We did training with pugil sticks today. This is what it looks like:



Since I was the only girl in the class, I was quite happy to bow out since I know I'm not as strong as most of the guys and I don't trust most of them to "go easy" - I was fighting only the second time in my life. We also didn't have the plastic nose/face covers like in the photo, just the soft helmets. This is key to remember.

They put me with Stogs, who is 50lbs heavier than me, easy; he's an inch shorter than me, really stocky, mostly muscle. I say it's a bad idea. The guys shrug it off and help me gear up.

We face off. And on the command, he immediately comes at me full force, BAM. The end of the pugil stick in my face. With all his strength, he hits me in the nose. I use my stick to block a second blow and push off of him, tucking and rolling. I hit the ground and roll over to cover my face. He finishes the attack with a gentle (!) hit to the side. The pain in my face at this point is RIDICULOUS. Involuntary tears of pain are streaming down my face mixed with a torrent of mucus from my nose. The guys are like "uhhhhhh" and start asking me if I'm okay. CPT Moxley helps me take my gear off. I'm not sure if any of them knew what quite had happened, I was reeling still. JDR helps me stand and move a ways off the field, asks if I need water. I'm gently prodding my nose, I didn't hear a snap so I was pretty sure it was okay, but I was trying to stop the tears and as I took my hands away I saw blood.

Yep, my first bloody nose. The damn thing doesn't bleed, ever. Doesn't matter how bad my allergies are, how dry my nasal passages are, how hard I get hit in the face, it's never bled.

Stogs hit me so hard that my impossibly strong nose finally bled. And the space between my nose and mouth/teeth - like the upper jaw area - STILL hurts.

And the CPT had to tell him to apologize. He was running on that much adrenaline. Bad idea, I think so! He seemed kind of shaken.

You know, I'm all for gender equality, but this was just plain stupid. If he had done that to one of the guys, he would have never heard the end of it. But I can't say shit because I'm a chick, and I don't want to be ostracized. So I had to take it in stride.

Not to mention it defeats the purpose of the drill.

What the fuck, man.