The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-05-19
JOHN L. SULLIVAN
Preparing for His Fight With
Jake Kilrain.
HE BEGINS WITH A LONG TALK.
His Daily Diet and Work-Not the Seven Ages,
But the Seven Scientific Blows
of Man.

NEW YORK, May 1S.-''For my coming
fight with Kilrain, until very lately, had
intended to train at little place not fan
from New Orleans. That section of the
country is very familiar to me, for it was al
the same place | trained for my fight with
Ryan some six years ago. The climate
there is good, the ground is dry, the place
free from material affections, and the Their
mometer seldom ranges above 80 deg, OF
goes below 81. But l have lately changed
my mind, and now l think l shall train
nearer New York, and somewhere on the
outskirts of Brooklyn.
81 will give as careful a description of
my course of training as l can. Here is
what l go through every day from the 18th
of May until the day of the fight:
II get up about O'Clock and start out on
a five-mile walk. When l return from that
exercise, / am rubbed down with a coarse
towel and rest for about half an hour; then
| am ready for breakfast. That meal con-
sists Of chops or beefsteak and cup of
weak tea. I am not allowed to drink coffee,
because coffee has a tendency to make a
man bilious. Tea, if it is not too strong and
YOU don't drink too much OF it, is good for
| the nerves. Did you ever notice that nearly
all people who have grown to an old age
have been very fond of their cup of tea:
| think the fact is that tea is good for the
human system. After breakfast, l sit
around awhile read the newspapers OF
chat with my trainer, and then for half an
hour | exercise with the pound dump bells,
or swing a small pair of Indian clubs.
also skip rope. That may seem a very
Womanish exercise and the statement may
make some people smile but the fact is that
skipping the rope is an exercise for timber
ing up the joints; from it every joint in
your body receives benefit. | believe that
such exercise is excellent for young girls,
though they have a tendency to Oyerdo it,
in which case, Of course, il is very harm
full.
Another exercise indulge in at this
time is punching the bag, which is sUspen-
ded by rope from the ceiling and other ex
ercises occupying the time until the dinner
hour. They are continued pretty con-
stantly one after the other slowly and
easily, and not to the degree Of fatigue.
For dinner, eat roast mutton, roast
beef or roast chicken. l eat only the lean
of the meat at this or any other meal; the
fat is cut off and thrown aside. l consider
chicken, broiled or roasted, good food The
meat is dry and somewhat st-a1l 81 ani-!..
There is no choice between roast beef and
mutton; one is as good as the other
After resting awhile after dinner. ! go
out on my long walk and run for Il distance
OF twenty miles. l walk and run alter
nately. This is the most severe exercise
of the day and has for its object the
Strengthening Of the legs and the wind.
When I come in from the long run l am
rubbed down with a coarse towel, after
which jump into a bath tub with salt in
the water; or, if | am in d neigh bOrhOOd
where there is sea bathing, I take the
benefit Of that. also let the water run
over me in a shower. Then ] am rubbed
dry with a coarse hand towel, after which
my trainer rubs me down with his
hands, always rubbing in a down
ward direction. not both ways.
The object Of this rubbing is to harden the
flesh. If you rubbed both ways instead of
one, ii would have tendency to make the
flesh sore, because under this high training
the flesh becomes very sensitive, until, I'M
der proper treatment, it begins to harden.
BY this time it is o'clock. After dressing
myself l dine in ordinary costume and pass
away the time for an hour in reading or
chatting, and | have a good appetite for
supper. That is not such heavy meal as
breakfast or dinner. l generally eat little
cold chicken, some dry bread Il always eat
the bread dry, and drink bowl of weak
tea. AS a rule, | eat no dessert, though
sometimes l am allowed little rice pud-
ding. I don't smoke, or drink any kind of
liquor, though for dinner l sometimes take
bottle of BASIS ale. That drink, taken
in very moderate quantity at the noon
meal, consider beneficial. It is to a GER
tain extent, strengthening. 1 go to bed at
10 o'clock, and it is almost needless to say
enjoy good nights rest.
'Now, the reason don't eat fat is because
fat makes fat. The object of training is to
get rid of your surplus fat, to deyel OPP your
muscles and to harden your flesh, and to
get what fighters call your wind all right.
An ordinary man can not run up flight of
stairs or three or four blocks without be-
coming MINDED 1t makes no difference
how strong man may be, if his wind
gives out easily he is powerless. a man
can reduce his weight by sweating, but the
proper way is to reduce your weight by
exercise, and harden your flesh by rubbing.
Of course, it is necessary to take sweatS :;
they help a man, but you cannot rely on
them altogether.
again, as to eating, do not eat large
quantity of food, but l eat three good meals
during the day, and | eat food that is
adapted to make strength: don't indulge
in what the cooks call palate ticklers.'
suppose many business men eat more than
do, but don't think their appetite can be
a healthier one. Then again, they eat a
light breakfast, moderate lunch, and con-
sumo a large meal at the close of the day.
People sometimes express surprise that
prize fighters recover so quickly from the
punishment they receive in fight. After
the fight is over the fighter is given q hot
bath. That takes the soreness out of him
and keeps the blood in circulation. If he
has bruises the blood hasn't time to con-
geal. For very bad swellings the tincture
of iodine is used. If your eyes are all
bunged up, you simply apply hot water,
just as hot as you can bear, and that will
soon reduce them to their natural state. l
suppose the great secret of the fighters
quick recovery is the fact that he is in such
high state of health. Nature does most
of the work.
''They say if you cut an Indian with
Ratchet, q mean strong, healthy Indian,
that hasn't been soaked in bad whisky the
wound will heal of itself il few days.
Give white man the same kind of blow
and it will kill him. A fighter don't feel
bad while battling. He is in a state of
activity and the excitement helps to keep
him up. After the fight, he feels stiff and
sore. Between the rounds his mouth is
sponged out to prevent saliva from gather
ing and sticking in his throat; he is fresh
ened up by ice water applied to his head
just behind the ears with sponge. This
is a very sensitive part of the head. There
the application is especially beneficial.
''Stimulants are sometimes given, but it
depends on the condition OF the man. II
he is weak, they will give him a swallow of
brandy and Vichy water. Brandy is used
because it is quicker in its action than
whisky.
II am sometimes asked to give scientific
description of the fistic art. l do not know
that one man can do that any more than
one man can tell another how to succeed in
life. There are good many things to be
taken into consideration, and you, have to
consider them and decide upon them quickly
at tho time and Ind ont