ISSUE 19 – APRIL / MAY 2018 – FREE
Ludlow Boxing Club Discovering Whitcliffe Reeds Plus Chasing Catherine Ludlow childhood: 1942-1957 Ludlow Brewery brews 1885 India Pale Reviewed: The Bear & Ludlow Male Voice Choir Robin Spicer in goals
“I wouldn’t say ‘bring a bus load of pensioners in’ but then, having said that, a lot of retired people these days are incredibly fit. If someone is keen, come down and have a go.” WHATEVER image you might have of a boxing club – a smoky ring perhaps, tough men fighting it out with big red gloves under glaring spotlights – put it out of your mind if you visit Ludlow’s very own Boxing Club. Situated up on Wheeler Road, the club is a bright and modern white space with a sparkling blue carpet and a ropedoff ring in one corner. When I turn up on the club’s regular Monday night opening, I’m faced with about two dozen energetic people – ranging from eight-year-olds to middle-aged folk – skipping and stretching together. The energy in the room is palpable.
Oli Francis, one of four coaches who volunteer at the club (which is also a registered charity), greets me and immediately confesses he’s hurt his back. It doesn’t seem to affect his good humour though as he talks to me about his passion and enthusiasm for the club. At the moment their membership is fairly steady and they’re actively on the lookout for more local members; some of their younger members travel from as far afield as Bromyard to train, but it seems much of Ludlow isn’t even aware that the club is there. “We want more members, of course we do. All kids should be
given the opportunity to do it and we encourage everyone to give it a go. The first session is free to anyone and everyone – come along, have a look at it and see if it’s for you,” Oli says. Whilst some of their members come along purely for fitness, some want to learn how to compete. The warm-up, which everyone from the youngest to the oldest takes part in, looks pretty tough. Squat thrusts, sit ups, running around the room, skipping, push-ups in plank position, and all for a solid hour before they move on to further activities which may include “body weight exercises, aerobics, bag work and pad work and technique,” says Oli.
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It’s unusual and, frankly, refreshing to see such a wide age range in a single room working alongside each other, and Oli thinks it’s a key part of what makes the club special. “Tiny little kids, everyone joins in, socially it’s really good. How we run the sessions is that we all warm up as a group, exercise all together and then we go on to training for both separately.” Nick, who leads the warm-up as Oli and I chat on the side-lines, is a hard taskmaster and three young women are doing some tough core exercises as some other members work on the punch bags.
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