Speed kills.

[SugarRay]

Hey all,

Now, I was planning on being an assassin for my second challenge, but alas! Fate begs to differ.

Amateur boxing season in the UK is about to start. The coaches are training all the guys like monsters. I just happen to be one of those guys; however, I want to take my training up a notch.

I've been boxing for a good amount of time. I'm not bad, but I'm not fluid.

 

As a short bloke, I have to defend a lot when I'm up against taller folk. And as I weigh more than average, most of the people I fight are taller than I am. Because of this, my attacks are at their most effective when I'm up close.

Thus, I've decided to separate my challenge steps based on how I usually attack

 

1. Dodge, slip, duck, block, parry...

 

No longer will I get pelted by straights whilst looking for an opening!

The best way to really train defense is sparring. And the only place I can spar is my gym!

• Attend the boxing gym thrice a week at least.

CON - + 3

 

2. Opening - IN!

 

To move in, I need to be far more explosive. I need to move my body as fast as possible, and train so it'll be faster.

There's one kind of athlete whose explosive ability I've always admired; gymnasts!

Lucky for me, I found a gymnastics school near my apartment that has great prices and an excellent teaching format. Hopefully I'll be able to take some of that famous gymnastic strength to help my boxing.

• Attend gymnastics school once a week at least.

STR - +2

 

3. One-two-three-four-five!

 

Here's my main problem.

I need to be much faster. Today at the gym I had the perfect opportunity to completely overwhelm my opponent. But I wasn't punching; I was throwing punch after punch. And soon enough, my opponent caught on and was able to counter those punches.

I have to stop thinking about my flurries. It's such a trivial thing, but my punches ought to be reflexive now.

It's hard to explain, but to put it analogically I have to change my combinations from sentences to a single word. Does that make sense? No? Aw. =(

Either way, shadowboxing is great for this type of thing.

• Shadowbox every single day for six rounds at least; emphasis on combinations.

DEX- +3

 

4. Step back!

 

Now, I can't spend all my time boxing. I need to back up and take a rest now and then. A lot of the other guys on the team are thinking about becoming pros; I can't be a pro because my mother would stab me if I so much as mentioned it, and I like maths and physics far too much to just drop it.

This year is probably going to be my hardest academic year. I have to do only maths and physics, but I have to do some pretty difficult stuff this time around.. so self studying the further modules will be very useful, as will constant practice.

• Aim for 21 hours of maths and physics in a week; should be around three hours a day for each. I'll probably have to end up doing more, but that's even better,

INT- +5

 

 

Well then...  let's see how this goes. =D 

 

 

Sugar Ray Leonard v Roberto Duran. Leonard is widely recognized as one of the fastest punchers ever; his speed was blinding, even on video.

[Thrillho]

Wow, we've got a lot of similar goals and habits! Watching...

[Oramac]

Definitely keeping an eye on this.  Looks like a great Challenge!! 

[Lou_be_Lou]

Yay for flow and footwork and speed and maths and physics!

 

Brilliant.

[NikkiB]

I'm not a boxer, but I'm down with your struggles.  I'm a short, stocky, older mommy-lady in TKD sparring class.  The instructors can't seem to decide who my partners ought to be -- there are precious few other women, and those are *much* younger and more fragile than I am; the men are way bigger.  My only hope is to be just that teensy bit faster and meaner than they're expecting.  (sigh) 

[Ryoko]

Yay, I found you! 

 

You've got awesome goals. They flow together nicely and are really cohesive to your overall mission. You have a match coming up sometime in the near future, don't you?

 

And best of luck on your academics! Methinks you will motivate me to take the math classes I've been putting off (*gulp*)

 

I'm really looking forward to watching your progress - I know you'll excel! 

 

 

 

[Teirin]

Very nice goals!  You've clearly put a lot of analysis into how you fight.  I can also see why you offered help on math :-) 

[SugarRay]

Wow, we've got a lot of similar goals and habits! Watching... 

 

 

Definitely keeping an eye on this.  Looks like a great Challenge!! 

 

Thanks guys, likewise I'll be watching your progress. Best of luck to you too! 

 

Yay for flow and footwork and speed and maths and physics!

 

Brilliant.

 

 

Indeed! Flow, footwork, maths and physics = so hard to perfect in practice, but so oddly aesthetic. =D

 

I'm not a boxer, but I'm down with your struggles.  I'm a short, stocky, older mommy-lady in TKD sparring class.  The instructors can't seem to decide who my partners ought to be -- there are precious few other women, and those are *much* younger and more fragile than I am; the men are way bigger.  My only hope is to be just that teensy bit faster and meaner than they're expecting.  (sigh) 

 

 

I feel you; there is nothing more frustrating that sparring tall folk. Their reach is disgusting!

You have the right idea about speed and meanness. A short fighter whose aggressive enough is hard for anybody to deal with, and it's been established that shorter fighters are usually faster than their taller counterparts.

However, tall fighters do have a glaring disadvantage; the taller they are, the worse they are when you're close-range! Well, in boxing anyway.

That's actually why I focus so much on instep and flurries; two aspects I'm trying to improve with this challenge. Get in close, do as much damage as possible, and get out.

That being said, I can see how this tactic may not be as feasible when legs are involved in strikes. It'd be interesting to see a typical taekwondo approach to taking down those goliaths. xD

 

 

Yay, I found you!  

 

You've got awesome goals. They flow together nicely and are really cohesive to your overall mission. You have a match coming up sometime in the near future, don't you?

 

And best of luck on your academics! Methinks you will motivate me to take the math classes I've been putting off (*gulp*)

 

I'm really looking forward to watching your progress - I know you'll excel!  

 

 

 

I do have a match! Should be sometime in the beginning of November. I think I know who I'll be against; and my prospective opponent happens to attend the same college as I do. I've boxed him before, should be a good match!

 

I used to put off my maths work all the time. Then I started thinking of maths like solving a puzzle; kinda like how detectives are shown solving cases in the media.

Gradually, maths became fun. Yes, it's possible!

 

Very nice goals!  You've clearly put a lot of analysis into how you fight.  I can also see why you offered help on math :-) 

 

 

Thank you! And yeah, I sometimes ask someone whose on their rest to film me sparring. It's a weird experience, seeing yourself spar! I get annoyed as hell when I see myself making a really obvious misake.

And regarding the maths and physics, there's an excellent site that I occasionally use to get interesting problems; it's called Brilliant.

..It's brilliant!

https://brilliant.org/

 

If you're at a point where you can take down multiple integrals, I'm sure you'll be able to do Level Five (the hardest problems) okay. Seriously, just spending an hour browsing that site has taught me a lot, hope it can do the same for you!

[Lou_be_Lou]

Indeed! Flow, footwork, maths and physics = so hard to perfect in practice, but so oddly aesthetic. =D

 

Lots of patterns involved........

 

Yay for working towards a match.  Gives you a very defined timeframe in the first instance.

[Kishi]

You honestly sound like a Jack Dempsey type: you are quite willing to let the sport be your method of training. There's wisdom in that. Also, totally envious that you have a gymnastics facility that's offering good training at reasonable rates. Take advantage of that for sure.

 

Have fun!

[Ryoko]

I do have a match! Should be sometime in the beginning of November. I think I know who I'll be against; and my prospective opponent happens to attend the same college as I do. I've boxed him before, should be a good match!

 

I knew it! Pretty cool that you're familiar with your opponent already. I'm very excited for you - I know you'll do great.

 

I used to put off my maths work all the time. Then I started thinking of maths like solving a puzzle; kinda like how detectives are shown solving cases in the media.

Gradually, maths became fun. Yes, it's possible!

 

That's how I'm starting to look at it too - great analogy! Actually, I really enjoy math if I have a good teacher. If the teacher is creative and highly engaging, then I can really get into it. However, the majority of professors I've studied with aren't like that, so it's hard for me to get into. I've had a few really awesome teachers though. ^.^

[Googolplex]

 

I used to put off my maths work all the time. Then I started thinking of maths like solving a puzzle; kinda like how detectives are shown solving cases in the media.

Gradually, maths became fun. Yes, it's possible!

 

 

That puzzle-solving approach will take you far in maths (and physics, and other sciences, and engineering, and computing...)  I'll have to check out that website (though my student days are long over).

 

And much sympathy with the short-person-sparring-tall-person situation.  

 

Welcome to the monks!

[SugarRay]

 

You honestly sound like a Jack Dempsey type: you are quite willing to let the sport be your method of training. There's wisdom in that. Also, totally envious that you have a gymnastics facility that's offering good training at reasonable rates. Take advantage of that for sure.

 

Have fun!

 

That's really cool of you to say!

In fact, Dempsey's attitude to sparring taller folk has always stuck with me. In one of his books, he states that before fighting Jess Willard, he said "Jeez, What a mountain I've got to blast down this time!"

Hidden in that quote is his entire fighting strategy. Dempsey had worked in mines for a couple of years and knew a lot about how dynamite worked, and applied "explosiveness" to his fighting.

That's the reason they called him Jack the Giant-Killer!

I'd rate Dempsey one of my top-ten favorite fighters. I think my favorite of all time would be Harry Greb.

 

First gymnastics session today! I honestly can't wait. I've always wanted to try out the iron rings, but I'm probably going to have to through the basics first! =D

 

That's how I'm starting to look at it too - great analogy! Actually, I really enjoy math if I have a good teacher. If the teacher is creative and highly engaging, then I can really get into it. However, the majority of professors I've studied with aren't like that, so it's hard for me to get into. I've had a few really awesome teachers though. ^.^

I understand exactly where you're coming from. Most of my maths teachers were awful, stuck up and downright boring. One dude took pride in covering material as fast as he could, not caring that his students may not understand. Because of this man, I had huge gaps of understanding in even basic maths.

However, when I was 14, I finally met a teacher who could engage his class; because of him, I gained drive to actually learn maths for myself! And now, I spend a lot of my free time doing maths because I've learned to glean a lot of satisfaction from solving hard problems.

 

That puzzle-solving approach will take you far in maths (and physics, and other sciences, and engineering, and computing...)  I'll have to check out that website (though my student days are long over).

 

And much sympathy with the short-person-sparring-tall-person situation.  

 

Welcome to the monks!

 

Brilliant isn't exclusively for students, especially at Level 5. The only students at Level 5 are usually Chinese and extremely keen. Like, spending-hours-memorizing Wikipedia-pages-on-maths keen, or had-a-proof-of-Fermat's-Last-Theorem-by-the-age-of-11 keen.

I highly recommend you take a look. There's problems on different branches of maths and even Computer Science, and they're all pretty awesome to solve.

 

It may be harder for short folk to take down the tall folk, but on the other hand, if you know exactly how to take down a tall person you become a menace! It can really go either way. =D

 

Thanks for the welcome! I hope I'll be able to accomplish a lot with you guys. =D

[Googolplex]

 

Brilliant isn't exclusively for students, especially at Level 5. The only students at Level 5 are usually Chinese and extremely keen. Like, spending-hours-memorizing Wikipedia-pages-on-maths keen, or had-a-proof-of-Fermat's-Last-Theorem-by-the-age-of-11 keen.

I highly recommend you take a look. There's problems on different branches of maths and even Computer Science, and they're all pretty awesome to solve.

 

You might be interested in https://projecteuler.net/ -- a similar thing but including more programming.  

 

 

It may be harder for short folk to take down the tall folk, but on the other hand, if you know exactly how to take down a tall person you become a menace! It can really go either way. =D

 

It's a bit easier in Krav Maga, where we don't have those pesky rules against hitting below the belt.. or rules at all, in fact...

[Lou_be_Lou]

It's a bit easier in Krav Maga, where we don't have those pesky rules against hitting below the belt.. or rules at all, in fact...

I'll have to remember that should we ever make the same training session........  memo to self, watch out for fighting dirty.

Mind you, SugarRay isn't even allowed elbows!

 

It may be harder for short folk to take down the tall folk, but on the other hand, if you know exactly how to take down a tall person you become a menace! It can really go either way. =D

 

hmmmm, would love ideas on this - I'm not great at rushing in.....  Get the idea that you block, move in, strike hard and get out again, but somehow thinking it and doing it are two such different things.  Though saw beautiful examples tonight - my coach kept blocking round kicks, moving into them so her opponent was on one leg and off balance and having problems lowering the kicking leg and planting beautiful rear crosses. And her opponent just kept throwing the same kick with exactly the same result - though sometimes a jab or hook just for variation from my coach.

 

How was your gym session??

[Machete]

I get what you feel. I've actually had opponents stick out their arm and hold my head at arm's length like in a comedy movie because I kept going straight forward. I started out as a brawler, and was later transformed into more of an in-fighter by putting a lot of emphasis on footwork. I usually just forced my way in, buried my head on my opponent's chest, and relied more on volume punching rather than power. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

 

Ricky Hatton was an excellent in-fighter. You could also watch how Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler beat Thomas Hearns, who was a freak with insane reach.

 

 

Something to consider with combinations, you'd also want to pay attention to the rhythm, and also when you throw your power punches. For example, you can throw a very quick Jab-Straight-Hook continuously, with the hook as a power punch; or you could throw a Jab-Straight, with power in the Straight, pause, then a Hook with power--what some consider as "broken rhythm". That makes it difficult for an opponent to time your attacks. When you're stringing together 6-8 punches in a row, they can't all be power punches. Sometimes volume is what overwhelms an opponent.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0oFEpo4c1c

[SugarRay]

It's a bit easier in Krav Maga, where we don't have those pesky rules against hitting below the belt.. or rules at all, in fact...

 

 

 

I actually went a Krav Maga session with my friend a few months ago!

I didn't have a very good experience, mainly because the people there thought they were commandos and had the worst attitudes I'd ever seen.

I'll probably try my luck at another school in the future, though.

 

---

 

I'll have to remember that should we ever make the same training session........  memo to self, watch out for fighting dirty.

Mind you, SugarRay isn't even allowed elbows!

 

 

Aw, no elbows? George "Elbows" McFadden would be disappointed. =(

I fought a traveller lad last year who looked twice my weight and was a lot taller than me. When he realized that I was a lot faster and skillful than he thought I was, he turned dirty; headbutts, elbows.. he even hit me once after the bell. It took so much freaking effort to not lose my temper. I made sure I punished him for it, though; I got him riled by pretty much running away from him in the ring at first, and when his anger caused him to make careless mistakes I was able to damage him to the point where I almost felt sorry for him.

 

hmmmm, would love ideas on this - I'm not great at rushing in.....  Get the idea that you block, move in, strike hard and get out again, but somehow thinking it and doing it are two such different things.  Though saw beautiful examples tonight - my coach kept blocking round kicks, moving into them so her opponent was on one leg and off balance and having problems lowering the kicking leg and planting beautiful rear crosses. And her opponent just kept throwing the same kick with exactly the same result - though sometimes a jab or hook just for variation from my coach.

 

How was your gym session??

 

 

The thing about taller fighters is the fact that when you're really close up, their punches lose a lot of effectiveness. This why infighting is the go-to for most people when they fight a taller man.

However, in-fighting is certainly not the only way to counter talk people; not all fighters are inclined to rushing.

One of the boys at my gym uses parries to excellent effect. He parries the taller fighter's jab and in that split second takes the opportunity to give him a nice, heavy shot; usually an overhand right. I've seen him bait his opponents out, too; he'd skip circles around the opponent and when they move in for the attack, he'd use some deft footwork and attack from an uncanny angle.

 

Sometimes, speed is the key in taking down a slow giant. Best example I can think of is Pacman vs Margarito:

 

I wasn't able to go to my gymnastics session today. =(

My parents needed help installing a fridge, a washing machine and a tumble-dryer. They're not as young as they used to be, so I had to do most of the work; by the time I'd finished the job most of the gymnastics session would have been over.

Oh well, Thursday it is! =D

 

---

 

 

I get what you feel. I've actually had opponents stick out their arm and hold my head at arm's length like in a comedy movie because I kept going straight forward. I started out as a brawler, and was later transformed into more of an in-fighter by putting a lot of emphasis on footwork. I usually just forced my way in, buried my head on my opponent's chest, and relied more on volume punching rather than power. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

 

Ricky Hatton was an excellent in-fighter. You could also watch how Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler beat Thomas Hearns, who was a freak with insane reach.

 

 

 

I know exactly what you mean here. It's a very common tactic for keeping away infighters. Annoying as hell, but thankfully easy enough to counter.

Used to do the "head on chest" tactic too. It really does work in most cases!

One day, however, I was sparring my coach's giant of a son (a ring veteran) and I tried this maneuver on him. It was working, but eventually he took a sharp back-step and gave me one hell of an uppercut. I was pretty much floored from that one; due to the abruptness of that back-step I was falling forward when the punch made contact. I guess that's why I adopted the in-out approach.

 

 

Something to consider with combinations, you'd also want to pay attention to the rhythm, and also when you throw your power punches. For example, you can throw a very quick Jab-Straight-Hook continuously, with the hook as a power punch; or you could throw a Jab-Straight, with power in the Straight, pause, then a Hook with power--what some consider as "broken rhythm". That makes it difficult for an opponent to time your attacks. When you're stringing together 6-8 punches in a row, they can't all be power punches. Sometimes volume is what overwhelms an opponent.

 

Brilliant advice; when I go into longer combos my last shots are always power shots. I occasionally break rhythm but, but it's definitely something that can be worked on. You've highlighted some really important stuff I can work on, thanks a lot!

Also, I really appreciate the videos. I've learned tons from watching people like Ricky Hatton spar, and Leonard is one of my favorite boxers.

I was at first considering the assassins for my main guild here, but now I see that I could learn a lot from people like you on here. I'm damn glad I joined the Monks instead.

[Kishi]

Eh. You have to live your life and be there for the people who need you. that's never a wasted day.

[Oramac]

I was at first considering the assassins for my main guild here, but now I see that I could learn a lot from people like you on here. I'm damn glad I joined the Monks instead.

 

We're glad to have you, but don't count out the Assassins just yet.  Even if they're a secondary focus, you can still learn a lot from them as well.  I know I have.  

[Googolplex]

I'll have to remember that should we ever make the same training session........  memo to self, watch out for fighting dirty.

Mind you, SugarRay isn't even allowed elbows!

 

 

Yeah, that's an unfortunate consequence of Krav Maga. I'll try to play by the rules. 

 

Hard to imagine not being allowed elbows though.

[SugarRay]

Update 1:

 

Went to the boxing gym today.

I spent a few rounds sparring, then did some heavy bag work before a run 2 1/2 mile run.

 

Sparring was a little off today, mainly because my shoes kept slipping. I've had my ASICS Men's Matfix 3 Shoes for around two years now? Yeah, they've worn down..

I've pushed it out of my mind for the last few weeks, but for the boxing season I have to be at top form.

I'm not sure whether I ought to get wrestling shoes or boxing shoes this time around. I've heard many people say that wrestling shoes are fine for boxing and my own experience with wrestling shoes is quite favorable. But surely boxing shoes are.. well, designed for boxing?

Looks like somebody's gonna have to go shoe shopping soon! My local Combat Sports Supplier said he was on holiday for this week and the next, so shoe shopping's gonna have to wait.

 

Heavy-bag work was okay, though! I took Machete's advice to heart and drilled volume punches along with broken rhythm.

Drilling can be incredibly annoying, though. I found myself slipping to my old pattern of slow, power-punch barrages; it's when you think you're in flow that old habits start coming back.

I have to get rid of this tendency; six weeks is more than enough to do so.

 

Other

 

Maths revision went pretty good today. Covered two chapters of course material and I'm comfortably ahead of my group. I need to brush up on matrix theory but hey, surely a group of numbers arranged in a rectangle can't be too tedious, right? =D

 

Find the determinant of the following 5x5 matrix. 

...aw, damn.

[Machete]

Something to get you going. Here's the difference between volume punching and power punching on the heavy bag:

 

 

 

As you can see, Pacquiao is a combination puncher while Golovkin is a one-punch machine.

[Kishi]

Hmm. Both kinds of shoes are generally flat with little in the way of support, right?

[Teirin]

Uncertain footing is no way to box.  Good luck with shopping.

[Cheechoe]

OH.

 

MY.

 

GODYOURCHALLENGEISSOAWESOME!!

 

 

 

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