It all goes down the drain when they punch back

I completed my second boxing class last night. These classes focus on technique, movement, fundamentals. There’s a light warm-up and then we partner up and practice offense and defense. This class does not involve cardio and strength training. That’s what combat fitness class is for.

Straight punch. Also called a cross.

In last week’s class (Jan. 3), we partnered up with a person of equivalent weight and took turns throwing 100 jabs, then 100 straight punches, then 50 left hooks, then 50 right hooks. It was especially important to be partnered with a person of equivalent weight for the 100 straight punches because we had to take them to the chest. Even though my partner was wearing boxing gloves and punching into my boxing gloves crossed over my chest, the blows add up. And they really add up if your partner is throwing properly.

Fighter B throws a jab as a counter punch
to fighter A's straight punch.

Throwing a proper punch involves the entire body: ankles, legs, the rotation of the hips and torso, the extension of your arm. You can tell when you’re throwing good punches, they just feel right. And you can tell when your partner is throwing good punches because they move you. The good ones crash like powerful waves, the bad ones land without consequence, like sea foam lapping at your feet.

At the end of the class, which lasted about an hour, Mr. Stuart said to consider this a warm up. If we have any aspirations to fight or even spar, training needs to be done six days a week. That means getting to the gym when you don’t have a scheduled class and working the bags, doing cardio, and light sparing if you have a partner.

Fighter A throws a hook.

 In last night’s class (Jan. 10) we practiced ducking. Jab at your partner’s left hand - held up by their left shoulder - then duck their right hand as they swing at your head. Then we did some non-contact sparing. Even without contact, I felt like everything I learned -which isn’t much at this point - just went down the drain. I was moving into punches rather than away from them, and my punches, instead of being weapons of an offensive attack, were merely opening windows for my partner’s punches to walk right through.

If everything went down the drain without getting hit, what happens when I take a shot to the nose? There is much to learn and even more to practice.