Boxing Photographs

Katie and I sparred last night. I had the feeling that some may have been waiting for another knockout to happen, but nope. I got in a good overhand right, and some hooks to the body, but that was it. Katie still has the advantage of having long arms. You can also see from the picture that she is way taller than I. I asked Alan to take pictures of us sparring. I plan to send them on to my older half-sister Mary, who I have recently reconnected with after almost 30 years. It's a long story; I'll just say that our late dad was mostly at fault for that.


Katie and Maggie work together. I heard John asking her, "Where's your friend?" "I don't know," Katie replied. Later, Katie told me that last week was the first time that Maggie had used a mouthpiece. Maggie had commented that she had a hard time breathing exclusively through her nose while wearing it. While I was sparring with Katie, I found myself breathing through my mouth. The mouthpiece slipped as a result, and I had to push it back in place. It is very hard to breath through one's nose during the course of a round, but it should be done. Mouth breathing is always a sign to the opponent that the other boxer is tired.

Alan, Sadiq and Rafael (Ralphie) were talking about how tough body punches are. I haven't experienced too many of those, but they do take the wind out of a person. There is a reason why some trainers will tell their boxers, "Break down the body first, then go for the head."

John's son Josh came in the gym. The last time I saw him, he was a little guy. Now he's about 13 years old and lean. I was showing him how to hit the speed bag. I noticed it had been changed out again. Last week, the bigger speed bag was up; last night, the smaller speed bag was in place. I like the smaller one better. Too bad the speed bag platform can no longer be raised up and down. Both Josh and I had to stand on the aerobic steps to reach it.

My right knee was acting up all night, and today, the left knee has decided to take a turn. I don't bob and weave like I used to because of the arthritis. It irritates me because while I don't always have to go low with a tall opponent, I do need to do that with people closer to my height.

I knew people at my church were going to trip out about me knocking out Maggie last week. Margaret, the choir director exclaimed, "You hit a woman? My goodness!" Alex and Nigel shook their heads in amazement. Alex said, "See, I should have been in on that action. You should make me your manager!" David, the Sunday School Supervisor said, "Please tell me when you have your next fight so I can come to the gym." The pastor cracked, "Remind me not to drop my left."