Zero Dollar Amateur Baby

First news

How do you react when your best friend announces she’s decided to ‘get into’ amateur boxing? Kinda laugh it off as a ‘passing phase’? … and ignore all signs to the contrary when reading regular updates on her blog about beating up skinny boys, bruises and endeavours to find girls boxing shoes.

That’s one thing.

But how do you react when she announces she’s competing in the Hong Kong Hedge Fund Fight Nite 2011, and in preparation has been training twice daily, stopped drinking all alcohol and seriously curbed Saturday nights out?

Get myself on a plane to SEE this!!

No. 1 Fight Fan Club

Dad called it - ‘watching her in that ring is something you’ll talk about for the rest of your lives’.

He’s always been a huge fan of Miss Rachel’s and has watched her pursuits proudly over the years, no doubt grateful for her fireball influence on his own daughter. I knew he’d tune into her blog, but you know it’s made a serious impact when he starts quoting from it at the dinner table and applying her words of wisdom to his own golf game. And the Barbera support could only culminate in us both jumping on a plane to arrive in Hong Kong the morning of the fight…

Enter No. 1 Fight Fan Club in Hong Kong.

She’s ready

Picture a packed marquee - full of big corporates, men in tuxs, women in long gowns, champagne cocktails in crystal glasses – very glamourous, very 007. Then picture a blood & sweat stained ‘fight pen’ smack bang in the middle of it all – suddenly very intimidating, very ‘Rocky-esque’.

It’s very easy to forget about the boxing bit in between matches - until the lights dim, smoke machines start up & the competitors’ intro videos hush the crowd. By the time Rachel’s intro song (Rihanna’s ‘Run this Town’) starts blaring, I’ve worked myself up to be a nervous wreck – what’s she doing this for again?

If she were the same as the other fighters on the night, she’d have parted the curtain, fist-pumping to create an air of intimidation and malice for her entry into the ring. But I’m sure you know by now – Rachel’s way is an unpredictable way & unlike any other. Instead? “Skippy” comes bounding from behind the curtain, in a hot pink cape, bursting of energy and ready as ever to fight. Her stride and rhythm walking – no dancing! - to that ring summed up Rach’s energy and enthusiasm like nothing else could.

And 3 rounds of 2 minutes each later, the energy’s still there – in fact bolder & more ferocious. Rachel’s absolutely beaming at the end – I’m not sure whether this was more relief that her nose is still in tact  or sheer delight that she’s done what she set out to achieve.

Each heart-wrenching round I watched gave me a greater appreciation for the type of person this sport attracts. You’ve gotta have endurance, focus, stamina and a tactical mind – in fact it doesn’t seem to be at all about aggression or a will to inflict pain (although that killer right hook comes in handy). The fight was just awesome to watch and both girls showed up the boys tenfold as the highlight of the night – just ask Google UK News the next day.

What did it take?

God only knows. I certainly don’t. But I can tell anyone who heard stories of pure exhaustion, training to the point of utter fatigue, Mars Bar Mondays, tummy slamming to get ‘rock hard abba-dabbas’ that those stories don’t do justice to the incredible commitment Rach and Trish made to prepare for this fight.

The physical overhaul, sparring sessions and technique training are one side, but more impressive in these girls is their absolute determination, mental toughness and discipline. Each craved victory like nothing else for their own reasons. And I’m convinced there was loss of enough brain cells early on to increase their conviction that bashing each other up was a box to tick.

Lasting impact

Long after the newspaper articles and online sports new reports have been read (and framed by my mum), what did Rach get out of her debut in the ring? From reading her blog you already know the rewards have been far greater than achieving peak form & being able to punch out man-style push-ups & land a killer right hook. Whether she necessarily signed up for it or not, she’s proven to herself and everyone else she has the discipline, commitment and toughness to achieve what’s in her eyes - the sense of adventure to start it; the determination and perseverance to keep at it; and the courage to follow through with it. And that lesson impacts much more than a Hong Kong Hedge Fund Fight Nite – that one’s in Rachel’s artillery belt for Life.

I’m just so proud of her & I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next - because I’ll be along for the ride - No. 1 Fan all the way!!

Hi all! I promised Rach awhile back that I’d write a guest blog post for her so here it is. The story from the blue corner.

I moved to HK exactly 3 years ago now. My boyfriend (now husband) then had been transferred to Hong Kong and he asked me to go with him. I had only known him 6 months at this point, but somehow, I knew he was the one and despite all my best friends thinking that I had gone crazy and wasn’t thinking straight, I quit my job in Sydney and got a transfer to Hong Kong.

Honestly, when Rach told me about fight night, my first thoughts were that 1) I did not want to get my face smashed in and 2) I hate doing anything in front of loads of people. That’s why I run and swim. When I run or swim, I have my earphones in and I can zone out, focus on my breathing and the world melts away. I wasn’t afraid of the training – I had done 8 years of competitive swimming training consisting of 5:30AM starts, two sessions per day, strict diet regime and lots of pinch tests. But boxing is different – for me and contrary to what Rach thinks (and my performance last night), getting up in front of all those people and look like I held it all together (and not look like a complete tool!) was the toughest thing to do. With swimming, you hit the water and it blocks out the world for you and what’s even better with ocean swim competitions, you’re out in the middle of nowhere and no one wants to watch because swimming is a “boring” sport anyway ;) I’m a quiet person  and I like my personal time, and for me, exercise was just that – never to culminate in a marquee full of screaming people and the world watching.

I was soon very quickly persuaded by what Rach was telling me would be two free training sessions a week and I quote, “we probably won’t end up fighting anyway!”. Both were lies. I have spent more money on this than I ever have for any sporting event I’ve signed myself up for! And each month that passed, with no “you’re out” email from the organizer, I found that had to fight a really good mate.

Firstly, the training was tough and I mean, really tough. I recall a fitness session where Lawrence came in and said that he received an email saying the training hadn’t been hardcore enough. That session was hell. I had nothing left to give after 55 minutes of burpees, skips, situps, sprints, medicine balls, kettle bells, jumps, bag work, more bag work, more burpees, lifting bags and with a 100 pushup WARM DOWN left… and when you are empty like that, your mind has a mini breakdown and all of a sudden you’re confronted with what you’re made of. If there’s one thing my father had drummed into me as a child, it’s the mantra “If you start something, never give up until you finish it because it was your fault you started it in the first place! ”. Then there’s Lawry’s mantra – “If you put in shit, you get out shit.”. I can tell you that mentally, those were the 100 toughest pushups I had ever forced out in my entire life.  And I had surprised myself. I wasn’t made out of spongecake (or shit) after all!

Read More

So I didn’t win… but it was bloody close. Split decision from the judges.

At the end of the day - Trish was taller, had longer arms and was meaner. She wanted it more. She had the jab out, and I struggled to get on her inside. She was angry… I was having the time of my life and happy as a clam in high water!!

Honestly, I wasn’t stressed the whole night. The whole night I was having fun - I had all my amazing crew in my corner, my peeps from home, text messages, facebook messages! My amazing ring woman did an amazing job at keeping me calm, cool and collected.

Then suddenly we had the 20 minute call out for the match and I started freaking out. No wraps on. Where the f*ck is Lawrence? Hadn’t started shadow sparring!!

Next thing you know it, my music is playing (Rihanna, Run this town), and I’m in the spot light. An amazing tunnel of friends and work colleagues leads me out to the ring. I’ve got my cape on. I’m feeling good. I’m doing a little boogie. Smile on my face. I knew what I had to do. I was on to it.

The buzzer rings. Trish is looking badass in her corner. She looks angry, and yet, a bit sad? We’re out there, jabbing our little hearts out. I’m working my moves, she’s working hers. It was tough. I never felt “buggered” out there - (but was getting a little sick of taking punches trying to work my way inside her). We worked hard. We had ten more rounds in us. 

The match is over, I turn to Lawrence - “Who won?”

It’s f*cking tight baby, you landed more punches.  

But she was more angry. She wanted it. I wanted the limelight. And I had it. And I was happy.

The decision goes to the crowd. I’m first. The crowd roars for red. Then goes Trish. The crowd roars for blue - but admittedly, a little louder. Next thing you know, her arms up, and victory is hers.

In my heart of hearts, I knew from the first round it was hers. I was working hard, and landed some solid punches… but I really think she was working harder. She was just so damn aggressive. I think I even smiled a few times during my match over her shoulder. Oh dear!

You know what I realised? I am just not an angry person. Yes I’m competitive. Yes I wanted it. But I’m not agro. I was smiling on the inside the whole time. I was fighting one of my good friends who I have the upmost respect for, in front of 700 people, friends and extended family! What a thrill! What an excitement! What on earth was I doing!?!

But you know what - who really cares anyway? It’s over, it’s finally over. I’ve had people coming up to me tonight in the street who I’ve never met before telling me congrats and that I did a good job. I had a long winded conversation with an old guy telling me how proud he was of me. I even had a nice conversation with a Welsh boxer who told me that technically I was the better fighter. And he wasn’t the only one who said that too!!

Honestly, it was a tough fight and it was tough to call. I knew it was always going to be a tough fight. I am so proud of Trish, she put up a great fight. She held her ground. 

Actually, I’m the most disappointed for Lawry. I know he wanted me to win, and I thought - we both thought - I had it in the bag. But physicality is a lot in boxing. At the end of the day, I’m little-er than her, in height and in weight. I may be faster, but she held me out.

But now I’m here, tucked in my bed - a bit disappointed but also freaking happy and proud. My tight little abba dabbas. My skinny-fit frame. A heart full of love from those close and near. But you know what? I’m just so glad it’s over. I’ve done it. As I said earlier today - the true victory was conquering myself, and I did that, through and through.

And best of all, I’ve inspired others! Steve Barbera is committed to training more than once a week. My boss, Anna, is going to start training with me. And my Mum has even come around to the idea of boxing, and sent me lot of loving supporting messages today.

So really, I don’t think I could ask for anything more. Ok, I lie, a bit of gold round my neck might be nice… but next time, eh?

… Yes… next time… Shanghai white collar fight in December? We’ll see. ;)

Rachel “SKIPPY” Jacqueline

So the night has finally come!!

Everything seems to be falling into place: woke up this morning after a ten hour sleep, my best friend and her dad arrived in this morning from Sydney to cheer me on, the sun is shining. People are just being so supportive- I’ve got love pouring in from everywhere unexpectedly!

Even down to the little details: I’m in team red (my favourite colour), my boxing shoes came in on time, I got Lawry my favourite trainer in my ring, my PINK (!)boxing cape is perfect and I found bargain matching shirts for my corner men, my ring woman extraordinaire said “yes”… even my favourite undies were neatly folded in my drawer today, ready for battle. Ha! It just all feels right.

In my head, I know exactly what I gotta do. I just got to do it. Keep it there and block out all the other noise of the night. Keep my nerves in check. Keep my excitement capped until the buzzer goes. I can DOOO THISSS!

Some of my favourite words of wisdom and support came in over night from Miss Tori Leckie:

“wow. the big day is here. wishing you all the luck in the world rachel. remember … you’re tough as nails, you’ve trained hard and you’re 100% ready to kick ass. give it all you’ve got and remember that whatever happens, you’re already a winner in the eyes of everyone who knows you. xxx”

No matter what, I know I’ve already won. Two months ago I didn’t think I could do this. Five months ago I could hardly do one man push-up, let alone box. I’ve come so far physically and mentally. I’m tougher than I’ve ever been, but in the best way possible. As wanky as it sounds, I am so goddam proud of myself, and no one: not Trish, not any of the doubters… can conquer that. I feel like I have truly conquered myself - quashed my fears, gone past boundaries I didn’t think were possible, worked hard and trained harder than I ever have before. And I believe that that is the true victory of today.

R.J.