This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Helsinki chapter.
Odors of sweat and something musty and unidentifiable hang in the air. Smacks, thuds, and grunts join the beat of the rock music spilling from the stereos. Chains jingle as a powerful hook lands on the heavy bag.
This is where I escape when the stress and hubbub of work and studies threaten to weigh me down and gobble me up. I wrap my fists, pull on the helmet, slip in the mouthguard, and top it all off with a pair of bright-red boxing gloves. Signs of use are already visible on the once pristine leather.
A young woman calls out instructions: Run! High knees! Jumping-jacks! There’s a poster of her on the wall, advertising a boxing event from a few years back. To a regular jack or jane, her knock-out power would come as a surprise. I guess I don’t quite look the part either, although Eva Wahlström has definitely made women’s boxing publicly visible over the past ten years and shattered some of the sturbbornest stereotypes. Or do we still think of a big, burly guy with rippling muscles and a nose so flat it looks like he’s run into a concrete wall?
Me and my partner touch gloves. She’s a tough lady; I’ve oomphed and urghed more than once from a punch in the stomach, but I’ve also learned how dangerous her hooks and combos are. Don’t let her near, don’t get driven into a corner.
Of course, as much as I tell myself not to do the same mistakes I did last week, sooner or later I find myself up against the ropes, doing my aptest turtle impression, trying not to eat too many fiery punches.
Fighting her is like fighting a cannon ball. But afterwards, we grin and laugh.
“Hey, that was a good shot.”
“Nice weaving.”
In the end, I think it’s about challenging yourself. For two to three whole minutes, nothing else exists except your sparring partner and the bout. Your brain and body function on the most primitive level, and whatever weighed on your mind before entering the boxing gym has now been knocked out of your head.
This is why I feel like I win every time.