First Blood

The photo above shows Xavier getting the drop on BJ the other day. In the background, Davon and his older brother Cordell watch the action.

BJ kept moving around while sparring with Xavier, but he would not throw any punches back.  BJ kept his guard up, but Xavier would just step around and deliver punches to BJ's body.  I kept telling BJ to at least keep his jab going.  Instead, BJ kept allowing himself to get pinned against the ropes, and then turning his head and back away from Xavier.

The next round didn't last long.  Xavier reached out with a right, and BJ had his hands down.  BJ turned to look at me.  Just as I said to BJ, "You're not bleeding," a trickle of red came from his left nostril.  BJ leaned on the ropes, putting his head down.  I called to Cordell:  "Go to the men's washroom and grab some paper towels!"  Cordell took so long that his brother Davon went to see what was going on.  In the meantime, blood was dripping onto the canvas.  Finally, I ran to the women's washroom to get towels.

I cleaned up BJ, and that was the end of that sparring session.  The gym was busy because a lot of people came to the class that day.  It was awhile later before I was able to inspect the canvas again.  There was a bright red stain, the first blood that has ever been on that canvas.  I tried to get it up with a little soap and water, but it was too late.  The blood had set.  "That won't be the last blood stain on the canvas," I thought to myself.