My boxing club is the second club I’ve trained at. It’s out of the YMCA where it’s been for 10 years. It doesn’t have a big name, it’s not sexy, but it’s a good amateur program and from my travels to local gyms I can tell you we’re well respected.
The boxing club is the most popular program at my gym and has gotten lots of support from management, until a few weeks ago. Aparently some pinhead was hired into an executive role a few weeks back and decided to ban sparring with contact! We’re not allowed to hit each other! Unbelievable.
This new guy is apparently attempting to end a decade long tradition of training amateur boxers and force the club to become a family friendly fitness class.
Of course many people are trying to fight this decision. And to get around it my trainer is taking us to local gyms several times/week for sparring. Tonight they are going to a boxing gym in Compton at 5PM. That’s is too early to get off work and drive to, and this puts me in a bad position requiring me to show up additional nights just to spar.
I don’t see how this can work for me. What do I do? Do I switch clubs?
After 5 years at the same club, it’s not just switching gyms, it’s a divorce. There may very well be hard feelings if I leave my trainer. Right now I’m just confused.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:33 am
Oy. I feel for you. You aren’t joking when you say leaving the club is like a divorce. It’s funny how close you become with people you hit all the time. I’d probably gut it out for a bit and see if the change is reversed. If it isn’t there is probably a good chance a bunch of you would leave and form your own club somewhere else – either at another gym or at someone’s house or something. I wish you the best of luck.
January 14th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Jo,
That’s a really good point which I have been considering. Realistically if I’m going to switch I want to be in good shape when I present myself to a new trainer, so either way I need to continue with my club for a while.
January 19th, 2010 at 2:06 am
Hi Nerd of Steel,
That is a rough break for you and puts you in an unenviable position. Because I know, from experience, how frustrating this kind of situation can be, I really wish I had some concrete answer or wisdom to offer to you. When my old club closed in August 2007, I was despondent. It had taken a very long time to work with our coaches and the other boxers to get our club where I hoped it would be. It was painful to lose that, and we certainly had not achieved all of our goals, but I am really happy about what we did accomplish.
You commented on the situation back then and offered me some good encouragement. Thanks again for that! Here is a link to what I had to say at the time I was leaving my old club and going to my new, current gym.
These sorts of situations have so many variables that it’s hard to compare them. For me, while I wasn’t thrilled at being forced to move, my coach at the time, Bernard O’Shea, told me, “There’s a new gym that recently opened. It’s called GoTime Chicago. Go there and they’ll take good care of you.”
He was right. I visited one of the gym’s owners, Chad Robbins, and joined right away. As Bernard predicted, the people at the gym have taken very good care of me. I am definitely not a “high-maintenance” kind of guy; I like to keep things simple, but my new gym exceeded all expectations I had for it.
I’ve been working with two great coaches, Ray Pace and Glen Freedman, and have learned tons of technique from them. They have really helped to improve my skills. I now train with a group of guys and it’s a blast. I get good, well-matched sparring that is competitive, spirited, instructive, and fun. I am making some friends there and developing some business contacts with some really good guys.
I haven’t yet gotten the competition opportunities that I am seeking, but I’m managing to stay patient about that. When the time is right, I plan to be ready. Also, as you have probably noticed, for businessmen and professionals like you and me, the opportunities for competition can be limited. It can be a real challenge to find an opponent of comparable age, weight, skill, and experience. He also has to be able to train at a competitive level to get ready for the bout. I don’t see those as negatives, just as challenges. Therefore, I am not worried about the competitive situation, as fun as it can be.
Another reason I’m not worried is that the training is going well and I really enjoy it. I could say I have the “love of the game.” That’s what I really need to sustain me, to keep me focused and showing up for the workouts (even at those times when I’d rather sit on the couch, eat pizza, and watch the sports channels–yeah, I do that, too!), and to make me give my best effort.
It’s an awesome experience to get my hand raised at the end of a match, but that opportunity doesn’t come along often enough, and even when it does, it’s just a fleeting moment. It’s fun and to be savored, but it wouldn’t be enough to keep me working at a sport that is so difficult if I weren’t enjoying my training and my overall experience with the sport.
I wish you well in your transition. Your approach seems realistic and generally upbeat; I think that outlook will serve you well. Hang tough, and you will get through this.
Despite sharing blogs and comments on them with you for a few years, I haven’t had the pleasure yet of meeting you face to face and shaking your hand. For what it’s worth, I almost wish you were much closer to my city. I think you’d really like my gym, our coaches, the facilities, and the other boxers, and you’d likely be “one of the guys” very quickly. Of course, since I can’t realistically invite you to join us, I’ll do the next best thing: wish you the greatest success with whatever you decide to do and wherever you go to train, if you don’t stay at your current club.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Thanks for the encouragement Steve. I still have no idea what I’m going to do. But if I’m ever in Chicago we’ll definitely get together.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
You’re welcome. If you are ever here, we can get you a workout session with Glen or Ray, our coaches, and you can meet some of the guys.