3 x 1 hour sessions booked in at Balham Boxing Club. Making our way down to the boxing club after work is not what we would usually be doing on a splendid summer's evening... We had no idea what to expect as we approached the graffiti walled club house. We were greeted by the marvelous Winston Fuller (club owner) and his dedicated team: Natasha, Declan and Marvin. The club was buzzing with activity and was almost like a scene out of a movie.
So after a 10 minute warm up, we got started with the basics... footwork. Feet apart, right heel up, legs slightly bent, eyes looking forward, stance ready and step. Shuffle forwards, backwards, left, right and repeat. After a while, our legs started getting sore and we were told that we looked like "scrambled eggs" as our group lost shape and shuffled out of sync around the club house. So we did it again and again until it became more natural to us.
Next up, punching bags... Yay, we get to put gloves on now. Straight punching, under cutting and low to high jabbing for 8 x 3 minute sessions, all while jogging on the spot. And then, as if we hadn't had enough yet, we were taken outside on to the football pitch to do some sprints, jumping, squat thrusts, burpies and other intense leg burning exercises. We walked out of there with jelly legs and arms and with a lot to still learn. Week 2 involved some more foot work, learning the punching techniques for left and right and then incorporating the footwork in with the left, right, left, right punching. After relieving all our stresses on the punching bags, we did some sparring sessions with our coaches, one on one. This was loads of fun and after our fitness session, which included sprinting while carrying 12kg medicine balls, we dragged our tired bodies home.
Week 3 got tougher as we put together all the techniques we had learnt and did some serious core exercises. What a great work out and it definitely can't be compared to a boxing class at your local gym! Thanks to the team from Maggie's for coming down to support us - August newsletter.
Did you know:
- Professional boxers train with 18 oz. gloves and fight with 8 oz. gloves.
- Boxing was introduced as an Olympic sport at the 23rd Olympiad in 688 B.C. where opponents fought with strips of leather wrapped around their fists.
- Ever wonder why they call them boxing "rings", even though they are square? In Ancient Rome, boxing rules were introduced and competitors were required to remain within a circular ring drawn on the arena floor. They have been known as "rings" ever since.
- At the London 2012 Games, the ever-popular men’s Boxing events will be joined on the Olympic programme by a women’s competition for the first time.
- The London 2012 venue for boxing is at the Excel centre (in London's Docklands) where 286 athletes will be competing in 10 men’s weight categories and 3 women's weight categories.
