Another Quiet Workout

"I've never seen it this quiet in here," Alan told Matthew.  We were the only three in the gym.  Later, Alan asked if it had ever been that quiet when Steve was the coach.  It was, from time to time.  Boxing is not only a tough sport.  Some people find the sport repetitive during the training process.  At least that's what I've heard from those who think MMA is more exciting.

No sparring again.  Matthew may have been willing, but Alan asked me first when Matthew was out of the room for a moment.  It's been hard to try to get over the current lack of motivation I have about sparring and competing.  But I may be coming out from under the fog I've been in since early September.  Today, I felt a little more energized than I have been for the last couple of months.

Alan's eye still looked a little swollen, but he wasn't complaining about any pain or trouble seeing, so that was a good sign.  He and I did a burn-out on the black heavy bag, and then Matthew and I did a burn-out.

Alan brought a box of hangers in.  The coach is always taking some home because he hangs his street clothes on them, but he brings them back.  This time, a neighbor of his had thrown out a lot of hangers, so Alan figured they would be useful down at the gym.  I have to remember to tell the new people who'll be in for the winter session in January to think twice before putting their belongings on that rack, however.  I still remember when Sadiq's book bag was stolen a few years ago.

Here I am, fanning myself with one of my bag gloves shortly after doing one of the burn outs.  Jilberto checked the radiators in the gym, and it appears they need to be fixed.  I was sweating, but there was no heat on.  Moving around during the workout helps generate some heat, but not enough when there's none coming from the radiators during the cold weather months.

I don't know why I though a white T-shirt hanging out from under the shorter, darker T-shirt I had on over it was a good look.  Maybe the fact that I'm running out of clean clothes and the laundry needing to be done had something to do with that.  Well, the clothes served the purpose of being workout material, so I guess that's all that matters.

The Monday Crowd

It was all guy action on Monday.  In the photo above, Andre took on Reygie.  Reygie loved hanging up against the ropes.  Colonel, who came in, said, "Get off the ropes!"  Both Reygie and Andre were getting their licks in, mostly upside each other's heads.  "Eff that!" Arnold said to me as we both watched their fistic efforts, and we both laughed. 

It looks as if Reygie and Andre will have fights later this month at the University Club downtown.  Unlike other locations where fights are held in and around the city, there's not a lot of room for onlookers.  "Ever been in that place?  It's full of rich and well educated people.  A friend of mine has a membership there," Colonel told me.  Arnold wanted to go, but Alan told him, "If Hillari wants to go and be in their corners, then you won't be able to go."  The date of the fight sounded familiar to me, like I had something else planned, but I couldn't remember what it was.  I didn't have my calendar with me to verify, so I told Arnold that he should go. 

I had debated whether or not to go to the gym on Monday. I had been hit with a sudden cold that started late Friday evening, and laid me out all weekend long. I was still coughing and stuffed up Monday morning. Being sick and dealing with some of the people who show up to the food pantry at work never mixes well together, so I stayed home. It was very late in the afternoon when I decided I would go to workout. But I knew before I got there that I was in no condition to spar.  I wish I could have, knowing that Brandy probably wanted to do so. 

In the photo above, Professor takes a picture of Reygie and Andre.  The other Andre was there, too, but he didn't get a chance to spar.  



In these two shots, Arnold and Joanne (I hope I have her name right) did a burn out as I counted off numbers.  

 

Marshall and Joe face off in the ring.   I worry about the hits that Joe keeps taking.  It's a matter of keeping his hands up and his chin down to avoid them.  But I have to admire how he shakes them off and keeps going. 

Ben and Andre did a few rounds.

Marcus also came in that evening, but some newer faces were missing, namely Kylie and Erma.  Later, I learned they hadn't officially signed up, but had come in last week to try it out.  "I've never seen it this crowded in here," Colonel said.  "It always is in January," I told him.  I think there's about 15 people signed up.  When most have to go out into the hallway in order to have room to jump rope, that's when I know the place is crowded. 

Information for this year's Golden Gloves tournament has been released.  I was surprised to learn that it is not being held at Gordon Tech High School this time.  The new location is at Cicero Stadium.  No news on why there's been a change of venue.  Gordon Tech had the advantage of extra parking over St. Andrew's Gym, but the setup for spectators was a little too tight.  I'm hoping that won't be a problem at Cicero Stadium. 

Interviewing and Uppercuts

This morning, I went downtown to the Chicago Park District's main office to interview for the boxing coach position at Simons Park.  I was surprised to find the offices inside the building where the Time-Life office used to be.  Way back in the mid-1980's, I was a temp sent on an assignment at the Time-Life.  It wasn't the most exciting assignment; I spent eight hours a day typing addresses on postcards.  Most of the regular employers and the boss there didn't hide their contempt for the temps.  I remember one temp ended the assignment early because she'd had enough of the boss' attitude.  I suffered through the rest of it because I couldn't afford to bail out.

My interview was with two people -- a pleasant woman named Esther, and Jimmy, who's the head of the park district's boxing program.  I hadn't seen Jimmy in a long time.  It was a short interview, but packed with a lot of questions that pertained to coaching a boxing program.  I thought I came across well, but I was aware that I was probably up against some good competition from other applicants.  Just before I went into the interview, I saw a neighbor of mine who works as an attendant with the park district.  "Getting one of those type jobs is hard because they require a lot, including having a degree," he told me. "A better way to get into the park district is to apply for a seasonal attendant job.  That way, you're already in, and you can apply from within for other positions as they come up."  I told him that I would keep that in mind.  It'll probably be several days before I hear the verdict about whether I got the job or not, so for now, it's a waiting game.

At the gym later on, a couple of cousins came in to check out the place.  Alan and I gave the women information about how the gym runs.  From the way they were talking, it didn't sound like they were interested in sparring, but they would be happy to do the workout. 

Both Melinda and I had our chance to spar with Jacob.  I noticed that Melinda loves throwing her jab, but she holds her right back, letting it loose mainly to throw hooks.  Jacob worked on defense, allowing Melinda to back him up against the ropes and into the corners.

When I got in, Art asked, "Am I going to see the uppercut?"  He had showed me how to slip the jab and then come back up with an uppercut the last time we were in the gym.  I had been going over in my mind what Art had showed me ever since last week.  However, executing the movement was another story.  Jacob is very good at protecting his torso, and he has long arms.  When I couldn't get the uppercuts in, I tried hooks.  But my hooks were hitting his hips more than they were his sides.  Afterwards, Art gave me some more good pointers about how to get the punches in.  "If you focus on working on one punch, getting that one in, then it'll get easier to execute over time," he said.

Alan had a few of us doing burn outs on the bag.  Jacob was on one bag with a new guy who's name I didn't catch.  Alan noted that the new guy, who's over 6 feet tall and is about 280 pounds, would be a good match up for Leon.  Melinda was on the red bag with Sarah.  When that round was over, Max and I got on the red bag for one round.

The finals for the Chicago Golden Gloves are later this week.  I would like to see if the woman who won over Brandy will win the belt in her category, as well as view some other fights.  Due to the fact that my new apartment still needs to be put in order -- more books need to be given away/thrown out because there is simply no room -- I may not be able to go all three nights.  But I plan to go at least one night to check things out.