Whether it’s prepping for the first EVER women’s boxing Olympic trials next week or waking up to the fact that there are some fabulous women boxers out there, women’s boxing has arrived!
WNYC Radio has had a fabulous series running entitled Women Box: Fighting to Make History which has included remarkable photo essays by Sue Jaye Johnson as well as radio interviews with Olympic contenders, amateurs boxers, coaches and pro boxers.
Last night, WNYC hosted an event at The Greene Space in lower Manhattan that featured Photojournalist Sue Jay Johnson, 16-year-old Claressa Shields who will be competing in the upcoming Olympic Trials in Spokane, Washington, World Champion Alicia “Slick” Ashley, Golden Gloves contender, Heather Hardy, and host Rosie Perez.
The sold-out event adds momentum to what has become a veritable crescendo of positive media stories that have celebrated the tenacity, hard work and plain courage of these remarkable athletes.
The Greene Space event link is hereand includes the video!
That old chestnut, if you have your health you have everything!
Yesterday was my medical test day. I’m pretty much talking soup to nuts … what with EKG’s, lots of blood work and then an afternoon at Mt. Sinai Hospital getting hundreds of pictures taken of my esophagus and stomach from the “inside” view.
Sheesh. It was enough to make me heave, which I’m proud to say I didn’t, but having been prone on a surgical table for 45 minutes with lots of tubes, IV lines and the like, I do have pains in odd places today that are inexplicable such as the weird spot on my left jaw and the sore in my mouth just below my lip on the right side.
Hiatal Hernia, Credit: Medicine.net
Things are mostly okay with a few surprises — such as a Hiatal Hernia and some funny looking inflammation in my stomach.
For those *not* in the know (such as myself twelve hours ago), a Hiatal Hernia is when part of the stomach pushes through the diaphragm into the space were the esophagus passes through to the stomach.
According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, “Your diaphragm normally has a small opening (hiatus) through which your food tube (esophagus) passes on its way to connect to your stomach. The stomach can push up through this opening and cause a Hiatal Hernia.” (Link)
Many patients who have been diagnosed with a Hiatal Hernia (such as myself) don’t exhibit any particular symptoms other than GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) and may only discover that they have a hernia after undergoing an Endoscopy. (An Endoscopy is a surgical procedure which entails a GI specialist viewing your esophagus through a tube that passes through the esophagus and the stomach all the way to the small intestine. It is also known as an Upper GI Endoscopy.)
The diagnosis of a Hiatal Hernia is also found in patients who have Barrett’s Esophagus — and such is the case with me.
For those who’ve never heard of Barrett’s Esophagus, “it is a condition in which the cells of your lower esophagus become damaged, usually from repeated exposure to stomach acid. The damage causes changes to the color and composition of the esophagus cells.” (Mayo Clinic Link.) The process, known as “metaplasia” actually changes the cells from the normal ones found in the esophagus to the type of cells normally found in the intestines! To quote some more from the Mayo Clinic write-up, “A diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus can be concerning because it increases the risk of developing esophageal cancer. Although the risk of esophageal cancer is small, monitoring of Barrett’s esophagus focuses on periodic exams to find precancerous esophagus cells. If precancerous cells are discovered, they can be treated to prevent esophageal cancer.”
Acid Reflux, Credit: Greater Baltimore Medical Center
GERD is the usual precursor to Barrett’s Esophagus. In my case, the thinking is that I’ve had this for many years, but because my symptoms were not related to the classic heartburn of old Alka Seltzer commercials, but rather as sore throats and coughs, what I had always thought were seasonal allergies turned out to be LPR or Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease. In other words, discomfort in my throat, not my stomach!
Often called “silent reflux” this particular permutation of gastric reflux is often linked to GERD as well as a risk factor for developing Barrett’s Esophagus and other Esophageal conditions. As well, Hiatal Hernias are also often seen in GERD and LPR patients. (LPR Link)
All of these conditions require diagnosis, treatment and follow-up by skilled GI and ENT specialists and should be taken seriously.
There are also important steps that patients such take to help mitigate the discomfort and risks associated with these conditions. Changes included the following suggestions:
– If you smoke, quit.
– If you are overweight, commit to returning to a normal weight for your height and body type.
– If you don’t exercise on a regular basis, you should strongly consider starting.
– Eat small meals/snacks 5-6 times per day, instead of 3 large meals. This helps to digest food faster, especially if you eat one type of food at a time rather than loading up with lots of different foods as once.
– Try to take a walk after eating. A twenty-minute “constitutional” should do it. This really aids the digestive process.
– Stop eating 3-4 hours before lying down/going to bed
– Invest in a wedge pillow (gradual include to 6 inches) and use this for sleeping at night.
Also realize, that you can affect the outcome of your own health — and while things may not return to perfect, your commitment to yourself and doing what you can to help yourself, really does make a difference.
An interview with Chevelle Hallback, Women’s Boxing Champion for the Ages!
Chevelle “Fists of Steel” Hallback first laced up the gloves in 1996. Given that women’s boxing didn’t have many amateur boxing opportunities, she dove right in and fought her first professional fight less than a year later in 1997, earning her first win against Connie Plosser. Hallback has fought continuously since then with an impressive 28-8-2 (11 KOs) record.
On March 2, 2012, Chevelle Hallback will do it again, fighting a rematch against Terri “The Road Warrior” Blair (11-15-3, 6 KOs) at the Civic Center in Tampa, Florida. In a year of firsts, this will be the first female main event boxing match in the state of Florida, an honor bestowed on Hallback in her first fight fought at home since she began her professional career!
“I’m looking forward to fighting at home for the first time in my career,” Hallback is quoted as saying. “Terri and I had a great battle in 2007. She’s fought the best, has never been stopped and I’m training hard to make this an exciting fight for all the fans. I appreciate Terri for stepping up for this fight.”
The “must see” March 2nd card is promoted by Estrada Entertainment Productions in association with Tampa Baby Boxing Promotions and Reyes “Macho Times” Promotions. (Ticket information can be found at www.tampabayboxing.com.)
Girlboxing had the opportunity to speak with Chevelle Hallback who graciously took time from her training schedule to talk about her upcoming bout, her career and her hopes and dreams for the future.
1. You have a fantastic rematch coming up on March 2nd against Terri “The Road Warrior” Blair, what can you tell Girlboxing readers about this fight?
This is going to be a great fight! This is our second time meeting and when I say her name speaks for itself, I mean she is a warrior. She’s been in there with everyone that is a somebody in boxing. I don’t think her record really speaks for her [11-15-3, 6 KOs] because she is an amazing fighter. The truth is, she got the short end of the stick in most of her fights.
Our first fight [in 2007] was a hell of a fight. It was a tough fight. I came out with a win [78-74, 79-73, 77-75, 8×2], but it was a close fight.
With the upcoming bout, the first time I’m fighting at home, history is being made. The first time a female fight will be the main event on a boxing card in Florida. I can’t ask for anything more. I’m just excited about it and grateful!
2. When you fought Blair in 2007, you were quoted as saying, “It was rough. She never hurt me in the fight, but after the fight, those body shots she landed bruised my ribs.” What are you looking for in your rematch with Blair?
She is a “come get you”, “come right at you” style fighter, but I train for everything. I’ve found through experience that when you think a fighter’s going to come straight at you and you train just for that, they may switch it up on you fight night. To prepare myself whatever they may bring, I fight for all different styles. I don’t know what Blair’s going to do this time around, so I’m training for each and every style of boxing that you can think of.
3. Your last two fights were in Europe against Miriam Lamare and Cecilia Braekhus, both great fighters in the female light welterweight division. You’ve made it known that you are itching to have a rematch against Miriam Lamare after a controversial loss in November of last year. How is that going?
Hallback vs. Lamare
I want a rematch with both, to be honest with you. Right now, I’m starting out with Miriam Lamare, I really, really believe that I got robbed in that fight. I really believe that I beat her hands down. The Braekhus fight, it could have gone either way.
I’m going after Lamare first. I personally asked her for a rematch, but I haven’t had any feedback. After the fight my boxing advisor asked the matchmaker of the fight could we have a rematch and he was like, “no,” at the time.
In terms of a rematch I want it. I want to do this again. I went to her woman to woman. The fans want it, even her fans were saying that they wanted a rematch. I feel that I was robbed, and I’ll even go back to France. I just want the opportunity to get a rematch. [See below for video of Chevelle Hallback’s fight against Miriam Lamare.]
4. Can you tell our Girlboxing readers a bit about your boxing career.
I started training on March 20th 1996 to be exact when I first went into a boxing gym, and I turned pro in 1997, I think it was February of 1997. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I don’t have an amateur background. I never fought any amateur bouts at all so it was on-the-job training! But I progressed fast.
I am a student of the game and I used to study fighters like Roy Jones, Jr. and old fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson. I wanted to fight like them. Fighters that had awkward and unique styles.
I’ve been boxing for a long time, but I never took any serious damage during my career and I thank God for that.
5. What are your goals after you’re upcoming match against Terri Blair?
It’s been a long time, but my goal and my dream is to be the first woman to fight on HBO. There’s never been a women’s bout on HBO, not even Laila Ali. That’s my goal. I’m going to keep going till either one of two things happen: I reach the goal or my body tells me it’s time to quit. Right now my body is not telling me that! Like I said, it’s a plan and a goal and I’m striving for it.
I also want to tell Girlboxing readers, no matter how old you are if you feel that you’re capable of anything you keep going pursuing your dream, because if you don’t you end up saying, “I wish”, “I coulda’ woulda'” and it’s too late.
6. You’ve also had an amazing several months because you started the Fists of Steel Boxing Academy, how is that going?
I just started it this past July and it is going great! I love it!
With any business it takes a while for it to build, but it is coming along and I’m happy about it. I have an amateur now and I have a pro fighter, I have my kids and I also have classes. I even have a professional football player taking one of my classes and he loves it.
My amateur fighter, Rebecca just won a fight at the state level. I was very excited about that and my pro fighter will be fighting on the undercard of my fight against Terri Blair on March 2nd.
7. You’ve been in the sport as a pro since 1997 and you’ve witnessed a lot. What are the two or three things that have really changed in women’s boxing since then?
Well, number one, women will be fighting in the Olympics! That’s huge for women’s boxing!
There are more women fighting and it seems that there’s usually one women’s fight on every boxing card these days, especially when it comes to local shows because the women are as good as the men. And more females are getting involved too.
When I first started, I went to the amateur shows, but there was no one to fight. Either they weren’t in my weight class or they didn’t have the skills. That’s why I turned Pro. Now the amateur shows are amazing. There are many more women fighting and the turnout is much bigger.
We still have a long ways to go, but with the Olympics and with what I’m trying to do, we might get it to the half way point where it’ll tip over and get into the spotlight in a positive way … but from when I first started, there’s a huge, huge improvement.
8. If I mention Chevelle Hallback to a room full of female boxers they swoon! They don’t call you “Fists of Steel” they call you “Abs of Steel.” You mean a lot to the sport and continue to inspire a lot of women from professionals on through “Saturday” boxers. What do you tell your own boxers in the gym to keep them going?
First of all, especially when they come in, I ask them, what they want to do and what their goals are. I then tell them what to expect and what the path they’re going to take will be. If they’re there for at least a week, I remind them of their goals and of what they first told me — when I do that I’m talking to them on the inside. It helps people. It is not an easy sport. Sometimes we have to bleed for it.
Most important of all though is when you say you want to do something and you’re determined, and you have it in your heart and in your soul to do it, and you go through whatever you have to go through to do it, at the end of the day you can say, “I did it.”
I think that’s the best reward that anyone can have.
You say, “I did it,” and no one can take that from you. You can give a person a gold medal, or titles or belts, and they’re going to get old or vanish, but what can never be taken away is that you did it. And that’s what I tell my fighters and that’s what I’ll tell Girlboxing readers.
9. Do you have any closing remarks?
Yes. Tell them, Chevelle Hallback is here — and I’m not only doing it for me, but for women’s boxing and for women to do this in the future, “big time”!
***
Chevelle Hallback vs. Miriam Lamare Rounds 1 – 8 (Fight starts around 12:00 and is in French)
Chevelle Hallback vs. Miriam Lamare Rounds 8 (end)-10
Stereotyping women and other issues in the fight game.
Female Boxer in Pakistan, Photo Credit: Reuters
Watching how the mainstream media has grabbed a hold of women’s boxing as something to promote in positive terms is nothing short of marvelous. Whether it is media in the US, Europe or Asia, however, questions of a women’s “place” in the ring still linger even as national teams ready themselves for the 2012 Olympics.
What I’ve found most interesting are the spate of recent media pieces coming out of Asia. Here are a few examples.
Stereotyping women cannot work anymore and men who claim that women cannot match their abilities are in deep trouble. Even those who choose to stay as homemakers can bring in value addition to their families.
After being asked by the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) to start a women’s boxing programme in 1996, the plan failed due to protests by hardliners who opposed the idea of females gearing up to step in the ring.
However, after a lapse of almost 16 years, the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) – facing the rage of conservative groups but surrounded by talented women – has decided to hold exhibition matchesin April.
TANG ERMIN (Translation): These girls who we’re training have a passion for boxing. In the past, these girls didn’t have an opportunity to participate. They could only watch the boys fight. They’re very focused on the sport now because they’ve been given the chance to become a boxer.
Whether it is the dangers of the ring, such as the one that has seen Ishika Lay on her long road to recovery from second-impact syndrome, or something closer to home, such as the sudden illness of a relative or friend, living each day to its fullest is an important mantra: even when that means walking away from the things we love to do.
That means not only pursuing your dreams, but knowing when to sit out because the risks are too great.
Have a headache after sparring that won’t go away? Go and get it checked out and follow the mantra: when in doubt, sit it out.
I know we all tend to ignore the long-term effects of our actions or even cast a “blind eye” to their very existence, but headaches and the like are also symptoms of acute problems that can be dealt with much more readily early on. Sometimes it is only a matter of facing down the demons that seem to haunt us when we contemplate the “why” question that prevents us from taking the next step — say to a doctor’s office. Not to do so, however, is to play a dangerous game of roulette with one’s own health and well-being. It is also an example of breaking a cardinal rule that can best be translated as cheating at solitaire.
Here’s another one: Do you have indigestion every time you eat a slice of pizza? Or in the absence of that, cough after every pasta or pizza meal? Has it seemed to escalate at night lately, even when you don’t eat pizza? Go and get that checked! And P.S. … stop eating pizza and pasta till you know what’s going on. At the very least you might have GERD (Gastric Esophageal Reflux Disease), but it also might mean (depending on your age), that you are starting to see changes to the actual make-up of your esophagus (Barrett’s Esophagus) which can lead to “no joke” complications.
I bring this all up because so many of us “live” with things that we think are nothing that end up being a big something in a hurry when we least expect it. When that happens the effects are often horrendous, both to the individual undergoing treatment and to family and friends who suffer along with each bump in the road.
Athletes presumably have a great sense of their bodies – certainly of the cause and effects of too little sleep, poor eating habits and so on; however, that doesn’t always translate into evaluating the relative risks of injuries or of even recognizing that the twinge in a shoulder is really a rotator cuff injury about to blow.
That’s when we all have to take some responsibility not only for our own health and well-being, but for what we see going on around us by taking to heart the “if you see something, say something” mantra. Sure, you might be accused of putting your nose into someone’s business, but you well might recognize something that your sparring partner just doesn’t see.
Part of living each day certainly translates into living it with gusto, but we also need to be cognizant of all the aspects of our day, even the things we’d rather ignore. The problem is the things we ignore have a way of slamming us in the face whether we acknowledge them or not, and for my money, it’s better to face an issue head on than wait for the unexpected surprise.
As often happens after big events whether boxing matches won or lost or worse yet, called as a draw; or in the world of work where major projects are completed and all that is left is the mundane, the hardest part is pushing through to the next big moment, especially when there isn’t one in the offing.
That idle time aka “the devil’s workshop” can wreak havoc with your conditioning whether it’s your physical prowess in the ring or the mental gymnastics you apply to a new task, not to mention that steady spiral to that pesky inertia again where nothing seems to move and one feels wedded to nothing more than bad television, too much ice cream and an otherwise cranky disposition.
Rather like empty streets in the in the morning which one can walk around in at will with no one to jostle you or impede your way; the waiting period can be your opportunity to perform all those personal maintenance tasks you never get to. Such as … have you been to the doctor lately? Had your mammo, colonoscopy, bone density scan, round of blood tests? Okay, I know I’m revealing my age a little bit here, but you can get the point. Had a massage? Been to a museum? Cleaned out your closets? Seen your grandmother? Started that blog? Wrote that short story? Signed up for a computer class?
We all carry our lists around of “things to do” whether it’s the daily list of chores of the pick-up dry cleaning variety or the larger ones that have to do with family, friends and importantly our own personal growth.
Given that I am in the middle of just such a period, I can really, really relate to anyone having difficulty getting “on the stick” so to speak. Suffice it to say, I am grateful to have the chance to write about it in Girlboxing, and thank you all for indulging me as I thrash about trying to get my motivation on!
I will say that while I haven’t quite made it to 300 sit-ups yet this week (I’m at 225 with 14 hours and counting till my midnight deadline), I have made my weekly goal of modified push ups — well, actually, I’ve exceeded that one: 60 = goal, 75 = attained.
Okay, we are not talking about a climb to the top of Everest or running a marathon, the little things do count towards the larger goals, even when those goals are not in focus. And sometimes, those little things add up to opportunities you never considered for yourself, and those sorts of surprises lead you right back to the winner’s circle again.
I’m traveling up the Hudson River by train this morning from New York City to Saratoga Springs.
To say that I’m feeling footloose is not to fully appreciate how free I feel in mind and spirit. Perhaps it’s because I have two days off as a celebration of sorts: I’ve been invited to speak at my college to the incoming group of graduate students about writing the final project. I’ll also do a small presentation on my thesis, Boundaries in Motion: Women’s Boxing. It’s a lovely honor, one that I truly appreciate. Beyond that it means I get to talk about the wonders of women’s boxing as a metaphor for perseverance, hard work and effort, and the feeling of accomplishment that one can have at attaining a goal.
I also appreciate that it’s a good thing to revel in one’s own accomplishments from time to time. So this is a bit of an “atta’ girl” to myself, which I figure that all of us need from time to time. Meanwhile, I’ll get to hang out at the indoor pool or tool around the town of Saratoga Springs while the students are busy having their minds blown with all the dawn till midnight roster of activities that graduate school residencies are famous for.
I am talking true post-grad heaven here.
Otherwise, it’s on to the next goal! Crunches on the train!
Miracles happen, Ishika Lay on the road to recovery!
Back in October at the 2011 PAL Championships as Ishika Lay lapsed into a coma in critical condition at St. Vincent Mercy Hospital in Toledo, Ohio, her family, friends and the boxing world worried that she might not recover.
Ishika Lay in Recovery, Photo: Florida Times Union
Ishika Lay, a consummate athlete who had been well on her way towards a berth in the upcoming Olympic Trials, has turned the proverbial tide, and while she has lost her shot at representing the United States this year, she is well on the way towards recovery nearly four months later.
It is believed that Ishika Lay suffered from Second-Impact Syndrome. While not as well-known as other head injuries, Second-Impact Syndrome occurs when an athlete already reeling from a blow actually succumbs to a second blow days or even weeks afterwards. As in Ishika Lay’s case, she had taken a shot while sparring ten days before, and had even complained of headaches, but had otherwise not been encouraged to see a doctor or in anyway treat her symptoms.
In her first PAL bout, the likely winner of the contest, she was never hit hard, but athletes suffering from Second-Impact Syndrome can fall horribly ill even from the lightest of impacts due to the fact that their brains haven’t had a chance to recover from the initial impact. This is the likely scenario that felled Ishika Lay.
As noted in Garry Smits article entitledWomen’s Boxer Ishika Lay recovers after coma, the mantra “when in doubt sit it out,” must become the new normal in boxing. In Ishika Lay’s case, while it would have meant disappointment at being scratched from her PAL match, she wouldn’t have otherwise undergone her life-threatening ordeal.
Thankfully, Ishika Lay is on the road to recovery with thrice weekly rehabilitation on an outpatient basis at a hospital near her home in Florida, and lots of additional therapy at home with her mother.
Girlboxing sends lots of love Ishika’s way with the sure knowledge that she is being remembered in a lot of prayers.
The specter of the debut of women’s boxing at the upcoming 2012 Olympics has led to a plethora of interest in the sport!
“Women who box love it for the same reason guys do, boxing requires intense physical and psychological discipline, the ability to overcome fear and anger.” – Morning Edition
Franchon Crews, Photo: Sue Jaye Johnson
This weekend NPR opened a series on women’s boxing which aired on Sunday’s Morning Edition. The piece is wonderfully affirming and I encourage everyone to listen to it and to read the accompanying article.
The first installment, entitled ‘I Am A Boxer’: Fighter In The Ring, Lady Outside It includes sensitive interviews with boxer Bertha Aracil and other fighters vying for an Olympic berth at the upcoming Olympic Trials in Spokane, Washington next month. The piece also gets to the heart of gender, an issue that continues to dog the place of women in the sport. The series is co-produced by Marianne McCune and photographer Sue Jaye Johnson.
Sue Jaye Johnson’s video and photo essay, Bout Time in The New York Times Magazine section was also published yesterday and is another “must read” piece.
Oh, and in case you need any reminding, women have been boxing for a LONG, LONG time. The following is from Pierce Egan’s book Boxiana: Or Sketches of Ancient & Modern Pugilism, published originally published in 1830!
Claressa Shields (r) and Andrecia Wasson, Photo: Sue Jaye Johnson
What with the first-ever Women’s Boxing Olympic Trials set to commence February 13, 2012 at the Northern Quest Resort outside of Spokane, Washington, it is wonderful to see the media begin to wake-up to the wonders of these remarkable young athletes. (BTW, click here for ticket information.)
This seven-day event will feature 24 athletes competing in the three Olympic weight classes: featherweight, lightweight and middleweight, in a double elimination format. Winners, one from each weight class, will earn the right to represent the United States in what USA Boxing has called “the lone international Olympic qualifier, the 2012 Women’s World Championships” set to occur in May in China. In order to qualify for the Olympics — they will have to have landed in the top eight!
Recent press articles and pieces have included the following all of which are well worth the read!
The New York Times has a piece by Sue Jaye Johnson entitled, Bout Time. It features video and slide shows of three Olympic hopefuls: Claressa Shields, 16, Flint, Michigan, Alex Love, 22, Monroe, Washington, and Tiara Brown, 23, Fort Myers, Florida. The images are just great. The link is here.
Tyrieshia Douglas, WNYC, Sue Jaye Johnson
WNYC-AM radio has put together a series entitled Women Box: Fighting to Make History, that includes two slides show pieces. Boxing Toward the Olympics features a mix of four wonderful photos of Olympic hopefuls. Tyrieshia Douglas offers a 16-slide photo essay of her efforts. All of the photos are by photographer Sue Jaye Johnson. WNYC will also host an event at The Greene Space in New York City on February 10 featuring a conversation about women boxers with Rosie Perez, a 16 year old Olympic hopeful and a four-time world champion.
Queen Underwood, The Spokesman Review, Dan Pelle/AP
Seattle’s own Queen Underwood has featured in an article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer entitled Seattle boxer preparing for U.S. Olympic team trials for women’s boxing by John Blanchette. The piece gives an overview of what Queen has been up to in her quest for a lightweight berth.
Meanwhile, we all still await the AIBA’s final decision on whether boxing skirts will be a necessary part of their uniforms. As if!
“Where has the day gone?” seems to be a popular mantra lately. Just replace the word “day” with “week” or “month” or “year” and one sees a snapshot of how most of us interact with our daily lives. We perceive of ourselves as working too hard with too much to do and have a language that reflects our sense of how so much of our days are spent in unwanted toil.
The classic example is the expression “hump day.” For the nine-to-five office workers that means Wednesday, an otherwise stalwart of elevator conversation as in “well at least it’s hump day.” This presumes a sort of misery in the world of work that carries over into the too tired, too grumpy, not enough time mindset of after-five, when one’s world seems to revolve around commuting, grocery shopping, making dinner, engaging with children at varying levels — and oh yeah, interacting with one’s significant other who is often in the same place.
I guess I’m on this theme because I find myself fighting the trend. I’m literally trying to smell roses when I find them — and if they’re not there, the memory of when they are in bloom. My favorite spot is about two blocks from my house. In the summer and well into the autumn they form a lovely banister of color as I make my way to Gleason’s on Saturday mornings. I’ll walk along past the Farmer’s Market and there they’ll be, dozens and dozens of pink roses with deep pink tinges in varying states of bloom, some tiny and forming, others full, and still more languidly open drawing in the last drops of sunshine till they fade and fall.
I bring all of this up because I feel that many of us forget that there is beauty in the little things. Perhaps even in the things one sees everyday: the way the light hits the array of plants in someone’s office window, a co-worker’s twinkle at regaling a story of her infant son’s smile, the triumph in someone’s eyes after completing 300 sit-ups.
All of these things are reminders that life is made up of moments: some are lovely and some are admittedly hard to grapple with or even sad, but still, they make up the textured interlacing of experiences that form our days. Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves that they are there even when we can’t see them. I for one am trying to live that way again.
“Hey pretty,” and other stories from the battle of the bulge!
A Girlboxing reader wrote about the problem of looking into the mirror and shaking her head a bit at the body that stared back at her. That is a hard one to reconcile. There we all are working our bottoms off, eating one pea at a time and going through all the truly difficult work-out stuff, yet because we don’t look like the women adorning the cover of Self magazine we steel ourselves with a sharp intake of breath every time we look at ourselves in the mirror.
It reminds me of the Mighty Aphrodite speech I used to give my friends back in the day when I was — heck, in my early 40s and really full of things! (That’s another story for another day.)
I was going through a breast cancer scare at the time (luckily negative) — but went through one of those moments after the first mammo, when air seemed to be sucked out of the room into a kind of hush as the Radiologist and the Technician came back in to take yet another film. Days later in the waiting room before surgery to remove a bunch of nasty looking calcifications, my two oldest forever friends we’re trying to distract me with tales from their love lives (never a good thing, I can assure you).
Now both were in my estimation beauties. One had long blonde hair a body honed by a lifetime of tennis, racquetball, running, weight lifting and the most perfect shiksa legs you ever saw. The other one had more of an “exotic” beauty and happened to be in one of her thinner than thin stages. To remind you, we were all in your early 40s and yet all these two gorgeous women could talk about was how they hated dating because eventually they’d have to “show” their bodies to a new man. What?!?
Girl in the Mirror, Picasso
Well, to say that I launched was an understatement, my basic point being you are Mighty Aphrodite, hear you roar! Truly. That body staring back at you in the mirror, the one with character and stories and loving feelings. The one that bore children or heartache. The one that fought illness. The one that gained and lost. The one that worked out at five o’clock in the morning and ran in the rain. The body with hints of ripples on your arms from slinging dumbbells or the fabulous movements of a Zumba class is, my friends, BEAUTIFUL.
Even when you hate that extra tire around your middle or my personal favorite, the “You’ve become one of those women,” statement from your doctor. In my case it meant confronting how I’d become my grandmother. However, there is still deep beauty in the saggy skin and cottage cheese that combine to make YOUR fabulous thigh. And to channel my grandmother even more you can go through the three stages of grief according to Lillian Miller: first you cry, then you get up and wash your face, and then you do. None of the seven stages nonsense for her. Life is too damned short and has a way of making you 57 before you know it.
So Girlboxing friends please give yourselves a round of applause for where you are in life — and the next time you look in the mirror blow yourself a kiss and say, “Hey pretty,” it’ll work wonders for you! I know that it did me.
The ultimate weakness of violence
is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate….
Returning violence for violence multiples violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Girlboxing had the chance to interview Sonya Lamonakis (6-0, 1-KO) ahead of her upcoming heavyweight bout on January 21st, 2012 against Carlette Ewell (15-7, 9-KO’s) at the storied Roseland Ballroom in New York City. The fight is being promoted by DiBella Entertainment as part of the Broadway Boxing series.
1. Tell us about your upcoming six-round fight against Carlette “The Truth” Ewell on January 21st at the infamous Roseland Ballroom in the heart of New York City.
I’ve been asking her to fight for a year and she finally accepted….this will be our first one and then our next fight will be for a title win or lose. It’s going to be a great fight we both have a lot of experience and have been training hard for this fight. Many of my fights have stolen the show and this might just be another one of the barn yard burners.
2. You’ve had six successful outings since your debut as a pro in June 2010 — having most recently defeated Tiffany Woodard in August 2011. Ewell on the other hand has a 15-7 record with 9-KOs since her pro career started in 2002. How are you preparing to meet the challenge of such a tough, seasoned opponent.
I had an amateur career and she didn’t so I’m hoping my thirty fights as an amateur and six pro fights will carry me to victory. I’m preparing by training excessively and after studying her video of her last fight I have been working on what needs to be done to get the win.
3. Ewell also has an upcoming fight on the books for the UBC Heavyweight Title against Gwendolyn O’Neil. What sort of message do you want to send to both of them in your January 21st bout against Ewell.
I didn’t even know about that. Gwendolyn I see in Gleason’s and have asked her to fight me many times but she told me she is not fighting heavyweight anymore. Female heavyweights blossom late in life and I feel they are both on their way out and there is going to be a new queen of the heavyweights.
4. There’s been a fair amount of trash talk thrown your way in the run up to your battle against Ewell. What is your reaction to all of that?
Yes, I have read her comments about what she has been saying and I feel fighters that are scared or intimidated talk trash. I have never been a trash talker I’m not that type of athlete. I save it all for the ring. I would rather be a positive example for my students and look like a classy athlete more than one that trash talks. I have been fighting for 9 years and it’s just not me. I have never been a trash talker. For her to say that I lost all my fights and they were just handed me is pretty rude to me. Especially, being that she has not been at one of my fights and two out of the three were not on tv either. But it’s ok. Some people talk trash to make themselves feel better. It feeds their ego and helps them survive. So carry on Ewell. I’ll see you in the ring.
5. What adjustments are you making in the gym as you prepare for this fight and beyond?
I have been working on lowering my height, moving my head, and working angles to improve as a fighter for this fight and the future.
6. You recently had a powerful video interview published as part of Yahoo’s online “Power Your Future” series. What can you tell us about that?
That was a great video. I was proud to show off my school and both of my careers in one. My students were very happy to be a part of my boxing career. I think I’m a special fighter because I have two careers as a fighter and an educator. To be a role model to children is a gift in itself.
7. For those who do not know, you teach technology to K-5th graders at a public school in Harlem. You’ve been quoted as saying, “I’m an educator before I’m a fighter.” Even given that sentiment, you bring your “all” into the gym and into your “game” on fight night. What inspires you to bring so much of yourself to what you do?
I’m a passionate person. I play hard, live hard, and love hard. Teaching is not a job but a passion. I hope to inspire children to be life long learners and instill the value of education in them. My inspiration comes from the joy I receive when I’m with my students currently, and past students that come back to let me know the difference I made in their lives.
8. Having watched you work out in the gym, I’ve no doubt that you still have a lot more to accomplish in the sport, what are your goals and dreams?
I want to be a World Champion holding many titles. I also enjoy educating people about the sport of boxing. The determination it takes and the will and drive you must have. One part of boxing that’s important for me is that you must have something to fall back on because you can’t rely on boxing forever. You’re an active fighter for a short period but your work time expands beyond that. Only a small percentage of fighters make enough money to live off of. It’s important to have a back up plan, something that you can count on if the fight game doesn’t work out.
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Tickets are available for what will be an EXCITING night of boxing priced at $45 and $65. Ringside tickets are available upon request at $125.
Contact Gleason’s at 718 797 2872 or info@gleasonsgym.net if you want tickets.
Girlboxing 