How I got started (in boxing) - Part Two

How I got started (in boxing) - Part Two

by Andrew Schweitzer

     Finding a boxing gym was hard if you didn't know where to look. Like I said earlier, access to a car wasn't always a guarantee and the closest you could get to a fight was watching hockey players pretend they know how to fight on the ice.

     Since I wasn't finding a gym in the real world, I thought I could see what I could find off the internet. If they can give you details on how to make a nuclear weapon, they probably have websites showing you how to throw a punch. While the ones I visited (like this one) were informative and helpful, I was still craving the real thing.

     However after a while, I finally found a gym. It was a bit ways out but I thought it would be worth it. I would later discover  that it was not. While I don't like to hold anything back, I do feel that it would be unfair to give the name of the gym away so I won't do that. I felt like I wasn't learning anything and whenever I thought I was, it would only be later that they would tell me that I wasn't throwing my left hand correctly (Where was this advice when you were watching me for the last round?).

     I decided to stop going since I was in sort of a trial period and mainly because I wasn't enjoying myself. Instead, I would view the sport as a regular observer. There were occasional club shows that I went to in Windsor, however I decided that actual training just wasn't for me.

     As I stated before, I'm Canadian, thus any sport that isn't hockey usually doesn't get any major coverage in the newspaper but every once in a while I would keep reading little blurbs about an accomplished amateur boxer from Windsor named Mary Spencer. It seemed that every other week she was fighting somewhere out of town (Or country), kick ass and come back home. She trained out of the Windsor Amateur Boxing Club and one day I checked out their website to see if they would be having any club shows.

     It was on that website that I discovered the gym offered adult training courses which were taught by Spencer herself. I thought it over and decided that I would give it a go. So in the fall of 2006, I set out to the Windsor Amateur Boxing Club and met Mary, who is a very friendly person. I didn't mention my previous venture into training although it was almost brought up when Mary saw how I stood in my stance.

"Have you done this before?" she asked.

"No, I just watch a lot of Rocky movies," I said which was probably the dumbest answer I could have given.

     Before I go any further, I should probably talk a little bit about the Windsor Amateur Boxing Club. When I first started, it pretty much consisted of two rooms, one which had all the punching bags and another which was taken up by the ring, which didn't leave a lot of room for standing. I just remember feeling like I was in a petri dish. But at the same time, I knew that this gym had produced a lot of great fighters, Mary being one of them and it's President, Charlie Stewart had coached several Olympians in 2004 and 2008. So while the gym at the time may have been small it was overflowing with talent. As of today the gym has expanded with a lot more room. It really is a great gym.

     Whereas I had mixed/negative feelings about the first gym I went to, I knew WABC was perfect. It was a complete 180 from what I had previously been through and most importantly, I was enjoying what I was doing afterwards. That and I knew that I was getting a proper workout because when I woke up the next morning I would feel like hell. I remember waking up after my first workout and feeling absolutely paralyzed.

     But I kept going. I liked developing my skills and getting into the best shape of my life. And Mary also found ways to keep it interesting. I remember coming in one evening and being told that I was going to go two rounds with Adam Trupish, the great Canadian amateur champion who represented Canada in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

     I won't go into the details surrounding the spar except I only remember landing a few good shots on him which was probably because he was holding back. After a while though he let his hands go and reminded me who the superiour fighter was. By no means was I 'beat up' but he certainly gave me a boxing lesson. I kind of expected no less.

     While I could have let it discourage me, I strived to do better. I shadowboxed at home with weights around my wrists with the hope that if I ever got a chance to spar (with anyone), that every punch I landed would be memorable.

     I got the chance next week when Mary put me in the ring with someone maybe a year or two younger than me. He had been at the gym for a few weeks and one of the other trainers decided to put us together. I was nervous about it at first but eased up a bit once Mary assured me that I was going to kick his ass.

     And for the most part I did. However I'm more than willing to admit I did get wobbled for a bit in the first round and for a fraction of a second I had no idea where I was. However I quickly recovered and landed as many jabs as I could. It was an even round. 

     Returning to the corner I felt exhausted. I listened carefully to Mary's instructions ("Every time you're throwing your jab, you're dropping it. As soon as you land that jab, bring it straight back. And angle your body, you're standing square in front of him; give him a smaller target to hit. And he's a southpaw like you, so move to your left and throw your jab over his.) and just told myself to do exactly as she said.

     I did and the next round ended a bit premature. I moved to my left, I made my body a smaller and just threw as many punches as I could. Looking back I can remember that I only threw one body shot and just concentrated solely on the head. I won't bore you with too many details about the rest of it but it ended with me having a bloody nose, but Mary assured me that had it been a real fight that I probably would have stopped him because I was landing too many punches.

     It's strange that considering how worried I was about injury before actually starting boxing (I'm referring to missing teeth and broken noses), I was really liked the fact that my nose was bleeding. It's hard to explain and maybe it can only be understood if you've actually done it. The only thing I didn't like was that it remained sore for about two weeks.

     I continued to train off and on over the next few years mostly because school was getting in the way and I really wanted to graduate. I haven't been back in almost two years since I've moved to Calgary however if I ever do return to boxing, I'm certain that the Windsor Amateur Boxing Club will still be there.

Andrew Schweitzer is a writer for boxing4free.com. When not writing or discussing the sweet science Andrew can be found at the gym or at work. Currently Andrew is searching for a gym in the Calgary area that is easily accessable for someone who has to rely on public transportation. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it