There It Is!

    ENTRY 427



THERE IT IS!

On Friday morning a coach, actually two coaches, asked me if I wanted to be on the September card.

I was going to ask them myself next month, but the coaches beat me to it.

They want me to lose 10 pounds. 
I have already lost 10 pounds.
I had just lost 4 pounds since I started training at the new gym.

However, in order for me to compete while representing this new gym, I will need to file a transfer request.
You have to get both gyms to sign it. Then Boxing Ontario has to approve it,

The problem is that I don't know if the other gym will release me. If they don't, I will have to wait until I renew my Boxing Ontario membership which won't be until the end of the year. 
That means I will not only miss the September card, but also the Silver Gloves and the Golden Gloves.

That is a roadblock that I have to find some way of detouring.

Secondly, that fact that Boxing Ontario has to approve it. I mean I don't see why they won't, and even if they don't it has already been done.
I have been training at this new gym for four weeks now.

These new coaches are great.
They have shown me a lot of good ideas in four weeks. 
I am a little pissed that my previous gym where I paid almost $200 a month was not able to show me more in the year I was there. 
However, that is history. 
Time to move on.



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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

Update: Three Weeks In

    ENTRY 426


NEW GYM UPDATE

I wanted to use this entry to update everyone on the new gym and coach.

I have just completed three weeks there and it has been a great three weeks.
Attentive coaches and a good bunch of people to train with who I am still getting to know.

I currently train four times per week for about two hours each. 

I am still not going to reveal where I am training.
However, we will soon be having a club card and I would like to be on it. I was not invited to the last club card at that other place which is one of the many reasons I left there.

Anyway, that is water under the bridge. It is time to move on,
I hope I can stay at this gym a bit longer.
This is boxing gym number five for those who are tracking or have lost track.

Sometimes I am criticized for changing coaches so often.
However, my only goal is to find a decent coach who does not have any problem coaching a master. 

Hopefully, this will be the last time I have to change gyms.

I look forward to representing this new gym if not at local cards, the Silver Gloves and Golden Gloves are once again approaching quickly.


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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

New Gym and Coach Is A Go: Just Lean Back

    ENTRY 425



IT IS A 'NO CONTEST'

I have decided to not have the contest to figure out my new coach.
Instead, I am just going to leave it a mystery. I think it would make things more interesting that way.
It was like not knowing what state the town of Springfield was in.

Eventually, people will find out, but until then, it is a secret.




NEW GYM AND COACH WORKING OUT  WELL

I have decided officially on joining the new gym,

A few things impressed me about it.

First of all, during my very first session, the coach was able to correct a problem that I have had since I started boxing, and it was a very easy fix.

I had always been a bit off balance due to the fact that I tended to lean a bit forward when I stepped into the jab.
This coach corrected that by just simply telling me to "Lean back". Then he created a drill for me that I did for six rounds.
He had me work on the double-ended bag. I did a step-in, jab, slip, step back, reset, and go again, but concentrate on leaning back.
This drill worked because I already knew how to do everything else. I only had to think about leaning back.

For over six years of having the same bad habit, no coach was able to fix that until now, and it was an easy fix.

I was really impressed by that.

Another thing is that this is a very traditional boxing gym. 
The are no fitness classes. This gym is for boxers only.

The boxers do not have to attend classes. Something I hated doing at the previous gym.

Classes are for beginners. Once you are at the competition level, classes are useless. They are too generalized. Competitive boxers need to be fine-tuned. 
Throwing a competitive boxer into a class and doing the same drills as everyone else is not going to help him. It may even hold him back.
Drills need to be customized for each boxer, such as my coach did for me. 
It worked.

I have a theory as to why either the coaches didn't notice or didn't care, but I can't talk about that right now because the explanation might reveal the name of my boxing club so it will have to wait.

This gym also has three training times per day. 
There are a lot of times per day when I can go in. Morning, afternoon, and evening. All for boxers-only training.

Also, my club will be hosting a boxing card sometime in the fall.
Hopefully, I will be asked to be in it since Couture would not let me be in theirs for whatever reason. 
(No comment. I am trying to keep cool and move forward.)

Moving forward, "The Brick" is starting a new chapter. Hopefully, this chapter will be a bit longer than the last.


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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec



Here is a photo of the inside of my new boxing gym, I was careful to not get the name:

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SPECIAL ENTRY: Lost and Found

    SPECIAL ENTRY 

LOST A COACH, FOUND A COACH

Here we go again.

This is boxing gym number five.

It was a lot easier than I expected. The coach was really nice. 

He asked me if I was registered with Boxing Ontario, how many fights I have had, my weight class, the last time I saw the inside of a boxing gym, and where I was last.

I told him that I was at Xtreme Couture last and he seemed impressed by that, but he didn't ask me why I left. 

It really does not matter. Does it?

Really. 

I don't understand why Brock's gym made a big deal about it.

He should have been happy that I chose his gym to return, but if he doesn't want me back it is his loss. I couldn't care less.

Well, I do in a way because I don't understand why it is any of his business.

As a matter-of-fact, Kyle, a semi-professional boxer who trains with Brock, sent me a really nasty message on Facebook and then blocked me so I couldn't respond.

That's really mature.

Fake friend. I like Facebook for that. It is good at weeding out the fakes.

True friends will stick with you through anything.

Anyway, not that it matters, but I left Xtreme Couture for many reasons.

The main one being lack of communication between the coaches and the athletes. Another being simply that there were too many coaches. Finally, it was very expensive to train there compared to other places that provide the same service.

That brings up another point. How did Brock know what was going on at Xtreme Couture? 

Somebody informed him and probably exaggerated and tried to make me look like an ass.

Then Brock just went ahead and assumed that I was an ass without even letting me explain.

Oh well, his loss.

..and to think of all the times I recommended his gym and I gave his gym a good rating, and even voted for his gym in one of those "readers choice" things.

Never again.

I start training on Thursday with my new coach, but due to what has been happening, I am not prepared to reveal who my new coach is just yet.

I was thinking of even running a contest possibly with a prize to the first one to guess it.

I will be occasionally be dropping hints here and running live streams on Facebook around the area where I will be training. The first to guess it correctly will win.

More on that later.

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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

  

SPECIAL ENTRY: Still Looking For A Coach and It Is None Of Your Freaking Business

    SPECIAL ENTRY 



IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS ANY MORE


Today, I tried to return to a previous coach and was told that he didn't want me back.
Apparently, I cause too many problems.
I cause problems because I want to be kept informed as to what is going on and I don't want people sneaking around behind my back and trying to pull a fast one.
Excuse me for expecting honesty. I am way out of line.

My last coach suspended me from the team because he didn't like something I did at the Bronze Gloves.
I accepted that although I didn't really understand, and I got pissed off when he stopped keeping me informed of what was happening. Excuse me for wanting to be kept informed.

I ended up trying to go back to Brock Arthur's gym, and he said that he does not want me back. He is still bent out of shape about what happened with the OBA.
You know what? That is water under the bridge. The OBA doesn't exist anymore and even then, anything that happened while I was there in 2016 doesn't count anyway because they were operating illegally at that point, so who the hell cares?
Two weeks previously, Brock was more than happy to have me return, so between then and today somebody tipped him off.

I am still going to be looking for a coach, but nobody, and I mean nobody is going to be told where or whom I will be talking to about coaching.
It is nobody's fucking business.

You will all be kept up to date once I have been established with a coach.

Thanks a hell of a lot.

In the meantime, I am keeping up with training...somewhere very secret.




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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

It Is Like Preparing A Probe To Saturn

ENTRY 423

I THINK THEY ARE WORKING ON SENDING A PROBE TO SATURN

I wanted to use this entry to update everyone on what was happening with Xtreme Couture.

The simple answer is: Nothing.

They are still farting around and trying to place the blame on Boxing Ontario.
Boxing Ontario has nothing to do with it.

I am furious about the lack of communication.

One of the coaches said to me the other day, "We are still waiting to hear from Boxing Ontario about the length of your suspension".
That doesn't make sense.
Boxing Ontario has very specific procedures and the coaches should know that.
How can you coach a sport properly if you don't know the rules of the sport you are teaching?

First of all Boxing Ontario will always provide a letter to the athlete stating the reason for the suspension and the length of the suspension, but they don't suspend for an RSC, only for an RSC-H.
Do you have any idea how many RSC are given in amateur boxing? They gave six just at the Bronze Gloves alone including mine. 
A standing-eight can result in an RSC such as my case.
So what?
If they suspended an athlete for every RSC, nobody would ever be boxing.

Also, when Boxing Ontario suspends an athlete for medical or any other reason, they keep the athlete's passbook until the suspension is over.

A message sent to me by an assistant coach yesterday revealed that the head coach has my passbook.
Really?
If Boxing Ontario has issued a medical suspension, why does the coach still have my passbook?
The things that make you go hmmmmm...

This is getting too complicated.
It is not a science project. You'd think they were preparing a probe to Saturn.

What is annoying me is that this suspension has nothing to do with Boxing Ontario.
It is a suspension issued by the coach, but he is not telling me about it.
However, I am not allowed to train there but I am still expected to fork out $150 every month.
Also, for every day I am without a coach it is holding me back. 
I am not going to be able to make up all the lost time unless something is done soon.

Xtreme Couture is currently dangling over my bad side, and that is a place nobody wants to be. Once you fall in there is no way out and you drown in there.

Somebody is trying to pull a fast one.
They forget. I am a security guard. There is a reason why I am a security guard.
I can see a fast one coming around the corner from three blocks away.

They do not have very long to give me some answers before they fall in.

I am currently doing my own training program at Bloor Street Fitness, but I need a full-time coach.
I have already been talking with some former coaches about returning.

I really don't want to leave where I am now, but they need to start being honest with me and stop screwing around.

The clock is ticking.

Midnight Training at Bloor Street Fitness

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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

SPECIAL ENTRY: Back Into the Revolving Door

SPECIAL ENTRY



BACK INTO THE REVOLVING DOOR


It has happened again.
Kicked off of another team for something that wasn't my fault.

The disturbing part is that it was dropped on me on Wednesday due to something that happened at the Bronze Gloves over a week ago.

A lot happened at the Bronze Gloves, so I am not sure what sparked this.

I went in on Wednesday for sparring and was told by the coach that I was no longer allowed to spar. In addition, I had been removed from the July 14th club card.

The reason given was a "medical suspension".

What medical suspension?

That was news to me.

Apparently, someone unknown to me or anyone else I have talked to, I have been placed on an indefinite "medical suspension".
This has also caused the coach to pull me from our card in mid-July.

A few things annoyed me about this. One is that if this apparently happened due to the Bronze Gloves, why was I not told about this earlier?
Second, nobody had an answer as to how long this suspension is supposed to last.
Third, nobody seems to know the reason for the suspension. 
No suspension was issued by Boxing Ontario.

I am very angry because I was training very hard and this is how I am treated.
I really wanted to be on that card, and for no reason, I was pulled.

I was even going to send a crew from Metropolis TV to cover the event, but that is not going to happen now.
As a matter-of-fact, I have decided to completely boycott that show. 

So, what's next?

Well, there is no point in me traveling all the way down to Kipling and North Queen if I can't train. I was going there specifically for boxing. I can do everything else anywhere.

What I have decided to do was to pause my membership at Xtreme Couture and go back to Bloor Fitness until I find out what is going on.

Fortunately, I kept my Bloor membership. I knew something like this would eventually happen because it always does.
There seems to be a continuous revolving door for me when it comes to boxing.

I will keep up my cardio and weight training at Bloor, and if Xtreme wants me back, they can ask for me to come back. I just simply have no idea how long this so-called "suspension" is going to last.

If I don't hear anything from them by the middle of July, that tells me that they don't want me on the team and it means for me to step right back into the revolving door.

None of this makes sense especially since this was dropped on me out of nowhere and no one had any explanation.

Remember my article on bullying?
That is what this is.
Can you really blame me for being a bit upset?

I guess going forward, I have to assume that I will never be at a boxing gym longer than a year. That is exactly the length of time I was at Xtreme.

Except for this incident and a few minor ones in the past, I liked the quality of coaching at Xtreme, so I hope they get their shit together and decide to ask me back.
However, I have other plans in case they don't.

Back to Bloor Fitness on Thursday.
It has been a long time since I was there.


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--Paul 'The Brick' Brec