Character Unlocked: Coach Rich Rodriguez of Harlem Free Fight Academy

When did you start boxing? 
‍I started boxing in middle school. My dad knew a bit of boxing and showed me as much as he knew, and when a boxing gym opened near me, I got a membership. I couldn’t afford to keep going, and I didn’t train again until high school out of an MMA gym. That’s the very idea of Harlem Free Fight: I couldn’t afford it, and I know how much it helped a younger, more immature me.

What is the difference (in terms of pedagogy) in how a boxing gym teaches boxing, to how an MMA gym teaches boxing?
‍MMA gyms tend to be more class-based, very different from how traditional boxing gyms operate. Most people that reach out always ask for classes, so I think a hybrid style would be best once HFFA opens a space: classes for beginners, and open gym for the more advanced and dedicated fighters.

Why boxing and jiu jitsu? What skills/knowledge do you hope the community gains from HFFA?
‍Boxing and BJJ are really popular right now. BJJ more so through MMA’s current cultural relevance. But both are something that a lot of kids really know about. When I was working after school programs, everyone from my third graders to high school seniors knew about either Conor, or Canelo, or Khabib or Wilder.  So interest is high. Access, on the other hand, is limited if you’re a young kid who can’t afford it. Training is expensive, and there are limited options in Manhattan the further uptown you go. By filling that gap, we can use boxing and jiu jitsu to build character in our young people who couldn’t afford it otherwise.

What do you define as character? As a coach, what is your first step to build character in your pupils?
‍Character is such a broad thing, but you know it when you see it in these kids. Each kid is dealing with their own unique problems, and each requires their own approach. That's character, and it’s what makes mentoring such a rewarding challenge. That’s why building a relationship should be the first step to helping kids solve their problems. Without establishing that bond, that trust, everything else fails.

What's your long-term goal for HFFA?
‍I’d like for us to open our own gym in Harlem so our kids can have a place to train, receive mentoring, and have a safe space.

How many children/youth do you serve?
We have 8-12 kids per class, and we were about 30 kids. My hope is that we can serve 100 kids by next summer.

How are you able to serve these kids if they don’t pay?
‍Being a 501c3 nonprofit, we support our kids through generous donations and grants. That’s why I’m so happy The Square Ring is supporting us, and it’s great to receive support from people who actually know boxing. Of course, donations from any source are always appreciated. But it definitely means a lot when someone within the fight community wants to give back.

Are these kids competing? 
‍We’ve had several kids compete and medal at Grappling Industries tournaments, and we’re still working on building skills for our boxers.

Looking at statistics, children from low-income homes are about half as likely to play sports than those from higher income homes (24% vs 43%). Does this match your experience, or does boxing have a different reach and retention?
‍I’ve seen this statistic, and I actually mention it when I’m doing larger presentations for HFFA. Because of where we operate and who we aim our program towards, we get a lot of kids coming in from housing projects and lower-income homes. That being said, it’s open to any and all kids. We’ve also had some kids come in from higher-income families.  It’s great for all of these kids to train together and learn more about other people who are living not too far from them, in some cases, just a few blocks.

‍Have you noticed that kids that might be playing baseball, basketball, or football, are now giving boxing a shot?
‍Absolutely. I have a kid that was a football player when I started my first after school program years ago, now he only wants to box. I have another kid that just graduated high school, he was playing soccer in school and was competitive. After his first year of jiu jitsu, he told his parents that he wanted to quit soccer and have BJJ be his main sport. It’s pretty dope seeing these kids fall in love with combat sports.

What is a success story you’re proud of?
‍There’s one kid who when he came to us, he had some communication issues because of some trauma when he was younger. He had a rough childhood, and his mother is really doing a great job all things considered, but he still had problems making friends and speaking with others. After training with us for several months, he became a lot more communicative, even coming to me after class to ask about participating in an upcoming grappling tournament. The growth in his confidence has been truly inspiring.

‍Aside from HFFA, do you do anything else professionally?
‍I work as a youth program manager for a climbing gym. I’m admittedly not much of a climber, although I’m getting a bit better every day.

‍As a fight fan, which fighters do you look up to?
‍I really liked Winky Wright, Sergio Martinez, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, And Miguel Cotto. In MMA, I was a big fan of Rampage, Frankie Edgar, and Anderson Silva

‍Do you play video games or board games? What nerdy things are you up to?
‍I used to play role playing games with my friends in high school. A bit of DnD, we had a few good Werewolf campaigns, and a Star Wars: Edge of the Empire campaign a few years back. Haven’t played in a while but hopefully I’ll get the chance again soon when my life is less hectic.

To toot our own horn, what do you like about The Square Ring?
‍I think what makes the game interesting is you can tell it was made by boxers. You could’ve taken the “easy way out” so to speak by just creating a generic board game, slapping a Mike Tyson look-alike on the box art, and called it a day. But the attention paid to different skill sets within boxing, and specifically the positional aspects of fighting; that makes it unique.

Similar to how boxing has taught you powerful lessons, what have these games taught you?
‍I’m someone who enjoys having fun no matter what I’m doing. In the ring, on the mats, playing tabletop games, it doesn’t matter. The looser I am and the more fun I’m having in sparring and competing, the better I am. Role playing games definitely helped me build a persona and lean into the fun of that, so there is some crossover there. The creativity, the problem solving, that’s the parallel.