Boxing

When I was in my mid-thirties, I joined the Augusta Boxing Club on Walton Way. The subtitle is the club motto, and I saw guys wearing t-shirts emblazoned with sayings like “Fighting solves EVERYTHING.” I was the only woman, and I swear I got high on the testosterone.

Raytona Whitfield was my trainer.

Everyone got two sessions in the ring with their trainer, and I remember the day that a ref was present and showed me what I was doing wrong while I was working on the bags (my favorite bag—love, love, love practicing a right hook, left uppercut combo on a reactor bag; it gives me joy)—I was throwing from my shoulder instead of from the hip. Wow, did that make a difference.

I’d already had my first ring session with Stingray that afternoon, and he was completely unprepared for the change in how I threw a punch, didn’t bother to anchor himself for a woman throwing from the shoulder. Lo and behold, a veteran server/bartender (lower-body strength) who had pushed a human being through her hips threw the called two-punch from that hip and knocked him down. Aside from my James Bond moment in Atlanta fifteen or so years ago, it’s my proudest moment.

I digress. What I’m here to talk about is challenges. I know that some creators enter every single challenge (way to go on that), but most of us struggle with at least a few each season (I’ve noticed that without even being here for a full Persephone cycle). If a challenge doesn’t speak to me, I leave it alone. There are enough that do speak to me, so I focus my energy on those. Case in point: I did not enter the Everyone is Acting Normally challenge, nor do I anticipate doing anything for the Something is Beginning challenge—I’m in medias res all the way and prefer my beginnings in the middle. However, What the Myth Gets Wrong and The Rule Everyone Knows speak to me, and I’m pouring my heart, soul, and mind into these challenges.

What in the world does this have to do with boxing? Entering challenges that you don’t have a feel for is throwing from the shoulder while entering challenges that you connect with is throwing from the hip. Shoulder throws don’t get KOs or TKOs, usually don’t last three rounds; they don’t win.

I enjoy stepping outside of my comfort zone and will approach some challenges as “let’s see what I can do.” In those cases, I’m proud to even be in the ring, and I know that my success there is determined by simply showing up, and it’s enough for me.

I have yet to see a piece that I’m truly invested in fail to be recognized. I appreciate that my form is practiced and studied enough that when I throw from the hip, I get a TKO (once a KO). What am I saying? Practice your form and throw from the hip; it’s the only way to truly land a punch.