Lessons from the ring

As the saying goes, “it’s the ones you don’t see coming.”

Standing in a boxing ring, outfitted with overstuffed 20oz gloves, claustrophobic headgear, and a crotch protector that resembled an adult diaper, I faced down my opponent. Almost 10 years his senior, I was confident that I would be dominant. A belief that was bolstered by earlier practice rounds which had inflated my confidence to a dangerous level. As it would seem, my reach gave me a decisive advantage when we were limited only to jabs, but this round was “everything goes”.

The bell rang and I moved in. I pressed him with my jab, a technique that had previously proved successful, but this time, not so much. Apparently he had been listening to our coach’s advice about countering such an attack and he easily deflected my hand. He came back with a right that inverted my nose. Stunned, I backed out to reevaluate the situation. Sensing that the tables were turning and smelling blood, he now advanced towards me. I attempted to launch my own attacks but I was repeatedly rocked by shots that seemed to come out of nowhere. Mercifully, the bell rang before I sustained any real damage.

With my nose sore and my ego suddenly deflated, I consulted with Coach to find out what I had been doing wrong. He told me that I was throwing my jab incorrectly, setting myself up for a counter punch. Additionally, my stance was such that I minimized rather than maximized my reach advantage. Coach corrected my body position and it felt awkward and unnatural. Having spent the past 9 months practicing martial arts, and the past 3 specifically focused on boxing, I essentially had to go back to the basics and start over.

Eating shots from an opponent that I had underestimated, however, presented me with an opportunity to improve. Of course I could resist my coach’s advice and foolishly persist in my current state. That, however, is an option that will surely result in continued punishment from future opponents. I could also take this set-back as a sign that I’m just not cut out for boxing and that I am simply ‘not good’. To resign myself to such a belief would be easy as I could simply quit boxing and effectively avoid the subsequent egoic beatings persistence guarantees. At this present moment, however, I am determined to take decidedly different path.

Going back and rebuilding my technical foundation will require plenty of work and a commitment to breaking old habits, but I’m game for the challenge. Win or lose, I’ll stay in the fight.