Hit me hard, I like to be hit

Last night’s boxing class (Tues. Jan 31) started out slow. We spent a lot of time practicing movement, staying off center of our opponent and shifting our bodies side to side to align the shoulder we were punching with to its intended target.  

The second half of class was not slow at all. We started practicing defense. My partner would swing at my head and I was supposed to keep my guard up and lean into the punch while keeping my elbows tucked close to my body. After blocking the shot, I would counter with a 45-degree punch (like an uppercut on an angle), then a straight, then block another punch.

My partner for this was Greg. He’s the resident badass and probably the best fighter in the gym other than Mr. Stuart. Greg is the instructor for the combat wrestling class. He’s strong, fast, tough and likes to be hit. Partnering with him always teaches me a lot. I coached first when we did the blocking drill, meaning I swung at his head while he blocked. “I want you to really hit me. Hit me hard,” he said with a smile, “I like to be hit.” After two minutes of Greg absorbing my blows, it was my turn. Even though we both had boxing gloves on and I was fully prepared for what was coming, getting waffled in the head is shocking. You can live half your life and never really take a strong shot to the cranium and then, in the span of two minutes, you can get a lifetime’s worth of wallops. The first two times he hit me – and since Greg likes to be hit, he also likes to hit – it was hard to keep my composure and throw the required counterpunches. But after taking a few punches, the buzzing in my head dissipated and I was able to refocus my vision and take the proper countermeasures.

After boxing class I was watching TV with an ice pack on my bruised and swollen left ear. It was injured because I was placing my guard hand over it while blocking Greg’s hits. That was a dumb mistake on my part.  My ear hurt, and still does this morning, but it’s a gratifying hurt and even though I’m not yet a fan of getting punched, I can see where Greg’s coming from.