In his song, Stronger, Kanye West says “50 told me, ‘Go ‘head switch the style up and if they hate then let ‘em hate and watch the money pile up.’” Only, when I switched the style up this weekend in my boxing match, that just didn’t happen.
In my past few fights, I played the counter-puncher (my most natural way of fighting); I would pick my shots and make them count. As that hadn’t been working for me lately, I decided to switch it up a little bit, and in my provincial title bout this weekend, I let it all hang out. I threw indiscriminate combinations, punches in bunches – to the body, to the head, and back again. I threw more punches than I’ve ever thrown in a boxing match before. My opponent did the opposite. He did what I used to do. He waited for me to finish punching, and then threw one to two hard shots.
At the end of the first round I was surprised but satisfied with my 6-4 lead. By round two, I couldn’t believe that I was only up by one point (14-13), but in the third round, when my second showed me the score 24-16 in favour of the other guy, I nearly walked out of the ring. There must be some mistake, I thought. Maybe they got the red and blue corners mixed up. Maybe it’s a misprint.
It wasn’t. In the fourth and final round I was sure to go out in style, so I punched until I couldn’t punch anymore. I punched myself out, and by the final bell, I doubt that I could have mustered even one more blow. That round, I felt as if my opponent didn’t throw a single punch. But he won.
I’ve seen bad decisions before. Heck, I’ve even been on the good end of some bad decisions before, but this one was a farce. On any other day, I might not have cared either, but this was provincials. Provincials lead to Nationals. And this year, Nationals lead to the Olympics.
I went to the judges after the fight for answers. Most said the same thing – I wasted too many punches on the guy’s arms. Great. Last fight, I was told to be busier, to throw even if the punches wouldn’t land, to be the aggressor.
Frustrations aside, my focus is clear now. Under the guidelines of the provincial governing body, I’ve put in a challenge against my opponent for the provincial team spot. We fight November 3rd in Regina; it becomes a best of three.
“And I want everybody to tell all they aunts and all they uncles: get to they TV, get to they radio set, ‘cuz I have never wanted to whoop a man so bad!”
- Khodi
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
"What a Zin..."
Well, I guess the Saskatchewan vs. China wasn’t “sure” to be anything. As you probably know, the event was cancelled. Interestingly, word has it that the Chinese government withdrew endorsement of the trip after a large group of their athletes decided to defect last month after visiting Canada.
The cancellation means I will have no tune-up fight before provincials, but all is well anyhow. Now, I get to focus on just enjoying David and Megan’s wedding this weekend and all of the fun that the event will bring. Also, Carly’s been gone down to Regina for a full two days! So I’m getting anxious to see her again.
Life has been good as usual in Toon Town. Last weekend, we actually mustered the energy and organization to have a garage sale. Well, people were trying to break down our doors on the opening day, and our entire advertising effort consisted of a giant neon sign on the Jeep out front (thanks, Dad, for that gem of an idea). It pays to live on a busy street, as we had a steady stream of customers on a freezing cold Saturday. We sold our couch, our old TV, clothes, books, towels, dishes, appliances, etc.
But that’s not all. We also sold some items that we never thought would sell in a million years. In fact, we placed them out as jokes more than anything. One of the items was a half-empty bag of terrarium woodchips. I thought Carly was insane when she priced it at 50 cents and laid it out. I’ll be damned if it wasn’t among the first items to go. Other sales of note include a sweaty old pair of boxing hand-wraps that were ready for the dump (although, to be fair, those were placed in the “free” box). Still, I sure surprised Carly when someone decided they were worth taking.
That was our weekend. On Saturday we froze but made a killing, and on Sunday, we were a bit more comfortable but had a slower day. By the time we closed the big steel door on Sunday, we had made almost $400, and could easily park both vehicles in the garage (an improvement, no doubt, from the zero vehicle capacity prior).
Carly and I have also been “church shopping” up here. So far, we’ve spent two Sundays at the big Circle Drive Alliance church with our friends Dave and Cesia. We do like it there, but have resolved to keep shopping around. Here’s to hoping we can keep this up; it sure feels good to have a reason to get up before noon on Sundays.
In other news, I’m now sitting at a steady 135 pounds, so I’ve three more to go before provincials on the 13th and 14th of this month. I’ll need to keep it up for the following weekend as well as I’ll be going to the Western Canadian championships in BC. No doubt, I hope to get an invitation to Nationals in November as this is an Olympic qualifying year (a guy can dream, right?).
One last note: the thank you cards are coming! If you haven’t received yours already, please be patient as they will all be sent out in the coming week. Carly and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to you all. Thank you so much for being a part of our big day and for your generosity at our wedding. We were truly humbled by it. Love to all.
Much love especially to David and Megan, my brother-in-law and his bride-to-be! It all happens this weekend! So let the good times roll, 'cause love is in the air!
- Khodi
Recommended wine of the day: Dancing Bull Zinfandel (Sonoma, California). 3.5 stars from both of us. Full-bodied and bold, with a spicy finish.
The cancellation means I will have no tune-up fight before provincials, but all is well anyhow. Now, I get to focus on just enjoying David and Megan’s wedding this weekend and all of the fun that the event will bring. Also, Carly’s been gone down to Regina for a full two days! So I’m getting anxious to see her again.
Life has been good as usual in Toon Town. Last weekend, we actually mustered the energy and organization to have a garage sale. Well, people were trying to break down our doors on the opening day, and our entire advertising effort consisted of a giant neon sign on the Jeep out front (thanks, Dad, for that gem of an idea). It pays to live on a busy street, as we had a steady stream of customers on a freezing cold Saturday. We sold our couch, our old TV, clothes, books, towels, dishes, appliances, etc.
But that’s not all. We also sold some items that we never thought would sell in a million years. In fact, we placed them out as jokes more than anything. One of the items was a half-empty bag of terrarium woodchips. I thought Carly was insane when she priced it at 50 cents and laid it out. I’ll be damned if it wasn’t among the first items to go. Other sales of note include a sweaty old pair of boxing hand-wraps that were ready for the dump (although, to be fair, those were placed in the “free” box). Still, I sure surprised Carly when someone decided they were worth taking.
That was our weekend. On Saturday we froze but made a killing, and on Sunday, we were a bit more comfortable but had a slower day. By the time we closed the big steel door on Sunday, we had made almost $400, and could easily park both vehicles in the garage (an improvement, no doubt, from the zero vehicle capacity prior).
Carly and I have also been “church shopping” up here. So far, we’ve spent two Sundays at the big Circle Drive Alliance church with our friends Dave and Cesia. We do like it there, but have resolved to keep shopping around. Here’s to hoping we can keep this up; it sure feels good to have a reason to get up before noon on Sundays.
In other news, I’m now sitting at a steady 135 pounds, so I’ve three more to go before provincials on the 13th and 14th of this month. I’ll need to keep it up for the following weekend as well as I’ll be going to the Western Canadian championships in BC. No doubt, I hope to get an invitation to Nationals in November as this is an Olympic qualifying year (a guy can dream, right?).
One last note: the thank you cards are coming! If you haven’t received yours already, please be patient as they will all be sent out in the coming week. Carly and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to you all. Thank you so much for being a part of our big day and for your generosity at our wedding. We were truly humbled by it. Love to all.
Much love especially to David and Megan, my brother-in-law and his bride-to-be! It all happens this weekend! So let the good times roll, 'cause love is in the air!
- Khodi
Recommended wine of the day: Dancing Bull Zinfandel (Sonoma, California). 3.5 stars from both of us. Full-bodied and bold, with a spicy finish.
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