What Does A Boxer Do On Boxing Day?

Well, box of course.
I don't believe in shopping on Boxing Day. The way I look at it, store employees need a rest after the holiday rush. Besides, there will still be sales the day after Boxing Day.
I spent most of the day resting, but I did not do any training on Friday or Saturday, so I had to go Sunday.
I was a bit surprised, there were only a couple of people downstairs, and up in the boxing area looked like there had not been anyone there in a long time.
When I went in, the lights were off and so was the heat.  When I turned on the lights, I noticed they were paining these things. I'm not sure what they are, but they were spray painting some PVC piping connected by huge screws.

There was a settlement of spray paint all over the place. The ring even had paint on it. It is a shame because everything is now ruined. They also had all the windows open, and so the place was freezing.  Not very good when you are exercising. I don't know why they could not have waited until spring, to do this outside. Especially once I found out what these were:

Yes, they are going on the windows! How ugly is that? Welcome to Bloor Street Prison. 

It may have been OK, if they were a different colour. They should find a colour scheme, and stick with it for the whole gym.

Anyway, I did a basic workout. I did a few rounds on the bag, plus some other stuff. I will share my routine with you another time.

That's it. Boxing on Boxing Day. What else?

Paul "The Comeback Kid"

Boxing Films That Have Inspired Me

The Fighter

Film is a fantastic medium. It is amazing what a really good film can do to a person.
My choice to return to boxing, in some cases, may have been inspired by film.
In this entry, I will look at the top five boxing films that had helped inspire me to return to the ring, or inspire me to stay in the ring.
Cinderella Man: This is a film about a boxer making a comeback, so it is the one that has inspired me the most. There is nothing wrong with attempting to make a comeback.
Rocky: Everyone knows about Rocky. It is an inspiration for everyone, not just boxers. A nobody can become someone special in just a day. It is possible. Keep your hopes high.
The Fighter: I just saw this, although it is more about a boxer's brother taking over his career as a professional boxer, it is still an inpiration for me keep on going.

Streets of Gold dans Français

The Kid: This is not a very well-known film, but it is a Canadian film. Made in Montréal, about a young man who wants to box, but his parents don't approve. Regardless of how other people feel, just keep up with your dreams.
Streets of Gold: Another not-so-well-known film, but another film that applies not only to boxing, but any sport. It gives you the will to train harder, to get to your goal, and go for the Gold.

I was also thinking of starting my own reality TV show about my boxing comeback, called "The Boxer". It is still in its primary stages, and I will keep everyone updated of the process throughout this blog.


Paul "The Comeback Kid"

We'll Be Right Back After This (Somewhat Sexist) Station Break

The Holidays are close upon us, and as a result, my training is being cut back. Therefore, there is not much happening. This is a great time to take a break from my usual training blogs to discuss a topic I feel very stongly about: Women in combative sports.
As you have probably figured, I don't like it. I don't see any reason why a lady needs to be a boxer. I think it is completly and totally gross.
The problem is that every time I say something about this, I am sexist. Here is a newsflash: I am not sexist. I am opinionative. Just because a man feels that a woman should not do something does not mean he is sexist. Contrary to what they beleive, women are not equal to men. They are very different. Our body types are very different, intended for different types of activities. However, this does not in any way mean that women are inferior. I don't understand how ladies came about with this inferiority complex.

The reason why women should not be boxers for example, is that their body type is not meant for it, and it is dangerous for them. It is not sexist, it is nature.
Here is something interesting, there is still a "No low blows" rule that a applies to female boxers. Why? There is nothing down there. If anything, there should be a "No high blows" rule, because a woman's breasts can be damaged from getting hit. It's just a huge joke. I can't seem to take female boxing seriously. Besides, I have yet to see a really good woman boxer. This is also because they are not supposed to be a part of this sport.
I would like to finish off by saying, I don't care if anyone feels that I am being sexist. Let me tell you what happened when I tried to join Fitness One. I went in an wanted to joint this, apparently, all female fitness center. I was told by the manager, "You can not join. This is a woman's-only club". Oh, so, you are refusing to let me join because I am a man? Hmmmm, I don't know about you, but that sounds sexist to me.
I could have complained, and got them in trouble with the Human Rights Commission, but I didn't. Which is another thing that separates men from women. A woman would have complained. The reason we guys don't complain, it gives us ammunition against women. See, because of this, no woman can ever call me 'sexist' ever again for anything. I now have a licence to crack sexist jokes such as this one: What do you do when your dish washer stops working?........Slap her on the ass and tell her to get back into the kitchen. How about my all-time favorite Al Bundy line: If God had intended women to bowl, he would have put their breasts on thier backs, so we'd have something to look at while we wait our turn". Classic!

What, am I being sexist? Too bad. Let's see what happens when someone tries to open an all-male fitness club, or ban girls from the boxing gyms.

Paul "The Comeback Kid"

I Survived Junmar’s Class...and All I Got Was This Lousy Backache

Yes, I have completed week two of Junmar’s Hell Class.
Let me give you a rundown on what he does in his hour-long "classes":
::Alternating skipping and running-on-the-spot for 10 minutes
::Alternating sit-ups and push-ups for 5 minutes
::Running around the gym floor for 5 minutes
::Circuit training including medicine ball, dumbbells, dips, and jumping on/off the ring, this takes about 20 minutes.
::Technical boxing , practicing all defence and offensive moves, 10 minutes
::Punch bags for 10 minutes
Keep in mind, there are no breaks, this is one after another. 60 minutes of constant training.
I was able to keep up with him for about 85% of the time. That is not bad considering Junmar is half my age, and it has been years since doing any serious training. I am quite proud of that. It will take some time. I think Junmar realizes that. He pushes me enough to motivate me, not so much as to cause injury. I figure that if I attend his Tuesday class every week, plus my training with Tim on Saturdays, plus my own training in-between, eventually this will be a piece of cake, which is the whole idea.
After class, I was waiting for Hurley to show up for our sparring. Junmar was talking about his experiences with teaching boxing. He feels the exact opposite as I. He finds that teaching girls how to box is easier. He feels that when guys come in to learn to box, they have a lot of aggression, when women are more interested in technique and grace. Oh, Junmar, how boring. Do you think people watch boxing for the gracefulness? Boxing was not meant to be graceful. I mean, there are graceful sports, not-so graceful sports, and some that fall somewhere in-between. Sure, all sports have proper technique and rules, but for combative sports, throw the gracefulness out the window. The idea of combative sports is combat. How about that? Yeah, push me over with a feather, too. When I watch fighting sports such as on The Fight Network, I want to see some blood, or a knock out or a tap. Yeah, that’s what its about. If I wanted to see technique and grace, I’d watch some sissy sport like figure skating.
Hurley showed up after about a half-hour. Good, because I needed the rest after Junmar tried to kill me. I wanted to get one more session in with him, because he said that he would be taking a couple of months off from the gym starting this month. We did five rounds of sparring. Yes, I did this right after Junmar’s Hell Class.

Everything went fine, until he nailed me in the nose. I mean this time it was really hard, and it hurt! He had the nerve to say, "Oh, did I hit you in the nose?" Yeah, like he didn’t know. Now, I will admit that he pissed me off, and well, I got a little over-aggressive. Yes, I’m afraid that Junmar’s grace and technique took a hike at that point. I wanted to get him right back, and in the process, I missed, and bent back my left thumb. It is very badly bruised right now, and you know, it is 100% my fault. I did something one should never do in the ring, get angry. Therefore, I take full responsibility for my sore thumb.
Also sore are my legs, arms, and back. Mostly due to Junmar’s training. People ask, why do I punish myself like this? I look at it this way: The pain is my body telling me that I need more exercise. Once I have pushed myself beyond that threshold, there will be no more pain. As they say, ‘No pain, no gain’.
Bruised nose, bruised thumb, bruised ego. Poor baby. Maybe, I’ll take up figure skating.

Paul "The Comeback Kid"