Kate Sekules and The Boxer’s Heart: A Woman Fighting!

Kate Sekules and The Boxer’s Heart: A Woman Fighting!

As Kate Sekules says of her love affair with boxing in her memoir, The Boxer’s Heart: A Woman Fighting, “I wonder myself what set this obsession in motion.” Kate never stops describing it either, from her affection for the sport on through her experiences beginning with her early forays into the gym and what it felt like the first time she stepped into the ring to fight.  As she says,

“Training to box is one of the toughest physical challenges you can set yourself, and it is clean. But once you step through the ropes, a dimension rears up that is not pure at all. To compete as a runner, a swimmer, a player of tennis, golf, basketball, football-any noncombat sport-what you do is an extension of what you did in training, only more intense; but to compete as a boxer, your aims are suddenly quite distinct from those of your training sessions. You hope to inflict so much pain on your opponents that they fall over and can’t get up.”

Kate’s book is a warm, colorful homage to her years training at Gleason’s Gym — and of the women she trained along side beginning in 1992 on through the late 1990′s. Originally published in 2000, Kate has reissued her memoir with a new afterward to coincide with the historical debut of Women’s Boxing at the 2012 Olympics.

As for the ensuing 11 years, Kate notes the sport has “actually become less visible.” Something we all feel with “more female mis-matches … and more neglect of women’s bouts by mainstream media.”

What comes across, however, in Kate’s highly engaging book is truly the viewpoint of a boxer’s heart.  She shows us her love of the sport, the camaraderie of her fellow boxers and an intimate perspective of the journey of a boxer. As Kate said recently in an interview with Girlboxing, “We confront through boxing the same issues every woman faces,” only in the case of a female boxer we add a touch of “rebellion perhaps and a counter to mainstream culture.”

Kate also made the point that the “book is for men and women about gender roles as much as about the sport.”  Still what Kate provides is a treasure trove of details about the sport at a certain time and place — as well as an intimate portrait of Kate and her cohort of boxing friends all working hard to practice the art they love so much.

These days, Kate can be found back at Gleason’s Gym once a week — after having worked out at Chelsea Piers for a while doing their “Lunchbox” series which she swears was “amazing, he’s really, really good.”  She’s also the owner of Refashioner, a marketplace for pre-owned couture.

The Boxer’s Heart: A Woman Fighting will be hitting bookstores this week — and if you happen to live in Brooklyn, be sure and stop by BookCourt on Friday, June 1st for a live reading!  Details are as follows:

Reading – June 1, 2012 @ 7:00 PM

BookCourt

163 Court Street

Brooklyn NY 11201

To purchase Kate’s Book from Amazon.com click on the link!

Gleason’s Gym Second Annual All Female Boxing Clinic!

Gleason’s Gym Second Annual All Female Boxing Clinic!

The World Famous Gleason’s Gym and Brooklyn’s own treasure, will be hosting the second annual All Female Boxing Clinic on April 19, 20 and 21, 2012!

There will be two days of boxing basics followed by a sanctioned all female boxing show.  The training will be handled by Gleason’s top female trainers and our female World Champions.

The amateur show will be sanctioned by USABoxingmetro and will be video-streamed live on www.gofightlive.tv with Gleason’s own Sonya Lamonakis providing the on-air commentary.

Last year’s All Female Boxing Clinic was highly successful with contingents from Great Britain and Germany joining women from all across the United States, as well as former Australian national champion Mischa Merz.

From the Girlboxing perspective, it’s a fantastic opportunity for novices on through established boxers to hone their skills plus have the opportunity to work out with some of the best in the business!

If you are interested contact Bruce Silverglade at Gleason’s Gym.

The telephone number is: 718 797 2872 and the email address is: info@gleasonsgym.net.  You can also check out Gleason’s website here.

The cost of the clinic is $299.00.

Bruce Silverglade was kind enough to sit down with Girlboxing last year, this is what he had to say!

Gleason’s Gym – All Female Boxing Clinic

Gleason’s Gym – All Female Boxing Clinic on April 28, 29 & 30, 2011!

Gleason’s Gym will host its first All Female Boxing Clinic on April 28, 29 and 30, 2011 at its headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

The three-day event will include two-days of boxing training and will culminate in Gleason’s first USA Boxing Metro amateur-sanctioned All Female Boxing Show to be broadcast live on www.gofightlive.tv.

The two-day clinic will focus on a range of boxing skills for beginners and will feature the Gleason’s World Champion talents of Alicia Ashley, Jill Emory, Melissa Hernandez and Belinda Laracuente as well as boxing trainers Mark Breland, Juan LaPorte and Hector Roca.

The clinic is open to anyone with a desire to learn the fundamentals of the sport — and for those who have more skills, opportunities will be offered to perfect your talents.

Having first walked into the door at Gleason’s in 1997, I can personally attest to the genuinely supportive atmosphere of the gym, which has always been particularly inviting to women. It’s also meant that I’ve had the chance to observe first hand the explosion in Women’s Boxing  — as well as the chance to applaud the prowess of Gleason’s many boxing alumni!

Girlboxing recently had the chance to sit down and talk with Gleason’s Gym’s owner Bruce Silverglade about Women’s Boxing (see video below).  As an early proponent of the sport, Bruce has been a champion in his own right through his strong advocacy for Women’s Boxing and continues to provide opportunities for women in the sport from Saturday boxers on through dedicated pros.

Spaces are still available for the chance to perfect your boxing prowess or take the plunge into your first foray into the ring. If you are interested contact Bruce Silverglade at Gleason’s Gym.  The telephone number is: 718-797-2872 and the email address is: info@gleasonsgym.net.  The cost of the clinic is $299.00.  You can also sign-up to participate in the All Female Boxing Show by contacting Angela Querol @ 718-797-2872.

Female Boxing Clinic – Gleason’s Gym

►