Day 80: Boxing with Champions

So do you remember how I went boxing at Mark's boxing studio and got my butt kicked by Paul Delgado? Well, I feel pretty good about it now, because on Day 80, I watched Paul Delgado win the Southeast Regional Welterweight professional boxing championship. This was the first professional boxing match I've gone to, and it was quite a learning experience.

At first glance, from the eyes of a 23-year-old woman unacquainted with the sport, it looks like this:

Two men who don't know each other are introduced to beat each other up, with hopes of winning a very large belt with a very shiny belt buckle

They look at each other with menacing glares and move around each other in a circle

They try to hit each other in the head really hard to knock them out

When the fight gets tough, they hug it out

At the end of multiple rounds of not being knocked out, someone wins, determined by the judge.

To the untrained eye, this is a strange ritual. But what I learned through watching this and the previous matches was that all of the appearances are wrong--the sport is actually extremely disciplined and almost, dare I say, constructive.

The fact that these men don't know each other very well when they get into the ring is a good thing. For one, most boxers that I saw after their fights are extremely personable, genuinely gentle people. They see this as a sport to be won with defensive moves and strategically placed punches, and not as a means to kicking the crap out of each other. When they get into the ring to fight an opponent, these guys don't have any problems with each other. They may have fought each other before, but it's no reason to hate them and knock their brains out, and simultaneously no reason to go easy on each other either. It's balanced emotion, leading to a fight of the quickest, best-placed punches, the ability to exhaust the opponent, and defend yourself against incoming jabs.

I was, admittedly, bored a little in the beginning, wondering why they didn't just start hitting each other in the way that children wail on each other playing Rock 'em Sock 'em robots. In a far more strategic method, the men wait for the opponents arms to move away from the face, they keep setting their bodies at new angles that make their jabs more powerful, they fake their opponents out--it's highly technical. Like I said when I went to the boxing class, it's like dance. On an elevated, well-lit stage even!

The opponents, while they would like to knock each other out a little bit, it's not their main goal. To prove your success in each round, you just have to maintain focus, strike when the opportunity presents itself, and get out of the way of the punches headed your way, and keep it classy. Knocking each other out is a bonus of a well-timed, well-executed punch. It may not be the best use of your head in any given day, but it is the result of a highly trained individual executing his craft to perfection.

While watching this event, I could feel the energy of the crowd in full support of Paul and it was electrifying. Paul held his own and truly demonstrated great form and passion against an equal opponent.

And, to the largely Paul-supporting crowd, it was a universal victory when the judges declared him the winner of the match, rendering him one of the top 20 boxers in the world.

Congrats Paul, and thanks so much for showing me what boxing really is!

Day 56: "Watch Out Mark, She's Got a Good Left Hook"

Paul Delgado, king of kicking

my ass

Mark has been working out a couple times a week at Delgado Boxing for the last six months or so and has been seeing really great results. Today, I learned why.

When I say 'boxing studio' I don't just mean a room in a gym where they set up a couple of punching bags and give you some gloves. Delgado Boxing is run by Paul Delgado, a top-notch, 20 years in the making, certified U.S. Amateur Boxing coach. He himself gets in the ring on a regular basis and coaches international talent. Seriously. This is not your typical gym-class boxing.

I was nervous all day for this challenge. Mark and I had originally planned to go on Saturday, but Mark was sick and in no shape to hit the gym. I had been hyping this workout up for days now, so my nerves were getting the best of me. I went into this pretty sure I was sealing my imminent death.

May I remind you that I do yoga? Yoga classes and amateur boxing workouts share very few similarities.

When I arrived, I instantly noticed the smell of sweat and rubber, and saw nothing but very strong, tough-looking guys all around me, reminding me that I was in a war zone of fitness.

We started warming up with jumping ropes, lunges, weight training, etc. and I was pretty sure after 15 minutes that I was going to keel over and die from a lack of oxygen and quickly failing muscles. Paul let us have our first water break, and I was hoping we would calm down a little, but au contraire, this workout started strong and never let up.

Suck on that, flab.

After some high-impact cardio, we started with boxing technique where Paul took his time to explain to me how to move my hands and legs to get maximum impact on the bags. He was so patient throughout this whole class, spending enough time with me that I got the principles down, but not smothering me with instruction. My bag partner was also really patient, reinforcing all of the things Paul taught me and giving me the "You got it!" type encouragement when it was warranted.

I learned all about punches and there numbers ("give them the old 1-2 punch" actually means something!) and how to move my body to unleash my inner fighter. I was surprised by how much I got into it for my first class. I think it's because boxing reminds me a lot of dancing. The whole, "Move your arm here while twisting your torso that way," "Turn your shoulders this way when moving there." It's a language that without a doubt I could master on a workout level, and it inspires me to kick a little ass.

I mean, I definitely I had to slow my pace significantly at certain points throughout this workout and messed up the 1-2-6-7-3 punch almost every time I did it. What made it worth it however, was Paul telling me he was impressed with my left hook and my endurance, warning Mark of what terrors may befall him if he were to refuse me chocolate for a long enough period of time.

Lastly, I give huge props to the students in the class we all incredible athletes and people. They were all there to work hard (allowing the teacher to really push the limits) and had great attitudes throughout the class. A couple people even approached me about how I liked my first class, paying me compliments and encouraging me to keep coming back. I really can't as for much more than great students and an unbeatable workout.