Thursday, March 28, 2024

Boxing with a traditional punch

Boxing with a traditional punch
Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero Darrell Smith, left, instructs Elias Kee, 11, from Tse Bonito, N.M., how to throw a right punch on Aug. 3 in Fort Defiance. His younger brother Matthew Kee, 9, is in the background.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
Darrell Smith, left, instructs Elias Kee, 11, from Tse Bonito, N.M., how to throw a right punch on Aug. 3 in Fort Defiance. His younger brother Matthew Kee, 9, is in the background.

FORT DEFIANCE

With his boxing mask on and boxing pads on each hand, Darrell Smith prepares to put himself through the rigors of becoming a human punching bag for his young would-be boxers.

Boxing training is about to begin.

Outside of Smith’s house, three punching bags are hanging on a cottonwood tree next to the “Black Cloud truck,” a 1974 Chevy pickup truck. Smith says the truck was used in Ricky Shroder’s 2004 movie about a Native American boxer given a chance to box in the Olympics.

“It’s been everywhere hauling kids to boxing tournaments,” Smith said of the pickup truck.

Smith begins to work with a couple of brothers who are newcomers to the sport, Elias Kee, 11, and Matthew Kee, 9, both from Tse Bonito, New Mexico.

Smith begins practice with carefully wrapping both of their hands with a strip of cloth which helps prevent injuring the wrist and hand.

After a brief warm up, Smith begins to work them through a series of punches and movements.

“Hands up! There you go, work, work,” Smith yells through his mouthpiece.

After a two-minute drill, Smith counts down from 10 and ends with “mos macho,” which he said means “more courage.”

They move the workout to the boxing ring, which Smith says, intimidates his young boxers who’ve never been inside one.

Smith says Damon Boxing originated in 1961 under a smaller and younger cottonwood tree. That’s where the boxing ring was set up, close to where it now sits.

Smith instructs the brothers how to stand when throwing a punch as he prepares to become their punching bag once again.


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About The Author

Donovan Quintero

"Dii, Diné bi Naaltsoos wolyéhíígíí, ninaaltsoos át'é. Nihi cheii dóó nihi másání ádaaní: Nihi Diné Bizaad bił ninhi't'eelyá áádóó t'áá háadida nihizaad nihił ch'aawóle'lágo. Nihi bee haz'áanii at'é, nihisin at'é, nihi hózhǫ́ǫ́jí at'é, nihi 'ach'ą́ą́h naagééh at'é. Dilkǫǫho saad bee yájíłti', k'ídahoneezláo saad bee yájíłti', ą́ą́ chánahgo saad bee yájíłti', diits'a'go saad bee yájíłti', nabik'íyájíłti' baa yájíłti', bich'į' yájíłti', hach'į' yándaałti', diné k'ehgo bik'izhdiitįįh. This is the belief I do my best to follow when I am writing Diné-related stories and photographing our events, games and news. Ahxéhee', shik'éí dóó shidine'é." - Donovan Quintero, an award-winning Diné journalist, served as a photographer, reporter and as assistant editor of the Navajo Times until March 17, 2023.

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