Club Hopping: Inside the Ring
By Ken M.C.
November 15, 2009
I think we have all wondered what all those clubs are about. No, I don't mean Necto. I mean all those wonderful student clubs on campus. Perhaps you've had a chance to browse the clubs during Festifall, and when you got home had a mailbox full of "Mass Meeting" notifications. There are so many interesting clubs, but with classes, work and what little of a social life we are allotted, there is not much time for more than one or maybe two clubs in our student schedules. Well I've decided to find out what each and every one of those clubs are about. So follow me, as I become a member for a day of every student club on campus.
For my first experience I decided to step into the ring with the members of the Boxing Club. As I walked in to the second floor of the Coliseum, I was already behind. Boxing practice does not run on Michigan time, unfortunately. I was met by the aptly named president, Rocky, who handed me jump ropes and asked me to get started. Now, the last time I jump-roped was in 3rd grade when I tried to get Ashlee V.'s attention. Sadly, I have not improved since then, probably the reason why Ashlee never talked to me again. Rocky and the other member made it look effortless. As I caught my breath and looked over at the other fighters, all I could see and hear was a blurred circle around each fighter with a low humming and ticking of their feet as the rope bounced off the mat floor. After fifteen minutes, I could go a whole ten seconds without knocking myself off my feet. This warm up session got my heart pumping and I was ready for a bit of shadow boxing and pad work.
A boxer's most important tools are his hands, so I learned how to wrap them. Wrapping your hands is important to give your wrist support against buckling when you deliver that deadly one-two hit combo. Now, I always thought that throwing a punch was easy, but, then again, I've always seemed to talk my way out of a fistfight. There is a good reason why they call boxing the sweet science, because every move is systematically broken down. Rocky showed me that a fighter must be mindful of their moves, their opponent's moves, and the possible outcomes. After Rocky showed me the proper stance and throwing technique I started hitting the pads. I worked my jab for a while (by a while I mean 30 seconds of powder-puff punches.) Throwing effective jabs takes a lot more than a day's workout; these muscles are usually very underdeveloped in a normal person's arm. Naturally my sides and arms quickly felt like dead weight. As Rocky tended to some club logistics, I hit the heavy bag for a bit and practiced my stance, jabs, and punch combinations.
On a water break, Rocky told me that the club meets three times a week for two-hour training sessions. The coaches train the higher-ranking fighters and help prepare them for competitions. The mid-level fighters give the beginner fighters guidance. It ends up being a mentoring program of sorts, but the majority of the training is done on their own clock. The food-intake, running, and other workouts are all the responsibilities of the fighter. All in all, the club is a group of fighters who train together to improve their jabs, hooks, bob and weaves, or to begin building the skills necessary to step into the ring. I was surprised with the level of professionalism of every fighter who stepped into the ring, unleashed punches and received them, and shook hands and helped one another up.
After my workout session, I asked Rocky if he'd like to step into the ring and go for a round. He humbly accepted my request, and got his gear on. As we stood in our corners I, like Apollo Creed, rang the bell "ding ding" and headed in with fists cocked. Unfortunately, "Eye of the Tiger" did not play and we did not slow motion stop to a picturesque moment. Rocky thoroughly beat me letting out a snicker every time I swung and missed.
If you would like to join the boxing club, or have any more questions about the club, please contact Rocky Babcock at rbabco@umich.edu. If you have any suggestions for my next club stop, please send all e-mails to.
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