I felt his eyes. I felt the chill, the sharpness. Eyes locked dead and firm, penetrating into the very pupils of my eyes as it scorched my nerves. Shots of murderous punches blasted into my face, and I light-headedly looked to run off. My heart beat madly, gasping as my opponent closed in on me with brutal, bloodthirsty intentions. His pure confidence and savagery shut my spirit to fight down as I fell into an abyss of self-doubt.
As my heart often said, “You’re not ready.” Jaw cracking, stumbling, and fumbling against the ring, I was fleeing my opponent like a dying rat crumbling for escape.
It was my first boxing tournament: an utter embarrassment. The hundreds of glaring eyeballs with the heated pressure of my opponent was too much for me. In the grand theater of bravery and violence, I opted for the role of perpetual navigator of the path of least resistance, getting obliterated by my opponent, never quite finding the rhythm of courage.
Nevertheless, you’ll realize what a marvel that is; your mind shatters into smithereens of potential and gratitude, a gratitude you will have for life time.
You step into a scrappy, dilapidated, and acrid gym; or you step into the opposite, a bright, clean, and polished one. Whatever it may be, the moment you put yourself into one, you have become a winner. You took the first step into initiating devotion. Your spirit has sprung up and leapt into the foray that you are going to infuse yourself into.
From your determination, you can decide whether you are going to quit and never experience the insurmountable benefits of boxing, or you commit yourself whole-heartedly, pouring forth relentless effort and drenching your body in cascading streams of hard-earned sweat.
The gym will act as an empowerment hub, a place where you discover your inner strength. At first you’re scared but likely believe that you are strong, explosive, and skillful enough to beat anyone in the gym. But as one has said, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face,” and you will know exactly how terrible you are within the first thirty seconds in the ring. It is the most genuine source of humility that you can earn through your own physical endeavor. It will humble you.
The boxing gym is also a discipline haven. The precision that you need for footwork, the focus demanded in technique and strategy, and the commitment to repetitive drills will instill a discipline that will permeate in various aspects of your life.
The community that you immerse yourself into will help build fondness and humaneness amid the violent nature of the sport, as you will find how respectful and sincere the people you have surrounded yourself with are in nature.
After a good month, gratitude will become the prevailing sentiment, especially if you have learned and improved upon yourself not only in your boxing techniques, but your well-being. The physical transformation will overwhelm you with thankfulness, and the epiphany of how much your life has changed will come into reality If you do it.
Now you have sufficient skills to enter a tournament. Your coach is proud, the people that came along with you are ready to fight together, and you are in your most confident state. Are you going to step in the ring, and crush your opponent and leave yourself a story to be told, or will you be a slouch that waits around for defeat?
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