Holding the Bar By Glenn Stewart
I wanted to share an experience that I had just lately that I felt extremely privileged to be a part of. You’ve heard the saying “Holding the Bar” or “Hold the Bar High.” It is having a standard or a level that you, other people, or things can reach for.
6 • JULY 2020
SADDLEUP.CA
Me and my buddy Jonathan
Y
ou can hold your own bar or someone else can hold the imaginary bar that we are trying to reach for. If the bar is held high it is tougher to reach but when you get there you will have really accomplished something. Often many are trying to pull the bar down to their level to something that’s easier or seems more fun or it’s what we want, but often it is not what we need. I was visiting a good friend of mine who has been training/boxing with a professional boxing coach. He asked if I’d like to go for a lesson and that he would ask a favour to get me in. All the people in the gym are trained or training to be professional boxers with careers in the ring. I said that I would love to. It would give me a chance to burn off the weekend’s events and clean out the carburetor. I was warned that there’s no goofing around and they are serious about what they do. I got 5 minutes of instruction in the front room from my buddy so I’d have an idea what to expect when we got there and I’m getting more excited by the second. I had sparred in my younger days with a golden gloves champion half my size and he would pummel me at will, but I’d land the odd one and always leave exhausted. So I can’t wait to get to the gym, get the gloves on and start swinging. We arrive at the gym. It’s downstairs in an old building. It totally looks like a boxing gym that Rocky trained in. There were posters all over the walls of boxing matches from 25 years ago. Even my old sparring buddy had a poster on the wall of a match he was in, in the U.S. So I was really getting pumped; couldn’t wait to start dodging punches, ducking and lunging throwing haymakers. I was just beside myself with excitement. First thing that happened was the trainer hands me a skipping rope and says ok skip. When the bell rings you can rest, when the bell goes again start skipping again. You have 3 rounds of skipping. Wow, ok that sounds good I guess, a little warm-up before all the punching. So, I make it through the 3 rounds of skipping, but, it was not pretty, and I was glad nobody was watching but the three of us. So, the trainer says ok time to wrap your hands, YES !!! Now we are talking. We were finally getting serious. My hands got wrapped and he said “get in the ring.” The adrenaline is starting to flow. Then he says “We are going to work on your footwork and balance.” Geez, well this can’t take long I‘ve been walking all my life. Turns out, if I want to box I was going to have to learn to walk all over again and find my balance because I really didn’t have any. Back and forth I went across the ring trying to stay straight, keep my feet the right
