Boxing: A Life Lesson

Ana Castellanos travels to West Ham boxing club to discover just how much boxing can help young people with their personal lives.

Boxing has always been one of the most respected and participated sports in the world. But there has been a boom in recent years with younger people starting to practice the sport as a way of disconnecting from the stresses of everyday life.

Last Friday Rising East went with George Kalostypis – an Aerospace Engineering student from Queen Mary University- to one of his training sessions at the West Ham Boys Club Boxing Academy, where students of all different London universities go twice a week to enjoy this sport, and ‘kick and punch a little bit’.

“I started kick-boxing a few years ago, and when I discovered this club, I got so excited. I love boxing.” West Ham Boxing Club is a place where men and women work together and have fun doing what they love. On the same day, Farah Vallimamode, a French Queen Mary student and George’s friend that comes every Friday to the club said she benefitted from being able to ‘release myself from the stress of the week.’

Classes

Farah is in her third year of university and she studies Mathematics, Statistics and Financial economics. She started going to boxing classes in October of 2015 . “At the beginning I started playing basketball, but it just wasn’t my sport. I didn’t enjoy playing, I didn’t feel good and I decided to give boxing a try.”

The reasons why Farah chose boxing were varied. “Sincerely, at the beginning I chose this sport because it was trendy. Everyone were talking about it, models, celebrities… everyone was practicing boxing, and I thought ‘why not?’ After one lesson I understood why everyone went crazy with this sport. I [find it] funny and so challenging!”

Farah made it clear that boxing is perfect for those who don’t like working out or can’t find their ideal sport. Doing boxing helps you exercise your body and while also having a good time it releases all the negative vibes, making yourself feel good physically and mentally. “It’s incredible how good you can feel after just one or two hours of boxing. It is a fight against your bad and negative thoughts. My favourite exercise is punching the bag.”

Cheering

The club’s facilities are quite humble, but they have all they need to make complete training sessions and boxing matches; two rings, different kind of boxing bags, ropes, gloves and coaches that are very devoted to the club and motivate everyone to be better every time. “Our coaches never stop cheering us up, pushing us to be stronger and reach our aims,” says Farah.

They usually train on Wednesday and Friday, between four and six hours per week, but every student can decide how many times a week or hours he or she wants to train, having the possibility of putting their studies first.

The goal of this club is to encourage people to feel strong in every way, but at the same time, to know how to control themselves and how to use the strength to deal with normal problems such as stress, anxiety, concerns, anger or burden.

Energy

“They (the coaches) are doing a great job with us. We feel so full of energy, we come here wanting to fight and we leave the class having found peace in our minds; and after a whole week with exams and assignments that is what we really need.”

Farah is graduating this year, but she knows for sure that boxing is not over for her: “I will continue with this sport, it became part of my life and a way of thinking more positive and healthier”.

 

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