The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1910-06-24

coRBETT AND I WENT OUT EVERY DAY
FOR A TEN OR TWELVE MILE SPIN.
ton. His shoulders were very wide.
and he had long reach Everything
about his build helped him to pivot at
the hips and knees and swing his
whole body into the blow. My style
was different l didn't need to pivot
like Fitzsimmons. All l did was to
stick my left arm out like piece of
scantling and let them try to run into
me. l could hold them Off with the
left and could hit hard blow with
my arm nearly straight. swinging it
few inches like a club. could whip
that arm down to the body in good
stiff punch and plunge in with it. And
the right ! used for a good dig into the
body whenever l came to close quar-
ters. l crouched a little. and my chin
was partly protected by my left Shout
der. When l began using more of my
own style l did better, and especially
after had begun to try to equal Cor
belts fast footwork. That. l think,
was about the most important thing /
learned from Jim Corbett.
One of the first things l noticed
when began sparring with Corbett
was that unless could find Corbett's
toes l might as well throw stone at
q flying duck as try to hit him. When
we first boxed he was as hard to reach
as a shadow. l soon grew tired of
wasting my blows OH the air and de-
termined to force my way to close
quarters before letting 60 a single
punch. So l went after him steadily
while he jabbed and hooked and dane
ed away. At last in closing struck
my toes against his and. lunging at
the same moment. managed to get
home a good whack on his ribs. AS
soon as started forward again tried
the same trick, feeling around for him
with the toes Of my left foot and then
shooting out one hand or the other.
As soon as l felt him knew he must
be within striking distance. White
laughed at me after that round and
asked me If l was trying to step on
Corbett's feet to hold him there so he
couldn't get away. but l kept my own
counsel Corbett knew what ! was
doing. as l could see plainly, for when
we boxed again he took care to keep
shifting about rapidly to confuse me.
The part of the training that ! liked
best was the work on the road. l new
er tired of that. Corbett and l. some
times with the other sparring partners
| trailing along. went out every day for
| q ten or twelve mile spin. Sometimes
we walked and ran alternately; some
| times l ran the whole way at an easy
| trot. finishing with 200 or 300 yard
! squirt as we came near the handball
court. Jim Corbett was very proud
of his running ability. and naturally
ran even with him at the finish. al
though there never was atday when
| couldn't have left him far behind.
Billy Delaney thought that Corbett
| was doing too much road work. es
pecially when he went out for Ions
slow jog on the day before he was tt
meet Fitzsimmons. "He's leaving his
fight on the road" Delaney complain
ed. But Jim was a nervous big fel
low. He had to be doing something
all the time With me it never made
much difference how killed time JUS
before a fight as long as l knew m!
work had been done and that l wal
fit A game of croquet or a couple o
hours poker playing was good enough
to fill in. Corbett was different. h
was Of a worrying mind, Away
thinking he had to do little none t
get himself exactly right and perhap
actually losing more strength through