Training in Tiger Bay
As a boxing club at the heart of a Muslim community, Tiger Bay ABC plays a vital role in bringing all walks of life together.
Ramadan provides an especially perfect opportunity to do this, giving the Muslim community the chance to remain active around fasting while also educating those around them about the meaning behind it.
Talking about how Tiger Bay adapts during Ramadan, coach Wasem Said commented:
“We get sessions closer to the break in fast as well as make them a bit shorter; we’ll do fewer exercises (and nothing too extreme!) so the boys don’t feel too tired, but we still train.
“We stop doing so much cardio and concentrate more on bag work, strength work and pad work so that training doesn’t get too much for the boys while they’re fasting.
“Part of the point of Ramadan isn’t just to sit around and be lazy,” he explained. “It’s to continue doing sport, physical activity and work in order to understand the ethos of fasting.”
Wasem and his colleagues encourage collaboration and understanding of different cultures, and Ramadan gives them a great opportunity to educate the non-Muslim community about fasting.
“We also sometimes break our fast in the gym after training, which allows non-Muslims to understand the whole reason for it,” he said.
“We have a lot of non-Muslim boxers, so we welcome everyone in order to understand each other’s cultures and religions – it’s all about learning from each other, accepting each other, and respecting each other and where you come from.
“So we’ll get some dates in, etcetera,” he continued, “and break our fast together; that unites all of us as a family inside the gym.”
Ramadan also provides a suitable time to stress the importance of diet to young boxers.
“Diet’s important, of course,” confirmed Wasem. “We prefer to not eat things that are too oily. People might think that fasting is just not eating all day and then eating anything when the break in fast comes around, but that’s not right.
“We want to keep a healthy diet, healthy mind and a healthy lifestyle. So, Ramadan is an especially important time to promote that; in Islam, the Prophet encourages us to do sport, keep a clean body and mind, which is an important message for all in humanity.”
Overall, Tiger Bay ABC is a vital pillar in the local community, and its role goes beyond sport according to Wasem.
“It’s about allowing each one of us to learn from and understand each other, for us to come together and train as a family. Tiger Bay provides a space where everyone steps in as equals; the only difference between Muslim and Christian or black and white is simply how hard you train and, through that, the difference you can make within yourself.
“Besides that, there is no difference,” concluded Wasem, “because we’re here to get along with each other, to train each other and to support each other.”