For many, the relaxed atmosphere of sophomore Summer provides a good opportunity to take one or several of the three physical education courses required to graduate. The warm weather presents ample opportunity for sailing, golfing and other outdoor leisure activities, but those in club boxing choose to knock out this distributive requirement in a much more literal fashion.
Club boxing provides a chance for its members to get in shape and learn basic fighting skills, according to club president Andrew Do '13.
"We don't just do standard push-ups and sit-ups," Do said. "You learn various types of exercises. You learn to workout without equipment."
The club starts out each term with a basic overview of workouts and fighting technique, According to Do. In fact, new members only shadow box for the first four weeks before finally donning gloves to practice against a bag.
By the end of the term, members begin to lightly spar each other in the ring, but it does not usually get very intense, Do said.
"Every once in a while, people get nosebleeds or bleed from their mouths," he said. "No one is experienced enough for good fights."
More advanced fighters who have boxed since high school occasionally show up to spar and use some of the other equipment, but they rarely participate in workouts or sparring matches, Do added.
While sparring amongst the group is common, club boxing has not boxed against competitors from other schools in recent history.
The last time members boxed each other in a public setting was in the spring of 2009 in the boxing gym beneath the squash courts, when over 300 people packed in to watch the club-organized "fight night."
"I heard it was pretty crazy," Do said.
Before Spring term, the group met in the gym beneath the squash courts, but recently its location changed to a room next to the basketball courts in Alumni Gym. Due to construction on the floor and the ceiling in that area this summer, club boxing will meet in the multipurpose room on the ground floor of the gym.
"We won't have any bags, so the focus will be more on conditioning," Do said.
Throughout the term, members will aim to stay in peak physical shape with a variety of exercises designed to build arm strength and endurance, Do said.
"We typically start out each session with 15 minutes of jump roping followed by push-ups, sit-ups, squats and lunges," he said
Unlike many sports, members of club boxing stretch out after workouts rather than before.
"Muscles are tense after workouts," Do said. " We want to loosen them up."
Training even takes place outside of the gym occasionally, as the steps of Memorial Field provide a great environment for running stairs and performing squats when members decide they want a particularly difficult workout, he added.
The rigorous training schedule is not for everyone. The boxing club usually starts out with upwards of 40 members, but by the end, fewer than 20 typically remain enrolled, with only one or two women making it through, according to Do.
"Only about eight people sign up for club boxing on a consistent basis," he said.
Workouts are run by the club's coach Elvis Lowe, the former Barbados national boxing champion, who always works out alongside club boxing participants.
"Elvis's philosophy is, Pain is only in your head just learn to ignore it'," Do said.
Do added that he aims to have several events such as movie nights or barbeques over the summer designed to foster bonding between members of club boxing.
"I want to let people get to know each other in a more relaxed setting," he said.
Do decided to join club boxing his freshman year because he wanted a P.E. credit and the structure of a club sport. Boxing caught his attention because he wanted to learn a new way to fight, as he had learned both Kendo and Jude from his father as a child.
"Neither of those involves using your fists, so I wanted to learn," Do said.
Boxing starts next week in the multipurpose room of Alumni Gym. It meets three days a week and members must show up for an average of two workouts each week to receive P.E. credit.
