What we are fighting for

Myself, Dr. Jim, fellow boxer Dom and fellow boxer Ming

 So part of the reason we are doing this boxing is to support the Children's Surgical Centre http://csc.org/ in Cambodia. This is the charity which the White Collar Boxing (WCB), run by Vanda, is affiliated with. Vanda raises money at the 4 WCB events a year (2 in Singapore & 2 in HK) by having both a silent and live auction and they raise around US$200,000 every year. The company I work for, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), www.slh.com is donating a 7 night stay at any SLH hotel worldwide and hope this excellent prize will raise thousands of dollars for CSC.

The money raised from this prize and from all of the other auction prizes will go directly to the Children's Surgical Centre. On average every US$200 raised will pay for 1 life changing surgery. The kind of problems that people come to CSC with and need surgery for are horrendous, seriously debilitating such as club feet, cleft palate, cleft lip, acid burns, road accident injuries, babies with fluid on the brain to name but a few. An operation to help or even cure any one of these problems is life changing but only costs US$200 which would be considered nothing for you or I but the people who benefit from these surgeries would otherwise not be able to afford these operations. There is no NHS in Cambodia and these people are very poor and so going private is not an option. The charity was in fact originally setup to help children but they will also operate on adults as otherwise the adults will rely on children to help them, that is the reality of it in Cambodia as there is no home help or disabled facilities. 

A baby with club feet

I have always been slightly intrigued as to when you donate to charity where the money goes. I have always been slightly put off from giving by the statistics you hear about only a small percentage of what you give ever finds its way to the people who need it. Therefore I decided to go to Phnom Penh in Cambodia and visit CSC for the day with some of the other boxers and see for myself how the money is spent and how the operation is run. 

The Legend: Dr Jim

First of all I met Dr. Jim, by all accounts the founder and godfather of CSC. He has been doing this for 20 years and has dedicated much of his life to helping Cambodians, not just in Phnom Penh but all over the country. I very much doubt that Dr. Jim will be ever to give this up as it really is his baby and he has built it from scratch and overcome many challenges along the way. He estimates that CSC now carry out around 5000 operations a year and if you think that he has been doing this for 20 years then he has made a huge difference to tens of thousands of people’s lives. But Dr. Jim would be the last person to tell you it in those terms

 

Fast growing legend: Little Jim

After this we did morning rounds with little Jim. He is a surgeon from the UK who has previously worked in Africa and is now dedicating his time and skills to help those less fortunate.The ward was very busy with people who were recovering from the previous day’s operations as well as people who had just been submitted. It was very busy in the small ward of approximately 25 beds. The doctors were going around and assessing the success of the previous days operations and saying how long until the patient could go home or were diagnosing new cases and deciding what treatment was needed. 

I saw a baby who had an operation the previous day to remove fluid from the brain who was recovering well and there was also a 15 year old girl who had club feet but had never had them treated until now. It is such a shame as if she had been treated earlier in life she would not have the problems now.

Removal of keloid scarring after an acid burn

After this we went into surgery and this was not for the faint hearted. The theatre had three operating tables with three operating teams and there were operations going on simultaneously. They were not hanging around either. While I was in there I witnessed six operations which was unbelievable. With so many people who need help there is a real sense of urgency and Dr. Jim does not mess around, he is old school and he gets the job done. With such a tight budget decisions need to be made immediately as the surgeons simply cannot afford to procrastinate.

At the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity

 After visiting the CSC we went to the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity. In Cambodia acid burns are a big problem. Many acid burns are inflicted on purpose in crimes of hate. Acid is very readily available in Cambodia as batteries for cars and bikes come 'dry' i.e. without acid. It is therefore readily available at news agents and cheap. Up until recently the law did not consider the act of burning someone with acid to be a serious crime and was only punishable with a few hundred dollars fine. This has now changed, partly thanks to lobbying by the Acid Burn Survivors Centre. I am glad that this is the case as it destroys people's lives and the damage inflicted on people is irreversible, both physically and psychologically. Dr. Jim in fact setup the charity as some of the young girls who had been burnt were treated at CSC but then committed suicide due to the depression caused by the disfigurement. He wanted to give the victims the support they needed after the immediate surgery. Some of this support has been legal by trying to bring the perpetrators to justice and some has been psychological by trying to provide counseling. They also help in the long term by providing physiotherapy and making compression garments to soften the keloid scarring.

What the new wing will look like

After my visit I can really see that all of the money raised gets through to the people who really need it and nothing is wasted. Dr. Jim is an inspiration and has an amazing passion. He is ambitious and thinks long term as well, always trying to make CSC bigger and sustainable and so it can help more and more people in the future. They are building a new three story wing which should be ready soon which will hugely increase the capacity.

The new wing under construction

I am glad that the money which Small Luxury Hotels of the World raises will go to such a good cause and urge anyone on the night to bid generously as it is also a fantastic prize! If you cannot be there on the night but would like to donate to this excellently run charity then please visit and donate http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/IFS_WhiteCollarBoxingSGP/17march2012

Bicycle Race, Bikram Yoga and T-Rex arms

I am trying to get myself to a level of fitness which I have only ever dreamed about but (un)fortunately, unlike a professional athlete, I do have a day job to maintain and so it is proving a bit of a challenge but as the name of the blog says I have accepted the challenge.

One way in which I have been able to add some additional exercise into my regime is by cycling everywhere. I cycle to and from work and boxing training which means I never have to get the bus, MRT or taxis which also cuts alot of stress out of my life. However the buses and the taxis try to exact their revenge for my lack of custom by trying to mow me down. I am one charged up individual by the time I get to work. However I try to be as safe as possible as when it is Bus vs. Billy the Kid Kerr there will only be one winner. Touch wood we will not be hearing about that fight.

Another efficient way to keep fitness up is Bikram Yoga. I have been practicing Bikram Yoga at City Hall http://www.bikramyoga.com.sg/ since November when I did the 30 day challenge and it is beneficial in many ways. One way is that it is just a really good workout as you are basically trying to hold 26 poses in a 40°C room over 90 minutes and really stretch your muscles and loosen them up which also prevents injuries. A second benefit is that psychologically it gives you strength as you cannot leave the room and so you have to keep going and so you build up the mentality that there is no giving up and you can do it. It also teaches you to regulate your breathing in order to recover as quickly as possible which is going to be essential in the ring. Some fighters simply forget to breathe as they panic and so having the calmness to remember the basics must be instilled in you and this is what happens at Bikram Yoga. 

In terms of the boxing training my coach Alexis is excellent. He is ex-Singapore army and is in the Singapore Police Force and doesn't take any rubbish, especially from me! He is pretty militant and that is what I need as I need to get this stuff drilled into me, over and over again in order to learn it properly. We are still concentrating on the basics but I need to learn some more tactics because basically I have T-Rex arms. They are very budget. Therefore I think I will be best off becoming an infighter much in the style Mike Tyson and so I can get close to my opponent and overwhelm them with quick punches but I will need a good chin for this!

 Well keep reading my blog as next I will be writing about my experience in Cambodia at the Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), the charity we are supporting. Speak to you soon!

No “Cigarettes & Alcohol”

Have to give up the fags and booze as only 45 days to go until the big fight. Training has started in earnest and it is a punishing regime with three sessions which are an hour long each week and a sparring session each Saturday. In between work, my accountancy course and the training I have no time off. This is now my life for the next 45 days. I am already looking forward to day 46.

Now I am learning a few things about myself. One is that I actually quite enjoy getting hit in the face. When I say enjoy I mean I don’t mind it that much. Apparently gingers have a higher pain threshold anyway, I always thought there had to be some kind of justice in this world.

Something else I have discovered is that the surge of adrenalin you get before the fight is one of the biggest buzzes I have ever had. Your heart rate goes sky high before you get in the ring and you have to battle to control this. However when the fight begins and you are in the ring it is all just rage and hate for me at the moment. This is something I must control as this can easily be used by your opponent to their advantage as the red mist taints your judgment. After the fight is over it is a relief and you feel no animosity to your combatant as, after all, it is only a sport.

Am I good enough to win? Well time will tell but I believe I can. I am not fast enough yet but I have power and I am not afraid.

So you wanna be a boxer?

I am fighting in the IFS White Collar Boxing match in Singapore to be held on the 17^th March 2012. Just to give you an idea White Collar Boxing is a chance for people who want to compete in a highly competitive boxing match, but have little or no prior experience, to fight in a totally professional environment.

Please take a look at a recent event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdSpERofu8U&feature=g-vrec&context=G26b980eRVAAAAAAAAAQ . It is organised by Vanda Promotions http://vandapromotions.com/ and they also do events in Hong Kong twice a year.

I will be representing the company I work for, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), www.slh.com, who will be donating great prizes on the fight night to raise money for the The Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), which is a charity that  provides a range of specialized rehabilitation surgical services for disabled Cambodian children and adults, a very worthy cause considering Cambodias recent histoy. http://www.csc.org/

Now I would be lying if I said I considered myself a good fighter. The last time I had a fight I was 12. I made a fundamental schoolboy error as I broke my finger on the boy’s head but he delivered a straight right and I got a bloody nose.

Therefore I will have to train pretty hard or the only thing SLH will want to sponsor will be the bottom of my boots.

I will be updating weekly on how my training is going and giving hints and tips to aspiring wannabe boxers!