The friend I was supposed to go tomorrow to watch fight, a friend I had rallied other friends together to go cheer on and support, just suddenly called off his fight and quit boxing. He wrote on his Facebook page that there's no future to boxing and that he should have listened to those who told him that. My response, "You're such an ungrateful child". OK, so I didn't write that but I definitely blurted it out as did I also follow my comment with the shaking of my head and rolling of my eyes. After taking a bit of a breather, I wrote the following, "Boxing isn't what you do, it's a part of who you are and there will always be a future for you but there's never a future for negativity." However, instead of pressing enter and letting my comment be posted on his Facebook wall, I pressed backspace and deleted it all. I couldn't be bothered because this isn't the first time he's been, how can I say this politely, overly dramatic.
"Keep the drama on TV and your fights in the ring", something too often I find myself telling others.
I consider him ungrateful in that he initially started boxing when so many other friends of ours also did -- while doing hard time in the slammer. When times were tough and family wasn't even visiting him, it was Snickers, my Busan boxing buddy and several other friends of ours who were calling him out for training and mentoring him at the jail's boxing ring. Now that they've all finished their due time in jail and are out, many of them have continued on with their boxing, becoming champion boxers in the national and international level, and many of them have since created their own boxing clubs. This friend, the one who was supposed to fight today, has always remained in close contact with those he met in jail and has always been supported by them. I just don't understand why the sudden change in heart.
When I think of all that boxing has given me, my second family, traveling experiences, my husband, my new found career, and my boxing club, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that boxing has done really, really well for me. Even if I hadn't met Snickers via my boxing or if it hadn't let me to create a club with him, the friends and second family it has given me and the safe haven the boxing club has always been to me are enough for me to be overly thankful for. Everyday I wake up to Facebook status updates and messages from fellow female fighters and Korean fighters writing about their training, their fights, and their gratitude towards those who have supported them. It's a nice way to wake up, to such positivety within our boxing community. And via Facebook and my boxing, I have connected and communicated with so many boxers and aspiring boxers all over the world. They really inspire me and we feed off of each other's energy.
I don't understand the sudden change of his heart nor do I care to partake in any drama he's trying to lure us all in. To speak so strongly and sharply about something that so many of us close to him take so personally is rather insulting so he'll be very hard to find someone among us that will attend his pity party. He's definitely bit the hand that for so long has fed him.
You want to see whether or not there's a future in boxing, attend the Asian Games as I did today. I headed up to Incheon and watched 14 female amateur bouts. I saw amateur boxers from all over Asia, including two from North Korea. Judges from so many different countries as well as refs and spectators from all over the globe. The ratio of Koreans to non-Koreans was something crazy like 4:10. It was such an international event. I had people sitting around me speaking languages I could only guess to which country they originated from. As for the boxing stadium itself, it was so very impressive and the energy of the crowd couldn't help but make you feel excited about the match and cheer on the fighters. Two bouts that stood out from all others were that of Korea vs India and North Korea vs India. India had a massive amount of crowd goers today and with their flags waving and loud voices, they definitely dominated the crowd voices. Having studied Korean culture, I was overly distracted by two North Korean bouts. I had noticed a crowd of spectators across from me all wearing the same training track suits but it wasn't until they raised their North Korean flag that my eyes widened with extreme interest. The North Korean bout against India caused so much of an uproar that police came in and lined many of the isles which only added to the excitement of it all!
It was absolutely amazing, such a powerful-feeling to be there at that scene, sitting among many other athletes, boxing fans, and spectators, watching the bouts go on one after another. So as for if there's any future in boxing, some my say there isn't but today the only thing that mattered was what was going on right then and there. The anticipation of each bout, the opportunity and realization that it was anyone's bout until the bell rang, that's what mattered today.
The future is whatever you make it to be and that's the beauty of it all. And if my future in boxing is anything like the present and past I've already made for myself, than I am not worried at all. My Busan boxing buddy is very optimistic about my boxing future so today we talked. Almost every Saturday, like clockwork, at midnight he contacts me and we discus my boxing. Tonight we discussed the possibility of Thailand next month and came up with a two year plan. As for what is our two year plan, well I guess you'll have to meet up with me in the future to hear about that [wink, wink].
No comments:
Post a Comment