So I was at the local (nonboxing) gym today to hit the heavy bags since it’s close and I don’t want to travel too far to get a workout. I’ve boxed for a few years and I’m fairly sure I have some idea of what I’m doing.
As I’m doing my thing, this guy and a girl start practicing next to me. The gist of it seemed to be that the girl was a beginner and the guy was teaching her the ropes. He had handwraps, gloves, and even punch mitts. Cool, whatever. BUT, it soon became pretty obvious the guy had no idea whatsoever what was he talking about. He was calling a hook a cross, and teaching really bad (and straight out wrong) habits to start out with. I began to wonder if he was just making shit up as he went along or genuinely had no clue he was full of shit. He was pretty fit though, so I could see why someone who didn’t know anything about boxing might think that he was legit.
I was very tempted to say something, but then again it really wasn’t my business. I didn’t want to call him out and make him look like an ass in front of someone he might have been wooing or something. But at the same time, if she’s serious about learning to box, she’s going to form bad habits that will have to be unlearned at some point. But maybe she wasn’t really interested in boxing and this was just a sort of mating dance they were doing.
In the end I decided it wasn’t my business, which was probably for the best… To be honest, I was probably just butthurt that someone less “qualified” was instructing a girl, while it’s been like a year since I’ve had sex. Meh.
I would have had a hard time not saying anything – at least trying to catch the guy by himself and asking whats up. If he’s doing it to get laid, I could live with that. But if he seriously thought he was “for real” something in me would have made me take him down a peg. I don’t know boxing – I’m more mechanics and history. But there have been times when I risked a nose-to-nose rather than walk away from an idiot.
Who’s Drunky Smurf? Am I Drunky Smurf? More importantly, can I be Drunky Smurf? Where do I apply?
I don’t think I was being judgmental. There are plenty of beginners, and if you have bad form because you’re starting out, practicing is the only way to improve so good on you. But this guy was presenting himself to the girl as an “expert” or at least someone knowledgeable enough to be teaching, which definitely was not the case. At some point he was giving out sage advice like “real life is not like the movies, so you have to [do this bullshit thing I probably just made up that will actually get your ass kicked if you try to do.]”
I think if you misrepresent yourself to look good, and perhaps at the detriment of a clueless beginner who will take your wrong instructions at face value, you deserve at least some scorn.
It all makes sense now. He was teaching her wrong so she couldn’t ever kick his ass.
He was probably a “Personal Trainer”. It seems to be a bit of a boom industry in gyms lately and apparently requires no qualifications whatsoever besides looking the part.
