Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-06-29
Written for The EVENING srAa
JAKE KILRAIN ON PUGILISM.
The Man Who VIII Fight Sullivan Tells
of His Method of Training.

HIS DIET AND ExERcIsE-Two HOURS OF WORK
WITH THE ''swEATERs"-PuScaISG AND DoD6-
ING THE BIG BAG-RoUTISE OF A FIGHTER S
DAY-PUoILIsrs WHO HAVE MADE MONEY.
Every prize-fghter has his own method of
training his own fancy Of what ii is best to do
to get himself in condition, and may even say
that priZe-ighters have ''cranky" notions on
this subject of training just as other people
have peculiar ideas in regard 10 the particular
work or enterprise in which they are engaged.
Training is not matter with which nationality
has anything to do, and yet I can understand
that what might be proper to do in England it
would not be well TO do in our country, the
climate and the ways of living in the two coun-
tries being different.
And the fact n, that the methods of training
men for the prize ring as they are pursued IN
England are different from the methods fol-
lowed by American prize fighters. Furthermore,
even in England there have been quite num-
Der Of changes in the old methods introduced
by the new school of fighters, though they are
much more conservative in these matters than
we are on this side of the big pond"
KILRAIs's METHOD.
I will give q general outline of my own
method of training. get up in the morning
at 5 or o'clock and start out for walk Of
about four miles. Before start might take a
glass of sherry with an egg in it, or cup OF beef
tea, but nothing more. / walk leisurely, in
fact slowly. the object being simply to rouse
myself up after a good nights sleep, get a
breath OF the fresh morning air and start up
the physical system preparatory to the more
severe labors of the day. On my return from
this walk eat my breakfast; sometimes / have
fish and eggs, some times chop and eggs, or a
small steak, some dry toast and cup of weak
tea.
7 &box a. hnr
man, and / suppose he could have it if he
wanted it, but weak tea is better, because it
quenches your thirst and you permitted to
drink but little water, if, indeed, any at all.
You can't have coffee, on account OF its peculiar
action on the bowels and a mans stomach.
when he is training, is apt to be in a very
sensitive condition. After breakfast i sit
around read the morning papers and write
letters to my friends. Then / put the Sweat
ers" on and go out for my heavy sweat. These
sweaters" consist of three very thick fannels
and cover the whole body. With this not very
comfortable clothing Oh me, in addition, Of
course, to my ordinary outside wearing ap-
parel, / spend two hours in walking and run
ming. That is all do before dinner and may
add that that is all any man would want to do
before dinner.
PU6rLrsT's DINNER.
For the midday meal or dinner eat roast
beef, roast mutton, or boiled beef or boiled
mutton. I eat green vegetables at times, but
no potatoes. 1 drink two-thirds of pint of
ale or claret at this meal This is not very
large amount Of drink for a man, and do not
think it does me any harm. There is a certain
amount Of nutriment in ale and light claret
wine-it must be really good claret wine
quenches thirst and is an aid to digestion.
After dinner loaf around, as the saying is,
for an hour or SO, but always in the open air.
Then take slow walk for a mile or two. On
my return begin my work of punching the
big bag, which hangs in a room suspended
from the middle of the ceiling. However much
prize-fghting may differ in regard to other de-
tails connected with training, 1 believe that
they all believe in punching the big bag. This
punching process Hmbers up a mans arms and
exercises a set of muscles that SO fir during the
day have received out little attention. Then,
again, 1t makes man very active on his feet;
he has to keep lodging from one part OF the
room to the other in order to avoid the hits
from this big ball which comes flying at HIM
from all points ct the compass.
When a man gets worked up over this exer-
else, suppose, by straining his imagination
bit. he can fancy he has his coming opponent
right before him, pummeling him for all he il
worth; that makes this exercise all the more
Interesting and valuable. After this work
take my bath, or 1 may have taken it in the
morning after going through the walk with the
sweaters. 1 vary my food and / vary the exact
time take my different exercises. And may
say here that with fighters generally the most
difficult thing for them to endure in connection
with their training is the monotony of the
work, the doing the same things day after day
for several weeks.
THE NEED OF VARYING.
belive that this terrible regularity has
wearing effect on a mans mind; it bores him, il
worries him, and suppose worriment must az
feet the nervous system, and so do a man HARM
For that reason vary my course little; il I
have roast beef to-day may have boiled NUT
ton tomorrow; drink ale to-day, viii drink
claret tomorrow, and will take my bath, and
the rubbing down that always comes after il at
a different time each day.
About this time put on my everyday clothes
and idle away the time until tea is ready. For
this meal do not eat much, generally little
fish or a little chicken, never anything very
hearty. But day is not yet ended. After sup
per take slow walk for about four miles; on
my return it is quite likely will play game Of
billiards, and then, about half-pas 9 or 10
O'Clock, go to bed, feeling that have earned
a good nights rest.
Before a fighter begins to train he takes an
ordinary dose OF physic, an aperient pill and
Hunyadi Janos water in the morning In old
times prize fighters used to take what was
called the "black draught," and the custom is
still followed by many in England. This black
draught was composition of licorice salts and
SIENNA; it was a very nasty dose and a very pow
erful aperient. The old trainers would pfysic
q man week before he went to work. think
that system is a mistake, though some trainers
in England do the same thing in the present
day.
PUBLISH IN ENGLAND.
During my recent visit to England it did not
take very long to discover that there is much
more interest in prize-fghting over there than
there is in this country. In London there is a
building called Agricultural hall" I should
think it was twice as large as our Madison
Square garden in New York, and 1 suppose il
will hold $1,000 people. In this large building
frequent exhibitions OF pugilism can be seen
1 have witnessed as many as twenty knock-outs
at this place in one week, and the best shows
of this kind are always held there.
The price of admission to these entertain
ments runs from a guinea (S5.25) to 25 cents.
The ring is pitched ON platform built in the
center of the building, the same arrangement
that used to be made in Madison Square gar
| den. To the inner circle, nearest the plat
form, the admission fee is gninea. Then, up
above there are boxes, for which q man win
pay $3.50 for a week; these boxes hold ten or
twelve persons who often divide the expense
of the box between them.
But this is not the only place where such en-
tertainments can be found. Ishould think there