Time in, Time out

Time inside the ring is different than time outside the ring. Strange how something so governed by time, so dictated to by each tick of every second of every round, something so finite can be viewed and felt so differently by a mere matter of feet or inches. Even the breaks in between are invariable in their cycle. As a spectator, or punter, this fact is obvious. The bell rings and you are prepared for the two combatants to spend the next 3 minutes trying to stop time for the other.

The bell rings again (because it is time), and you know that the boxers have 60 seconds to recover, to reassess, before time is called on them again. On getting to the point where a win may be achieved,prematurely (before time), with a knock-out for instance, time is counted out, down from 10, 9, 8, 7 etc. On reaching zero, it is the felled boxer that is counted out. No more time, out of time, time to go, home-time. If theres a little left in the tank, the (almost) felled boxer is given a standing count of 8. Time enough for the punters to cheer him on or jeer him off. Then its time to continue trying to stop time. Indeed, bouts that last only a small amount of time (early round knock-outs, see Tyson), are judged or assessed and rated, on the length of time elapsed, often rather than on the technical details of the way in which a win was achieved. Other aspects of times involvement in the spectators entertainment come in many forms. The amount of time a boxer has trained for a particular fight, the time between a boxers previous bout and a bout that he is due to start. More recently, as the sport has become more flamboyant, the time it takes for certain boxers to stage their ring entrance (see Naseem Hamed) and the effect this has on the time a bout is advertised to commence. And the unpredictability of which round will a fight be won and its effect on the evenings subsequent bouts (how annoying it is to be told your favourite pugilists title bouts tv coverage will start at 9pm only to find that due to early round stoppages of the evenings undercard bouts mean a change in start-time for the main event.).

Time, as i have mentioned, is different for the boxers themselves. When the bell rings to start the round, the laws that govern the length of a second, a minute, go completely out the window. A punter can check his watch and see where the round is at. The boxer can only guage how much energy he has to continue his craft. During a round, at what time do you hold back and gather your breath, at what time do you launch your attack? It is not time that the boxer uses as a guage but is more likely to be guesswork!. Look for the holes, the spaces, go when you feel it, when it feels like the right time.Whatever you do, dont think about time. A piece of advice I was given was, whenever you’re in a ring fighting and you find yourself thinking about what to do next, stop thinking and do something, because time only exists when you think, and will evaporate if you keep doing.Even in training or sparring, a look at the clock is meaningless, and can be lethal. Time is the enemy. How deflating, or rather, devastating it is to reach a slump in energy or breath after an onslaught to see only half a minute has passed. How to defend yourself with what that information has done to your confidence.
I have felt this all along. I am a sucker for a quick glance at the clock, and each time i do, I age and wilt in no time at all.I know this to be true, yet i will do it time and time again.

Lets get ready to …..

An update on my training, with reference to a previous post (Fight or Flight, this ones for real), I was told by the gym owner that a condition for fighting the young Irishman, whom I will refer to as Roy Keane, was that I spar with him under supervision so as to ascertain our “equality” as boxers. After much negotiation this finally happened last week. The boy can certainly box. He weighed in about 5Llbs lighter than me and a couple of cm shorter, which at first was encouraging. After a couple of rounds I felt like I had been inside a tumble-dryer with a jack-russel on amphetamines. Other than when I sparred with Anthony Small, this guy was the best boxer I had traded punches with. Although Roy mentioned to me that he thought it a competitive spar, I knew I was outclassed on many levels. I must have received a dozen punches for everyone that I threw.
I dont think my first competative bout should be based on my having to knock someone out in the first round. I dont think I saw any of the punches he threw coming. I had a black eye and a sore nose for ten days.
A new opponent is on the horizon though. He is known as Cleaver. We shall see. I spar with him tomorrow. Watch this space.

Me and “Harry” below:

In search of art..

Calm down. My search for evidence and comparison ‘tween the 2 disciplines goes on. My essay may well be taking a slight detour as a consequence of hitting too many brick walls (not literally). I am aware that I am getting on with a piece of writing that may not have much in the way of supporting evidence, otherthan that which I have gleaned through personal experience. Possibly a more valid route may be to talk more comparitively about the spectacle of boxing and that of fine art, regarding their presentation to the outside world. By this I mean to say that, from their relative and solitary build up, the artist in the garret/studio, the boxer in the gym or doing road-work, they are both then put into an “arena” which, in a way, removesthem from a relevant context. From Caesers Palace or Madison SquareGardens, to the Turner Prize or the BP Portrait awards. Not to mention the organisers and promoters, seemingly far removed from their “clients” proffessions or arts, yet there for the accolades and the “couldn’t-do-it-without-us” attitudes, Don King Vs Charles Saatchi.

I failed to attend a performance at the Tate Modern some weeks ago due to parenting commitments that feeds wonderfully into my work. Boxing in the Turbine Hall, It’ll never happen”! See below for press release…

..round 2

So we are at the beginning of the final straight and among a new intake of full and part timers. We are also in a new studio which is vastly improved from last year. So far so good. Some issues have arisen regarding any momentum with my work. Sorting these out will be the first step this year:

1. PGPD essay. My intention is to write a piece that centers on a hypothetical comparison between the fine-arts and the art of boxing. To achieve this I am researching fine artists who use a certain language when talking about the process of their work that relates to the language used by boxers and associated peoples about their craft. I have started by investigating abstract expressionists, particularly the Action Painters from the middle of the last century, such as Pollock, Guston, De Kooning etc. This is due to the physical aspect of their work and the psychology of their imagery. I am particularly keen on them talking about the gestural aspects of their painting process as well as the rhythms, patterns and impacts used to achieve their imagery, rather than the finished works themselves.

While this seems like a good avenue to pursue, so far I have found little evidence of this language! I will also move on to the performance artists of the 60’s and 70’s (Burden, Franko B) whose works became more litterally similar in that their work involved physical discomforts and extreme endurance. But I am struggling!!!

2. The current unit requires some form of prototyping of our ideas. I have ammassed hours and hours of footage from my boxing context which i am now realising isn’t quite “clean” or specific enough for the imagery I would like to achieve. While I have learned so much from the shooting of film thus far, I feel I need to reshoot in a far more disciplined and “staged” way. This is a very difficult task as I am dealing with an environment (boxing gym) that could easily become hostile towards me were I to start behaving in any way beyond that of a trainee boxer.

3. The essay for the unit. This i believe will be facilitated by the completion of my PGPD piece.

I am going to have to learn new softwares to achieve my ideas.

I am acutely aware of the clock ticking and the pressure rising. I am sure I am not alone.

Below is a shot of me sparring in the gym. Then, like now, found me struggling…

End of round one…

My last post referred to my embarking on my PGPD essay. What i wasn’t quite aware of was that this was at a time when the full-timers had to produce the degree show and then “summer” was apon us. I allowed myself to be distracted by these and suddenly found myself back in school today, months later, at the beginning of my final year having not done any college related work since the end of the last term. oops.
I believe the break has been beneficial and am confident that I know what needs to be done this year. Nonetheless, I have 2 essays to write and film to shoot and edit and be assessed. All in a short space of time. I also need to earn some money……..
This, I feel, is going to be a busy year.