The Heart of a Boxer

Pop pop pop! Pop pop pop. The sound of gloves smashing into the heavy bag is one of the most soothing sounds for me. I love the atmosphere of a dojo or martial arts gym; there is no other environment like it. There is a reason for that; it’s a space with so much heart in it. There is no other environment that is based on pure heart and soul. It’s the kind of sport that shows you what you are truly made of whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Training in boxing has broken me multiple times as I learned how to be better and stronger. You break mentally and physically and then you are built up to be even better than you were before.

I got into the sport completely by accident. I started training with a personal trainer to build muscle and he just so happened to be working in a dojo. One day, he suggested that I try kickboxing as a form of cardio since we were working on that as well. I figured, why the hell not, right? I was a Van Damme fan and I already had a bit of a violent streak so it would help with my aggressive nature. As soon as he started to teach me some techniques, I was instantly in love. There is nothing more empowering than learning to kickbox. The reason for that is, it’s a really tough workout and you end up with some badass skills. The stronger I was getting, combined with the new skills I was learning I instantly knew that I would never walk away from it. The first time that I hit that bag with my gloves, I thought, “Holy Sh*t! How cool is this?” It only got better from there as I learned different techniques and grew stronger. It’s the best possible stress reliever that I’ve come across, not to mention I’ve discovered that I’m one badass little Viking when it comes to my training.

The one thing that I learned about boxing is that you need to have heart if you are going to be a fighter. I never got to the point where I did an actual fight, but I sure wanted to. I live in a city where I am surrounded by some serious talent when it comes to MMA, and these are some of my friends. They are some of the most passionate and hard-working people that I have ever met. When I watch them fight, all I see is that thumping, beating heart that they have. You couldn’t possibly survive in the industry without heart because that passion for winning, for building a career with your fists, is based solely on a dream. I hold a lot of respect for the men and women who have decided to step in the ring because they are bringing in their whole heart with them and putting everything on the line and that takes a lot of courage.

It’s a sport that I would recommend everyone to try out because it makes you feel so powerful and you get to show your heart in a whole new way.