What I’ve learned (so far) from boxing.

I started boxing because I was having a hard time dealing with the stress of getting a Ph.D. It is a lot of work, and you get pulled in so many directions. Classes, research, family, money. Everything seems to get stretched thin. My advisor likes to alleviate my anxiety by joking, “I have enough going on that I’m sure at any point in time I’m disappointing at least one person.”

The tipping point was two years ago. I had been struggling with my mental health for several weeks straight, and I told my wife I was going to try something new. Exercise has always been one of the best ways of managing my symptoms, but consistently exercising is hard. It is a lot to plan your workouts, decide on a schedule, show up, put in the work, and keep yourself accountable.

I was the type of kid who wanted to try everything, but my dad talked me out of boxing. He said it would be bad for my brain (and there is wisdom in that!). But as an adult, I can make my own decisions, and I figured my brain couldn’t get much worse.

On the first day, I threw up. I hated it. I was so out of shape. On the second day, I fell in love.

I don’t just love the sport. I also love the community at my particular boxing gym (shout out to Club KO!). The coaches push you hard but are welcoming to all sorts of people. I expected mostly young knuckleheads, but instead I’ve met judges, professors, other students, construction workers, data scientists. All sorts of people. Everyone is rooting for you. Going in and out of the gym, you get so many fist bumps that you can’t help but feel amazing.

One of my favorite things about boxing is that when you’re boxing, you can’t let yourself think about anything else. But I find myself thinking about boxing regardless of what I’m doing.

Five months ago, I started personal training with Coach Joseph Angle Rios. He really got me into sparring and the fighting aspects of boxing, rather than just the fitness side of it. I’ve learned a lot from him, both in and out of the ring.

Quotes that live in my brain rent free.

“Complaining doesn’t hurt anybody but you.”

I didn’t realize how much I complain until I showed up to sparring for the first time. Luckily, I wasn’t the one complaining.

There was a guy (who has since quit), doing some rounds with probably the best fighter at our gym. The guy was swinging wide and kept stopping the clock to fix his headgear, complain about his mouthpiece, to say the floor was wet, that he had a cramp, etc.

I’ve learned that when you’re in a fight, you can tell you’re winning if your opponent is complaining. And the last thing you want to do is give them that reassurance.

I catch myself complaining in and out of the gym. And even though there isn’t an opponent listening, the lesson still applies. Complaining doesn’t hurt anybody but yourself.

“You get tired on the bag so that you don’t get tired in the ring.”

I think hearing Joseph say this was the first time I’d thought of being tired or out of energy as a good thing. I carry this with me into my research. If I’m tired, it means I’m getting ready for when it counts.

“The bag always wins.”

This is mostly an inside joke to myself. To me it means the same thing as the more famous saying “You got to roll with the punches.” But in life it doesn’t always feel like you cleanly roll under punches. Instead you get hit.

When you’re hitting the heavy bag, you can throw everything you’ve got at it round after round. But the bag doesn’t care. It doesn’t get tired, but eventually you will.

I think life can feel like that sometimes. No matter how hard you work, there’s always going to be something else coming your way. You can’t win every round, and sometimes all you can do is catch your breath and keep swinging.

“Punches in bunches.”

Joseph always says “you throw the first punch to land the second on” or “you throw the second punch to land the third one.” Sometimes the first attempt isn’t meant to succeed, but it puts you in a better position for the next one.

“You have to dig deep and find that find that dog in you.”

This one applies to life a little less. But there is some feral part of me that likes to fight. I like pushing myself both physically and mentally, just to see how tough I can be and what I’m capable of on the other side.