Boxing:
*The Bath Boxing Show, Feb 19th at Bath High School
*USA Regional's in Kentucky, Feb 27-30th
MMA:
*Feb 12th at the Lansing Center
Thursday, January 13, 2011
MMA
A few months ago my dad and I were working out at our local boxing gym and we started talking about MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). After talking for a few minutes I decided that I wanted to give it a shot. The next day my dad called me and said he scheduled a MMA fight for December 3rd, which was in three weeks. The first thing that came to my mind was "oh crap." However, I was already committed, so the next step was to learn some MMA moves and ground work. A couple family friends, hearing of my fight, offered assistance to help teach me some grappling and jujutsu moves, so I would have a better chance in the cage in the event I ended up on the ground.
Those 3 weeks of training flew by and the next thing I knew it was fight-night! I was excited and ready to get on with it! After 30 seconds of learning my opponent’s weaknesses, I was ready to dominate with my boxing skills. Even after we ended up on the ground, I was still able to dominate with the ground work skills I was taught in that short 3 weeks of training. I won the fight 40 seconds into the second round. The huge adrenaline rush I felt when I was in that cage made me change my mind about only participating in that one MMA fight. So I have decided to give it another try. I have been scheduled to fight on February 12th at the Lansing Center, in the Capital City Cage Fight Championships.
Why Boxing?
I am very athletic, very competitive, and I love playing sports. I am willing to give any sport a chance. While in high school I played volleyball, basketball, and softball. I understand what it is like to be on a team sport and to rely on your teammates to be the best team that we can be; but boxing is completely different; it's all me, I am alone with my opponent in that ring. If I have a terrible fight it is my fault. I have to make myself train harder for the next fight. When I win and do well, it's all because of the hard work that I alone put in. The accomplishment is so much greater than winning a game as part of a team.
Boxing a great workout. When I work out hard at the gym for a long period of time I feel great going home and relaxing.
Boxing is also an adrenaline rush and there is nothing more exciting to me than that moment when you step into a ring and your name is called and all you can hear is people cheering for you and screaming your name.
How I got started
When I sit down and actually think "how did I start boxing" I don’t think of what started it, but who! My boxing career started with my dad, Bob Cooper. He started boxing at the age of eleven and continued to box even after he joined the Marines at the age of 18. I think if my dad hadn’t been involved in boxing for all those years, and had a desire to teach my sisters and me, I would not be where I am today. I also give credit to my two older sisters for getting me started in boxing. My dad suggested to my oldest sister, Amy, who was a senior in high school at the time, to train at the boxing gym so she could stay in shape for softball during the off season. She ended up liking it so much, she started fighting in sanctioned fights. At the same time, my other sister Amber decided to give boxing a try. She ended up enjoying it a lot too and also started fighting at sanctioned fights. I was 13 years old and not skilled at all so I decided that boxing was their sport, and I didn't want to get in their way. That didn't last long. Very quickly, I started training every day with my dad and sisters. All I wanted to do in the beginning was throw my hands as fast as I could. At the end of that boxing season, my sister got busy with softball, and then graduated. We all slowly stopped going to the boxing gym. In that boxing season I had three fights with a record of 2-1.
I stopped boxing for a long time. Then, again at the suggestion of my dad, I started back up when I was a sophomore in high school. Each day after basketball practice my dad would pick me up and we would drive 40 minutes to Potterville and train at Hoose's Gym. I trained at Hoose's Gym for that one year and then we went back to train at the old gym we used to train at in St. Johns. Clinton County Boxing Club is where I am currently training.
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