--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a West Side kid fooling around with…" description: "\"As a West Side kid fooling around with boxing gloves, I had been, for some reason of temperament, more interested in dodging a blow than in striking on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/gene-tunney-24298_blow_as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-b_144978.png" --- # As a West Side kid fooling around with boxing gloves, I… ![“As a West Side kid fooling around with boxing gloves, I had been, for some reason of temperament, more interested in dodging a blow than in striking one.” quote by Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/gene-tunney-24298_blow_as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-b_144978.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/gene-tunney-24298_blow_as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-b_144978.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/gene-tunney-24298_blow_as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-b_144978.png) > “As a West Side kid fooling around with boxing gloves, I had been, for some reason of temperament, more interested in dodging a blow than in striking one.” [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A boxer prefers evasion over aggression, reflecting a defensive temperament. **In simple terms:** He favors dodging blows to striking. Key Takeaway Consider strategic avoidance. Themes boxing defense temperament strategy self‑preservation Mood calm strategic Type reflective analytical When to use this quote - martial arts training - conflict resolution - risk management Key Concepts reactive tactics psychology of sport personal style Questions to Reflect On - When is evasion best? - How does temperament shape choices? A Different Perspective May ignore offensive potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boxing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxing/) [Boxing gloves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxing-gloves/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Temperament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temperament/) [Wrestling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrestling/) ## Related quotes > [“Ha. If given a choice of dodging a bullet or stepping in its way, I'll choose dodging when I can. Anyway, to face death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-wolf/ha-if-given-a-choice-of-dodging-a-bullet-or-stepping-in-its-way-i-ll/) [Allan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-wolf/) > [“A common way to skip out problems is through pretending, because dodging will be a shortest way to reach targets, but sadly not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadas-moosazadeh-author/a-common-way-to-skip-out-problems-is-through-pretending-because/) [Hadas Moosazadeh, Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadas-moosazadeh-author/) > [It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-stamp/it-is-easy-to-dodge-our-responsibilities-but-we-cannot-dodge-the-2/) [Josiah Stamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-stamp/) > [I expect to weave through the crowd, dodging elbows and muttering "excuse me" the way I always do, but there is no need. Becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-expect-to-weave-through-the-crowd-dodging-elbows-and-muttering/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [When you're dodging, you're "afraid of getting hit." When you're attacking, you're "afraid of hitting me." When you're protecting someone, you're "afraid of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/when-you-re-dodging-you-re-afraid-of-getting-hit-when-you-re/) [Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/) > [I have a good friend who says, "We're all just dodging bullets." It seems to me the trick to living a good life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-langella/i-have-a-good-friend-who-says-we-re-all-just-dodging-bullets-it-seems/) [Frank Langella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-langella/) > [Floyd Mayweather ain't ducking or dodging nobody. If he want it he can get it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-mayweather/floyd-mayweather-ain-t-ducking-or-dodging-nobody-if-he-want-it-he-can/) [Floyd Mayweather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-mayweather/) > [Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/dodging-and-burning-are-steps-to-take-care-of-mistakes-god-made-in/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [“How can I fix things if you keep dodging my attempts?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-ellen-malpas/how-can-i-fix-things-if-you-keep-dodging-my-attempts/) [Jodi Ellen Malpas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-ellen-malpas/) > [“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities. —Josiah Charles Stamp”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-goucher/it-is-easy-to-dodge-our-responsibilities-but-we-cannot-dodge-the/) [Adam Goucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-goucher/) > [I'm riding around on my side of town, boxing gloves I beat the trial. I had the coke I had a smile, I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2-chainz/i-m-riding-around-on-my-side-of-town-boxing-gloves-i-beat-the-trial-i/) [2 Chainz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2-chainz/) > [It is a matter of pride to get boxing gloves from Stallone himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sajid-nadiadwala/it-is-a-matter-of-pride-to-get-boxing-gloves-from-stallone-himself/) [Sajid Nadiadwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sajid-nadiadwala/) > [“I’m such a germaphobe that I think sanitation gloves should be thicker than boxing gloves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-m-such-a-germaphobe-that-i-think-sanitation-gloves-should-be/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [... to paint with oil paints for the first time ... is like trying to make something exquisitely accurate and microscopically clear out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/to-paint-with-oil-paints-for-the-first-time-is-like-trying-to-make/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“I want to merge oven mitts with boxing gloves, so I could effectively, and safely, fight fires. After all, fire fighters make better lovers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-want-to-merge-oven-mitts-with-boxing-gloves-so-i-could-effectively/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by Gene Tunney > [In youth, we get plenty of exercise through games and running around, but as middle life approaches, we settle down, literally and figuratively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/in-youth-we-get-plenty-of-exercise-through-games-and-running-around/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [A boxer's diet should be low in fat and high in proteins and sugar. Therefore you should eat plenty of lean meat, milk, leafy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/a-boxer-s-diet-should-be-low-in-fat-and-high-in-proteins-and-sugar/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [Never eat less than four hours before boxing. Then eat only lightly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/never-eat-less-than-four-hours-before-boxing-then-eat-only-lightly/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [Fat is one of the chief enemies of the heart because it has to be plentifully supplied with blood and thus needlessly increases the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/fat-is-one-of-the-chief-enemies-of-the-heart-because-it-has-to-be/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [But I do say that, if you will regularly devote 15 minutes a day, preferably before breakfast, for 60 days to the simple set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/but-i-do-say-that-if-you-will-regularly-devote-15-minutes-a-day/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [A boxer must exercise and develop every part of his body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/a-boxer-must-exercise-and-develop-every-part-of-his-body/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [The man who has allowed his body to deteriorate cuts a pitiful figure - chest collapsed, stomach protruding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/the-man-who-has-allowed-his-body-to-deteriorate-cuts-a-pitiful-figure/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [Ever since boyhood I've made a religion of keeping in shape by regular, conscientious exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/ever-since-boyhood-i-ve-made-a-religion-of-keeping-in-shape-by/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [Many complain of a chronic weariness that sleep will not banish. Their trouble is that too little blood is pumped through the body per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/many-complain-of-a-chronic-weariness-that-sleep-will-not-banish-their/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [Upon awakening in the morning, I wondered if the proceedings of the night before had been a dream. It was hard to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/upon-awakening-in-the-morning-i-wondered-if-the-proceedings-of-the/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [Handball, swimming, running, jumping, basketball, and boxing were as much a part of me as breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/handball-swimming-running-jumping-basketball-and-boxing-were-as-much/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [Though I was not a belligerent kid, I do not think I ever passed up a good opportunity to fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/though-i-was-not-a-belligerent-kid-i-do-not-think-i-ever-passed-up-a/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [A concave chest means that your diaphragm is sagging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/a-concave-chest-means-that-your-diaphragm-is-sagging/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [If all human lives depended upon their usefulness - as might be judged by certain standards - there would be a sudden and terrific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/if-all-human-lives-depended-upon-their-usefulness-as-might-be-judged/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) > [The greatest fighter I ever saw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/the-greatest-fighter-i-ever-saw/) [Gene Tunney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) [Explore all 24 Gene Tunney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/) ## More Blow quotes > [The wind always seems to blow against catchers when they are running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-garagiola/the-wind-always-seems-to-blow-against-catchers-when-they-are-running/) [Joe Garagiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-garagiola/) > [Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/blow-winds-and-crack-your-cheeks-rage-blow-you-cataracts-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If he wants to blow his head off, let him. I don't give a damn about Jim Bakker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/if-he-wants-to-blow-his-head-off-let-him-i-don-t-give-a-damn-about/) [Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The only two good words that can be said for a hurricane are that it gives sufficient warning of its approach, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-only-two-good-words-that-can-be-said-for-a-hurricane-are-that-it/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [Music is a wind that blows away the years, memories, and fear, that crouching animal I carry inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/music-is-a-wind-that-blows-away-the-years-memories-and-fear-that/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [One of the wonderful things about Portlandia - and I'm not just blowing smoke, although I can blow smoke, but I'm not - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-raab/one-of-the-wonderful-things-about-portlandia-and-i-m-not-just-blowing/) [Scott Raab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-raab/) > [I would always find a way to blow the deal and I'm not sure why. I think there was part of me that wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-would-always-find-a-way-to-blow-the-deal-and-i-m-not-sure-why-i/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [Letters crossing in the post, unfamiliar tunes heard three times in one day, the way that blows of fate descend upon the same bowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/letters-crossing-in-the-post-unfamiliar-tunes-heard-three-times-in/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Truth is, right now two bombs could drop out of the sky and blow up this house and whatever building you're in and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mackaye/truth-is-right-now-two-bombs-could-drop-out-of-the-sky-and-blow-up/) [Ian MacKaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mackaye/) > [The old saying is true: If you have only the Word, you dry up. If you have only the Spirit, you blow up. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cymbala/the-old-saying-is-true-if-you-have-only-the-word-you-dry-up-if-you/) [Jim Cymbala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cymbala/) > [I can turn an idea into a business before you know it's going to be important. My first step will blow by you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/i-can-turn-an-idea-into-a-business-before-you-know-it-s-going-to-be/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [The Brick House was one of the toughest joints I ever played in ... Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) Browse all 2,324 Blow quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a West Side kid fooling around with boxing gloves, I had been, for some reason of temperament, more interested in dodging a blow than in striking one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gene Tunney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-boxing-gloves-i-had-been-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-boxing-gloves-i-had-been-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/gene-tunney-24298_blow_as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-b_144978.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/gene-tunney-24298_blow_as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-b_144978.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/gene-tunney-24298_blow_as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-b_144978.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a West Side kid fooling around with boxing gloves, I had been, for some reason of temperament, more…” — Gene Tunney", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gene Tunney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tunney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As a West Side kid fooling...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-boxing-gloves-i-had-been-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tunney/as-a-west-side-kid-fooling-around-with-boxing-gloves-i-had-been-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```