Are you suffering from stress, unhappiness, bad health, feebleness or just plain boredom? Well ladies, I have one remedy to prescribe to you that will cure you of any of that negativity, and it seriously kicks ass.
The University of Maryland Terps Boxing Club/Team, which runs in the SPH mat room from Monday night through Thursday night, is the perfect getaway for those of you who are looking for a great way to work out, relieve some tension and bring out your inner badass. But please, don’t ever use the excuse, “But I’m just a girl” for reasoning to not try out this club. You do not need one ounce of experience, strength or skill in order to join this club; nor do you even have to actually fight someone. The only thing you need to bring with you is some running shoes, determination and the will to keep coming back.
Lacy Thomas, a senior mathematics major, is the first girl who I’ve seen actually compete alongside the rest of the guys on the team; and damn, does she do it well. Although she has only been with the club for a few years and she just had her first fight last year at UMD’s annual Rumble at Ritchie, you would think Thomas is a pro.
However, she only got into boxing because after suffering a repeated ACL injury, she could no longer compete in gymnastics and she wanted to stay in shape. Once her friend provided her with the challenge of joining the club, she had to prove her capabilities. “He told me it’d be hard and I wouldn’t go back, so originally I kept going just to make a point,” Thomas said. “But then I really started to like it.”
She ended up loving it so much that she worked up enough skill to be accepted on the team and start to compete, but not once did she get shit for being “just a girl.” Thomas said, “If the coaches saw someone with a lot of skill, male or female, then I’m sure they’d try to find said person a fight. I had to wait until they felt I was ready. It had nothing to do with being a girl.”
For those of you ladies who think you may want to move up from club to team, don’t be afraid because according to Thomas, it’s an amazing opportunity. After experiencing her first fight last year, she explained how motivated she was. “I had finally gotten the chance I never thought I’d get–to actually have a fight,” Thomas said. “Which meant someone thought I was good enough to be put up against a girl from a military school. So that was exciting in itself.”
So why does Thomas think more girls should join? “It’s an experience like no other,” Thomas said. “Club is fun and gets you in shape and you learn a lot, but on team, actually getting to spar is the fun part that you can’t really do anywhere else. Where else do girls get to compete in the most basic form of competition: fighting? It’s a great outlet that many girls may not realize they’d love until they actually get to try it.” And let’s not forget about all of the other hard working guys and girls you can meet, and the chance to erase that belly fat to expose your abs!