Downtown Boxing Club
Washington, D.C.
"One, two, three, four, five...," a voice called cadence as I climbed the metal staircase.� The echoes of my footfall on the steel was out of synch with the pace set by the voice.� It was slightly faster than I was taking the steps, and a whole lot faster than I really wanted to be moving at that moment, but climbing stairs fast is great conditioning.� Moments earlier, I had been buzzed into the building.� The staircase gave mute testament to the age of the building, one that is past its prime and is a candidate for the redevelopment.� But these old buildings have character, something that seems lacking in the stressed concrete and glass wall corporate canyons that landform our nation's capital.� On reaching the fourth floor, I opened the black door into the Downtown Boxing Club.� I was immediately greeted by Dave White, who asked me to wait until the class was finished in a few minutes.� The six club members in the ring had just completed the session-ending push-ups before starting the crunches.�
I wasn't sure what to expect.� I was in "the District" on a short-term assignment, away from my usual boxing haunt, the State Street Boxing Club on the west coast.�� My experience with gyms that have boxing, or purport to, taught me there's a lot of difference between the best and the worst and a whole lot in between.� Before going east, I had checked out Downtown's website and sent an email inquiry, which the trainer had promptly answered with an invitation to come by when I settled in. � A quick phone call earlier in the week resulted in clear instructions on how to get to the club--an easy trip on the Metro, the D.C. area's subway system.� In fact, the stop is Metro Center, convenient to all corners served by the system, from Maryland to Virginia.��
The gym is very functional.� Like most boxing clubs, the ring dominates the floor space and dictates the layout of the rest of the equipment-- three heavy bags and a double end bag.� A partition separates the changing area from the workout area.� On the periphery racks contain everything the boxers need, hands wraps, bag gloves, foul protectors, boxing shoes, head gear, and boxing gloves and jump ropes.� Everything you need to train is provided, except the mouthpiece.� All you need to do is how up and be willing to train.� Now, many clubs either make you buy your own gear or have gear that is so decrepit you would be afraid to use, so you buy your own anyway.� That is not the case here.� The equipment that I have seen is in good shape.��
| The routine at the Club starts with a series of warm-up activities.� The boxers run forward around the ring throwing punches, reverse direction, run backward, and then move laterally, slipping at each corner and reversing direction.� One round of shadow boxing follows.� During this time Dave sets up the videotape camera and dons the red "flack jacket"--a body shield much like a baseball umpire's chest protector.� The jacket allows the boxer to throw body shots as part of the combinations while working the punchmitts. | |
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Upon completion of the warm-up, the core of the workout begins.� Dave assigns each of the boxers to a station, big water bag, small water bag, double end bag, or large brown heavy bag.� Amazingly, he knows each person's name--a rare courtesy in some club's.�� One boxer joins Dave in the ring for one-on-one training on the focus pads.� The electronic bell sounds and the gym fills with the whap-whap-whap that indicates solid punches being landed on the bags. �� Hits on the heavy bag result in a sharp crack, impacts to the water bags more muffled.� Focusing on the bag work, the boxers pay little attention to the session in the ring.� At the thirty-second warning, the tempo increases.� Often in a close round, the aggressiveness shown by a competitor in the last thirty seconds makes a crucial impression on the judges.� And while many boxers in gyms never compete, we should always train with the same intensity as if the bout was next week.� It is also a matter of conditioning, no one wants to "crap out" in the last half minute of a round.
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During the one minute rest interval, water bottles provide hydration.� Dave reassigns stations.� Each boxer gets at least one round in the ring.� Sometimes two boxers may be assigned to either the large heavy bag or the large water bag.� This doubling up adds a new dimension to bag work. � Each of the two boxers must anticipate the location of the bag, be aware of the position of the other boxer, and move and hit accordingly, a good practice drill and a prelude for sparring.�
After each boxer has an individual session in the ring, the boxers are divided into groups to do a "flurry drill" on the bag. � In sequence, each boxer rapidly hits the bag for 5-, 10-, 15-, 10-, 5-second intervals as their group mates count time and call "switch" to mark the start of the next boxer's interval.� This sequence is repeated until the three minute round is completed.� I had not seen this technique used before, it seems to work very well. � Not only does the tactic condition the boxer to throw a flurry of punches, the practice seems to build a certain camaraderie among the Club's members.� They are an eclectic bunch, college students, attorneys, software developers, and government staffers, just to name a few.
At this point, the gloves and handwraps come off.� The "thump" of gloves against the bag is replaced by the snap of skipping rope for three rounds.� Nine minutes of simple-but-highly-effective cardiovascular exercise, punctuated by two one-minute rest periods.� Soon, the ropes are hung over the ring's turnbuckle.� The boxers enter the ring one more time for the final set of push ups, crunches, and stretching.� Dave makes sure everything is done right.� Then its over. In a little more than one hour, each boxer completed a safe, rigorous, balanced workout.�
Before leaving, the video of each boxer's ring session with the trainer is critiqued using the videotape.� Quality is good, but Dave has to remind some boxer to wear a light colored shirt for contrast so the movements are more apparent.� Its a good system.
I was impressed by what I saw.� I started working out at the Club the next morning.