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The Webster definition of a role model is: a person whose behaviour in a particular role is imitated by others.

Being a role model is a very serious and impactful job, but on the other hand, it is also an extremely rewarding and fulfilling job.   

As adults and coaches, I understand our influence on our young girls, teens and even the adult women we coach. As much as we teach the sport of boxing to improve their physical fitness and boxing skill, we are responsible for guiding them through a comprehensive healthy lifestyle which may include: nutritional advice, mental strength and fortitude, self love, and the importance of overall health to help them in their daily lives while forming habits to last a lifetime.

In 2013, Coach Kristina was introduced to the Fast & Female by her dear friend and Olympian boxer Mandy Bujold. She fell in love with all of it and shortly after became a R.E.A.L Role Model with Fast & Female – an organization whose mission is to keep girls healthy and active in sports; a mission that GJWB also embodies. Fast & Female introduces self-identified girls aged 8-14 to inspiring athlete role models at non-competitive, fun-filled events all over North America. I joined the program later in 2018. R.E.A.L Role Model refers to: Relatable, Empowered, Active Leaders.

41% of girls age 3-16 don’t participate in any sport. Without the introduction to sports, they are unaware of the benefits. Especially for girls in that age group it is vital that they are exposed to women in sport – whether these women are: athletes, coaches, sports broadcasters, officials, Olympians, nutritionists, therapists, etc – to show options for when they go grow up. There are many opportunities to be involved with sports outside of going to the Olympics and many opportunities and careers after the Olympics. Without visible women in these roles it may seem unavailable, unachievable or not even and option. You have to see one to be one.

Coach KJEM and I have been VERY lucky to partner and work on Fast & Female champ chats and other events (including virtual!) to introduce boxing to girls and help encourage them to stay in sport. Sport not only has physical benefits, but also helps young girls and teens develop the confidence, leadership and teamwork skills that are essential for life.

        Studies from Ernst & Young have found that 94% of women who hold C-suite level positions are former athletes - proving the correlation between athletics and leadership. 

Having had many opportunities to be at these events, it is extremely rewarding to see the spark in these girl’s eyes as they learn how to throw punches, have fun, make new friends, and allow us to share our personal experiences in the boxing world. I know first-hand how boxing has changed my life and I just want to encourage these girls to stay active in boxing or any sport!

In the sport of boxing specifically, we need to see more females in all areas: athletes, coaches, cut (wo)man, officials, referees, announcers, commentators, promoters, etc. There are many different path options for girls and women to stay in the sport of boxing as a career even if/when they are not competing. Without these role models we may lose these girls to another sport or career path.

As the community pillar of GJWB and Level 5 of our program, we have a network of women within the sport to assist girls with any questions, sparring, clubs, connecting with other athletes, and more. It is our goal to bridge the gap and help our community with their boxing journey - wherever it may take them! This is also something GJWB will continue to do with the ambassador program launching in 2021. Please sign up to our newsletter below to stay up to date on that program and all things GJWB.

Do you have any role models in your life? How have they influenced you through sport or general life?

Lets start with: why do we even wrap our hands in the first place?! Protection – also in line with our motto: #ProtectThePretty; we must protect our hands including both our wrist and knuckles which will also protect your elbows and shoulders. 

To start wrapping your hands the first step is to take them out of your GJWB wrap travel and wash bag. Then unravel the wraps to find the thumb loophole. Choose whatever colour or pattern your are feeling for the day and feel free to twist the reversible fabric to change up the look anytime! The GJWB hand wrap was redesigned because wraps have been the same for decades. We are eliminating the need to cut up a kitchen sponge and try to place it in-between your wraps for extra comfort and protection, amirite!? 

Follow below and/or watch our video:  

Step 1: Open velcro, unravel holding the thumb loop & choose your colour vibe for the workout with our reversible styles.⁠
Step 2: Hook the thumb loop and pull the wrap over your wrist 2-3 times.⁠
Step 3: Pull across your palm thumb to pinky and over the knuckles (ensuring the sponge is flat) 2-3 times.⁠
Step 4: Pull the wrap (taut not tight) back to the wrist in an X across the top of your hand.⁠
Step 5: Back around the wrist and repeat in an X to the knuckles again continue to wrist until there is no wrap left.⁠
Step 6: IMPORTANT: Make sure your velcro ends on your wrist and you can twist between the velcro to fit your size of wrist and how tight you like the wrist support to be! 

This is the quick and easy way to wrap your hands. You will need to practise before it happens quickly without thinking too much so be patient with yourself or find a coach to wrap you up from time to time! 👊🏼😉

You don't have our handwraps yet?! Head over to the store to get yourself a pair!!

In the last year, I have had 3 injuries- nothing broken, but enough to put me out for 2 months- including my most recent one to date.

I was upset and cried. I enjoy being active and having to eliminate or reduce this was difficult.

Trying to change this negative to a positive, I started to think of activities and tasks I could do while I can’t be training and wanted to share:

• Watch your old sparring and fight videos to see your progress and make note of areas you need to work on
• Using your notes of areas to work on; create an action plan for how to improve in those areas
• 5 minutes of meditation and breathing everyday to help release bad energy (even momentarily)
• Watch professional fights to observe and learn tactics, strategies and technique
• Write down 3 goals you want to achieve when you do get back to training (don’t need to be big, can be small!)
• Go for a walk or cross train if you are able. Do some physical exercise (again if you’re able) for your mental health
• On the topic of mental health. Use this time to strength your mental game. Boxing is a physical sport, but it also requires a strong mental performance. Journaling could be a form of building your confidence, giving yourself a mantra that you write down or say out loud often, and/or doing word puzzles to get mental stimulation
• If retail therapy will help, maybe buying a new gym outfit that you can wear when you can go back to training
• Lastly do not miss out on your prescribed medication, ice and/or heat as prescribed, and stretching. The more pro-active you are with your treatment the better off you are to recover in the prescribed time from your therapist
• SLEEP; now more than ever, try and give yourself enough rest as this will help with recovery as much as possible

Have you had an injury that put you out? What strategies have you used to help you get through it? Any other suggestions you can contribute in the comments?

How to find the class schedule & register:

1) Class schedule and registration will be found on the GloFox app under Girls Just Wanna Box or from the JOIN CLASSES tab on the GJWB website. If it is your first class, you may 'purchase' for your first class free. Otherwise you may purchase a class punchcard or use any current credits you have on your account. 
2) You must register for the class on GloFox so we know numbers and can prepare the classes, there is quite a bit of prep work done with Virtual classes to ensure the best workout possible. 🙏🏼. You will need to either purchase a membership - first class free, drop in, or punchcard before you can register for a class. 
3) You will also need to download the Zoom Cloud Meeting app  (where the class will take place) on either your phone, tablet, or computer.  
4) 1 hour before the class time frame you will be emailed a meeting URL link and password to join the class.
5) Click on the link emailed to you and enter the password to join!
6) Don't forget you will need: space to move around, water, and we will bring the energy. ⚡️ 

If you have any questions with setting up your Glo Fox and/or Zoom, please do not hesitate to email us: info@girlsjustwannabox.com 

We look forward to seeing you all online!!

Do you have any female coaches? This is a great question to ask because in our experience female coaches will give more instruction and answer ALL THE QUESTIONS you will most likely ask. Because that's how we do! 😆

Confused by some boxing terms, and why is the lingo different everywhere?

Maybe you have been to one boxing class, twenty +, or none! There are a few basic phrases that we want to help you learn so that you can talk the talk. We will build on this library for you and if you think there is something you have heard and would like to add to this list just comment below! Remember no question is a dumb question... well for the most part! 😆👊🏼

Orthodox – If you are an Orthodox fighter you are most likely right-handed so your lead food is your left and your rear foot is your right within your stance.

Southpaw – If you are a South Paw you are a leftie and your lead food is your right and your rear foot is your left in your stance. Sometimes we have found that if you are 'goofy' as a lefties stance is called in most board sports you maybe comfortable in both stances. This can also be the case of an Orthodox fighter. 

*Remember many coaches have different ways of calling out punches but these are standard.

Jab or 1 – The Jab is probably your most important punch and is executed with your lead hand. 

Power/Cross or 2 –  This is your power punch that you unleash with your rear hand and can be that knockout punch as you should be rotating your full body weight behind this punch.

Hook 3 & 4 - If you are Orthodox your 3 is your Left hook punch and your 4 is a Right hook. If you are Southpaw it is the opposite. FUN FACT: many times your 4 is another straight right/left. A very popular combination is 1-Jab 2-Power 3-Hook 4-Power. 

Uppercut 5 & 6 - Again if you are Orthodox your 5 is a left Uppercut and your 6 is your right. Swap those if you are Southpaw. FUN FACT: in real boxing you don't get many chances to throw 6 punch combinations as 1-6 but its used in more Boxing fit classes and working on your power bunching and the different ranges for the punches.

Long/Short/Mid- Range Punches: Yup this is a real thing. When you begin boxing you should really be working mostly on long range punches which are your 1-2. But as you move closer to someone you will also need to be able to throw these punches just as effectively in close range. 

Defense: 

Parry – a block that redirects the energy of a punch coming toward you. Never reach for the punch let it come to you. 

Slip – a defensive move in which your body rotates left or right (with your guard up) to move out of the way of any straight punch.

Bob & weave – a defensive move in which you squat down and then roll to the left of right depending on the punch you are trying to block. You want to move quickly in more of a V shape then a full U which is a more advanced move that you can throw punches off of.

Footwork: (Also a part of defence) 

Pendulum Step – This is where floating like a butterfly comes into play, when you are in your boxing stance and you are lightly bouncing forward and back together with both feet always in STANCE. You propel yourself with the balls of your feet allowing you to move quickly in the ring and get to where you need to be or get out of the way quickly.

Pivot – A quick change in direction off of your lead foot, you can do this off of your rear as well but that is a more advanced move.

Step & Punch - Being able to move forward using the momentum behind your movement and putting that energy behind your punch. Your punch will land at the same time your foot steps down. *More on this in a footwork blog to come.

These are a great start to building your boxing term vocabulary please comment below if you have any terms or questions you want us to answer. What terms have confused and we promise all questions will be answered, it will be helpful for everyone! xo TEAM GJWB

What do you need to get started? FOR FUN & REAL

So you have decided you would like to try boxing or continue your boxing journey and take it to the next level– what do you need?! To get started, you will need a few things….
For the GIRLS who are beginner boxers, you will need:
Handwraps - this piece of equipment will help support your wrist and knuckles when you are doing bag work. Additionally, they will also make you feel like a real boxer! There are many different ways to wrap your hands, but a short and simply way is to:
1) Start by placing the loop around your thumb

2) Cross the wrap around your wrist (approximately 2-3 times depending on your wrist support needs)

3) Cross the wrap up towards your knuckles (again approximately 2-3 times depending on your knuckle support needs)

4) Bring the handwrap back down toward the wrist as this is where you will fasten the velcro to complete your handwrap.

Gloves (also referred to as bag gloves); You will need bag gloves (10oz, 12oz and/or 14oz) for heavy bag work and touching gloves with partner drills, you need to put on a pair of gloves to help protect your hands. The weight of the glove that you should be wearing can be determined based on your height, weight, and bone structure.

Fitness shoes or boxing boots? You are certainly more than welcome to wear fitness shoes to a boxing class, but investing in a pair of boxing boots is beneficial as they are lighter so they will help you move quicker and easily change direction. Just make sure your regular gym shoes have a low sole like a free runner as you don't want to twist your ankle doing footwork in a thick soled running shoe.

Gym clothes: This boils down to personal preference of whether you wish to wear shorts, leggings, t-shirt, tank top, or a sweat suit (if you really want a good sweaty session boxer style) to really – the choice is yours! The most important attribute is that you feel comfortable!

Skipping ropes: This is optional and also may be provided at your local boxing club or box fit gym. This is a great tool that many boxers use as a warm up, but certainly not necessary to learn how to box. This is a great tool to help build endurance and stamina, which is needed for a boxing class or fight!

For those of you who want to box for REAL you will need to:

Decided to Compete: Now that you have stepped over to the For Real side, you are looking to compete in your first amateur fight – whether this be a club show or charity event OR you have already done so and you are looking to continue fighting in amateur or advance to going professional.

Protective Gear: Includes mouthpiece, headgear, jill, chest protector (optional). All of these protection pieces are used while sparring and fighting. You will need to have all of the above in order (with the exception of the chest protector which is optional, but recommended) to participate in either.

Sparring gloves: Sparring gloves (usually 16oz) must be used for sparring as these have extra padding to avoid hurting anyone. Sparring is intended for learning and growing as a fighter, not with the intention to hurt anyone.

Do you have your boxing license & boxing medical: In order to spar and compete as a boxer, these two items are required. If you are located in Ontario, you may receive all forms from Boxing Ontario: www.boxingontario.com . If you reside outside of Ontario, please contact your local boxing organization for these forms.

Be ready to start your own business. It is financially draining to compete as a boxer, work a full time job, and fuel your body properly. We are here to help! We want you to be a role model for other female boxers (For Fun and For Real). We will provide you with the tools that you will help you for sponsorship (relating to boxing gear, apparel, supplements, etc) and potentially helping you build your own GJWB classes to coach other females the sport of boxing. As part of the GJWB brand, team and community we are also available for support both personally and professionally – us girls have got to stick together!

xo TEAM GJWB