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| VIOLENCE |
PARENTAL WARNING
THIS BLOG ENTRY DESCRIBES IN DETAIL A VIOLENT ACT AGAINST A HUMAN
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IF YOU HAVE NO SENSE OF CREATIVITY OR ARE EASILY OFFENDED, AND/OR HAVE NO DESIRE TO LEARN, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
DO NOT COMPLAIN TO ME LATER BECAUSE I AM NOT GOING TO CARE.
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I certainly have a lot to cover on this entry. I am making up for the last few 'lame' ones.
Let's get right to it.
WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE (SORT OF) KNOCKED OUT
My bout on Saturday did not go quite as planned. Actually, my worst case nightmare happened.
I have always been worried about looking bad in the ring, and I guess being knocked out looks pretty bad, especially right at the start of the first round.
My opponent did not seem to have any boxing technique at all.
His hands were low most of the time, and I was able to jab him in the face without much effort. I even got a few good body shots off.
I started to feel confident. This was going to be easy.
That may have been a mistake.
At about half-way through the first round, he nailed me real good with a left hook to the jaw.
It must have been a really wide hook, because I didn't see it coming, obviously.
He threw this oddball haymaker left hook. A technique which goes against any boxing training I have even had.
I felt it land, and saw a bright flash, and after that I don't remember much.
I was conscious, at least I don't remember going out.
I could still see, but everything was vibrating and shaking, but other than that I had no control of any of my body. I could not hear, smell, feel, speak, nor did I have any feeling of any kind, but as I said I could see but the room was shaking like I was in an earthquake.
I didn't fall because the ropes were holding me up.
I am not sure how long I was there.
After getting hit, the next thing I remember was somebody talking to me and saying 'the fight is over.' It was the ringside physician, but it took me a few seconds to clue in to who it was.
I had to be escorted out of the ring by my corner, Brock and Kyle.
I was taken to the back to sit for a while, but I was told that I would have to go back to see the ringside doctor again.
The ringside physician said that I had a concussion which is amazing with the 10-second ringside test he did.
My physician said that I was fine, but to contact him if anything 'odd' happens.
So far (as of midnight Wednesday) nothing 'odd' had happened. Until today I have had a constant mild headache, but it has recently subsided.
That all being said, this is a sport. It is not about throwing crazy haymakers and hoping to get in a good shot. This is about being a boxer and testing your skills. Otherwise, why bother learning how to box?
I don't understand why any man would intentionally want to cause serious injury to another man in an amateur boxing competition. It is supposed to be fun. This must be a different definition of 'fun' that I missed in elementary school.
Any big dumb guy can throw a lucky punch without any skill. If you want to do that, go join Fight Club.
That kind of behaviour has no place in amateur boxing competition.
Who does that?
Ultimately it is Scott Turnbull's fault as he is the one who hit me, but the attitude comes from his coach. Anything an athlete does can always be traced back to the coach.
I am very surprised that his coach allowed that to happen.
It goes back to the famous film quote, "There is no such thing as bad student...only bad teacher...teacher say...student do..."
Of all of the coaches I have had, none of them have promoted that kind of behaviour in the ring. They all promoted being technical.
The disturbing part is that his coach is the son of the president of the Ontario Boxing Association.
The question that comes up is, 'Why did he do that?'
That is a good question that has a very good answer.
He sent me a message via Facebook on Monday.
Apparently, he was pissed off about something that was in one of my blogs.
It was the 'coupon'.
I really do not see how this is in any way offensives or a direct attack.
This was a way of saying that I have a strategy in place without actually revealing the strategy.
I mean, what athlete does not have a strategy?
If any athlete thinks he can just jump into any sport without knowing what he is doing, is just plain stupid.
I thought this coupon was a hilarious way to explain what was going on.
He also said that it was 'sketchy' that I contacted him about competing long before the bout was planned.
Why?
My coach told me about it. How else would I have possibly known about it?
I happen to be very busy, and I need to make sure I can get time off work for these, so I kind of would like to know what is going on well in advance.
I was contacting him because I thought his coach had already told him, and I was confirming.
He was also annoyed by one of my vlog entries. Also produced with some creativity, but removed due to being so extremely offensives. Simply because I was screwing around about making sure I had room on my trophy shelf for after I win on December 10.
Really?
If his strategy was to kill me based entirely on something I wrote or said, isn't that kind of childish? Isn't that how teenagers settle things?
How old is he? 13?
If he had no problem contacting me after the bout, he certainly could have contacted me before to let me know that something was bothering him.
I don't edit blogs after they have been published, but I would have explained it to him.
If people need creativity explained, something is seriously wrong with our society, and
I can tell you exactly what it is. Reality television, and overall crappy entertainment,
I am serious.
Over the past few years, all forms of entertainment have been seriously lacking in creativity.
People are so used to 'bland' entertainment that when we experience something remotely creative, we get offended and take it personally.
The moment someone says something that can be remotely considered as an opinion. it is either sexist or racist.
People have to stop taking things so personally.
I mean, I spent three years in college. Mohawk College ironically, to learn broadcasting and how to create interesting and creative programming.
I guess that means nothing anymore.
That is why I now have a disclaimer on these entries, that will remain as long as it needs to.
The rule is simple: Nobody is forcing anybody to read my blogs or watch my vlogs.
BASELINE CONCUSSION TEST, WHAT IS IT AND WHY IS IT?
Ironically:
The Ontario Boxing Association sprung a surprise on me on Saturday.
Possibly a miscommunication, but still it was a surprise (piss-off).
They now want all of their athletes to take a yearly baseline concussion test.
The test cost $35 that the boxers have to pay, and I had no idea about this until I was there.
How it works is the best way to describe it as a mini IQ test.
Four stations:
The first is just gathering your name, likely so they can track your 'progress'.
The second is that they have you read a series of numbers of off a paper as fast a you can.
The third, they read you some words and numbers verbally and you have to repeat them plus you have to balance on a line, like a DUI test.
On the fourth stage, they ask you to do things like balance on one foot with your eyes closed.
My question is, What exactly is this test going to tell you?
This test is supposed to let you know that you *may* have had a concussion sometime within the last 12 months.
Okay...and...?
In addition, the test is inconclusive.
The part of the test where I had to balance on one foot, I fell.
So, what?
I was never able to do that.
It does not mean that I have had a concussion.
It proves is that I am not a flamingo, and I don't need a test to tell me that.
I like the Ontario Boxing Association, but I don't like having to pay for something that I really don't see as being useful. To me that is a waste of money.
From the research I have done, I could not find any scientific evidence that it is possible to test for previous concussions. I have even spoken to a neurologist, who has confirmed this. Once a concussion heals, there is little to no evidence that one ever existed.
You can only test for a recent one. (Before healing).
Some useful information is contained within this wiki.
A concussion is a bruise on the surface of the brain.
The brain floats on a liquid which for the most part protects it from shock. However, an extreme direct blow to the skull can cause the liquid to splosh around and the brain to strike the side of the skull. That will in most cases cause bruising on the surface of the brain (concussion).
The brain is very smart (Surprised the crap out of me, too).
Anyway, what happens when the brain is injured, is that in order to allow the affected area to heal, it moves what is normally processed in that area to another area of the brain.
The brain has a map of itself so it can find things faster. This is just like the FAT on a hard drive. A computer can access information on a hard drive quickly because of the file allocation table (FAT, or the more modern NTFS).
When something on the drive is moved to another location, the FAT is updated.
However, when the brain has to move something, due to a concussion or another reason, it does not update its map. It redirects.
That means that it takes longer to access.
Obviously, that means a slower reaction time and blurry vision. The blurry vision is caused because we tend to move our eyes very quickly and our brain under normal conditions can focus very quickly. However, when our brain is redirecting access, it can no longer focus fast enough to keep up with our eye movements, so it seems that our vision is blurred when in fact it is just that our brain can not keep up.
This is very similar to being drunk.
Once the affected area of the brain has healed, the brain then resumes normal processing and there is little if any evidence of any injury.
The neurologist I spoke with said that a concussion generally takes about three weeks to completely heal and for the brain to return to normal processing.
It is likely for permanent damage to occur if the same part of the brain is injured again before being completely healed from a previous and recent injury.
However, the chances of that happening are very rare, and if it does, you may want to reconsider your choices of activities.
There is currently ongoing research into the long-term affects of a concussion. but it is still in research stage. Meaning that there is still no conclusive evidence that a concussion causes long-term cognitive problems.
It is really too early to assume that a test conducted by a third-party can detect past concussions.
Also, as I mentioned before, even if it could there is really nothing that can be done about it now.
Oh, and another sign of a concussion is irritability.
Irritability?
That is me all the way.
I am that way because people keep pissing me off.
It has nothing to do with a concussion, it has everything to do with STOP PISSING ME OFF!
I may have had my brain rattled recently, but I still wasn't born yesterday.
Boxing is already an expensive sport. Gear is very costly and registration is costly.
One of the reasons I switched to the OBA from Boxing Ontario is that the registration fee is (was) lower.
Now with this new test, yearly registration for the OBA is now higher than Boxing Ontario. Since Boxing Ontario does not do the concussion test, yet.
Honestly, this just adds additional cost to an already expensive sport, and I really don't see how this test is going to help anyone except the company conducting it.
CHANGES TO TRAINING PENDING SUSPENSION
Since I have been suspended from training until February 8, I will be cutting back on gym time during the suspension period.
Starting now, I will only be training twice a week at the Boxing Academy. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and maybe the odd Wednesday. On Fridays and Saturdays, I will work on cardio and strength training at Bloor Fitness.
I don't know how this is going to affect the Golden Gloves, since those are in the spring.
However, I am having second thoughts about continuing to compete.
I have a couple of months to think about it since I do not have to renew my registration until after the suspension. Whether that be with the OBA again, or go back to Boxing Ontario.
I am really not sure.
I would like to thank coach Brock Arthur, the Durham coaching staff, and the Durham team for their support.
Understanding, this is a very disturbing situation. It is difficult to overcome the trauma of getting hit in the head that hard. It is something I will never forget.
I have a lot more to say, but this has already become a Stephen King novel, so I will cut it off here.
Thank you for reading.
BLOG BREAK AND CHANGES
"Comments From the Blue Corner" blog will revert to weekly posts. Starting January, the Wednesday publication of this blog will be cancelled until further notice. There will be one vlog during the week, and this blog will be posted on either Saturday or Sunday once per week.
"Comments From the Blue Corner" will be taking a break for the upcoming Holiday season.
There will be no "Blue Corner" on the following days: December 24, December 28, and December 31.
We will ring in 2017 with our first entry of the new year on
Happy Holidays to all.
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'THE BRICK' TRAINS AT:
2389 St.Clair Ave. W. Toronto
Tuesday and Thursday, some Wednesdays
--and--
2295 Dundas St. W. Toronto
Friday and Saturday
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