Boxing training is helping a former gang member in San Quentin release anger, curb aggression and find inner peace.
“Through boxing I can let go of negative thoughts and negative energy,” said Perry “Spike” Simpson, 46. “I am no longer angry and insecure. I am able to think and see clearly without acting out in an aggressive way.”
He trains by jumping rope and pounding a punching bag in the prison’s Lower Yard.
Simpson said growing up in a gang-infested neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles was where he developed his aggressive behavior. “Where I came from, you either go to school, be a square and get bullied, or become a gang member. I chose gangs,” he said.
In a household with an absent father, Simpson said he ran the streets and joined the gang at the age of 11 to fill the void of emptiness. He admitted his criminal lifestyle resulted in constant run-ins with the law. At 13, Simpson was arrested for burglary and is currently serving a life sentence under the Three Strikes Law.
Raised without a father, his grandmother, mother, and older sisters played a big role in his upbringing. “I had to be the man of the house,” said Simpson. He added, “These women in my life was everything to me and they was my biggest supporters.”
Unfortunately, deaths in his family contributed to his deviant behaviors. In 1986, his grandmother passed away from natural cause; in 1987, his older sister was kidnapped, raped and murdered; and in 1988, while waiting for his mother’s visitation in prison, Simpson received notice that she had passed away from consuming the wrong medication. “Their deaths made me anti-social,” said Simpson.
A childhood friend and mentor, “LaLa,” said that before boxing, “Simpson was impressionable, mentally corrupted, based on the influence and image of others. With a better understanding of boxing, he has discovered his own potential and is ready to make a contribution to society under the influence of his true self.”
“I am no longer angry and insecure. I am able to think and see clearly without acting out in an aggressive way”
“I want to thank my mentors and training partners: Emo-Tip, Duck, Mujah, the General, LaLa, and Clay for showing me that boxing is also a mental sport that brings calmness,” said Simpson He adds, “I’ve found the fountain of youth and I plan to continue this (boxing) for the rest of my days…until my body can’t take it no more.”
With the practice of boxing Simpson hopes to make amend to his daughters RoRo, 21, and Ryan, 15, and sister, Fila, for also being an inspiration, which helped him continue to keep on his path towards redemption, said Simpson.
