Sparring Mamaya

Sparring match mamayang gabi.. and the excitement builds up.

Last night, pag-uwi ko ng condo.. I immediately changed clothes to start shadow boxing. Sa loob lang din ng room ko.

After stretching nung mga buto at kalamnan ko sa paa at braso..

Nilagay ko yung cellphone ko sa taas ng double deck to check yung time ko per round. Tapos nagsimula na kong mag-shadow box.

Nakatapos ako ng apat na rounds, tapos pawis na pawis ako.

I practiced a lot yung mas mabilis at step-in na jab.

Pati yung position ng paa ko para mas madali makarecover after combinations.

Syempre, yung hands-up defensive position para nde ko matamaan ng solid sa mukha. Yung combinations ko, with emphasis sa kaliwang kamay (Right handed ako) at yung upper cuts. Lastly, tinitingnan ko kung tatagal yung stamina ko for four full rounds na straight.

Yung cooldown ko, NBA 2k9 playing my second season with the Boston Celtics.

I won three games bago ko nakatulog.

Maaga ko nagising ngayong umaga.

I hope I’m ready for tonight’s battle. 

Boxing and Dancing

jab, jab, straight, left hook, right upper 

(side step)

right upper 

(step back)

jab, straight, left upper

someone said that boxing is like dancing.. it's pretty much based on rhythm...

dancing while you fight.. eh?

so are you brave enough to dance while someone's trying to punch you in the face?

going into my 6th sparring match on March 12.. my thoughts are like..

nde na nga ako marunong magsayaw..

paano pa ko makakapagsayaw kung gusto pa kong sapakin nung kalaban ko?

What's Next?

Ok. Mabilis lang. 

Minsan, you feel high and content and you were able to achieve something.

Like what?

Like finally having a very nice girlfriend. Achievement ko yun ha. And proud of her.

Like finally being able to box and fight the right way. When trainers start to appreciate that you've got some skills.

After paglaruan ka in a sparring match at masuntok flush in the face and not knowing how to fight back, it's a great achievement.

Like being promoted as an employee. After working for almost five years, all those over time hours. It feels nice to be appreciated once in a while.

Like knowing that within this month and in April, my brother and my sister will be graduating from school. It feels great to be a Kuya to help and guide them to reach their own dreams.

And then what?

I know na hindi lang Mount Apo ang meron sa Pilipinas.

At nde lang Pilipinas ang bansa na may bundok.

What's the point really?

Well, it's such a nice feeling to reach the top. Like achieving something once in a while.

But it really doesn't and shouldn't end there.

Ok, I might have reached the summit of Mount Apo (which I haven't), but it doesn't end there.

After I got the promotion, the following days, I felt lazy. It must have gotten to my head.

After I trained and fought hard and great on my fourth and fifth sparring matches, I was back to my lazy ass on the following training day. 

After knowing that my brother and sister will soon finish their school years, I began to doubt what is my purpose and sense of being after that.

 

Marami pang challenges ahead. As I've said, "Hindi lang Mount Apo ang meron sa Pilipinas".

It's climbing down that top of Apo for me at this stage. Rest and celebrate for a while.

But not for too long, the next Mountain top is just on the horizon.

That's next.