This morning I was approached by a lady I coached for six weeks this winter. At 5’ 7” she is a six-day aerobic student, a weight-lifter, has run competitively, and is in training for her second bike race. She is the strongest chick that has ever laid a boxing glove on this old bone-rack. She hits as hard as a fit teenage featherweight, which means harder than half of the adult male heavyweights I’ve worked with. After telling me that she would be back training with us after her upcoming race she related an incident from this past weekend [Saturday the 12th I think]. I did not have my vaunted writing equipment at hand, so will summarize the incident below as best I can.

Liz and her adult son, Hunter, had just finished checking out at the Sears at Eastpoint Mall, off of Eastern Avenue in Southeastern Baltimore County. The mall is fairly ghettoized, with a police substation and fine dining courtesy of Ronald McDonald within.

It is not clear why Liz was verbally threatened by a younger woman as she walked past her. My guess is it had something to do with Liz’s long curly hair [not imported hair extensions courtesy of some Chinese slave girl] and genuine smile. Nothing brings out the beast in Harm City hos like a woman that did not wake up ugly, and does not scurry away in fear when they begin their dominance display.

Liz said to the 25-year-old female, “What are you going to do, hit a forty-two year-old woman?” and continued to walk out the door.

She told me that the sun was just going down in the evening and she was barely outside when the young woman shoved her from behind. Liz turned and popped a vertical fist [thumb-side up] jab with her right hand. She is not a southpaw. But we trained both sides equally as she was practicing for fitness and defense, not competition. Her fist had no scuffs or teeth marks, which is one good reason to target the nose, particularly of a non-boxer.

Liz summarized the effects of a good stiff jab on an idiot that is walking into it when she said, “I popped her and her nose exploded, and she was on the ground crying and calling the police.”

I told her, “I’m proud of your for using a jab, and for only hitting her once.”

She responded, “Well that’s all it took. She was done.”

The police did respond to the distress call of the downed she-beast. After speaking with the cashier and viewing the security video the cop asked Liz if she wanted to press charges, and she declined. That is one good example of how video surveillance is your friend so long as you limit your defense to reasonable force. Liz was pleased with the police officer’s handling of the situation. But, more than anything, she was shocked. “That is the first fight I have been in since high school. In a way it caught me off guard—but in a way not.”

As far as boxing for self-defense, keep in mind that the two second duration of this attack is typical, with anything over 10 seconds being a ‘marathon’. It is best, even if things go beyond the firsts second or two, not to seem to be ‘boxing’, but to use cut-off punches like Liz did, or counterpunches, as many successful boxer/defenders have. Either catch them walking in, or catch them throwing.

Good work Liz.