Wow, I can’t even again. So, somehow I ended up starting at a boxing gym a few months ago. It wasn’t what I was looking for, but I saw a post on Instagram and decided to check it out, and it turns out that it actually was what I was looking for all along. I stuck around and signed up for a few classes and made a few friends and lost fifteen pounds and took home a belt and that was all in the first eight weeks. I guess you’d call what we’ve been doing circuit training. There wasn’t any actual sparring involved, although that is also a thing that can happen. When Otto announced a six week sparring camp, I was one of the first to sign up.

Yesterday was week two of the men’s sparring camp. It’s Saturdays only, so that means it was also day two. They had a ladies only sparring camp that began a few weeks earlier. One of the many things I like about this gym is that it’s very coed, very welcoming, sensory friendly (I mean except for maybe when we’re cranking Slayer), really community focused. If I was gonna pick somewhere to get punched in the face for the first time, this would definitely be the place. And yesterday I got to cross that off my bucket list.

I wasn’t expecting we’d get into the ring on day two and I’m glad that we did. All of the training, drilling, footwork and bag work, that all goes out the window when you’re actually in there. Everything gets small, space is really tight, and time is compressed. It’s a tight focus. The guy I was matched with isn’t anybody I’d ever pick a fight with, and I really don’t believe that he’s never boxed before, so of course he was who I wanted to go up against. I probably got punched in the face three times and I never even saw his gloves coming. We were both wearing head gear so it didn’t really hurt, it was more of a surprise than anything, and then the lag of comprehension of what just happened, all while the punches are still coming. It’s a lot to endure, and it honestly wasn’t all that much.

Once I stepped out of the ring I got right on the exercise bike to cool down and let the adrenaline wash out. Pro tip, this is a really big thing to do whenever you want to make sure a lesson sticks. Give your nervous system some down time immediately afterwards, preferably five minutes or so, before you get distracted by anything. It’s one of the reasons we do shavasana at the end of a yoga class. So, I’m not really thinking about anything, just getting some zone two cardio while I let whatever just happened sink in and let my heart rate settle into a comfortable rhythm. And I watch another couple guys duke it out and then after a while I’m like all right I’m done and I undo my wraps and head for my truck.

Somehow I managed to run a few errands after all that and then I got home and went for a jog through Humboldt Park. At the top of one of those hills I called “fuck it” and crashed right there for probably the best nap I’ve had in a while, all on a bed of autumn leaves. And I don’t know exactly when I had this reflection, but I’ve been thrown off a bicycle in the Rockies and gotten a concussion, waking up with no idea of what had happened or how I’d gotten there. I’ve administered first aid on the sidewalk in front of my apartment on the West Side of Chicago a couple of times. Gotten injured at work and had to declare bankruptcy before the work comp claim ever got settled. I’ve held on to my mom’s hand and said her favorite prayer for her while she died. I promised the rest of my life to a woman that I loved only to have her tell me please don’t ever talk to me again I’m in a relationship with another man now and I’m happy. All that and I’m still standing. What the hell is gonna happen inside a boxing ring that I can’t handle?

The men’s amateur match is set for December 11 and I’m here for it. I’m under no delusions about the amount of work I have to do to get ready for that date, and I’m 100% confident that I’m going to give it everything I have. Because that’s what I do. I go the distance.

A tremendous shout out to Otto and everyone at Dropout Fight Club for giving me the chance to learn a few more things about myself. I can’t recommend them highly enough, and if you just wanna get a great workout with a great vibe and a fun crowd and not any face punching, that is totally a thing that you can do there too.