Students in Catherine Bragg’s two English classes at Dunbar Middle School are reading all about Alfred, the teen-age protagonist and would-be boxer in the book, “The Contender.”
On Friday, the eight-graders got a real-life taste of Alfred’s fictional life.
Several boxers from a local training gym visited the classroom for a demonstration of the sport. In front of more than 15 eighth-graders, Eastern Front Gym coach Breon Rucker held up boxing mitts as gym member Akhil Tucker threw punches, the slam of fist on mitt filling the room.
This was the second year members of Eastern Front Gym, located nearby at 1212 12th St., visited Bragg’s English class to connect the students’ coursework to the real world. Nearly 40 students in two classes participated Friday.
Bragg said Rucker helps others find their own vision for their life, similar to what happens inthe Robert Lipsyte book, “The Contender.” Bragg’s students are reading the book, which is about a black teenager who drops out of high school in the 1960s.
“A boxing coach invested in his life, giving him a purpose,” Bragg said about the book’s main character. “It’s not about being a winner. It’s about being a contender.”
Bragg said the book is relevant to studentstoday, because it teaches they have control over their actions even though they have obstacles to overcome.
“I think the students can identify with [having to make] that personal choice,” Bragg said.
Marquina Johnson, 15, who is in Bragg’s class, said she likes that “The Contender” is a “real-life story.”
“I can actually experience the struggle he has to feel whenever he comes to the gym,” Johnson said about the book’s main character, Alfred. “...This is my first time doing something from the book in real life.”
Students took off their shoes before sitting down on a mat in front of Rucker and the gym members.
After hearing from Rucker about how he turned his life around through boxing and with the help of gym members, the group led the students in a crash course in boxing basics, starting with the customary jump rope warm-up. The students learned about footwork, blocking and punching.
Semaj Reid, 14, who is in Bragg’s English class, said he liked hearing from the fighters.
“It makes it more fun to read the book, because you can, like, do it for real,” Reid said.
Reid said he learned to “try hard and finish strong.”
Rucker held up mitts for one of the gym’s youngest members, 9-year-old Tylájah White, who threw combinations of punches as Rucker called out numbers referring to different moves.
“I’m hurt; don’t let me out of this corner,” Rucker said, encouraging White.
Princess Hairston, a professional boxer and Eastern Front Gym member, said boxing gave her discipline because “there’s so much to learn.”
“Life is rough for me, but fighting is where I found my refuge,” Hairston said.
Saul Hicks, an Eastern Front Gym member whose passion is mixed martial arts, said he attended Dunbar Middle when he was younger.
“Not everyone plays basketball or football,” Hicks said. “But no matter [what you do], you fight for something whether it’s physically or mentally fighting.”
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