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On August 29th and 30th, 2009 I attended the South Jersey Expo in Atlantic City run by James Jefferson. It was my first time at the event and I thought with all of the competitions going on that it would be a tense and competitive atmosphere. I was completely wrong. Everyone at the event was supportive not only of the participants that they came to cheer on but also of the other competitors. There was so much support in the air that I was overwhelmed.
As I taped the deadlift competition because one of my friends was competing I observed something that I had never seen in competition. A competitor was standing behind the curtain ready to go out and deadlift. Someone from another gym who was competing in the exact same weight class patted him on the back and said, “go get them champ.”
The entire weekend was filled with competitors, spectators, vendors and staff bringing out the best in each other. From the opening prayer and National Anthem to the final trophy handouts I was proud and honored to be a part of the event. As the weekend wound down I found myself wanting to contribute even more than giving demonstrations of CKO Kickboxing.
As the expo neared the end I noticed a kid who appeared to be the one of the convention staff’s sons who they took to work with them. He was around 8 years old and the thing that I noticed about him was that he kept staring at an older boy’s Gold medal that he won in powerlifting. Whenever it comes to children I ask myself what would my father have done in this situation.
On the spur of the moment I walked over to the child and asked him if he wanted to enter the contest. He nodded his head yes even though neither of us knew what the contest was yet. As I walked him towards the punching bags I thought quick. I told him that the record was 99 punches in one minute on the punching bag in the under 12 division. I taught him the basic jab and straight right hand. I put him in his stance and told him to get ready as I looked at my phone telling him it was a stop watch. Then I said, “Go.” He punched as fast as he could as I counted. When he got to 90 I called out ten seconds. He threw another 10 punches as I called out, “Time.”
I raised his arm as I told him that he broke the record with 100 punches. Then I awarded him a pair of brand new boxing gloves. He was too excited to say anything and raced off to the concession area to show his mom or guardian.
My actions went along with the actions of others that weekend and the previously unwritten theme of the South Jersey Expo- everyone deserves to be a champion.
Joseph Andreula