Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Shots and Knees

Justin told me that he liked Kindergarten so far.  He was in the middle of the ring, playing with his Spiderman action figures.  "You missed it.  I brought my Kindergarten class picture in, but you weren't here last week," I told him.  Later on in the evening, I attempted to sneak up on him while he was sitting on one of the tires in the gym.  At the last second, he saw me and grinned.  "He's learned to be quick in catching people do that.  I have a hard time sneaking up on him at home," his father Carlos said.

Carlos sparred with Oscar.  Both guys keep coming forward and going non-stop whenever they are in the ring.  It looked as if Oscar had punched Carlos in the stomach.  Carlos crouched down to the canvas and mumbled, "I need to wear a cup."  Turned out that Oscar had scored a low blow.

Alan got in the ring with Carlos next.  Carlos would start to throw his left several times, then stop short.  In between rounds, I told him, "It looks like you're faking him out, but then you don't follow up with a second punch."  "I begin to throw a punch, but then he backs up and is too far away for me to land it," Carlos answered.  I mentioned it to him again when the action resumed.  "I'm trying," Carlos said, while Alan bobbed and weaved.

Earlier in the evening, Mary asked me if I would sing the National Anthem for the field house's boxing show, which will take place on the 25th of this month.  It seems to be a tradition now.  I think I've sung the National Anthem there since 2004.  Mary pulled out a banner to display out front to announce the upcoming show.  "Any of the adults going to be in the show?" she asked.  Alan had been talking to Johnny, Oscar and Carlos.  Later that evening, he would also ask Ieisha.  "I'm not sure," I said, hoping that someone from the adult program might be able to participate.  Several of the kids usually do have matches.  Alan walked in as we were looking at the banner, and Mary asked him the same question.  "Well, I'm trying to get a match for Hillari", he grinned, pointing at me.

My stamina is way down.  I was telling Ieisha there was a time when I would go three or four rounds in the ring.  I remember doing sparring drills with Keith for five rounds once.  I only lasted one round with her last night.  I took a shot to my upper right chest in a sensitive spot (guess what spot), then was stopped momentarily by a body blow.  I went down on one knee to rest, just like I have seen professional boxers do on cable TV.  "You both need to wear chest protectors," Alan said.  I'm going to have to dig mine out of the closet at home and bring it in.

I seem to have had a hard time on the speed bag lately.  I believe it has to do with the platform.  When it was installed in the gym a couple of years ago (one of the free pieces of equipment we received from Everlast when the international boxing championships were in town) it worked like a charm.  No longer did I have to stand on a riser to reach the bag.  The platform could be moved easily to adjust to a boxer's height.  A minor adjustment had to be done to the platform, and handymen were called in to fix it.  I don't know what was done, but now, the platform can't be moved up or down.  So I'm back to standing on one riser, which still doesn't put me up high enough.  I read somewhere that a person's head should reach the halfway point of the speed bag.  If I stand on both risers, I'm too high. 

Save on speed bag platforms at Boxing Depot.

Ieisha and Oscar sparred, and he caught her in the back of the head twice.  She would come in just as he was throwing his right, and it would snake around to the back.  He also threw in an overhand right.  I had done the same thing while she and I were sparring.  "Now I know what that overhand right is!  I will need aspirin for those knocks in the back of my head tomorrow," she said.

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