There’s this woman who comes to boxing class a few times a week, and I’m not sure, but I think she knows someone at the gym, like maybe the owner. I get the feeling she has an ‘in’ somewhere. She is very loud and cackly, and she frequently takes it upon herself to instruct other people on what they are doing wrong, whether or not they have asked her.
I find this to be inordinately annoying. The first time I was paired with her during some drills, she immediately started giving me unsolicited critique: ”You’re leaning over too much when you dip.” I looked at her a beat. Uh-huh. Right, lady. I continued working the mitts, without responding to her, trying to blanket her with my cold disdain. I guess my disdain is not as gripping to others as it is to me, because she just kept on yapping. Whatevs. I began avoiding her whenever she showed up for class. I also began to wonder: is there something written on my forehead that says, “Hey! Boss me! Go on! I won’t know how to shit straight if someone doesn’t come over here and BOSS ME!”
Then last night, she caught me, and asked me to be her partner. Oh, fuckity fuck. GREAT. More cackly critique from crazy cackly lady. I walked over and got the mitts with what I felt to be a friendly yet distant manner which invited no extraneous interaction: just shut up and throw the combination, ya loud-mouthed behemoth. Which she did. No extra oxygen when you’re working to finish the bell.
Then when it was my turn to throw, of course, she starts right in: ”Your elbow is out too far on your hook. Tighten it up.” I looked at her, wondering if this was one of those times when I need to learn to stand up for myself, speak my mind, not be cowed into silence and degradation, to set boundaries, to vocalize my own needs so as to achieve full personhood on my own terms and not be oppressed by historic conditioning which taught me to obey without question…and then I thought, what the hell, and tucked in my elbow.
And she was right. Goddammit all to hell, she was right. I hate that. I really do.
Filed under: Out of the Blue Corner
