Bangin' In The Ring

Another night of mostly women's sparring sessions; in this photo, Alan gives instructions to Geniece and Brandy.  I was in the mix, too, sparring with Geniece, Brandy, Diana, and Nayhomee.

Brandy was popping me all upside my head and in my mid-section.  I made a conscious effort to keep my hands up, but my left eye and my nose got battered.  Brandy is very good at landing punches on the exact spot.  She picks her punches very well.  We sparred for two rounds.

Geniece is a banger.  I told Alan we need to get her some fights.  Geniece almost knocked me off my feet (so did Brandy).  "She fights like a man," Alan said.  We did one round.

Nayhomee's advantage is that she is tiny and can move quickly.  I got some hooks and overhand rights in, but I had to chase her to throw those punches.  I tried to back her up into the corners, but Nayhomee telegraphed what I was doing, and she didn't allow me to push her there.  We did one round.

Both Professor and Alan helped me up and down the stairs leading up to the ring.  "Hillari, you can hardly walk up the stairs, but you're sparring," Alan said, shaking his head.  "I know, that is funny," I laughed.  Then when I was getting out of the ring after sparring with Geniece, my foot grazed Alan in, uh, let's say a sensitive spot.  Alan grinned, winced,  and shook his head.  "I'm sorry!  That's the second time I've done that to a guy in here," I said.  The last guy I did that accidentally to was the former coach, Steve.

Diana and Nayhomee spar in this picture.  Later, Diana asked me to help her learn how to avoid side punches to her mid-section.  I showed her how to use her arms to block those side shots.

In addition to coaching others in the ring, Kenny and Professor worked on some techniques themselves in the ring.

Professor sparred with Brandy, the only guy in the gym that sparred.

Before this photo was taken (Professor did the honors), Alan joked, "What is this?  The senior citizens' picture?"  That's what I had in mind when I asked him and Professor to get in the shot with me.  Colonel is 66 years old, I'm 52 years old, and Alan will be 63 years old next month.  Yes, older people do box.  Alan was grumbling about his upcoming birthday, and I told him, "Praise God that you got this far!"  "Yes, I thank God for seeing another birthday, but wow, I'm getting up there," he said.