So, I've joined a boxing gym here in Zambia. It's really more of a fitness thing, as opposed to a gym where prospective fighters train, but nonetheless, we're hitting the bag and the trainers' glove pads. It's a super intense workout, and the instructors were or are competing fighters. They shout commands in thick Zambian accents, so half the time I can't understand them, but I've been enough times to know what they want. Two of my favorite exclamations are from the instructor named "Charles" (he's the referee in the picture to the right). He insists on all the windows in the gym being shut and the A/C being off, so when I sneak over and open a window while he's not watching, he'll find it, close it, then yell "more heat!" The other line is delivered when someone is working hard at the end of the training session, and he'll say, "I like your spirit!"
The pic above is of a boxing exhibition, where Zambians were sourced from gyms in which they're trained to fight competitively. It's taking place in a temporary ring that they set up in an outdoor shopping center. If you can see in the background, quite a crowd is watching. This exhibition was all youth boxing and was only a max of three rounds. It was quite entertaining. That said, you could tell that resources for the gyms and kids were tight, as boxing shorts were often way too big and equipment was subpar. That said, it was exciting for me to see kids who clearly weren't wealthy, getting involved in an organized sport in order to use their time in a positive manner.
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