As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Blood Thicker than Water? Not in Korea... Thursday, May 2


That moment when I could only wish it were physically possibly for me to reach through my phone and upper cut someone for seriously texting me, “Are you working?”  Am I working?!  Tell me you didn’t just ask me that.  I may seriously have to throw you a one-two-hook then bill you for my professional fees and slap on a monthly membership fee or day pass fee just because.  [Enter the need for a sarcastic font here.]

I think the more appropriate question is “When are you NOT working?”

Whether it’s doing renovations at the boxing club, flying around doing errands or meetings with contracted work crews, I feel like I am always working.  Am definitely not complaining but I know, I am always working.  It’s so overly apparent to us now, both Snickers and I, that it’d be impossible for us to be married to anyone else but each other.  We eat, sleep and breathe Hulk’s.  Our late night pillow talk revolves around it, our days surely focus solely on it, and I wake up to Snickers kissing me, greeting me with a “Good morning Coach Amy!” and then telling me to hurry up we have to go to Hulk's.

It’s been really interesting to note the amazing support we’ve been getting from local business, the community, and friends – friends both in and out of country.  As for family though, that’s a whole other issue.  I don’t even know if my two brothers – one in Canada and the other in the States – know we’re making a boxing club come to think of it.  I haven’t talked to one of my brother’s since an argument we had over my mother’s death bed, so this summer it will be two years since I last talked to him.  My other brother is just so completely busy with his family of four – wife and three little ladies -- plus he’s a country man so he’s not all down with Facebook and emailing.  My father has been really supportive of our boxing club and always mentions that he still can’t believe we’re doing this.  “You’re always up to something.  Always taking on something new!” he continually tells me and it’s true.  I’m not one to accept being bored or sticking to what’s expected.  Many of my relatives, like my cousins, have also expressed their support to us via Facebook messages and I’m grateful for that.  One of my cousins is married to a guy that has his own comic shop so it’s been awesome to pick his brain and bounce ideas with him concerning the Hulk.

As for Snickers’ family, basically it’s just been his father K-Gere and his cousin Brooklyn that have been supporting us.  His mother gave us a small loan and we’re grateful but beyond that she’s never asked us about Hulk’s.  Perhaps that’s why we haven’t visited her or Snickers’ sisters since maybe mid January.  They live about ten minutes from our house, over in Ssangyong-Dong, so it’s really no excuse why they haven’t come to see our club yet.  As for K-Gere and Brooklyn though, talk about AMAZING support!!!  K-Gere (Snickers’ father) has been faithfully coming every single day for the probably the past month and a half at least, working hard with us on renovations.  He did the entire plumbing for both our bathroom and shower room which was by no means an easy job considering all the toilets and showers it meant he had to install and deal with.  And as for Brooklyn, he’s Snickers’ cousin who lives about 2.5hrs away.  He makes the drive out to Cheonan to help us with our electrical wiring and computer setup after already pulling a full day at his work.  He usually shows up around 9pm and then leaves around 3am.  The other day he stayed so late that he had no choice but to drive straight to work when he left – now that’s hardcore awesomeness!!! 

Perhaps this is why I am SO set on trying to make Hulk’s Boxing more like a community and less of just a place to train.  I mean, I have family but my family isn’t in Korea and the family that is here really isn’t.  I’ve decided that I can’t get hung up on it so on that note my family is the family I pick for myself.  And if that means we have no shared last name and no blood connection then so be it.  Like I told Snickers, “We have sweat connections”, and perhaps that makes this water thicker than blood.  

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