Violets are blue, roses are red, my Valentine was a punch to head

No Valentines for me last night, only punches to the head. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to have ‘em because it meant that I made it to boxing class after missing it for two weeks.

We worked on blocking and countering from the block for most of the class. This meant that my partner would swing at my head and I would absorb the hit with a block. The proper form for this type of blocking is to have your glove held to your forehead, your elbow tucked against your ribs and then you lean into the oncoming punch. Wikipedia defines blocking this way: Parry/block – Parrying or blocking uses the boxer's shoulder, hands or arms as defensive tools to protect against incoming attacks. A block generally receives a punch while a parry tends to deflect it. A "palm" or "cuff" is a block which intentionally takes the incoming punch on that portion of the defender's glove.

Boxer B is blocking Boxer A's left jab.

An important aspect of blocking is leaning into the punch. Yes, lean in to it. It might sound counterintuitive but leaning into it allows you to absorb it better and by leaning you shift your weight and this allows for quick counterpunches. If my partner throws a right punch it’s coming to my left, I bring my glove up to my eye, elbow held close to the body and shift my weight to my left leg. Once I feel the blow, I counter with a left 45-degree punch or a hook and then a straight right.

This type of drill is work for the coach (the guy throwing punches to the head) and for the boxer. In these drills, where the coach is throwing punches and then getting his hands up as targets, the movements - when done right – become a well-choreographed dance of arms.  In order for the drill to be effective, the coach has to be quicker than the boxer. The coach’s hands are the target and the target needs to be there before the boxer can punch it. It didn’t really work that way last night. I was partnered with a guy I like training with. We’re close in height and weight and he brings a good intensity to the training. But last night, by his own admission, his mind wasn’t in it because of work-related stress. This meant that there were moments where I was waiting for him to display the target or he was displaying the wrong target or mixing up the order.  

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.