Having Balance

Ro watches some sparring action going on at Loyola Park in the photo above.

Yesterday, I was holding pads for Ariel.  She asked, "Miss Hillari, how do you keep your balance?"  It's not easy, believe me, especially when she or Donovan are throwing the punches.  My arthritic knees are unsteady from time to time, but I told Ariel that I always try to keep my balance even over my hips and thighs. I've also been using the balance board in the gym.

Kewan, one of the newer kids in the youth class, took off his hand wraps and left in the middle of class without a word.  About fifteen minutes later, he returned looking very upset.  "What's wrong?" I asked.  "I can't find my cell phone," he mumbled.  We looked in all the places where it might have been, but we didn't find it.  Kewan mentioned that it might be in his book bag, which his mother had somewhere with her.  I thought to myself, "I would never give any kid of mine a cell phone because they are too expensive to lose."

A couple of twin 12-year-olds came to class:  Donte and Devonte.  Now I just have to figure out who is who.  I was glad to see them because they appear to be more of a good fit with Donovan in terms of sparring.  However, I worry about Donovan having less time to train because he now participates in track two times a week.

I called the houses of some of the kids I hadn't seen yet in class.  Yeah, I know I kept saying I wasn't going to waste my time doing that.  I did it because it bothered me that a few of the kids had signed up for the summer class, but never showed up.  My calls got Jahnaja to return; she had actually been in the class back during the spring, I believe.  It was easy to work with her because she forgot nothing I taught her previously.  She asked about Xavier, and I told her he hadn't been to the gym in weeks.  "I heard Xavier's heart troubles have kept him away," she said.  "So that's why I didn't see him all summer," I thought to myself. I'm so glad I pressed Xavier to go get checked out when he first told me about having chest pains.

When I called Maz's house, his dad apologized to me for not keeping up with the date the class began.  "I fought in the Golden Gloves, and I could help train my son, as well as help you train the other kids in the class," he told me.  Now I told him that he would have to fill out a volunteer form, but otherwise, I would be happy to have him come down to the gym.

Tayjon and James are back, but as usual, they don't stay the full hour because they play on the football team.  At this point, I just appreciate the fact that they continue to come to class and are enthusiastic about boxing.

Jaymerson is in the class, but it's not a good fit for him.  I like the boy because he reminds me of my late youngest brother.  Jaymerson is developmentally delayed like my brother was.  I have to go back in my memory to remember how my mother, my younger sister, and I would handle things when my brother was upset and/or uncooperative.  Thank God the inclusion aide, Dwayne, is there in the gym to help with Jaymerson.  The boy's mother put him in the class, so there's not much I can say.  But I'm not going to have Jaymerson spar or put him in boxing shows.  I could see the boy having a meltdown upon being hit, and that would not be a good situation.

I received an email that there's a coaching clinic coming up this Sunday.  So typical. . . .learning on a Friday that there's a meeting during the weekend.  I'll check my license status with USA Boxing.  I think the last time I went to a clinic was last year, so I may not have to attend this clinic.  But I need to save up money to pay for renewing the license because it does expire at the end of this year.

All The Fellas and One (Sick) Female

After being in the gym for about a half-hour, I realized that none of the other women came to the gym tonight.  The place was pretty full.  Franco, Colonel, Kenny, Rich, Andres, Paul, Andre, Nathaniel, Adam, Igor, Greg, and Owen were there. 

Franco (in the orange) was wearing headgear that covered his nose completely.  It was a new kind of style that I hadn't seen before.  He got in the ring with Owen, who seemed to have gained some more confidence since the last time he sparred.  Owen connected with a few good rights to Franco's head.

The last time Owen sparred, he was on the receiving end of most of the punches.  "You didn't get photos of me being banged up the last time, didn't you?" he smiled at me.  I told him the pictures were mostly like the one above, with Owen lining up against an opponent.

Adam asked me to videotape his sparring rounds with Nate.  The last time I did that, Adam got in a solid cold punch on his opponent, but the camera didn't pick it up.  I didn't press the right button.  This time, the camera gave a "not enough memory" message during the second round.  Adam knocked Nate down and that didn't get taped, unfortunately.  This photo, taken with my camera, shows Adam in the ring right after Nate hit the canvas.

Like Owen, Rich's confidence keeps raising up.  In this photo, Rich (on the right) takes on Andres.  Rich had Andres all up against the ropes in the later rounds.  It looked as if Andres grew tired, and Rich took advantage of it.  Andres took a lot of hits to his head.  The two men got tied up a few times, and Colonel told Rich to keep his arms open and his elbows out. 

Kenny was irritated because he wanted to spar, but he couldn't.  He accidentally sliced the tip of his thumb off with an Exacto knife while at work.  "I was going to throw it away, but good thing I didn't," he said.  A doctor sewed the tip back on, and Kenny went right back to work afterwards.  It's going to be awhile before Kenny can box fully. 

Adam and I agreed to move around in the ring, and the plan was to push me around so I'd learn to keep my balance. "Last week, you're were the first girl I've ever hit, and today, you'll be the first girl I've pushed around in the ring," he told me.  I always assume that most guys I meet have had a fight with a girl at least once, either some girl they went to grade school with, or one of their sisters at home.  "I have a sister who's seven years older than I, and she used to beat on me all the time.  But no. . .I was raised to pull out chairs for women, open doors for women, and never to hit a woman," Adam told me. 

My stomach was acting up long before I got into the ring with Adam, but I decided to ignore it.  I figured the energy I put out in sparring would clear up whatever was going on.  I made it through the first round.  The bell for the second round rang, and I didn't come out of the corner.  I took my mouth piece out.  Adam was across the ring, waiting for me.  "What's wrong?" Alan asked.  "I feel nauseous all of a sudden," I said.  For the first time ever in the gym, I had to use the spit bucket.  I was coughing, and not a lot came up, but I couldn't go on with the round.  "Maybe it's something I ate earlier," I told Adam and Paul once I was able to rest.  I was irritated with myself because I really wanted to work with Adam and get the practice in.  Once again, I was felled by some middle-aged physical mishap, and I'm getting tired of being a victim.

In an effort to combat some of this, I ordered a balance board which arrived today.  It's a challenge to stand on it and keep the sides from touching the floor.  If I use the board every day, hopefully, I can correct the problem I have of tripping over my feet -- or getting knocked off of them by someone else.  It's important for me to learn to be aware of keeping my weight distributed evenly over my feet.  I not only need to learn that for boxing, but in general.  I'd rather not be one of those senior citizens like the ones on the TV ads yelling, "I've fallen, and I can't get up!"