Protect Yourself At All Times

I remember that scene in "Million Dollar Baby" where the female boxer forgets to watch her back during a match and ends up in a bad way. She forgot the mantra, "Protect yourself at all times." I forgot too, during a sparring session with Lan.

Didn't have my head gear on secure, either. Each hit I took upside the head knocked it loose. I told Steve later that I didn't get why my performance was so bad. I do every thing right on the bags, but when faced with an opponent who can, and will hit back, it appears that I forget all technique. I was trying to get some uppercuts in, trying to throw hooks. . .nothing worked. I felt like I couldn't get close enough to do anything without being clocked.

Kept throwing the jab low. Since Lan and I are about the same height, I didn't feel the need to throw the jab high, like I would have to do if I was sparring Steve or one of the other males. Left myself wide open for combinations, and was caught by some good body shots, too. Lan is very quick on her feet, something that I'm not, at least not like I used to be. Age plays a big part in that. None of my reflexes are what they used to be, no matter how hard I work on making them faster. I look at Bernard Hopkins, who is only four years younger than me, and think, if he can move around with grace in the ring, so can I. Ain't happened for me yet.

Guess some of the guys' predictions about the new people showing up regularly were right. I believe only one of them showed up last night, a lanky Hispanic kid who is eager to get into the ring. I wish Hattie (I keep calling the woman Pattie) had showed up. She's got a vibe about her that I like; reminds me of my feisty aunts. I didn't miss Cassandra. I looked at the class roster and noticed that there was no phone number next to her name. That tells me she's probably still living here and there, as usual. I don't know why some people never get tired of being urban nomads. Sarah came in this past week. She had been in the class before, and was a good sparring partner for me.