It’s that time of year. The gym is jam-packed and your Facebook stream is clogged with manic resolution-making fiends. That’s fiends, not friends. Although they’re probably your friends, too, and otherwise normal. I resist the resolution-making frenzy, probably in the same way I … [Read more...]
What I Learned from Hot Yoga (Since I Didn’t Die)
Let me just say how gratified I am that several people congratulated me on staying in the hot yoga room the entire 90 minutes without passing out or puking. It made me feel sincerely understood. Damn, that hot yoga business is hardcore. And I’m a boxer, telling you that. Yes, I want to go back … [Read more...]
How to Spar When You’re Dead-Ass Tired
I’m deep in training for my next fight, and recently had the opportunity to travel to a nearby gym to get sparring rounds with a group of people whose fighting habits I wasn’t already accustomed to. Amazingly (and for the first time in my entire boxing experience), these 5 sparring … [Read more...]
Let Go of the Rope!
Wipeouts happen, right? But there’s a trick to getting through them that I just didn’t learn in boxing. But I was recently reminded of that lesson in the facefull-of-water kind of way that only a real wipeout can teach. Learning to hang on to the rope My grandfather had a cabin on … [Read more...]
How to Train FASTER
I’m officially about 8 weeks out from my next fight, which is just the right amount of time I need to set up my training goals. About a year ago I started categorizing the main areas of my boxing training, and since then I’ve refined my system enough to find it pretty useful as I plan my … [Read more...]
Don’t Give Your Brain to Boxing Zombies
It’s been a busy week. I spent most of it on the road, driving the seven hours to Atlanta for the pre-fight press conference and photo shoot for Atlanta Corporate Fight Night. Before that, though, I scrambled madly to make sure I had all my work sent out to clients, so when I hit the road I … [Read more...]
Interview with Catherine J. Howard
Catherine Howard doesn’t sit still very often. Her love for traveling keeps her from settling down in one place, and she’s about to head off on a 13-country art collective journey, but for a few weeks now the two of us have been training together in boxing. These few weeks have … [Read more...]
How to Succeed in Boxing
Success in boxing isn’t always measured by the number of “W”s on your passbook. It’s something hard-won over time with plenty of blood, sweat, and the right attitude. Take a look at the following 11 keys to success in boxing, and join in the discussion by leaving your ideas … [Read more...]
Boxing and Deafness: Interview with Sarah
Boxing offers challenges enough for pretty much anyone who considers taking it on. Which means most people who try it have guts… and plenty of great stories. In my last post I talked about the critical nature of training yourself to hear your coach, and received some very interesting … [Read more...]
Listening to Your Coach: The Mind-Body Connection in Boxing
Seventeen young men, most of the court-ordered to be there, are standing with me in lose rows in their boxing stance, guard up. Coach “One Bad Jab” Massey calls the shots. “Jab, jab, jab, squat. Jab, pivot…jab,” he calls, never raising voice overmuch, mixing up the … [Read more...]