Day 31: Intro to Boxing
Right before my alarm went off this morning I was up and in the medicine cabinet trying to handle a migraine. Admittedly I haven’t been great about staying hydrated the last few days, I went to bed with a mild headache last night and sometime between 3 and 4am it turned into a full blown migraine. I took some migraine medicine and drank some water with celtic sea salt in it for electrolytes and went back to bed until nearly 9am. My head is still sore in the way that only a migraine can leave it, but the majority of my migraine is gone.
I decided that Mindstilling had to come first today, and I did my breathing exercises while doing some gentle neck and shoulder stretches to relieve some of the tension that lingered there. When I felt my head empty and steady, I moved into Shoulder Mobility- which was just perfect considering how much tension was around my neck and shoulders from the migraine. Getting the blood flowing properly through those muscles helped to alleviate the last vestiges of discomfort.
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Truly I was super excited for today so I was glad that I was able to get rid of my migraine relatively easily, because today is Boxing Drills. I mentioned yesterday how much I wanted to get into Blade because of the boxing drills, for me that kind of work is so empowering. I’ve never felt so powerful as I do when I’m shadow boxing or beating the crap out of a punching bag. My head empties out, my muscles on fire, my breath lining up with each swing and hit, and the impact reverberating down my limbs just keeps me going. Those are the things I remember from kickboxing, even after all these years.
I spent a good 15 minutes reviewing the Strike Form videos to make sure I was doing everything right, and then I moved into Drills. The first video taught a Jab, Cross, Jab sequence, the familiarity flooding back to me from years ago. Sam mentioned the importance of pivoting the feet with each move, and it took me a few tries to get everything moving in time together. Once I got the timing of each movement right I spent about 7 or 8 minutes just shadow boxing in the rhythm I’d found. The next phase was Hook, Upper Cut, Hook, and it took me even longer to get into a good rhythm with these. I kept losing my balance every other hook, and it kept throwing off the timing of the upper cut. My feet weren’t moving right and I got frustrated. I shook my arms out and did a quick round of Mindstilling breaths, 6 deep breaths in and out nice and slow, and got back into the Hooks and Upper Cuts. I spent a little longer on these and moved more slowly instead of throwing my weight into them, and it cleaned up the rhythm enough that I could get my feet to turn properly, I wasn’t losing my balance anymore, and I felt that focus fall over me that I was looking for.
Next video was all about footwork, and pivoting your feet to change the direction of your body, as if you were taking on multiple opponents. This felt so much like dancing and my awkward and uncoordinated self was definitely not gliding anywhere, if anything I felt like I was going to trip over my own feet. I spent 15 minutes on this video, playing it twice, so I could try and get the foot work down and then add in the punching sequence. I was still feeling a little frustrated at the end of the 2nd viewing of the video, but I had already improved a little. Reminding myself that I still had time to learn these things, and there was no rush, I moved onto the next video.
Step, Jab, Step, Jab. And then, Two steps, Jab, Two steps, Jab. These were easier and I felt more grounded. I did these for the duration of the video, plus 5 extra minutes to work through the frustration I was feeling from the last video.
Jab, Step, Step, Cross, Pivot back. This one took an extra minute to coordinate, but I picked it up easily. At this point in the drills, I was really feeling it coming back to me. I was in the zone, focused, and zeroed in on my imaginary target. Each jab in time with my exhale, each step in time with the movements of my upper body.
Jab, Step, Cross, Pivot, Cross, Hook, Reach and Knee Drive. This one felt like an attack sequence that I’ve dreamed about, while reading and while daydreaming. Yes, I’ve daydreamed about getting into hand to hand combat, and learning this sequence was like living those daydreams. I took my time to get it down, and it only took 2 practice rounds of doing it slow before I figured it out. I repeated it over and over again, working myself up into a sweat, and zoned in. My head emptied out and I kept going long after the video ended. I don’t know how long I repeated these, but it felt damn good.
The final Boxing Drill video was the 4 Points, unlike in ACOSF, which has 8 points. Sam simplified it for us so we could learn it more easily. North, South, East, and West, pivoting directions on the back foot to work in a circle. “Killer,” by Valerie Brousard was playing in the background, and as Sam pointed out the directions to us the chorus lit up with “I am a Killer Too,” and it just kept echoing in my head. That might seem like a dark train of thought to have, but to be a Valkyrie is to be vicious, to be tough, strong, and a force to be reckoned with. To embody the Valkyrie is to embody that mental and physical toughness, and my heart beat danced with this tune as I learned the movements of the 4 points.
When I finished Drills I was so empowered. I stretched and shook out my arms and took a few more minutes to practice some Mindstilling, breathing deeply and feeling the ache in my body, recognizing it for what it is: Progress, Power, Strength, and Warrior Queen, Goddess energy pumping through my veins. As I stood there on my mat, breathing and drills complete for the day, I felt like I finally aligned with a purpose. I’ve always been a fighter, but a fighter without the tools. Now that I have them, I feel crazed with the knowledge and power that they give me.
I took Yrsa for her walk, and we walked all 6 laps with vigor, an extra energy coursing through me powering us to walk faster than we have before. My whole body was humming and alive and I held my head high. It seems silly in retrospect now, because I walked around the block, but I walked like a Queen to her throne. I still feel it. Who knew throwing a few punches could carry that kind of magic?
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