So You Wanna Be a Boxer, Huh?

I guess I really do. It took some pretty strong effort to get to my new gym today. The transition has been a little harder than I had expected. The guys at my old club don't seem terribly excited about setting up any new workout arrangements right now. I think we're going off into different directions. That's understandable, but still kind of disappointing to me.

Since our club closed on August 31--and it hasn't even been two weeks since that date--it is probably still too early to predict accurately what will happen. I have pretty much done what I can to keep the guys together; the rest will be up to them.

Why am I mentioning all this? Simply because it has been affecting my motivation. I really need to accept this change in my life. It has happened and is the reality I am facing now. The old arrangement was nice while it lasted, but now we're in a new situation (at least I am).

I like the new gym. Everyone is friendly there, I fit in well, and it's already starting to feel like home to me. Work has been kind of nutty, though, and I was really on the fence about getting over to the gym today. Oh, the excuses a man's mind can generate!

After I had my bag packed and went out the door, I really thought about turning back and doing the workout tomorrow instead. It was miserable outdoors. The temperature had dropped significantly this afternoon, and a nasty, misty rain was falling and making the whole scene look like something from a horror movie. Alright, maybe I am exaggerating just a little.

Anyway, I didn't turn back. I went to my new gym and had a decent workout. Here's the recap.

• 30 minutes roadwork
• 4 rounds shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds of stretching
• 1 round on the speed bag
• 1 round on the double-end bag

While shadowboxing, I got a few helpful pointers from Ray Pace, GoTime Chicago's boxing coach. He talked with me about doing some training with him and about meeting up with him and some of the other guys on Saturday mornings for sparring practice. That all sounds promising, too.

I don't know what will happen with my friends from my previous club. They are all great guys, and they're still my friends, but I don't know if we'll be pursuing our sport as a group. I cannot control that.

However, my experience today has taught me a valuable lesson. Even with the challenges, I am dedicated to this sport. I want to improve as a boxer. I'll stay with it.

Moving Ahead: A New Gym, A New Beginning

Finally, after all my talk, last Friday I joined a new gym. My former athletic club shut down officially on August 31, so I decided to waste no time in getting set up in a new place where I can continue my boxing training.

Although I am stating this in a matter-of-fact way, the transition is still somewhat painful. I left an athletic club where I had been a member for almost 17 years, and where I had been one of the principal instigators of the revival of boxing as a sport at the club in 1994. I have a lot of good memories from my years of membership, and I am unhappy about the circumstances under which we closed. Nevertheless, it really is time for me to move ahead.

On Friday, I found a new home at a gym called GoTime Chicago. Here's a link to their Web site.

http://www.gotimechicago.com

Chad Robbins, one of the co-owners, is a great guy who gave me a tour and orientation, explained all the details about membership, and talked with me about how we can bring in the rest of the guys from the Chicago Athletic Association's boxing team, if they are interested. I will work on that more this week. I don't know how many of our boxers will go along, but I'll try to get all of them.

Chad also told me he has been thinking of holding some boxing shows at the gym. I already told him I'd be interested in boxing in some of those events. That probably won't happen for a few months, but it's nice to know it will be an option. Also, I need to figure out how Bernard can join us. But I am not going to get bogged down with all the details and make it seem like yet another job. I'm just going to enjoy my workouts and have fun for a while.

I did my first workout there on Saturday morning. Here's the recap.

• 20 minutes roadwork
• 4 rounds shadowboxing
• 3 rounds stretching
• 3 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds on the double-end bag

I have a lot more to say about this new experience. Details will follow over the next few days. This is good. I feel grounded again.

Final Workout At My Current Boxing Club

It was a pretty emotional experience. Yesterday, I had my last workout at my athletic club. I didn't do much of a workout because I was running really late and was lucky to arrive while some of the guys were still there. First, the recap of my very brief workout.

• 20 minutes of roadwork (even this was short!)
• 1 round on the heavy bag
• 2 rounds on the focus mitts with Bernard

Yes, that's it. I felt incredibly guilty yesterday, but I got there late and did what I could to make the best of it. It was good to see several of the guys there. In addition to Bernard and me, Tim, Cory, and Bill were there. Kevin wanted to be there but had a dinner he needed to attend. Henry Coyle, a professional boxer and a friend of Bernard's, joined us to give us some help with sparring. Sadly, I was too late for sparring. Oh well, next time!

We all went to dinner afterward. Over dinner, we discussed some ideas for our future. I'd be really happy to keep all our boxers together. I am realizing it may be tough to do that, but I will sure try to make it happen. I will be talking later today to one of the owners of a fairly new gym in Chicago that might work very well for us. I'll post more about that here soon. I am determined to turn this difficult challenge into a great opportunity.

Club Update

I got the official update today: our athletic club will be closing for good on August 31. Yes, I am angry about it. I feel that we, the members, have been lied to. However, at this late date, there is really nothing I can do to stop the closing and the sale of the property.

Of course, this is no surprise to me; I have known it was coming for about a year. Even so, it is a sad time for me. I was one of the founders of the boxing club at the Chicago Athletic Association in 1994 when another member and I brought the sport back. It's hard to believe that was 13 years ago.

I am hoping we can keep some of our guys together. I will talk to Bernard in the next day or two and see what he thinks about the situation.