Homework Sunday 18th jan '15

On Monday we are continuing to work on balance and expanding to work on being balanced while moving
So for your homework I want you to watch Susi Kentikian my personal favorite female boxer
Notice her balance and control. 
Small steps , good rhythm , balanced , relaxed and in control *fast forward to about 7mins in for the fight *
http://youtu.be/2hZsvx5CDFg

Balance And Footwork Jan 10th-16th

Next Week we will be working on Balance and footwork . I'm asking you for your homework to study Bernard Hopkins. I've been having trouble finding much footage so please do your own research too - but here is a link to Bernard Hopkins vs Winky Wright.
One of the things that made Hopkins so great was although he wasn't the hardest or fastest puncher he was always able to throw the right punch and the right time . His balance and footwork was excellent. http://youtu.be/FFijUGLhggc

Jan 2015 - 1st week - Homework

This Monday we will be moving on to learning how to fight someone with an aggressive punching style

So here's Part one of your homework

Watch 

http://youtu.be/Zs_KtyRVOA4

How to fight an aggresive fighter Homework #2 Watch this fight http://youtu.be/ZRt-yITLXSs

Boxing and the lightbulb moment part 3

Boxing and the lightbulb moment 

The 3rd light

This light is still very new to me and I'm not sure if I have the words to explain it but I'm going to try.

My footwork is pretty good , I normally get compliments on it , I can pivot , shuffle , step back , cut off , transition from outside to inside and control my opponent with my feet

However my coach constantly tells me to take smaller steps , when I do it's common to hear him call " even smaller yet beck" " shorten that step up , smaller than you think" 

It's something that until now my mind wouldn't and couldn't comprehend I just didn't get it. I thought my steps were small.

Martin Wheeler came to our school and gave a seminar , I listened , he gives away pearls of wisdom in every sentence he utters I swear.

In one of his conversations with a student he asked them why they were training JiuJitsu  , what the goal was and he struggled with his response till he got to the point " to learn "

Martin asked him , what if you went and trained and instead of trying to win you let yourself fail? 

Interesting 

The idea was planted 

What if when I sparred instead of trying to win/beat my opponent I allowed myself to fail

Why couldnt i do those smaller steps?

What was holding me back? Obviously something was.

So #1 I realized something (myself, my fear ) was blocking me from doing those smaller steps

#2 I realized I was afraid to fail , I was afraid that if I did a smaller step and I did it wrong I would be punished for it by my opponent , I was also afraid I wouldn't do it right , afraid of what would happen as a consequence.

So I knew to be able to do the smaller step I had to stop blocking myself , I had to allow myself to fail to face my fear

So I did and I learnt more things , my boxing stepped up in the game 

Because when I made that small step the whole world changed and with it the way I thought about it.

Boxing and the lightbulb moment part 2

Boxing and the lightbulb moment continued

The 2nd Light

At this point when I had my second major realization in boxing I had been sparring awhile

I'd progressed from sparring at our gym to visiting a local Mexican gym and getting sparring in there with the young boys a couple of times a week.

Sparring there was hard! As they'd say "there's always a fight here any day of the week"

At this point I was constantly hearing keep your chin down , stare at their chest not their face , don't look up down stand up"

I thought my chin was down , I thought I was staying down pretty damn low , hey I was starting to feel pretty confident with myself . I'd get right in that ring trade blows and then spend time looking at what I'd done. Only I didn't realize that's what I was doing , I was looking to see if I had hit , if I'd made a good conection , I was curious as to the look on their face after I hit them , what would their emotions show? Are they bleeding ? Black eye? Did it hurt? Am I strong?

I had completely the wrong mind set.

Well one day I was sparring over there and they brought in a new sparring partner, he caught me right on the chin , right on the sweet spot. I had been flashed out before which was always this white light, I had had black eyes and fat lips , but I hadn't been hit so hard that I was left right on the very thin edge of consciousness the light I saw was a deep dark purple it scared me.

I don't remember the rest of that round but I do know the sparring ended early that day.

I went home shaken up , I didn't talk about it I kept it inside but that day was the first day I ever wanted to quit boxing.

I sat at home an sulked , I wallowed , I avoided the gym for a week which for a gym rat like me was a big deal . Then I had my lightbulb moment. I talked to myself " that sucked right?" " well yeah" " ok so you can walk away from it , you can quit or" "or what?" " or you can do what your coach has been telling you since day one , keep your chin down , stay down low if your chin was protected you wouldnt have been hit like that" So I made a vow instead of quitting I was just going to keep my chin down , it was that easy . So simple.

I've never been hit like that since , I got to keep doing a sport I love and i make sure to protect myself at all times I don't look or check to see what I've done , I place my shots and I concentrate on myself.

Boxing and the lightbulb moment

Boxing and the lightbulb moment

The first light

I've been in and around boxing for many years now and during these years I've had 3 main moments that around here we reference as lightbulb moments.

The last one occurred about 4 days ago which is what has led me to write this.

The first time I experienced it I was very new to sparring , I had started working with Stephen Ivory who was and probably always will be my favourite sparring partner he has a gift of knowing how to push me , make me pay for my mistakes and challenge me while still not making me afraid to try things out . When I used to spar everything moved so fast , it was as if they world had sped up , I couldn't process everything that was happening and I felt like I was purely trying to survive rather than actually do or achieve anything , sound familiar?

The advice I was constantly give was "relax , just relax" I find myself saying the same things to the new sparrers I train now.

" Alright I get it just relax , I'm trying to relax" I'd mutter inside my head 

Well I just kept on getting in there , the world would get faster and I'd just try to survive , one day I got tired of being so fearful or stressing out so much during the sparring and with a sort of shrug of my shoulders and an air of giving up I said to myself " fine you win I'm just going to relax , I give up , just relax that's all I have to do relax who cares if I get it" so I did I relaxed and guess what the whole world slowed down , right there and then mid spar in the second round , I started to see openings , I could see what was coming at me and make plans , I could breathe , the warehouse itself got brighter it truly seemed like a lightbulb had been turned on . Did I spar flawlessly that round? No not at all , but I sparred better. My coach that was watching it saw and knew that something had changed in me at that moment.

There was a beautiful quote I had found at the time that I really related to the experience but it was many years ago and I've long since forgotten it but in a very simplified way it was along the lines of everytime you learn something new the whole world changes.

The Wag

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Western Avenue Boxing Gym

Western Avenue Boxing Gym are now carrying IGY Recovery Proteins and flex http://www.therecoveryprotein.com/igy.php

Fight Results

June was looking like a good month with Pro Boxers and Amateur boxers from Western Avenue Boxing Gym having bouts lined up

However things didn't workout quite that way.

CatBox Catastrophe

The fights June 17th were doomed from the start

at the official weigh ins only 8 boxers were present. That made for 4 fights as opposed to the expected 7 fights.

Rebecca Millers opponent weighed in 20lbs over expected weight.

Leaving a 6 weight class division between her and her opponent.

Needless to say her fight didn't get the green light.

That left only 3 fights.

Ron Aubrey and Noah Zuhdi both big name crowd please rs , decided not to fight on that card.

Someone had to take up the slack so that the fights could go ahead or they'd have to refund the money, there would be no show.

so all eyes were on Travis to save the show.

Travis' original opponent had pulled out due to Poison Ivy. After a mad rush to find a suitable opponent they decide to

bait Travis in to an unfair match up Two Hours before the fights were supposed to happen.

Travis ended up Fighting a Heavyweight , two weight categories above Travis.

The Guy was way above the cut off weight Travis was told, weighing easily 30lbs

above him.

Travis and his coaches didn't get a look at his opponent till he was actually in the ring seconds before the fight bell rang.

The first time he heard his opponents weight was when they announced the fighters in the ring. Not only that but falsely announced Travis' weight as 200lbs.

Anyone who knows Travis knows he isn't going to back out of a fight , Catbox knew it and they used it against him.

Catbox, disappointed and upset doesn't come close enough to describe my thoughts.

Amateurs Shows Being run Immaturely

Steve , Solo and Ryan headed on out to tallequah June 18th to compete , when they got to the place they found out it had to be changed to

a Sparring Match , due to the fact they didn't have a fight doctor.

The guys still got to get some good sparring in and make the most of their time , but i know it had to be disheartening.

Hang In there guys the winds of change are coming , we have some big plans in the works.

Watch this space for more details

The 6pm Traditional Boxers workout was treated to a visit from

Legendary Boxer Sean O Grady Mon 27th of June it was an honor to have him here.

He promises to be by more often! We look forward to it.

New Summer Schedule

Mon/Wed/Fri

7:15am Traditional Boxers Workout

10:00am AB Lab

12:00pm Traditional Boxers Workout

4:30pm Traditional Boxers Workout

5:30pm Muay Thai

6:00pm Traditional Boxers Workout

Tues/Thurs

4:00pm Kids MMA/Systema

4:00pm Kids Boxing

5:00pm Technical Boxing Sparring Class

******Kids Boxing Camp******

5th - 19th July | $100

Monday thru Friday | 9:30am to 11am

Our two week kids package is designed to help teach kids vital skills including self-regulation ,

self efficacy and self esteem in children and young adults.

Kids Camp will give you

* Strength and Conditioning

* Balance and Coordination

* Self Respect and Self Esteem

* Offensive and Defensive Skills

Call 405.532.3204 for more info

Workout of the month

Focusing on Stretches

Hold each stretch listed for 15-30 seconds, repeating two or three times, depending on how you feel.

For detailed instructions and larger photos, click on the name of each stretch.

Please note that while some of these stretches depict various body positions,

you can perform these upper body stretches while sitting in a chair.

1.Neck Stretch

Sit or stand with shoulders relaxed, back straight.

Bring your left ear down toward your left shoulder and hold.

Roll your head down toward the ground and bring your chin to your chest.

Hold and finally, roll your head to the right and bring that ear to your right shoulder.

Inhale and exhale in a slow and controlled manner.

2.Chest Stretch

Stand tall or sit upright. Interlace your fingers behind your back and straighten you arms.

With arms straight, lift arms up behind you while keeping your back straight and your shoulders down.

Keep the shoulders relaxed away from the ears.

3.Standing Triceps Stretch

Place your left elbow in your right hand. Reach your left arm overhead,

placing palm on the center of your back and supporting the elbow in your right hand.

Reach your fingertips down your spine. Keep the shoulders relaxed away from the ears. Repeat with opposite arm.

4.Shoulder Stretch

Bring your left arm across your chest, holding it below the elbow with your opposite.

Keep the shoulders relaxed away from the ears. Breathe deeply and hold. Repeat on opposite side.

5.Wrist and Biceps Stretch

Extend left arm in front of you, palm facing outward and fingertips pointing downward.

Use your right hand to apply light pressure to the hand, as if pulling your fingertips toward your elbow.

Keep the shoulders relaxed away from the ears. Breathe deeply and hold. Repeat on opposite side.

6.Wrist and Forearm Stretch

Extend left arm in front of you, palm facing outward and fingertips pointing upward.

Use your right hand to apply light pressure to the hand, as if pulling your fingertips toward your shoulder.

Keep the shoulders relaxed away from the ears. Breathe deeply and hold. Repeat on opposite side.

7.Torso Stretch

Clasp hands together and slowly raise them above your head toward the ceiling.

Reach as high as you can while inhaling deeply and hold for 20-30 seconds. Bring your hands down slowly while letting out your breath.

8.Hamstring Stretch

Stand tall with back straight, abs engaged, shoulders down, and feet hip-width apart. Bring your left leg forward, heel down, toes up and leg straight.

Keeping back straight and abs engaged, bend the right knee as if sitting back, while supporting yourself with both hands on your thighs.

Repeat on opposite side.

9.Quad Stretch

Keep your feet hip-width apart, your back straight and your feet parallel. Reach back and grab your left foot in your left hand,

keeping your thighs lined up next to each other and left leg in line with the hip (not pulled back behind you). Repeat on opposite side.

10.Inner thigh stretch

Stand tall with back straight, feet wider than the hips, toes turned out, abs engaged and arms at your sides.

Slowly bend the knees, squatting straight down, hands supported on your thighs, until you feel a stretch through the inner thighs.

cool down