ByB(5): The Boxing match!

It was almost a month ago, that BYB sunday was flagged off. We have had several people hop onto the bandwagon and it would be great to see more blogs joining in. To know how, click here,and to see the blog roll click here. If you participate and your name is not on the roll, just leave a comment.

Back at school, it was compulsory for every student to participate in at least two sports. This was a good rule and it made everyone come out of their shells and some actually became good at the sport they chose. I used to play a lot of games but wasn’t particularly good at any. So, one year, maybe it was the Rocky movies that made me do it, I signed up for boxing.

Inevitably, the day of the fight came, the draws were announced and I was scheduled to fight this new guy at school. He looked mean and I was a bit worried already. The fights were scheduled after the classes. I was having a nervous day. I never had any formal boxing training, other than a week's stint with a former national boxer and I found the training too much for me.

To add to my cup of woes the new guy turned out to be a champion boxer from his previous school. Looking back, it seems funny, but that day I spent a very worried day deciding if I should fight or just back out. If I backed out, the worst that could happen was an explanation by the Head Master and a loss of a few points for the house, but I would escape being beaten to pulp. Weighing the two options, backing out seemed the better idea.

So, as soon as the classes were over I quietly slipped away, but with every step away from school, my legs got heavier and heart grew sadder. There was one word plastered across my mind: COWARD!!!

As luck would have it, 30 minutes later I found myself at the ringside, just in time for my fight. What happened after that was fast and dreamlike. Gloves were put on me and I was pushed into the ring. Each round was two minutes and there were to be three rounds. I started with a total loss of confidence but it was not that hard. The first round totally belonged to me. I had him counted out twice and I grew in confidence with every punch I threw, regardless of whether it hit the target or missed. I was so confident that in the break, I was restless and impatient to have a go again.

But, I had already committed the classic mistake of an amateur. I was all phased out and it didn’t take him long to floor me.

I think that it would have been a big mistake not to return to the ring that day. It does not really matter what others think of you, but if you cannot face yourself then the troubles begin. If I had not gone back that day, maybe I would have been running away every time I was against something tough, but going back taught me that its fighting that's important. You lose some and you win some, but try you must.