"Head Like A Snake, Feet Like A Duck"

This summer's Olympic Games might have been taking place somewhere other than China if not for a boxing gym in Brooklyn.  Back in 1989, the Chinese government was preparing to make a bid to host an Olympics.  But first they wanted to make a strong impression at the 1990 Asian Games, which they were hosting.  Although strong in many sports, China had no boxing team.  In fact, they had no boxers.  So they sent four athletes with no boxing experience to Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn for the purpose of becoming boxers.  

The arrival of the four athletes was met with great fanfare with much of the attention centering on the heavily tattooed heavyweight Wang Wei Xiong, who sported a tattoo of a woman and eagle.  Air China paid their fare and Lena Hsu, through her company Le and Le Associates, sponsored their stay.  “None of the boxers spoke English,” recalled Hsu, who had a consultant firm in New York that helped the newly arrived Chinese make the transition to life in the states.  The Chinese government had contacted her and she contacted Bruce Silverglade and Ira Becker about training the fighters.  She set them up with room and board, stipend, medical and legal advice.  “They developed their own language,” she recalled.  Trainer Al Gavin had to physically demonstrate each move and the four athletes, like ducklings following their mother, would mimic his moves.  “Al would tell them ‘Head like a snake, feet like a duck!” 

The staff at Gleason’s is used to improvising.  There’s a reason Gleason’s is the oldest active gym in America.  They are willing to accept change and take on assignments others gyms won’t dare touch.  They were among the first boxing gyms to accommodate women boxers.  White collar boxing, a sport where lawyers, doctors, CEO’s and PhD’s get to punch each other in the face in a real life version of Fight Club, got its start at Gleason’s Gym.  Robert De Niro and Hillary Swank won Academy Awards for their portrayal of boxers in the films Raging Bull and Million Dollar Baby.  They both prepared for their roles at Gleason’s.  Before, after, and in between all that, the gym found time to produce 131 world champions-and counting.  It was only natural that four athletes who needed to become boxers and who carried the hopes of their nation on their shoulders ended up at Gleason’s.  “We’ll take on any challenge,” says gym owner Bruce Silverglade.

After a few months of training, they were ready for competition.  Three of the four won their first bouts, including heavyweight Wang Wei Xiong.  Peter Depasquale served as their conditioning coach and recalls how quickly they learned.  “They were already in shape.  They ran in several New York Road Runners meets.  In the gym, they were a trainer’s dream.”  And just like a dream, the four athletes turned boxers who could do little more than smile at you when they greeted you were gone.   

Little was heard of them after they returned to China.  They continued to train in China and shared what they learned in Brooklyn with the rest of the Chinese boxing team.  At the 1990 Asian Games, Wang Wei Xiong won a silver medal.  His teammate, Bai Chong Guang, won a gold medal and went on to compete at the 1992 Olympics.  As a whole, China did well at the 1990 Asian Games.  They won more medals than any other country and showed the world that they could successfully host an international sporting event.  They entered a bid with the International Olympic Committee and eventually were awarded the 2008 Games.  As for the staff at Gleason’s, they went back to making champions.

China promises that this year’s Olympics are a must see.  If you tune in, take a moment to remember the four athletes who had to become boxers.  The ones who moved their heads like a snake and their feet like a duck.  And keep in mind that it all might have been taking place somewhere else if not for a musky old gym in Brooklyn, New York.

ED. NOTE: Thanks to Jose for sending in this piece to share with our readership!