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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Boxing is Not Just Fisticuffs

6 March, 1999 - 00:00

By Oleksandr HONCHARUK and Petro MARUSENKO,
The Day

We seem to be slowly forgetting that there are still children's sports
schools somewhere. Yes, there are few left for want of funds, premises,
and coaches, most of whom have left to look for better jobs elsewhere.
In a word, children's sports are in a state of decay. There is one happy
exception, however, a junior boxing club called Kozak (Cossack) in Darnytsia,
one of Kyiv's modern developments. The Day visited the club and
discovered that it is alive and kicking.

A regular training session was in progress. Two future stars were eagerly
throwing punches at each other and then we heard the coach: "C'mon, Sashko,
your partner is just a rookie and you work him over like a regular adversary.
Remember the first time you came and I let you out in the ring? We treated
you with consideration..." What surprised us most were the kids' eyes.
Serious, understanding, without a hint of aggressiveness.

"I live nearby, so one day I just dropped in," says 10-year-old Dmytro
Natalushko from School No. 127. "I wanted to learn to defend myself, for
lately they'd been beating up on me."

"We'll make champs one day," we were told confidently by Volodymyr and
Yevhen Shevchenko, 10- and 12-year-old brothers. They have been with the
club for half a year and learned much.

And then we talked with Kozak Vice President Serhiy Stashchenko.

The Day: You are doing an excellent job, but isn't the whole
thing a bit too late? First they closed down children's sports schools
and let the kids out in the street, now they are trying to get them back
inside.

S. S.: I know what you mean. It's true that the system of physical
education for young talents, tested and adjusted over decades, fell apart
together with the USSR. New trends appeared instead that were anything
but welcome. Now the kids' heroes are all kinds of Supermen, while drugs
and prostitution are taken as a matter of course. On the other hand, we
would never have started our club if we accepted all this. We decided to
set up Kozak six years ago. It was not built in an empty place. There was
a boxing group at the local radio factory. No one remembers when it was
founded. But then the factory closed.

The Day: And then some good guys came and produced bulging
wallets and said we'll take care of the kids, get them all out of trouble
and back in shape.

S. S.: Why the sarcasm? In fact, a lot of things can be done
without spending too much if one uses one's head, and especially if two
or more heads are put together. We had the premises and some equipment.
All it took was dedication and understanding. Before long kids started
coming asking to join the club. Seriously, we got in touch with people
who still remembered their first time in the ring. We talked it over and
decided that each would contribute as best he could. And there were businessmen,
Volodymyr Puzy, Yuri Tichman, Oleksandr Shybryk, and others. The hat was
passed and we came up with the sum we needed. And the whole thing was organized
by the club's manager, Oleksandr Petiushenko.

We have ten groups attended by some 150 boys. They are divided into
four divisions: preparatory, training, intermediary, and top class.

The Day: The name of your club. What is there between a Cossack
and boxing? We know that the Cossacks liked to dance the hopak and
turned that into a kind of contest. But I don't think anyone at the Zaporizhzhian
Sich practiced punches with gloves.

S. S.: So what name would you suggest? Something Oriental or
highly sophisticated? We wanted the club to have a name that would be Ukrainian
and familiar to one and all. There are plenty of bars, shops, and offices
with foreign names on Khreshchatyk. Besides, the kids like it.

The Day: Some of your little Cossacks must have made their
names at competitions.

S. S.: They surely have, even in Europe. Oleh Stukalov would
up in the 1995 junior championship finals. Volodymyr Khodakivsky, Maksym
Holovyzin, and Vasyl Tabarov are all world junior championship prize winners.

The Day: You sound very enthusiastic. Which is more important
to you: education or competition results?

S. S.: The main idea is get as many kids as possible off the
streets, divert them from less wholesome pursuits. Among those training
here are boys from Darnytsia, Dniprovsky, and Kharkivsky city districts.
I mean our working-class districts, high risk areas here and elsewhere
in the world. People living there are worse off materially and their habits
are less civilized. But it is also true that such families supply most
future champions. The main thing is to watch every bout, keeping it athletic,
without getting personal and turning into just another fist-fight.

The Day: Paid services are in these days. Is the attendance
free at your club?

S. S.: Of course it is. The are many children who cannot afford
to train where they like. I mean problem or low-paid families. Now they
have Kozak. There is another important thing: kids always need a leader,
someone they can respect and look up to, someone they can confide in. And
they have precisely such a man in the club: Oleksandr Petiushenko, our
manager. It is largely thanks to him that all of us, his former pupils
now busy doing different things never forget about boxing. Although most
of us never won medals our love for the sport has remained.

The Day: We happen to know that you have a special attitude
toward sports medals. What is it?

S. S.: At one time I won about a dozen or so city junior championships
and every time my only trophy was a diploma. And I craved a medal. Just
a single one, so I could hold and know it was mine, throw the ribbon round
my neck and feel it on my chest, watching my friends' eyes widen with appreciation.
And all I had were sheets of paper. Just paper that you can tear by accident
and which fades with time. So we will give our winners only medals, special
boxing ones. I think this is good incentive.

The Day: Would you like your children to follow in your footsteps?

S. S.: I have two daughters. Twins. I know that female boxing
is cultivated in many countries (Ukraine included), but my wife and I are
resolutely opposed to the idea. Just picture a girl with a bloody nose
and a shiner! You may have noticed that we have no girls training at the
club. I think that the most important thing for a girl is to be kind-hearted
and decent, rather than a champion.

We left the club and met a group of boys, each wearing a small knapsack.
Friendly cheerful faces anticipating another session in a brightly lit
ring.

 

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