Confucius say "When it comes to life, hit it hard!"

Life lessons that you learn from boxing

Jovan Abernathy
Apr 24, 2019, 5:03 am

Jovan Abernathy is an international marathoner and owner of Houston Tourism Gym. To claim your free tour, contact her at info@tourismgymhtx.com

D'Marcus, my boxing trainer, has been teaching me many things. I'm not going to lie, boxing is hard to master. He is always reminding me about one of the late great Bruce Lee's sayings. "A punch is not just a punch until you figure out that a punch is just a punch." It seems like that makes no sense, but it does. Basically, in the beginning of the learning process of anything, it may look easy until you learn what's all involved. After practice, many mistakes, and finally mastery, it becomes second nature like a simple punch.

In this article, D'Marcus going to demonstrate the proper boxing stance and how to throw a jab. I'm going to apply it to the life lesson that I wanted to learn. You can apply these lessons in anything in life from your relationships to your finances and of course, boxing.


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Proper Boxing Stance and Taking Risks

Getting in position: Keep your back straight and your shoulders in a straight line across. Squat down about 50 degrees keeping an even center of gravity and stay in balance. Position your dominate hand in the lead and your weaker hand behind. Remember to keep your chin tucked down and your fists up to protect your face. Keep your elbows in to protect your body.

Life lesson: Before doing anything take a lot care to know your position. Take time to get your details straight and adopt a good routine to practice. Remember to stay balanced. It is oh too easy to just throw yourself in your project and never come up for air. This will burn you out quick. Play your strengths and be ready to recognize your weaknesses. Always protect yourself whether it is get some back up or not over extending yourself.


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How to Throw the Boxing Jab and How and When to Get Started

Now you ready to strike. Get into the proper boxing stance. When you strike, throw a straight and precise jab. Keep your fist balled up tight to ensure proper mechanics. Be sure to turn the fist over as you return back to stance. Be sure to breathe to get oxygen to the lungs between each strike. When striking make a complete, full arm extension and repeat.

Life Lesson: When you finally decide to get started with any venture, take all the things you have learned and practiced, then adopt it as a daily routine. When you are ready to act, pay attention to the details and plan carefully. When you execute and act, analyze what went well and what needs improvement. Make changes quickly. Always make sure you are taking care of your health with good diet and exercise. When you act, throw your all into it to get the best results.

I really wish I knew this 4 years ago when I started my business. I think I could have avoided having to learn so many lessons. Good thing I'm learning boxing now. Next time, we learn about uppercuts and crosses.

If you are interested in taking a class or personal training with D'Marcus at Title Boxing Club contact Jovan at info@tourismgymhtx.com

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Speedgolf: The new revolution to traditional golf

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Jovan Abernathy is an international marathoner and owner of Houston Tourism Gym. To claim your free tour, contact her at info@tourismgymhtx.com. Follow her on Twitter @jovanabernathy. Instagram @TourismGymHtx. Facebook @TourismGymHtx

So remember my first SportsMap article? Where I said that I met a pro golfer when I ran the Honolulu marathon? He was such a cutie. Of course, when I came back to Houston, I had to try my hand at golf. I was always intrigued by the sport. I had to give it a try.

I would go to Memorial Park and go to the range and whack some balls, but I could never get into it. There were three main reasons why.

It took too much time. I once clocked myself. It took 7 hours from start to finish to drive to the course, warmup, do a whole 18 holes, and of course have post food and drinks, and then drive back home.

It cost too much. I did some calculations. After everything, that's the green fees, cart rentals, buying and maintaining clubs, the bag, the balls, the glove, the shoes, stylinsh apparel, and of course lessons, and whatever else. It came out to $15,000 for a year.


David Harding from Oregon taking a swingAuthor's own


And it was kind of, well boring. You had to wait so long to get your turn. That was at least 4 of the 7 hours. I would get so antsy from standing still that long. Instead of relieving stress, it was causing stress. Instead of looking like Tiger Woods, I looked more like Charles Barkey.

At that time, I was running so many races that required a lot of time to train and lots of money. By the way, running allowed me to let my mind go because I was in constant movement. Then, I heard about this new thing (well new to me) called speedgolf. It seemed like the answer to my golf problems. Let me tell you about it.

Speedgolf is the funner, faster, and more fitness oriented format of the traditional game of golf. It was believed to be started in the 1970's in California when Steve Scott ran 18 holes in 29 minutes and 33 seconds holding only a 3-iron and finishing with 99 strokes. Basically, it is golf and running mixed. There's no golf cart. You are jogging to each hole as fast as you can. You carry one club or 4 clubs in a light weight golf bag.

I have to admit that I only have played one game of Speed golf. In that one game , I had more enjoyment that regular golf and it was really exciting. It took less time. I'm not even the fastest runner, but I finished 18 holes in half the time as a regular round of golf . Better than that....I burned 800 calories while I did it. The next day, I ran my regular route and I finished the 3-mile Memorial loop in 26 minutes instead of 29:30:00, so I got over 3 minutes faster.

The thing that really sold me is the imagination that Speedgolf sparks. The picturesque green is really inspiring. I hate getting up early to play, but I love seeing the dew dripping from the moss that is hanging from the trees. You can see the previous runners footprints in the dewy, manicured grass. I imagined myself at MacAllen Scotch Distillery in Ireland. See what I mean.

So, how do you play? So, basically, your score is comprised of your running time added with your number of strokes. So, if you had a count of 80 strokes and a running time of 60:00:00, you would then add them together. The strokes + time = Speedgolf score. So, 80 + 60:00:00 is 140. The lowest score wins. I highly recommend it. Be ready to get up early. Most golf courses want Speedgolfers to go first because they are faster than everybody else.

If you are a golfer looking to jazz it up, try Speedgolf. If you are a runner trying to mix it up, try Speedgolf. If you are looking for a cool sport to get into and you like taking pictures, get into Speedgolf. And if you want to save money, try Speedgolf. See you on the Green at the finish line!

To learn more about Speedgolf, visit SpeedGolfUSA or listen to Scott Dawley, founder of Speedgolf USA, on his podcast Pace of Change which can be downloaded from iTunes.

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