloved hands in a boxing salute to myself for a job well done.

Boxing Movie Night: Here Comes Mr. Jordan!

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Boxing Movie Night: Here Comes Mr. Jordan!

I’m a sucker for a good old-fashioned movie, and when it comes to feel good movies, Here Comes Mr. Jordan is one of the best.

The 1941 black and white feature film stars Robert Montgomery as the saxophone playing boxer Joe, Claude Rains as Mr. Jordan, Everett Edward Horton as Angel # 7013, Evelyn Keyes as Miss Logan, and the great James Gleason as Joe’s Fight Manager, Max Corkle.  The story is also a powerful one full of hope and redemption.  For those who are unfamiliar with the plot line, Joe (Robert Montgomery) on his way to fight in a championship bout is plucked from his airplane as it about to crash by a fledgling angel (Edward Everett Horton).  Unfortunately, Joe is pulled from the plane moments too soon — and the rest of the movie is Joe’s fight to be given a second chance at the “title” after having been mistakenly taken to heaven way before his “number was up”!

This enduring story of the human spirit overcoming adversity was a lovely allegory for an America on the eve of World War II, where luck, an indomitable will and great heart would see a generation of young men and women through the difficulties to come.

Seen 60 years later, the pluckiness of Here Comes Mr. Jordan continues to resonate as does its later remakes:  Warren Beatty’s Heaven Can Wait and the most recent iteration of the film, Down To Earth,  starring Chris Rock.

Still, I’ll always opt to watch the original boxing themed version and hope you will enjoy it as much as I do!  We’re talking a near-on 4 Star gem that’s definitely worth a bucketful of popcorn!

(See YouTube for the rest of the episodes or check it out on Netflix!)

Cool waters, hot heat

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Cool waters, hot heat.

I’ve got summer on the brain.

Summer and the beach at dawn.  The restless sound of the surf pushing towards a new day, expectant and full of promise.

The kind of morning when a long run licks sands at your heels. Dogs and their owners sashaying about as they play chase with drift wood in between small birds flitting in and out of the water.

The thought if reminds me of how much I love summer — and working out at the gym in hot, steamy, sweaty heat.  It’s really my favorite time there, wearing as little as I can as I pound away at the heavy bag, feeling it slip towards me, and pushing it back, watching as bits of sweat first bead and then drip down where first my shoulder and then my cheek brushes it back.