Downtown Boxing Club
Washington, D.C.
"One, two, three, four, five...," a voice called cadence as I climbed the metal staircase. The echoes of my footfall on the steel was out of synch with the pace set by the voice. It was slightly faster than I was taking the steps, and a whole lot faster than I really wanted to be moving at that moment, but climbing stairs fast is great conditioning. Moments earlier, I had been buzzed into the building. The staircase gave mute testament to the age of the building, one that is past its prime and is a candidate for the redevelopment. But these old buildings have character, something that seems lacking in the stressed concrete and glass wall corporate canyons that landform our nation's capital. On reaching the fourth floor, I opened the black door into the Downtown Boxing Club. I was immediately greeted by Dave White, who asked me to wait until the class was finished in a few minutes. The six club members in the ring had just completed the session-ending push-ups before starting the crunches.
I wasn't sure what to expect. I was in "the District" on a short-term assignment, away from my usual boxing haunt, the State Street Boxing Club on the west coast. My experience with gyms that have boxing, or purport to, taught me there's a lot of difference between the best and the worst and a whole lot in between. Before going east, I had checked out Downtown's website and sent an email inquiry, which the trainer had promptly answered with an invitation to come by when I settled in. A quick phone call earlier in the week resulted in clear instructions on how to get to the club--an easy trip on the Metro, the D.C. area's subway system. In fact, the stop is Metro Center, convenient to all corners served by the system, from Maryland to Virginia.
The gym is very functional. Like most boxing clubs, the ring dominates the floor space and dictates the layout of the rest of the equipment-- three heavy bags and a double end bag. A partition separates the changing area from the workout area. On the periphery racks contain everything the boxers need, hands wraps, bag gloves, foul protectors, boxing shoes, head gear, and boxing gloves and jump ropes. Everything you need to train is provided, except the mouthpiece. All you need to do is how up and be willing to train. Now, many clubs either make you buy your own gear or have gear that is so decrepit you would be afraid to use, so you buy your own anyway. That is not the case here. The equipment that I have seen is in good shape.
| The routine at the Club starts with a series of warm-up activities. The boxers run forward around the ring throwing punches, reverse direction, run backward, and then move laterally, slipping at each corner and reversing direction. One round of shadow boxing follows. During this time Dave sets up the videotape camera and dons the red "flack jacket"--a body shield much like a baseball umpire's chest protector. The jacket allows the boxer to throw body shots as part of the combinations while working the punchmitts. | |
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Upon completion of the warm-up, the core of the workout begins. Dave assigns each of the boxers to a station, big water bag, small water bag, double end bag, or large brown heavy bag. Amazingly, he knows each person's name--a rare courtesy in some club's. One boxer joins Dave in the ring for one-on-one training on the focus pads. The electronic bell sounds and the gym fills with the whap-whap-whap that indicates solid punches being landed on the bags. Hits on the heavy bag result in a sharp crack, impacts to the water bags more muffled. Focusing on the bag work, the boxers pay little attention to the session in the ring. At the thirty-second warning, the tempo increases. Often in a close round, the aggressiveness shown by a competitor in the last thirty seconds makes a crucial impression on the judges. And while many boxers in gyms never compete, we should always train with the same intensity as if the bout was next week. It is also a matter of conditioning, no one wants to "crap out" in the last half minute of a round.
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During the one minute rest interval, water bottles provide hydration. Dave reassigns stations. Each boxer gets at least one round in the ring. Sometimes two boxers may be assigned to either the large heavy bag or the large water bag. This doubling up adds a new dimension to bag work. Each of the two boxers must anticipate the location of the bag, be aware of the position of the other boxer, and move and hit accordingly, a good practice drill and a prelude for sparring.
After each boxer has an individual session in the ring, the boxers are divided into groups to do a "flurry drill" on the bag. In sequence, each boxer rapidly hits the bag for 5-, 10-, 15-, 10-, 5-second intervals as their group mates count time and call "switch" to mark the start of the next boxer's interval. This sequence is repeated until the three minute round is completed. I had not seen this technique used before, it seems to work very well. Not only does the tactic condition the boxer to throw a flurry of punches, the practice seems to build a certain camaraderie among the Club's members. They are an eclectic bunch, college students, attorneys, software developers, and government staffers, just to name a few.
At this point, the gloves and handwraps come off. The "thump" of gloves against the bag is replaced by the snap of skipping rope for three rounds. Nine minutes of simple-but-highly-effective cardiovascular exercise, punctuated by two one-minute rest periods. Soon, the ropes are hung over the ring's turnbuckle. The boxers enter the ring one more time for the final set of push ups, crunches, and stretching. Dave makes sure everything is done right. Then its over. In a little more than one hour, each boxer completed a safe, rigorous, balanced workout.
Before leaving, the video of each boxer's ring session with the trainer is critiqued using the videotape. Quality is good, but Dave has to remind some boxer to wear a light colored shirt for contrast so the movements are more apparent. Its a good system.
I was impressed by what I saw. I started working out at the Club the next morning.