In Johannesburg’s Cosmo City suburb, a group of Boxing Grannies joust and uppercut at weekly training sessions so they’re better equipped to handle domestic violence and other issues at home. With tourists encouraged to join the sessions, Jamie Fullerton pulls on his gloves to find out more.
A few minutes into my training session at Johannesburg’s Boxing Grannies club, a police officer turns up.
Elderly women in fluffy cardigans place dumbbells on the floor as the cop holds court in the gym, in the Cosmo City suburb of the South African metropolis. Constable Mokgoba Motlopi talks about the dangers of theft, physical abuse and manipulation, as her audience nods. She gives out her phone number, then the club members strap on boxing gloves.
Formed in 2014 to offer locals free workouts, Boxing Grannies has become something more vital than a senior citizen fitness booster. Their coach, Mthunzi Tyler Maphosa, took over from his father Claude, the club’s founder, who died in 2020. Elder abuse—from young family members rinsing their cash to physical assault—is a big problem in Cosmo City, and this gym club has evolved to become a community that finds solutions.
Boxing trainers have become ad-hoc counselors, police and support groups connect with the club to unearth instances of abuse, and Boxing Grannies has become a social club for people who might otherwise be isolated.
“It gives me strength,” says 84-year-old Constance Ngubane, who still floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee when punching pads. “I love people. We’re always together, laughing and praying.”
Boxing Grannies gives members a safe space in which to open up about any abuse they may be experiencing, away from potential abusers and among friends. Constable Motlopi regularly visits to encourage them to contact her about problems.
Before the boxing grannies (and a few grandpas) start pad work in the gym courtyard, I join hands with the group while Ngubane leads a prayer. I’ve been invited to show off my sparring skills and knobbly knees because the club welcomes tourists to join the twice-weekly gym sessions, with donations helping fund the non-profit organization. Thankfully, there’s little chance of being pulverized by an octogenarian—Boxing Grannies don’t take part in competitive boxing, just training.
“I love it so much here, it makes me stop thinking about my arthritis,” Mmabatho Dikgole, 63, says. After health issues forced her to retire from her chef job at the age of 52, Dikgole struggled mentally. Joining Boxing Grannies in her early 50s, she was the baby of the group. “I was sort of depressed, because I loved my job. But meeting these lovely grannies I found here, it makes me happy… even in my soul I feel happy.”
The club has gained media attention with its positive attitude towards fitness in old age, and for encouraging women to take part in a sport that’s often male-dominated. Constable Motlopi’s visit reveals its deeper function. “There’s a lot of crime in our area,” she tells me. “Gender-based violence is part of that.”
The Boxing Grannies club gives members a safe space in which to open up about any abuse they may be experiencing, away from potential abusers and among friends. Constable Motlopi regularly visits to encourage them to contact her about problems and today, she is joined by Nkhensani Mashele, a community development worker with the South African National Council on Alcoholism (SANCA).
Elder abuse is common in Cosmo City. Older family members are coerced into giving their pension money to children and grandchildren, who use it to buy drugs and alcohol. Mashele says the money is often used to buy nyaope (a mixture of heroin and other substances) and dagga (a street name for cannabis). “These kids know that older family members are easily blackmailed,” she says.
“When you train you ease into your body, you can think fresh, you can talk to people. We’re a family here. They’re eating, they’re talking, telling stories, then they come to me after the session and tell me, ‘This is what I’m dealing with, can you help me?’”
- Mthunzi Tyler Maphosa, coach
Constable Motlopi says that potential crimes like these are often considered private family matters or shameful. She adds that rape of a family member is also a problem in Cosmo City. “There are cases that take place, and it’s unfortunate that they’re not reported,” she tells me. “That’s why we encourage them to speak up here, because in silence, you’re giving the perpetrator power over you. It’s a great group—their well-being is important to us.”
Mthunzi Tyler Maphosa is the Boxing Grannies coach. By offering a friendly ear alongside coaching, he’s helped members address many forms of abuse. “When you train you ease into your body, you can think fresh, you can talk to people,” he says. “We’re a family here. They’re eating, they’re talking, telling stories, then they come to me after the session and tell me, ‘This is what I’m dealing with, can you help me?’”
Irene Natseya, a 60-year-old club member, concurs. “This is where we share ideas, this is where we pray. Any problem we meet, we pray together, we help each other. We’re there for each other.”
I expected to find a story of pensioner empowerment at Boxing Grannies, but I didn’t expect the club to play such an important community role. Coach Maphosa says it’s connected so well in Cosmo City that he’s looking to launch similar clubs elsewhere.
Interviews over, veteran Boxing Granny Ngubane shows me how to hit one-two punches before I chuck fists at the coach’s hand pads. I conclude that I need a few decades more experience to get to Ngubane’s confidence level. An hour into the session, she’s still practicing uppercuts.
Will she be doing this when she’s 90? “If I’m still alive!” she says with a cackle, thumping her gloves together.
Boxing Grannies training sessions take place at Cosmo City Multipurpose Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30-11:30 am. Contact the Boxing Grannies Facebook page or call +2767 107 3602 to request to join and give a donation.
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Jamie Fullerton is a British freelance writer based on the road, most of the time. Formerly features editor of NME (when it was a magazine as well as a website), he has written for titles such as The Guardian, The Times and The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, CNN and Atlas Obscura. He once had a Top Tip published in Viz.
