Now I Know Why She Won A Bronze Medal

My late younger sister's oldest daughter asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  "How about Marlen Esparza's Power Boxing Workout?" I said.  It arrived in the mail today.  Normally, I watch an exercise DVD in its entirety first before attempting to do the workout.  This time, I decided to follow along and keep up the best I can.

I knew I was in for something when the warm-up proved to be a challenge.  I had become used to warm-ups that involved gentle stretching and deep breathing.  Ms. Esparza and the two women with her were doing crunches, push-ups, and Superman stretches.  It's been a long time since I've done crunches or push-ups.  Even with making modifications, I couldn't finish the set, and the Superman stretches weren't easy, either.

The lower body exercises involved squats and lunges.  My knees acted as if they wanted to give up several times, but overall, those exercises went well.  I can see myself getting better at them as I do them more.

Ms. Esparza explained orthodox and southpaw stances very well, and she kept reminding viewers how they went throughout the workout.  She also did a very good job explaining the punches ("the lead hand is in front, and the power punches come from the hand in the back").  I also learned another way to throw overhand rights that involved turning over the arm and turning the body into the punch.  Another tip:  escape from the line of fire by moving to the side of where one's last punch came from.  For example, after throwing a double jab, followed up by right cross, step over to the right.

She went through a series of combinations that combined the hand movements along with body movements she showed earlier.  Her hands are fast, and I kept missing the order of the punches.  I thought, "This girl is 24 years old and she can do this easily."

In the words of the late Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, I give this workout a thumbs up.  It's tough, but effective.  Ms. Esparza keeps the viewer moving.

Never Saw It Coming

Well, it appears that I have some new fans peeping on my boxing blog, and they are from the church where I work and worship! How cute is that? Welcome, folks!  You know exactly who you are, so I won't name names.  But stay tuned to this space twice -- and sometimes three times weekly -- because they'll be plenty for y'all to read and discuss.  Don't forget to leave me comments, will ya?  Thank you kindly!

I was catching up on going through The Ring magazine over this Labor Day weekend. I was reading an article where a boxer was describing a bout.  "I was hit with a punch that I didn't see until it was being pulled back from me," the boxer said.  That has happened to me on more than one occasion.  Trust me, it's an odd feeling.  When that happens, I'm always thinking, "Okay, I know I was hit.  But when?"  It happens so fast.

This is yet another reason why people have to be focused when inside the ring.  One moment of daydreaming could mean being laid out and carried out.  Even if a knockout does not take place, taking a punch out of seemingly nowhere could seriously throw off a boxer's game plan for the rest of the match. Can't assume, "Oh, that was just a lucky shot," because the other person may just have fast hands.

I believe that this is also why a lot of coaches and trainers yell from ringside, "Be first!" in terms of throwing punches.  Yes, it is important to try and gauge what the other person will do.  However, in the world of amateur boxing, there's often no video to be had on another boxer before a fight.  Sometimes, something may be found on the Internet somewhere, but we can't bet on that.  When I fought Meg the firefighter the first time, the only footage I found was of one of her colleagues holding the punch mitts for her at the fire station.  Also, most amateur fights consists of short rounds.  None of that luxury in the gym of having three minute rounds to get to know a sparring partner's ways.

Gotta move often and quickly to avoid fast hands.  Gotta watch out for incoming punches.  Gotta cover up against fast hands.  Hmm. . . .sounds like what sometimes we all have to do figuratively in life as well.

"Girl, Don't Do That Anymore!"

It was another no sparring day for me last night at the gym. My left hand and arm are still not performing up to par, so I wisely begged off from getting into the ring.

Alfred was sparring with Alan. He was not committing totally to a lot of his punches, especially the jab. I have the same problem, basically because I worry about really hurting someone. I know that's silly, given that boxing is partially about inflicting pain. Alfred had sparred earlier, with Josh, I believe, and both men were stiff. Alan kept telling Alfred to "stay loose".

Carlos got in the ring with Leon. Leon wore him down, but Carlos remained in the ring until the rounds were over. At one point, Carlos was on all fours on the canvas, crawling around, dead tired. But he got back up and into the game.

"None of the women showed up," Alan said later as he drove me home. "It's not like any of them were hurt." "You're right. I was the only one who got knocked out," I laughed, but that wasn't entirely true. I had forgotten about Maggie, whom I knocked out a few weeks before. I called my friend Linda, who was at home recovering from a fall. I told her about me being laid out in the gym. She gasped. "Maybe I'm getting too old to keep taking hits like that," I said. "You have to be careful. Girl, don't do that anymore," Linda said. Paulette, a fellow church-goer, had told me that perhaps I should concentrate more on the coaching aspect of boxing instead of the fighting aspect.

It keeps crossing my mind. But I made a promise to myself that I would stop competing and sparring when I turn 50 years old. That won't be until 2011. I figure that if I still feel good enough to fight between now and then, I might as well. I still have to figure my weight loss goals into that. While I was out running errands today, a guy trying to get a date with me asked if I was pregnant. Last night in the gym, I kept looking at my pot in the mirror. I really need to do something about that.

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Chasing Katie

Katie and I sparred last night, and I had to resist the urge to chase her around the ring. Chasing someone is the quickest way to a) get tired, and b) to get caught by a punch. I lightly connected punches to her head a few times. "If you had punched harder, I would have been laid out on the canvas", she told me afterwards. I'm getting better at countering punches. Most times when Katie through her jab, I came right over it with a right.

I attempted to jam her up in the corners, but she was moving a lot. It was not easy trying to get body punches in. Katie's long arms were effective in keeping me at a distance most of the time. We went for a couple of rounds then quit.

Oscar, a guy who won the Golden Gloves in the 119 pound category ten years ago, came into the gym. He sparred with Sadiq. Sadiq is getting back to the quickness he had before when he was training at Loyola on a regular basis. Oscar took a lot of straight jabs and upper cuts. Those watching were surprised that he hung with Sadiq for four full rounds.

Punches For Work

Friday did not start well. Les called and accused me of not paying attention to what a board member had said the day before about meeting with one of the directors. That was not true; in talking to the board member after Les's call, I was assured I hadn't misread their attentions at all. My desk was filled with work that I was behind on because Les had me out at the south side for two days the previous week. Les' comments about him not feeling he could depend on me to get things done, while I was in the middle of playing catch up were not appreciated. I pointed out how he had me taking two hour rides out to the south side -- on the abysmal public transportation system -- to do the south side program's office work. There are four support staff persons in place over there. "I've been running around for years," he retorted. "You're driving a car," I thought. I practically hung up on him.

The rest of the day went downhill, as I developed a headache and my lower back throbbed for the rest of the day. At four o'clock, I'd had enough. I left Les an email and a voice mail on his office phone that I was going home. I had no interest in actually talking to him live. He had already raised my blood pressure once that day. I wasn't going to go to the gym, but I had a chance to rest for awhile after I got home. Besides, I knew I had to take my bag out of the locker. The handwraps and scarf I wear in the gym had to be washed. Good thing I decided to go, because the heavy bags were perfect for me to take out my frustrations about work on. Memories of Les' smart aleck comments that morning fueled the hardest punches I could slam into the bag. If Les thinks I'm so damned incompetant and stupid, why does he keep me around? Obviously, I wouldn't have lasted at my job for six years if I wasn't doing things right most of the time. Unfortunately, Les excels at saying the wrong damn thing at the wrong damn time. Then he has the nerve to get an attitude because I have an opinion. I'm not about to make it my problem that he has a problem because I speak up.

Jordan did a sparring drill with Nick. Nick accidently poked Jordan in the eye. Jordan complained about it, even though Nick quickly apologized for it. Jordan wouldn't let it go. He kept grumbling about it, even after the sparring drill was done. Steve and JJ told Jordan that such things happen in the ring, and that he has to get used to it. Jordan didn't appear to be satisfied by what they said. I wondered what is Jordan going to do when he gets hit in a full-on sparring session, or in a real match? Whine like a little kid?

I noticed that Peggy did not come in on Friday. Deb wasn't there either, but she told me on Wednesday that she had another committment that night. Dan came in, and I was glad. I thought I had scared him off with talk of the past knockouts in the gym.

Arin and I worked on the pads. I really like her enthusiasm for wanting to learn technique. She told me the other day that she wanted to work on her footwork more, too. Overall, it was a very good workout, which once again, was something I needed.

The exertion made me feel better physically, but not emotionally. The disagreement Les and I had still ticks me off. I don't like to get angry often; I have a temper, and it takes days for me to cool off. It takes an even longer time to forget the arguement. That's never a good thing.

Candace, Bridget and a Blogger

Yesterday was Steve's birthday. He's 34 years old. "I'm not going to do anything. I'll probably just go home and have a beer," he told me. I noticed he was able to get in a fair amount of working out on the bags last night, which was a good thing. He spends so much time with all of us that he often doesn't get to exercise himself.

About ten minutes before Steve came in, Ceedub, whom I met through the Broken Heart of Rogers Park blog (http://morsehellhole.blogspot.com) stopped in to check out the gym. It was very nice to put a face to someone whom I had talked to via the Internet. He liked the setup of the gym, and he plans to join when the fall session starts in late August/early September. I need to find out the exact date.

Candace and I went over all of the punches and some footwork. Later, she was working on the pads with Willie. Normally, the newcomers don't get on the pads for awhile, but she looked impressive. She's had some kickboxing experience. Willie held pads for a lot of us last night, including myself and Ben. I heard him tell Ben, "Man, you punch the old school way!"

JJ was not in, and it seemed to have been the result of miscommunication between him and Steve. Last night was the monthly boxing show at the Sabre Room, but Steve opted not to go. He had talked about what he might do on his birthday, and JJ might have assumed that Steve was going to take off and close the gym up that night. JJ went out to Elgin to work with his conditioning trainer.

Bridget came in with her daughter Penny, which was a bit of a surprise. She explained that some things had come up, which was why she hadn't been in. I told her we could pick up where we left off the last time, and she promised to come in on Friday. Actually, that works out, because I can review the basics with her and Candace at the same time. After the review is over, we'll start on learning how to block and slip punches. That's something I need to work on myself, so it'll be a review for me, too.