Back when I was in High School I took up boxing.

To be honest with you... I was horrible at it, the sport. I had a great punch but I was slow.

Anyway the trainer was out during one time and one of the adults was leading the session. I practiced on a boxing bag for a bit, but decided to study the sparring for the rest of about 40 minutes. Maybe I could learn by observing. There were four spars lasting 10 minutes each.

I asked one of the adults to gather the group so I could talk to them. Of course this is just a memory, and I don't think someone should be harmed or imprisoned for sharing a memory.

I explained to them what the entire group is doing wrong.

They punch rapidly, with strength, but I told them that "they're relying on stuns to lower the other boxer's guard in the ring through repeatedly punching."

"A true professional at the sport would Never do this."

So I told them... "Try this when you spar. Don't hit often. Take time to think. Is he going to punch me right now? Where is he going to punch me? How can I dodge or block it? How can I punch him in the ring so that he can't punch me? I need to think about exactly what time and what muscle strength and speed to punch at. I need to think about my position in the area inside the ring"

For some reason, the speech... which lasted about 18 minutes left the whole group shocked. I wasn't able to understand why, and I got worried, so then I said "If it's okay don't tell our trainer about what I said. I'm just trying to prepare you to compete, all of you seem determined and gas is being used on me by people, so there's no way I could. I can still think, and I want you to win a silver medal at least."

A few weeks after my parents went to costco and they stopped by the ring to watch a spar. They said I shouldn't go there anymore and that it was too harmful to appropriately say it.

Now that I pieced things together I regret what I said in that class... I really shouldn't have said anything, my parents were shocked at the spar, so they stopped paying and I stopped going. I still kept my binds for a few weeks and practiced in a mirror.

Before I left though I went one last time, and the boxing trainer told me to go home, but I said something in front of him that he will never forget.

"I'm going to act like Lenin for 2 minutes before I leave, the world leader who created communism. Stop beating eachother up. Punch as lightly as you can. Work on your reflexes and catching the other person off guard, this way everyone improves regardless of how strong you are or aren't. You can easily increase your strength by punching a bag hard, or lifting some of the weights there for those who are over 18, you should work as a group and not individuals even though all of you started here by yourselves. I have to go now. My parents saw a spar after what I did, and said that the sport is worse than it's made out to be after what I did. You told the boxing trainer after he saw you spar differently. I understand. Please don't tell my parents about this."

And then my boxing days were over.

About a year and a half later I walked in again to say hi to my trainer, the owner of the boxing place. I told him he should get a machine that boils water so the adults can drink coffee before a spar. Somehow I think he brought one.

Many years later the place closed down, but I think everyone who went there was really happy for what it was and learned how to defend themselves regardless of their strength and speed. It sort of became like karate, the part about outsmarting your opponent by flipping them upside down and that you should never use it to attack.