Three years ago I climbed in a boxing ring in front of several hundred people in a charity boxing event.

It took some thought before I agreed to make that commitment, but the experience was a positive one.

Would you be willing to do the same?  To give blood for charity in a boxing ring, rather than the conventional way?

Why did I do it?

I was approaching my 56th birthday and my dad had been 56 when he died of a heart attack.  My dad was a “scrapper’ and I thought of him when I agreed to do this.

Like most people, cancer has touched many people that I know.  I thought of those people when I agreed to do it.

I have always been a keen supporter of our community and saw this as an opportunity to show leadership.  That too was on my mind.

So I agreed to get in that ring, and having been there, I thought I would share some thoughts on my experience:

1.  It is a scary proposition.  If you can conquer that fear, then it gives you a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

2.  It is a big commitment of time … and yet these are incredibly busy people.  To do this, they get even better at time management.

3.  The training period for me was about 5 months.  My only knowledge of boxing came from watching it on television!  I had 5 months of personalized training in a new skill.

4.  Boxing is a physically demanding as any sport, and to be able to compete you need to be in great shape.  The 5 months of training supplemented by my own regular exercise regimen meant that I was in pretty good shape.

5.  Any new endeavor means meeting a new group of people and I met some very dedicated and amazing people through the experience.

6.  To put on an event like this is a huge endeavor and requires a leader willing to “make it happen”.  Just being around people like that is inspirational … we boxers made a big commitment, the organisers are at an even greater level of commitment.

7.  When you support any charity you get a better understanding of its impact, and meet people who have been affected.  That is a humbling and rewarding experience.

8.  I did not have it on my bucket list, but I am proud to be able to say, “I did it!”

9.  The friends you make through an event like this are for life … because this is a relatively small number of like-minded people willing to make this kind of sacrifice, and that is a strong bond.

10.  If you are a leader then it is your responsibility to give back, to lead by example and to help make our society a better place.  This is a very public way of doing just that.

If you get the opportunity to do this, give it some serious consideration … it is a very challenging, yet rewarding, way to really give back!

PS.  I lost my bout, but won in every other way!