Sparring In a Sauna

Jason came in without his wife DJ; she was getting their car fixed.  "I don't think I want to spar tonight", he said.  But Alan convinced him to get into the ring with Alex.  I sensed that Alex was taking it easy on Jason, allowing him to get some shots in.  They worked together for about three rounds.

Alan wanted to give Alex more work, so he sent Tommy in.  Sometime during the second round, Alex caught Tommy with something; I didn't catch what punch was used.  But it caught Tommy right on his chin.  Tommy had to stop and lean over the ropes for awhile.  "Walk it off," Alan told him.  "Wow, Tommy almost got knocked out.  I don't want to get knocked out," Jason commented. 

Tommy (on the left in the photo above) rallied back to challenge Alex for another round.  Andre (formerly known here as Andre One) came in while they were still sparring.  "I've been working out with my trainer up at Evanston Boxing Gym, but I'll be back in here on Monday," he said.  Alan told me to get suited up to spar.  "Who are you going to spar with?" Andre asked.  "I guess whoever is available," I answered, thinking I was going to spar with Jason. 

I ended up sparring with Alex, and I made up my mind early not to chase him because I couldn't.  Alex was too fast.  The first time I caught him with a hook, he backed up and told Alan in surprise, "Wow, she really hits."  "Yeah, she hits hard," Alan said.  The coach told Alex that he could throw some hard punches back, but Alex didn't throw any as hard as he could have.  I kept throwing hooks to his head and body.  I got some half-baked uppercuts in, but the punches weren't effective.  My overhand rights weren't executed well either. 

A lot of people were out again on Wednesday, probably due to the heat.  It was about 89 or 90 degrees today, but of course, that means the temperatures are more like 100 inside the gym.  I felt like I was inside of a sauna. 

Alan and I were at the front desk at the end of the evening, as he had to fill out the attendance sheet.  There was a girl at the desk talking to Jilberto.  I assumed because of the way she carried herself that she was in her mid-twenties.  Actually, Cora is 16 years old.  She asked about the boxing class, and I told her that because of her age, she could go to Barry's class for free.  Cora seemed to really have herself together, and I enjoyed talking with her.  She works in construction, and she wants to be an artist (she writes, paints, does clay animation, and she sings).  Cora told me she wants to finish her high school education online, then go to community college to save money before transferring to a four-year college.

This photo is a publicity shot of JJ that's on the wall near the coach's desk.  It's a nice photo.  I keep hoping that he'll get some TV time soon, perhaps on ESPN.