European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse P of boxing by Katherine Bishop new York times weat pouring from his brow John Raymond delivers a series of staccato jabs to the Speed bag hanging in King boxing gym on one of the meanest streets in Oakland Calif. Thump a to thump a to thump a to. I come Here the lawyer glowers when i m in the across the room Jack f. Banks who works for a san Francisco computer consulting company does some fancy footwork with the jump rope then takes his turn at tire bag. His form gives ample evidence that in the year and a half he has worked out there he has Learned not Only to float like a Butterfly but also to sting like a Bee. Both Are part of a growing California trend in which Urban professional men Are shunning the landscaped jogging paths and Pristine aerobic workout centers for the Gritty truth of boxing. Charles King the proprietor and a former prizefighter himself has an idea of what draws them to the gym. It s a raw kind of thing he said mopping puddles of sweat off the wooden floor. This is certainly there Are no Pink leotards with mauve tights and sweat bands Here even if an evian bottle has slipped in among the plastic containers of water the fighters use to rinse out their Mouths then spit into the communal bucket. But no matter what forms of exercise these Novice boxers have tried King said As soon As they try the gym once they come Back for More. Faster then you can say i could been a contender businessmen Are arriving to plunk Down their $15-a-month dues for unlimited use of the gym. Now King is looking for a place to expand. Deep Down subconsciously everybody wants to be a Boxer King said. Here they can live out their fantasy in a competitive and competitive it is. Most of the men Are training for Amateur or professional fights. They Are very Young very lean and very Tough. Some come from the streets of the largely Low income Black and hispanic Oakland neighbourhood where one Young Man said he had been fighting All his life. Since discovering the gym he is disciplining file photo a switch from jogging or aerobics no Pink leotards with mauve tights and sweat bands Here. Himself and working with a Trainer with the goal of taking the heavyweight title from Mike Tyson the self described baddest dude on the other regulars include Stanley Lee and Bomani Parker two recent olympic contenders who Are about to turn professional. Signs around the room memorialize the famous fighters like George Foreman who have kept in training Here. Boxing gyms in other cities Are experiencing a similar influx of no boxers. Don Stewart a former Trainer who owns Newman s gym in san Francisco s tenderloin District of sex shops and pornography Heaters reports the same phenomenon. The businessmen Are getting into it now Stewart said adding that his clients include lawyers and a judge. And he suggests another reason. Your wife gets to you your kid gets to you your Job gets to you. You come Here hit a bag get it out of your Raymond admits that the gym s neighbourhood is a Long Way from the tidy suburban setting of nearby Alameda where he specializes in real estate Law. Historically boxing gyms have been relegated to poor neighbourhoods Raymond said. A lot of people out there Are addicts and prostitutes. A Young Hooker was taken off the Street right outside and found with her Throat the police have pushed the worst of the crack dealing and drive by shooting about 10 blocks Down the Street leaving As the gym s neighbors a series of storefront churches with names like the Tabernacle of Praise and the new life apostolic deliverance outreach for the unreached sewing sweat shops and Auto repair shops. Banks who used to swim to keep in shape said that after seeing King and some of his fighters in demonstrations at a fair he had to overcome his feeling of being intimidated by the neighbourhood to come to the gym. Or. King is such a super great Guy he helped me fit right in Banks said looking around at the Flat stomachs and bulging Muscles of the Amateur and professional fighters throwing Shadow punches. Those who make their Way to King boxing gym Are clearly not coming with an object of just feeling Good. Boxing teaches you to get used to pain which is the opposite of feeling Good King said. But he guarantees that customers get More than they pay for it gives you the feeling of some kind of Golf Holics Anonymous by Russell Kishi United press International Hen a struggling Tel Ovivion and film writer named Mark Oman relocated to Carmol in 1971, he knew he was heading for one of the hotbeds of Golf in California but he did t know it would change his life the coastal town within a wedge shot of the renowned courses at Pebble Beach Cypress Point and Spyglass has since become world Headquarters of an organization established and headed by Oman Golf Holics Anonymous we started out with Oman said but we found that was not the optimum Way to reach the True so Oman took to writing books explaining the care treatment and handling of the Golfa Holic books aimed equally at the victim and the family members who must endure his Peculiar obsession with a dimpled Ball. We want to spread the idea that it s of to be a Golfa Holic Oman said. Because that Means you Are passionate about All the finer things of Oman 45, wrote his first volume portrait of a Golfa Holic in 1984. He s followed that with How to live with a Golfa Holic and the sensuous golfer. But he said he did t begin to tap the True essence of the subject until he completed the 9 commandments of Golf released nationally in september. Oman said he was Given immeasurable assistance on the 9 commandments from the pro upstairs who convinced him that nine pieces of advice were More than enough since most people have enough trouble dealing with the 10 commandments Moses inherited. If i were to limit my Choice of commandments to just one i would cite the line the pros have said for years it s not How it s How Many " Oman said. But for most of us it s not How Many but How. In other words How do we react to a shot7 if we hit the Ball into a Tough spot in deep rough we can look at it either As a shot that s been spoiled or an Opportunity to make a really great shot that we never thought we could make a Chance to do something really great. And As the old saying goes the greater the risk the greater the Reward " the Golf Holics look at each round As the last they will Ever play he said. Do you remember that popular line from the 1970s, today is the first Day of the rest of your life ? that s baloney. If you play each round of Golf As if it s your last you won t worry about the score and you la learn to enjoy the game a lot Oman was first hooked at the age of 12, when he said a televised series of pro matches called All Star Golf Goi him past the trauma of his parents divorce. Then i started going to the driving Range a lot because it made me feel like an adult Oman said. The years he s covered since roughly correspond with the Rise of Arnold Palmer whose familiar charges in late rounds were virtually made for television. To this Day Palmer remains Oman s Ideal of the spirit of the game. As evidence Oman Points to Palmer s participation last summer at the pea championship in Oklahoma even though he is Long past his prime As a tour player. There was a mob around the first tee just hoping for an autograph and Palmer obliged All he could Oman said. Then an official tried to Clear the Way and Palmer said what do you think i came Here to win this thing he Felt that his main reason for being there was to Honor the fans. He s passionate about everything he does and it s not just about is so passionate about the game that he s come to believe it just might be the Panacea to cure Many of society s ills. The stars and stripes Page 15
