Eye of the Crouching Tiger

It was a total God thing.

Back in June, I went to the Harris YMCA for my regular workout on the ellipticals.  But when I got there, I realized that there was no free one available.

I was kind of in a time crunch that morning and so when an employee suggested I see if there were any more available upstairs above the gymnasium, I went to look.

Sure enough, there were plenty of available ellipticals upstairs.

But something else caught my eye.  There in the corner was a heavy weight boxing bag.  And just a few feet away was a speed bag.

I was thrilled!

Me after my Krav Maga class. Notice the bruised pinky fingers, which probably mean I wasn’t punching 100 percent correctly. Ha.

Just a week earlier, I had taken a free trial Krav Maga class and thoroughly enjoyed myself, albeit my knuckles were a little bruised.

But when I found out how much regular classes were going to be, I resigned myself to just having the one-time experience with boxing.

But here was all the equipment I needed to learn how to box right in the YMCA.  And I already had a membership!

Even better, I noticed an older man working the speedbag and he seemed to know what he was doing.  No I’m not even going to understate it: The guy was a beast!

Although I don’t have a video, just imagine a more silver-haired version of Rocky and you’ll be able to imagine Steve on the speedbag:

So I cut my elliptical run short and went to talk to him.

I found out Steve is a retired Chief with the Newport, Rhode Island police department and he’s been boxing for several years now. He boxes every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at the Y.

He was really friendly and helpful during our conversation and so when it was time to part ways, I asked him if I could meet him at the gym the following Tuesday to learn a few things.

He agreed.

I Came for the Boxing…

Five months later, we still meet every Tuesday and Thursday.

Aren’t my gloves lovely? I call them my polar bear paws. : )

First, he taught me how to work a speed bag and told me to invest in some hand wraps.  When I got better at that, he told me to get some gloves so he could start teaching me how to work the heavy bag.

After he taught me the basics of the boxing stance, the jab and the cross, he started working with me with boxing mitts.  Recently he’s started throwing punches at me so I can learn to avoid hits.  We’ve also been working on my right and left hooks.

When I’m better at my left hook (apparently I’m still winding up with my left hook, exposing my rib cage to my opponent), he’s going to teach me how to do an upper cut.

What amazes me is that Steve has been training me – and another woman named Denise – out of the kindness of his heart and the love for boxing.

And he painstakingly works with us to make sure we have proper form, even though neither Denise or I have any intention of ever actually fighting anyone. We’re doing it more for the exercise and stress release.

But I appreciate his thoroughness. I actually recently took a free class at Title Boxing Club in Ballantyne and – while it was quite fun to kick the crap out of a heavy bag for a solid hour – I had almost no guidance on form and technique.

This is dangerous because if you land certain punches wrong, you can really do some damage to your wrists and hands.  I’m thinking specifically of the hooks.

When I first started, I was bending my wrists “like a praying mantis,” Steve said.  He tried to keep correcting my bad habits were stubborn.

Then came the day when I landed a right hook wrong and my wrist hurt for weeks.  Ever since then, I have really focused on keeping my wrists straight.

…And Stayed for the Friendship

But more than just the awesome instruction I’ve been getting from Steve, I’ve really been moved by the sense of community that has developed between the three of us.

Denise, who donated to my Special Olympics fundraiser, said she thought of me when she saw these hair ties.

When I was fundraising for Special Olympics NC, both Denise and Steve donated.  Not only that, but Denise gave me some hair ties with inspirational words on it that she said made her think of me.

When the time came for me to rappel 23-stories down an uptown Charlotte building, both of them were there to cheer me on.  Steve even got some pictures of the rappel on an old-fashioned camera with film.

And for Halloween, Denise let me borrow her old belly dancing outfit.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we not only meet to practice boxing techniques, we meet to talk about life.  From Denise’s daughter’s wedding to Steve’s efforts to sell his home, we come together to support one another through life’s ups and downs.

And to think I may never have met either of them if my regular elliptical machine downstairs would have been free that day at the YMCA.

God amazes me.  I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity to fully vet my Bucket List Item #13, and for  these new friendships He’s put in my life.

Be well.