Gym Diary: Day 1

Worked out with Rodriguez today for the first time, we met outside the Columbia Heights metro station and set up shop in the gym downstairs. He’s licensed by USA Boxing and mostly trains amateur fighters at gyms in Southeast and Northwest DC, which makes him perfect.

We started out with the basics: footwork, followed by the jab and the straight right. Took a little while to get my feet right but eventually found myself nailing the one-two combination. Next we got into a little bit of head movement and ducking, which really put the emphasis on my now-aching quads.

Later we moved into firing the hook with both hands and learning how to lean away from the punch to the body to absorb the impact. Unsurprisingly my form started to break down as I got winded and I kept dropping my hands, prompting several cautionary taps to the side of the head. It’s also tough to remember not to get flat when you’re firing those multiple-punch combinations.

Initially I hesitated to tell him I cover boxing, since I was looking to learn everything from the ground up and didn’t want him to assume any knowledge, but after we started talking about the other fighters he trained and the upcoming Golden Gloves tourney it came out. We talked about the disappointing Superfight on Saturday night and the rising amateur stars in the area, most notably Gary Shaw’s boys.

By the time we got to the final round of training my left arm felt like lead as it pawed the air in an attempt to jab. When we parted my t-shirt was soaked and whole body already stiffening. Still, can’t help but be excited for next time.