Sparring Monday and Wednesday, Raisng the Bar

On Monday, I sparred Junmar.
He is actually one of the best guys to spar. He gives you a good work out and at the same time, he will teach you a lot.
I'd like to get more sparring time with him. I find that it helps a lot.

Junmar is a professional boxer, as you all may know.
 I guess if I can go three rounds with a professional, and leave the ring in one piece, I can't be doing that poorly.

There was sparring this past Wednesday as well. 
 I did three rounds with three different guys.
A round with Justin, one with Mark, and one with Mac.

Justin is a lot bigger than I, and he hits pretty hard.
I am no longer in his weight class, but I think I did well considering the size difference.

At one time he hit me three times in a row with hooks. Left--right--left. I got nailed by all of them. What the hell was that?
Oh, yes...Justin and his hooks. He likes his hooks. I wish he would fuck off with his hooks.

You all know how much I like hooks.

At one point, I backed off, and right as I back out, he threw a left hook, and missed. 
He said, "Fuck!"

That was kind of funny actually.

Of course I backed off. He is a big guy. Does he really think I am going to trade with him form the inside? I am going to go in, attack, then back away. I wasn't born yesterday.
If he wants me, he can come get me. Yeah, come get some, bitch!
Oh, yeah!

Nothing special happened with Mark that I can remember.
However, Mac put on a lot of pressure. 
Keep in mind, Mac is a lot younger, and has been competing for a while.
Justin has had one match as well.

I think it is great that I am finally able to get in and spar with some competitive boxers. It is really the best way to learn.

Richard said that there would be no boxing shows at Stockyards in December, but he is thinking about one for January. I am really hoping I can be in that one. 
My goal was to have my first competition this year, but unfortunately that did not happen.


That is all for this entry.

Anyone interested in boxing, drop by the gym sometime. Any of the coaches will be able to answer your questions about the sport and the Stockyards Boxing Team. 
You may even be able to watch the sparring class. Drop by Wednesdays 8 - 9 PM. 


Cheers.
Paul "The Brick" Brec

I'm From Toronto...I'm Sorry

Hi all.

Well, I am still a member of Bloor Fitness. (Unfortunately)

They called a week before then end of October, and I told them I would be in on Friday to talk them. The idea was to ask them to not renew the membership, and to use the last month's payment.

On Friday morning at one, I was checking to see if my pay was in. It was, but there was also a payment to Bloor Fitness. 

So, what they did was try to take payment again, without asking.

That's great. Thanks for waiting.

What if my pay was late going in? After all, it is Scotiabank. They never make mistakes.

In other news:

I got my wish. The security company moved me from Disco Road. 

They placed me at Matrix Logistics on Kennedy Road in Mississauga. 

I have to say it is a much better location. Except for the fact that it does mean having to take Mississauga Transit again. My second-favourite public transit service. They call it "MiWay" now. Yeah, I don't call it that. It will never be 'MiWay' unless they start making a lot of improvements.

Right now, I am balancing work with training. 

I am doing sparring and technical boxing at Stockyards, and my other training at Bloor. 

In addition to full-time night security in Mississauga.

I'm getting by, although still a bit stressed. 

Living in Toronto does not help.

Put aside all the crap about Mayor Rob Ford. 

The City of Toronto has once again taken first place in the Sucking event.

I was once again ticketed for 'J-walking'. 

Officer 8819, claimed that I was not using a crosswalk. So, what? Who does? This is a big city.

So, Officer 8819 is writing a ticket, and he had to look up how to do it !

I shit you not.

Then he said, "I am here to enforce the Provincial Traffic Laws--No, I mean the Toronto Bi-laws."

Really? Seriously?

If he is "enforcing" the "Bi-laws", would one not expect that he knows how?

That actually explains a lot about the Toronto Police, doesn't it?

After all that, he still made two mistakes. He wrote "HTA" on the ticket. That is Highway Traffic Act, which is Provincial. He also wrote my Driver's License number on it. They are not supposed to write Driver's License on a ticket if it is not a driving infraction.

Of course, that will make the ticket void. However, I will of course have to go to traffic court. 

Waste taxpayer's money dragging yet another frivolous case through the already overloaded system, just so that a judge can see a mistake on a ticket and dismiss the case.

More money and resources being wasted, because police... are stupid.

People have asked me why I stay in Toronto of I don't really like it.

It is the boxing. 

If I move, I would have to find a new boxing gym. I am settled at Stockyards, with coaches I am used to.

I still plan on leaving Toronto after the Pan-Am Games.

It is just a matter of putting up with Toronto bullshit for just a bit longer.

Back to boxing.

Richard is having problems finding opponents for me. 

Maybe they are all afraid of me. They don't want to be made a fool of in front of a bunch of people. That is understandable.

There is another boxer my age at Stockyards who is having the same problem. 

George, who used to be a boxer before, and is trying to get back in. 

Sound familiar?

He is a real nice guy. 

I sparred him on Monday, but he did not really try to hit me too often. 

I think he is a bit better than I, but I did say to him to not be afraid to try to hit me more.

It does not really help me. I need to practice my defence, too. 

After all, sparring is about learning and improving.

Well, that is my crappy life. 

How are you?

Cheers,

Paul "The Brick" Brec

"I'm from Toronto......I'm sorry"