Knocked Down and Bruised

"You're always the last the go in," Alan smiled.  Sparring takes place each time the gym is open for the adults.  I seldom beg off of sparring, but usually, I'm one of the last, if not the last person to do so.  Last night, I went one round a piece with John and Tony. 

Although I've become a little better protecting my head and my face, there's still room for improvement.  One of John's punches caused my neck to turn in a funny way.  "I'd better be cool or else I will be visiting a chiropractor," I thought.  Alan was on the side, saying, "Use the hook!".  Not easy to do, since John is at least six feet in height. John thought the coach was telling him that.  A right hook got me, and I fell to the canvas.  I wasn't knocked out, just stunned and caught off guard.  John helped me up.  "I'm sorry!  I didn't mean that!" he said.  "Don't worry about it.  I had my hands down," I said.  I was laughing about how I fell down. 

I knew Tony was hesitant about hitting me when he and I were in the ring.  "You can really hit her," Alan told him, and Tony's punches did become a little harder.  Tony bounced around the ring a lot, and I had to stop myself from constantly chasing him.  It is better to let an opponent come to you, instead of getting tired out running to them.  Later on after I got home, I noticed a bruise on my left arm.  I don't bruise up easily, and I don't get bruised often, so it was a surprise to me.  It hurts a little today, but it's okay. 

Pastor Roger has some vintage Sports Illustrated issues he's trying to sell for awhile.  He gave me the ones with various boxers on the front covers.  "Maybe the guys at the gym would like to buy them," he told me.  There was a little interest until they heard, "Twenty dollars a magazine."  Then Alan told me about a friend of his who has a huge boxing memorabilia collection.  He left a voice mail for his friend last night, asking him to call back if he's interested. 

Young Ed sparred with Eddie.  I was on the double end bag with my back to the ring when I heard, "Damn!  Ooh whee!"  I turned around to see Eddie rubbing his eye.  Young Ed asked, "You alright, man?"  "Yeah," Eddie said, "but damn!"  Apparently, Young Ed had caught him with a good right.  Eddie came out of the ring and sat down for awhile.

Michael, who's a year younger than I, asked me about Jeremy, who's been missing for over a week.  Maybe Jeremy's ill; a lot of bad colds have been going around.  Also, Carlos, Kevin, and Ralphie were not in the gym.  Alan said that Ralphie had gotten injured the last time he sparred, and his back was bothering him.  That might have a bearing on whether or not Ralphie will sign up for the Golden Gloves later this week.  JJ was in the gym, and I thought I heard him say he wasn't going to enter the tournament this year, but I'm not sure.