Beginning of Fall

On the way to the gym, I was a little disappointed because the sun is not out as it used to be.  It won't be long before the clocks have to be turned back then things will really get depressing in terms of the weather.  But it's a new season at the gym, which means new blood in the place.

The new people are Cole, Marvell, Fatima, Kyran (don't quote me on the spelling) and Jamal.  Alan was really impressed with Marvell's hands.  "He has big, solid hands," Alan said.  Alan joked with Cole trying out sparring, just after Evangelina and I got into the ring to spar.  "On the first day?" I joked with Alan.  "I think I'll go along with what she says," Cole smiled.  Most of the people who were in the gym the last time returned, including long, tall Kevin, who hadn't been in for a few sessions.  Carlos, his cousin Erica, and Adam were no-shows, however. 

Throughout the two rounds that Evangelina and I sparred, I kept thinking to myself, "Keep your hands up!"  Fortunately, I took few hits to the head, and more importantly, none to my eyes.  But I did catch one in the kidneys and one in the gut.  "You did get some good hits in, but you have to go more for the body," Alan told me later.  It is so hard to be an inside fighter if you can't easily get around your opponent's arms.  I'm hoping that whomever I'm matched up with on Friday has short arms.

Professor wants a fight this Friday, but he was thinking that maybe he might not be matched up if someone near his weight can't be found.  He proposed to Jamil that they fight on Friday if neither of them gets a match.  "Oh, no!  I ain't ready for that kind of action yet, man," Jamil said, referring to how intense Professor fights.  "That's not unusual for two people from the same field house to fight each other at a boxing show," I told Jamil.  A few years ago, I witnessed two teenaged girls, who were both training at Garfield Park, participate in a match at Garfield's boxing show.  On top of that, the girls were related to each other -- they were sisters.

I made an event page for my fight on Facebook, and invited people.  Of course, most of the church folks indicated they don't want to go because they don't want to see me get hurt (or see me hurt someone else).  My niece, Jalissa, may have moved to Chicago by then, so maybe she'd be able to go.