HEALTHternative: Gay Boxing

Hit It Like a Man!
Well, Not That You're Not...
By E.O. Azucena

Gay Boxing

Arnel M. can still recall how his father, back in the 1980s, made him box. “It was a man’s sport – the manliest, my father said, there ever is. And if I wanted to be a man, a real man, I had to learn how to box,” he says. Not that he had a choice, actually, since “we breathed boxing for a while there – it was in TV all day, especially on weekends, and the only way to get away from it was to leave the house, though the only time that’s allowed was to go to the boxing ring. So I did.”

Not that, in hindsight, Arnel M. regrets forcefully learning how to box, as it, truly, served me well,” he says, adding while laughing: “When I was 12, 13 years old, when I started to realize I’m gay, no one dared tease me else expect to get a punch in the face from me.”

This, of course, is an incidental, even funny, benefit of boxing, which Arnel M. says is worth picking up as a sport. “And that’s coming from someone who abhors any form of violence, take note,” he says.

In The Art of Boxing, David Robson (bodybuilding.com) notes that “one of the world’s oldest, and most celebrated sports, boxing, has proven to be popular among many people.” And sans the need to earn, and have a face as many times hit as Manny Pacquiao, this is understandable “for a variety of reasons (as it) provides many benefits, (just as it does) challenges.”

For Robson, the benefits include:

Availing of the “ultimate workout.” “The typical boxing training session stimulates all muscle groups, and provides the perfect combination of aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (short-burst, without oxygen) exercise. Indeed, the boxers' workout is guaranteed to get anyone into the best shape of their lives, (since in order) to perfect the basic boxing skills while developing the stamina to survive three, three-minute rounds of sparing (actual fighting in a controlled gym-setting to prepare for the real thing), one needs to be supremely conditioned and strong enough to throw powerful punches from round one through to three.”

Better yet, Robson adds: “The boxing workout improves every type of physical capacity: strength, power, coordination, aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, and endurance. Exercises that are emphasized include, heavy bag, speed-ball spring-ball and medicine-ball work, skipping, running, weight-training (calisthenics mainly), and wind-sprints. Exercises are shortened and combined to form a circuit or performed independently over a longer period. In short, boxing improves ones reflexes, endurance, flexibility, coordination, speed, power and cardiovascular fitness.”

Adds Danial Dawood in EzineArticles.com: “Whenever you commit to an hour of cardio kick boxing workouts, about 350 to 500 calories are burnt, so you enjoy more benefits aside from the physical aspects. Another thing to take note is that your heart rate can achieve 75% to 85% of regular heart beat, and this is in the zone of recommended range during training any exercise period.” Thus, “this is the ultimate way for you to achieve a tougher body (with) some positive results that many people can see after a few sessions of boxing training includes a strengthened and more defined arms and legs.”

Now looking buffed, it helps, too, that boxing can be a great stress reliever.

There’s the “combination of strength training and aerobic work that provides the best of both worlds in terms of feeling a muscular pump and stimulating the cardiovascular system, both of which enhance psychological well-being. After a hard day, hitting the heavy bag for five to six rounds serves as a tremendous stress release. Boxing (particularly concentrating on the focus mitts) enhances the ability to relax, which helps one to keep calm and poised under pressure. In this sense, boxing might help one to manage their life more efficiently,” Robson says.

Adds Dawood: “Stress can be greatly reduced from your everyday life and you will feel a sense of relief. With stress minimized, you will be able to eliminate any feeling of anger that is within you. You might remember an experience where you are very relaxed and free from stress or anger like on a vacation or a simple walk at the beach. Without such negative elements, your body will feel light and somehow you get the peace of mind you had been longing for.”

Arnel M. puts it in simpler terms. “Try hitting something when you’re angry, or even just stressed, and see how immediate the relief comes,” he laughs.

And then there’s the boost in confidence.

“Possessing the skills to look after oneself gives a significant amount of confidence. Contrary to popular belief, boxers typically do not seek confrontation as their skills, and confidence, convey an inward belief that there is nothing to prove – and if one has nothing to prove they will be less compelled to prove it,” Robson says. “However, if the boxer needs to protect themselves in a self-defense situation, they will be more adept at finishing things quickly and cleanly, due to heightened confidence levels and skill. And when one is confident of their ability to defend themselves physically, this often translates to a psychological benefit of self-contentment and peace of mind.”

“There are, indeed, other benefits of boxing or kickboxing beside the physical aspects. At the same time you will learn skills in self-defense which you may call upon in an unwanted situations. The feeling of satisfaction and achievement can be felt whenever you execute a proper punch or kick. Some people will take it as a form of relaxation and to nurture a character of self-motivation,” Dawood seconds.

As for Arnel M., “Hey, men say I fight like a man even if they expect me to be girlier just because I’m gay. Because they don’t know much about gender identification and such, I guess I should just take that as a compliment. I am, in their eyes, as good as the best of them, and that’s confidence-boosting,” he says.

The best way to start boxing is visiting a gym – e.g. in Libis in Quezon City is the Red Corner Fitness and Boxing Club, which has sessions that cost from P2,000 per month to P15,000 annually (full membership), or just P500 per session (non-member). It also rents and sells equipment (e.g. boxing gloves and wraps).

Still not into “physical sports – all that sweaty hugging and hitting and grinding and whispering in the ears outside the bedroom is too homoerotic to be done in public for me,” laughs Arnel M., who nonetheless recommends boxing. “You don’t have to pick fights, you know. But knowing that if and/or when it happens – and we’re gay, it could happen sooner – you can come out of it okay, that helps a lot. But don’t just take it from me, try it out yourself.”