THE BOXING GYM : aAa LAn-gVage yU D0N't _VnDer$T>nD <<< YeT. (+028)

Interpreting the language of a boxing gym. And the hidden invitation to play. DRFT.1

1.  Metal wires breaking the air like ghosts whispering

Contrast the sound of precision with blunt force trauma.

Hard packing.

Grunting.

Sweat.

Bodies bouncing around the room navigating invisible opponents. Anticipating. Imagining.

You have to have a good imagination to do this. You have to be able to really visualize. You have to believe.

Moving configurations of heads, shoulders, torsos, arms, fists. Stances. Poses.

Chambering. Exploding. Rechambering.

Believe.

Not unlike dancing.

“You ever just put on music and dance?”

no, actually. not really.

vocalizing the punch.

ISSS ISSS ISSS

HYAAA HYAAA

OOOO OOOO

Other primitive stemming.

Rubber teeth.

Clenched Jaws.

An electric bell ringing. Beeping. Stop. Start. Survive.

tick tick tick

Ding ding ding. 

Weird medieval looking contraptions that are dedicated to the skill of getting or not getting your teeth knocked in.

Big bags. Small bags. Swinging things. Light Bags suspended by two bands that are impossible to hit more than once.

the speed of everything here.

Who knows why they do what they do, why they go this way or that.

The unforgiving reality of being too slow.

Have you even throw a single punch?

think of one time. A grown man that can’t throw a single punch.

They speak a language you don’t understand.

And you’re just trying to interpret the signs.

You’re just spying. Pretending really. Acting natural. Trying not to draw too much or too little attention to yourself.

It’s like a secret they have.

What they’re doing and why they’re doing it.

How they move.

The steps to a dance you wouldn’t dare…

Have you ever?

Never have I ever…

They’re not going to show you

You have to ask.

They’re not going to go out of their way for you.

This is kind of pure. Like being dropped on a new planet.

You walk up to one of them in between the sound of the buzzer.

“When you hit the bag, what are you thinking about / focusing on ?”

Each person points out something different.

Shows you a combo.

Says hit and don’t be hit.

Says move your head.

Shows you how your momentum from each punch moves you in position for the next punch. Chambering. Pivoting. Rolling. Rolling. Rolling.

Hook like this, not like this.

You’re interpreting one letter at a time.

He said “I used to dream about this punch right here. Right here. Like this. Bang. Literally at night I would think about this hook again and again until I got it right. I would have visions. Nightmares really. About this punch. This punch right here. Like this, not like this. “

Punch higher.

Tuck your chin.

Not too much.

Move your feet. Don’t just stand still. They’re not just gonna stand still in THAT ring. They indicate the stage.

god look at it it’s the goddam chopping block

Bags don’t punch back.

MOVE YOUR HEAD.

You either have it or you don’t.

Etc.

The Big guy working next to you, his punch on the bag is like a professional drummer, and you’re still on your introductory music lesson. You’re still learning the names of things. Not just the power of the punches, but the rhythm, and the confidence, and the horrible packing sounds.

And the way that the bag just folds and flops from his bludgeoning like it’s about to scream uncle at any moment.

You visualize the bag as your dead body when these guys club you to death.

I used to dream about breaking a man.

These people speak a language you don’t understand yet.

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2. The Crossroads.

The gym is right on the train tracks. At a crossing. At a decision point. The metaphors.