My Boxing Workout: Me vs. the Gourd

Last night a couple of the amateurs were sparring in the ring, so I didn't get to do my beloved mitt work. What I did instead after several rounds on the heavy bag, was 2 or 3 rounds on this leather-covered gourd-looking bag about the size of a 3 month-old baby which is strung on a thick tethered cord that runs floor-to-ceiling. The object is to learn how to punch at an object that is moving. Rapidly. No problem I got this, right? *In Charlie Murphy voice* Wrong! WRONG! Let me tell you, heavy bag work is very deceptive. You think you can land a decent punch or combination, but doing that against an object (human or otherwise) that is in motion is another story. I basically spent the 3 minutes "whiffing" at the air and having the leather gourd come hurtling back at me and pop me in the face or shoulder. I was able to save face by learning when to roll and slip the gourd, but even then if you come up at the wrong time "WHAP!" By the 3rd round of this I'm sweating so much I'm sliding in my on my own sweat on the floor; I am able to put together a 1-2-3 combination (jab-cross-left hook) on the gourd three times in a row.