I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the phrase, “Kaitlyn, you should really get into boxing.” In my mind I have always considered boxing to be a sport that mixed strength, technique, athleticism, and maybe even a little bit of aggression. As a kid I was a bit angsty, and I’ve become not so angsty as a college girl who has learned to contain her aggression to small rants.
Sports, on the other hand, was a fickle mistress for me. I struggled to be active growing up, always preferring to stay indoors and read a good book. My terrible hand-eye coordination also did not help in this matter. I generally considered many sports to be rather boring to participate in, and it was difficult to engage mentally in many of them.
My first year in college I tried out for the rowing team. It was an incredibly intricate and stimulating sport that quickly captured my awe and love. However, it was difficult to juggle the hard commitment that rowing demands while trying to maintain good grades, so I dropped out after five months.
With all this in mind, I was pretty excited to go into my first boxing class to see if I would like it. I was always slightly interested in the prospect of getting into it, but I didn’t know if any gyms nearby had classes that taught boxing. Going for HC seemed like an appropriate excuse and opportunity to try it out.
Gloveworx teaches boxing while conditioning, and the Century City location just opened recently in the Westfield Century City Mall. It is a small space, but good enough for its purposes. Located on the second floor by Macy’s, the loud, pumping music they play as soon as you enter makes the place hard to miss. This is clearly a place of sport and exercise.
First, I had to sign a waiver in case of any injury I might get during the class. Leading up to the class I had corresponded with a representative of the company, and she asked me about what kind of class I preferred and what goals I had. I was mainly there to learn technique and get a good workout. I generally hate working out with strangers, so I asked for a one-on-one lesson.
After the waiver I was given wrist wraps and gloves, and directed to the lockers on the right side to put my stuff down. They provide pretty nice-looking bathrooms, showers and lockers, a nice touch for the sake of personal hygiene.
I sat on a bench to stretch and wait, equal parts apprehensive and anticipative. I dropped one of my wraps at one point, so my coach had to replace it, probably for the sake of cleanliness. To begin the process, my coach, Carl, helped me wrap up my hands. It was an intricate process that fascinated me to no end; the wraps were also surprisingly comfortable.
We began with some stretches and calisthenics, but since I had been pretty sick the last two weeks, I was shaking like a twig in the wind by the end. After that, we went over the basic stance, legs spread shoulder-length wide, toes and body angled slightly forward. Hands up under the chin with the elbows and arms close to the body. It was an awkward pose, but I imagine it feels like that for all beginners.
Like any sport, boxing is its own discipline, complete with its own technique, stance and exercises. We started with footwork then added in arms and hands, learning and practicing the jab, left and right, and a right hook, gloves off. The gloves went on when I moved onto the punching bag, which is much harder to sway than I expected, contrary to the movies.
The girl at the front desk had told me that boxing worked out a lot of cardio, but I think I underestimated how tired one can get while punching. I definitely worked up a sweat and got my heart rate pumping early on. After the punching bag, Carl was kind enough to give me some free Gatorade and water, just to provide the body with some sugar and liquid, and recommended me to eat at least two hours before coming to a high intensity sport like boxing. Good advice for all who want to get into boxing.
We moved into the boxing ring, which I had not expected. I thought I was too much of an amateur to even get into the ring, but Carl kept the lesson fast-paced and efficient. I then punched Carl as he directed while he wore focus mitts, which are padded gloves with targets in the middle to focus the punch. This was when the real exercise aspect of boxing kicked in, and I had to take frequent breaks. By the end of that I was pretty tired, but we followed up with some more cardio exercise and planks.
I noticed in the latter part of the hour the spaces between my fingers started hurting, and Carl told me it stemmed from a common rookie habit to punch more with the fingers than the knuckles, a habit which would change through more time and experience spent boxing. It was a pretty packed hour-long lesson, and I definitely learned a great deal about boxing. Carl was a nice trainer, trying earnestly to relax me by getting to know me during breaks. Since the facility is still new, its in mint condition. By the end of the hour, some young boys had come for their lesson, and I understood why it would be a good sport for growing kids to learn. Like any sport, it takes energy and builds endurance while honing one’s mental focus and strength.
As I thought, boxing definitely does take a certain amount of aggression and anger. Not that the sport is only about fighting, it allows one to center one’s emotions, like anger, and channel them through the technique and forms of the sport. Of course, I could be wrong about all of this, but these were my thoughts from the impression I got from my first lesson.
All in all, it was a great workout, engaging and super fun. The Gloveworx facility in Century City is a really convenient location for those in Los Angeles, and all the staff were incredibly nice and friendly to a complete amateur like me. I would definitely recommend anyone interested in trying out boxing to check out Gloveworx.