Speed kills.

[Ryoko]

I'm not familiar with boxing shoes at all. (I recently bought a pair of Asics myself, though. ) Good luck finding your new shoes. ^.^

 

You're off to a good start - and you'll be in top form before you know it. With your level of dedication it would be impossible NOT to be.

 

And congrats on being comfortably ahead of your math group; that's an excellent position to be in.

[SugarRay]

@Machete

I was planning on taking a revision day today, but I'm pumped after seeing Pacquaio killing that bag. That guy's speed is amazing..

Golovkin is a monster, nuff said. One of the most powerful guys I've ever seen.

My combinations at the moment end up looking annoyingly sluggish and a little lost between power and speed. Taking "-" to be a small pause, the punch sequence ends up being: one-two-three--four---five----six. 

However, I can work on this.

Thanks for the videos, and all your help so far. Your insights have really been great, and the challenge has barely started!

 

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

 

 

Indeed so, but boxing shoes tend to go higher up the leg for ankle protection, but I tape my ankles before a match anyway. Wrestling shoes tend to have better grip on them than most boxing shoes, too.

I guess I should just try on the shoes before I buy them. 

 

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

 

 

Absolutely. The demands of my footwork need good shoes for me to be effective. I'm going to be using my running shoes temporarily; it's going to feel odd boxing in those.

 

 

OH.

 

MY.

 

GODYOURCHALLENGEISSOAWESOME!!

 

 

 

I like this thread. Subbed.

 

 

Thank you very much! It's great to have you here, thanks for the support. =D

 

I'm not familiar with boxing shoes at all. (I recently bought a pair of Asics myself, though.  ) Good luck finding your new shoes. ^.^

 

You're off to a good start - and you'll be in top form before you know it. With your level of dedication it would be impossible NOT to be.

 

And congrats on being comfortably ahead of your math group; that's an excellent position to be in. 

 

 

Thanks for the encouragement! 

Yeah, I've got enough cash saved up to get a really good pair of shoes. I just don't know whether I ought to stick with what I have, or get something new and potentially better. Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough.

And again, being commended on dedication by the legendary Ryoko herself is way too much of a complement. =D

[RisenPhoenix]

Nice, challenge, dude!  I was wondering how long Cheechoe and Thrillho would take to find it and drool over it.  Answer: Not long.

 

Good luck!

[SugarRay]

So, I went boxing training again today. It went well enough; my sparring partner even mentioned that I'd increased my speed. I did slip back into bad habits regularly, but again, that's something I can work on.

I did a good amount of pad-work with my coach, and I asked him about ways that I could close distance quickly.

He nods, and demonstrates a sharp instep (well, more like a little hop) combined with a hook.

According to my coach, Floyd Patterson was famous for using this type of punch, or a Gazelle punch.

 

My jaw dropped. The first anime series I watched was called Hajime no Ippo; one of the lads that trained with us for a while recommended it to me a couple years back. In this series, the protagonist learns the gazelle punch. However, in this case, the gazelle punch was something like a super-man punch + an uppercut. There were electric currents running through the arms of the protagonist as he performed this punch, and his opponents would go flying.

I had no idea that it was even real. Admittedly, it's not as spectacular in real life but damn, it's real! This is freaking amazing!

 

Yeah, this punch has some serious drawbacks if it isn't performed explosively enough. Jumping forward admittedly isn't the best idea if someone's punching you back. My coach told me that if I wanted to use the punch in the ring, I had to learn to blast it out as hard and fast as I could.

Oh, would you look at that! I'm supposed to be working on my explosiveness anyway! 

Ain't it sweet when life starts to fit like a puzzle. =D

 

---

 

Nice, challenge, dude!  I was wondering how long Cheechoe and Thrillho would take to find it and drool over it.  Answer: Not long.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! =D

Seriously, this guild is filled with some really great people. Martial arts and combat sports tend to build people with excellent character; and it's all too apparent in this guild. 

[Ryoko]

Thanks for the encouragement! 

Yeah, I've got enough cash saved up to get a really good pair of shoes. I just don't know whether I ought to stick with what I have, or get something new and potentially better. Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough.

And again, being commended on dedication by the legendary Ryoko herself is way too much of a complement. =D

 

 

You're too kind! ^.^

 

So, I went boxing training again today. It went well enough; my sparring partner even mentioned that I'd increased my speed. I did slip back into bad habits regularly, but again, that's something I can work on.

I did a good amount of pad-work with my coach, and I asked him about ways that I could close distance quickly.

He nods, and demonstrates a sharp instep (well, more like a little hop) combined with a hook.

According to my coach, Floyd Patterson was famous for using this type of punch, or a Gazelle punch.

 

My jaw dropped. The first anime series I watched was called Hajime no Ippo; one of the lads that trained with us for a while recommended it to me a couple years back. In this series, the protagonist learns the gazelle punch. However, in this case, the gazelle punch was something like a super-man punch + an uppercut. There were electric currents running through the arms of the protagonist as he performed this punch, and his opponents would go flying.

I had no idea that it was even real. Admittedly, it's not as spectacular in real life but damn, it's real! This is freaking amazing!

 

Yeah, this punch has some serious drawbacks if it isn't performed explosively enough. Jumping forward admittedly isn't the best idea if someone's punching you back. My coach told me that if I wanted to use the punch in the ring, I had to learn to blast it out as hard and fast as I could.

Oh, would you look at that! I'm supposed to be working on my explosiveness anyway! 

Ain't it sweet when life starts to fit like a puzzle. =D

 

Anime nerd here! I haven't seen that anime series - now I'm interested to check it out. That's pretty cool that the gazelle punch is actually something you can really do - amazing! I can't wait to hear how you do with it once you're able to apply it effectively. Very exciting.

 

And congrats on getting kudos for increasing your speed! Great job. ^.^

[Kishi]

Seriously, sports anime. It's good stuff, better than I tend to give it credit for.

[Machete]

 

@Machete

I was planning on taking a revision day today, but I'm pumped after seeing Pacquaio killing that bag. That guy's speed is amazing..

Golovkin is a monster, nuff said. One of the most powerful guys I've ever seen.

My combinations at the moment end up looking annoyingly sluggish and a little lost between power and speed. Taking "-" to be a small pause, the punch sequence ends up being: one-two-three--four---five----six.

 

Probably like Ricky Hatton's bagwork (especially right after watching Pacquiao). More power than volume.

 

Hajime no Ippo is awesome, and you can actually learn some stuff from it. If anything, it's a good motivator to hit the gym/road. Here's Sendo with his quick distance closer. Kind of like a JKD shuffle, where you explode off your rear foot. (I'm a right-handed southpaw, and I've utilized this. Whenever training was over it was always my legs that would hurt the most.)

 

[SugarRay]

Anime nerd here! I haven't seen that anime series - now I'm interested to check it out. That's pretty cool that the gazelle punch is actually something you can really do - amazing! I can't wait to hear how you do with it once you're able to apply it effectively. Very exciting. 

 

And congrats on getting kudos for increasing your speed! Great job. ^.^

 

 

 

You watch anime too?! Awesome!

I'm not really an anime nerd; I'm more of a casual fan. I still haven't watched any of the mainstream ones like Bleach or One Piece yet! As of the moment, I've watched Hajime no Ippo, Elfen Lied, Psychopass (this one was excellent), Samurai Champloo, Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan (but everybody's watched that one).

Are there any good ones that you'd recommend? 

 

Seriously, sports anime. It's good stuff, better than I tend to give it credit for.

 

Before I watched Hajime no Ippo I wondered why I would even want to watch a "silly cartoon". I only started watching it because I was curious to see how animation could inspire a guy to start boxing of all things.

...yeah, I was hooked immediately.

 

 

Hajime no Ippo is awesome, and you can actually learn some stuff from it. If anything, it's a good motivator to hit the gym/road. Here's Sendo with his quick distance closer. Kind of like a JKD shuffle, where you explode off your rear foot. (I'm a right-handed southpaw, and I've utilized this. Whenever training was over it was always my legs that would hurt the most.)

 

 

Can't agree more about the motivator part. There's one sound track in Hajime no Ippo that I always listen to when I run.

Yeah, my go-to method for closing range is exploding off the rear foot and launching into a flurry. I also duck under the jab, instep, and attack (usually by unloading a body-shot).

However, in my situation it's a good idea to understand multiple ways of breaking inside an opponent's range.

I personally believe that legs are sometimes more important than the arms when it comes to boxing. My own legs are probably more developed than my arms are, to be honest.

[Machete]

Can't agree more about the motivator part. There's one sound track in Hajime no Ippo that I always listen to when I run.

Yeah, my go-to method for closing range is exploding off the rear foot and launching into a flurry. I also duck under the jab, instep, and attack (usually by unloading a body-shot).

However, in my situation it's a good idea to understand multiple ways of breaking inside an opponent's range.

I personally believe that legs are sometimes more important than the arms when it comes to boxing. My own legs are probably more developed than my arms are, to be honest.

 

 

The legs are actually the most important part in punching. A Russian study showed how leg drive contributed more to punching mechanics as the skill level of the boxers increased. ("Punching from the ground".) Knockout punchers also had a bit more leg drive than speed boxers and technicians. So don't forget your footwork drills.

 

[Ryoko]

You watch anime too?! Awesome!

I'm not really an anime nerd; I'm more of a casual fan. I still haven't watched any of the mainstream ones like Bleach or One Piece yet! As of the moment, I've watched Hajime no Ippo, Elfen Lied, Psychopass (this one was excellent), Samurai Champloo, Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan (but everybody's watched that one).

Are there any good ones that you'd recommend? 

 

Those are all good.

 

I recommend the classics - Akira, Ninja Scroll, Ghost In the Shell, Vampire Hunter D, Cowboy Bebop. Moribito is a personal favorite.

 

And of course, anything by Miyazake is magnificent. ^.^

 

Grave of the Fireflies is hauntingly beautiful. It's quite sad, though.

[Teirin]

Ninja Scroll still gets recommended as classic anime?  Wow, it was the first anime someone showed me and I thought it was so awful that it put me off anime for years.  Not really a great choice for introducing someone.....  I can't even remember if it had an actual plot. 

 

Individual tastes vary, clearly.  The rest of the list was good, especially Ghost in the Shell. 

 

Would add recommendations for Durarara, Puella Magi Madoka Magicka, Yamato 2199, and Gunbuster (1988 series, not the movie).

[Kishi]

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann if you wanna see how Japan does Saturday morning cartoons. It's worth it.

[SugarRay]

Update time!

 

First gymnastics session today.

It. Was. Awesome. Absolutely insanely awesome.

The conditioning of those guys was amazing. Lightweight, fast, coordinated and immensely strong; these guys were the perfect athletes.

We did floor work for the most part and I learned some gymnastic specific techniques. I have background in Capoeira, which immensely helped with the handstands..

..but honestly, a lot of the things those guys did was far beyond my reach.

I was pleased to see that on the get go of my gymnastics experience, explosiveness played a large part. I'm certain that, with continued training, gymnastics training will improve my overall condition for boxing.

And virtually anything else that requires movement!

I seriously enjoyed gymnastics. It was so laid-back compared to the military-style discipline I go through in boxing training. I think I'll be heading down to that school more and more!

 

Maths/Physics Update

 

Now starts a two hour battle against the evil forces of calculus, made harder by the fact that it's 12AM at the moment.

Well, the maths ain't gonna start itself!

 

---

 

 

Those are all good. 

 

I recommend the classics - Akira, Ninja Scroll, Ghost In the Shell, Vampire Hunter D, Cowboy Bebop. Moribito is a personal favorite. 

 

And of course, anything by Miyazake is magnificent. ^.^

 

Grave of the Fireflies is hauntingly beautiful. It's quite sad, though.

 

 

 

 

...that's the one about those two orphans living in a war-zone, right?

I watched that one with my girlfriend last year; she'd watched it before, she just wanted to see how I handled it. Yeah.. I didn't really handle it well at all.

It was one of the few movies that made me cry; that ending sequence regarding the fate of the elder brother just did it for me.

That being said, I really enjoyed Spirited Away. I watched it before I watched Grave of the Fireflies, and only after I watched both films did I realize how much of a genius Hayao Miyazaki was.

 

--

 

Thanks for the recommendations, guys! I'll be watching some of those anime when I have time.

But at the moment, the maths must go on! =O

[Oramac]

Lookin good man!  The gymnastics sounds like a killer workout!  Especially with the explosiveness and all that.  

[RisenPhoenix]

...that's the one about those two orphans living in a war-zone, right?

I watched that one with my girlfriend last year; she'd watched it before, she just wanted to see how I handled it. Yeah.. I didn't really handle it well at all.

It was one of the few movies that made me cry; that ending sequence regarding the fate of the elder brother just did it for me.

That being said, I really enjoyed Spirited Away. I watched it before I watched Grave of the Fireflies, and only after I watched both films did I realize how much of a genius Hayao Miyazaki was.

 

I have yet to see Grave of the Fireflies.  Your reaction is mainly the reason why.

 

That being said, The Wind Rises is also an amazing movie by Miyazaki, and also it terribly sad.  But a beautiful, beautiful movie.

[SugarRay]

Damn, it's been almost two days since gymnastics and I still have muscle soreness in places I didn't even know existed.

I haven't had muscle soreness in years!

 

Maths/Physics Update

 

Well, I've met my quota on both subjects for the week, even though the week isn't over!

This tells me that going to bed in the wee hours of the morning isn't necessary. Although I'm not complaining; it's barely the second week of the year and I've covered half of one of the six maths modules we're doing this year.

Three months worth of work in a week! =D

[Kishi]

Hopefully it didn't feel like work.

[SugarRay]

Hopefully it didn't feel like work. 

 

 

Well, at first it's fun, doing all those long, hard and annoying questions. But then, it starts to get draining. It becomes a mental marathon at 2AM, where you're half awake and half asleep due to the effects of three cups of coffee in the last two hours.. and still trying to expand a perfectly nice looking function into an ugly, ugly series of terms.

Oh, Taylor Series! I hate you with a passion, I do!

 

-----

 

Update time!

 

Boxing Session 3 - Complete!

Sparred today, and whilst working on my defense I naturally delved into the realm of counters. Ah, counters.. there's something so satisfying about taking advantage of your opponent's mistake and punishing him for it.

It's in such cases where I realize that boxing defense really is something special. It's so technical; mastering defense is like mastering an art-form unto itself. 

 

That being said, today wasn't the best of days because I was training a newbie. Now, I like training new kids a lot; it's a nice change of pace. But this guy? He was the worst type of newbie. We went into the ring and he was honestly trying to kill me.

"Okay, now throw a jab like I showed you."

*Throws a massive swing to the head*

"No, that wasn't a jab. Let's try again."

*Throws a massive swing to the head*

"Okay, that wasn't a jab. That was barely a punch. Watch carefully..."

A few minutes later.

"Got that? Now, throw a jab, just like I showed you. Nice and slow, let's focus on technique-"

*Throws a massive swing to the head*

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

 

Well, I didn't really burst out like that but I was on the verge of doing so. Man... this kid's going to get murdered in sparring if he tries those swings on a more experienced fighter. 

 

 

----

 

Week Summary

 

Dodge, slip, duck, block, parry... : Complete!

 

Opening - IN! : Complete!

 

One-two-three-four-five: This didn't go so well. I started off okay, but completely forgot about this part of my challenge for the last three days. Oops. So.. Not complete.

 

Step back: Complete!

 

Overall grading: B

 

Next week will mark an improvement. =D

[Kishi]

Man, I trained with a guy like that once. He was a Chunner cross-training with us, and he really didn't seem to take a lot of what we do in Shotokan to heart. He tried to Chun-up the drills - instead of just following pads, he'd try to go all chisau and stick to you, doing all those little rabbit punches that Chun does. As opposed to learning how to load up that cross and fire it off, and he would always give me this look, like somehow he'd figured out this secret that I couldn't understand.

 

I shrugged it off until we had to spar together. We were in a park, and it wasn't the cleanest, but we were going and 'talking' back and forth, until we ended up getting some debris. Sensei calls the match to get in and move shit out, and I drop hands and relax. As soon as sensei is out of the way, the Chunner tries to jump me.

 

At which point - I sh!t you not, and there are witnesses to this - I said, "Oh! So that's the game you wanna play?" and kicked him in the sweet spot on his face.

 

He swears he doesn't remember the KO or the few minutes leading up to it. Which is a pity. He might have learned something.

 

My point being that sometimes the only way to learn is to endure. You learned patience. Your baka-seito is going to learn in his own time that shenanigans just don't fly.

[Machete]

I have a big problem with this "battle enthusiasm". There is an appropriate time and place for that, but most of the time people (usually bad asses) tend to forget. And the problem with plain violence of action is that more often than not it works in defeating an opponent, but it takes away from the art in the martial art. We are not animals; we are martial artists. We learn the art for sake of mastery and self-discovery, not to puff our chests and kick some ass. This is the same with people who insist on prioritizing strength training over technique /skill. Brute strength takes away from the art. I'm not saying strength training is wrong, but if you're not a professional combat athlete and you're looking for strength in order to win, there's probably quite a bit of room for skill improvement.

 

"But GSP lifts weights for a fight."
"Are you GSP? If so, could you sign my Affliction shirt?"

 

Whenever I catch people in armbars these days, I never finish. I want my partners to learn how to get out of it so they get something out of the training session. Even when the seniors are cheering me on and making fun of me for not being able to finish a locked-in submission ("You should just stay standing. Haha"). We're not in Abu Dhabi, we're at a gym. People who count gym wins are usually losers. Besides, I'm a white belt. I'm expected to suck.

 

[Teirin]

It sounds like you're a good guy to train with.  Congrats on your restraint.  That being said, sometimes that type needs to get mauled a bit to make them pay attention.  Have worked with a few :-/

 

Good first week!

[Oramac]

My point being that sometimes the only way to learn is to endure. You learned patience. Your baka-seito is going to learn in his own time that shenanigans just don't fly.

 

I was going to say more or less the same thing.  The first time he tries that and gets his clock cleaned, I bet he learns.  And if not, maybe it'll take two or three times.  

[SugarRay]

 

Man, I trained with a guy like that once. He was a Chunner cross-training with us, and he really didn't seem to take a lot of what we do in Shotokan to heart. He tried to Chun-up the drills - instead of just following pads, he'd try to go all chisau and stick to you, doing all those little rabbit punches that Chun does. As opposed to learning how to load up that cross and fire it off, and he would always give me this look, like somehow he'd figured out this secret that I couldn't understand.

 

I shrugged it off until we had to spar together. We were in a park, and it wasn't the cleanest, but we were going and 'talking' back and forth, until we ended up getting some debris. Sensei calls the match to get in and move shit out, and I drop hands and relax. As soon as sensei is out of the way, the Chunner tries to jump me.

 

At which point - I sh!t you not, and there are witnesses to this - I said, "Oh! So that's the game you wanna play?" and kicked him in the sweet spot on his face.

 

He swears he doesn't remember the KO or the few minutes leading up to it. Which is a pity. He might have learned something.

 

My point being that sometimes the only way to learn is to endure. You learned patience. Your baka-seito is going to learn in his own time that shenanigans just don't fly.

 

 

 

That's awesome.

Seriously, that's like "Hey, maybe I ought to have a look to see there are any karate dojos around my place" awesome. I'd start looking around now, but my timetable right now is already way too full.

That being said, I often find that some of the most annoying folk to train are those who've got experience in another style.. and aren't committed to what you're teaching them.

I've met tons of grapplers, karateka, taekwondo practitioners and the odd kung fu practitioners who've been amazing to train. They're disciplined, attentive and they want to learn to improve themselves.

On the other side of the spectrum, you have people looking to disprove your style. The most recent example would be a young man who came to my gym around February last year; he said he'd had a lot of experience in a style called Choy Lee Foot (or something like that).

I'm the de facto nice guy in the gym; I help out the new guys whenever I can. But this kid... man, he was too much. He was trying to teach me how to punch in the first gym session. He'd give pointers to more experienced boxers and he'd explain the way things were done in his style and why it was better than what we did.

However, he was.. extremely unfit. He could barely run half a mile before puffing out. He'd talk bad about us boxers, but he couldn't even do what we did for conditioning!

By the time the coach let him spar, nobody wanted anything to do with him. So, being the only guy who was still trying to be nice, I volunteered.

We didn't finish the round. The kid threw everything he'd been taught out of the window and started waving his hands about everywhere and jumping into crazy stances. I realized at this point that he was only here because he wanted to test his style against mine. The other boxers looked in the ring and laughed.

I was a very, very proud guy back then; I was react very badly to people insulting my pride. I've grown up a bit now, but back then I blew up completely, knocked him down, and walked out of the ring. To this day, he is the only person I have refused to spar.

It's a massive shame; after meeting this guy my impression of kung fu was in the dumps. I made the awful mistake of generalizing practitioners based on this one dumb-ass.

As for what happened to the kung fu kid, he no longer comes around the gym. Nobody took him seriously because of his attitude; the coach himself gave up on him.

 

I have a big problem with this "battle enthusiasm". There is an appropriate time and place for that, but most of the time people (usually bad asses) tend to forget. And the problem with plain violence of action is that more often than not it works in defeating an opponent, but it takes away from the art in the martial art. We are not animals; we are martial artists. We learn the art for sake of mastery and self-discovery, not to puff our chests and kick some ass. This is the same with people who insist on prioritizing strength training over technique /skill. Brute strength takes away from the art. I'm not saying strength training is wrong, but if you're not a professional combat athlete and you're looking for strength in order to win, there's probably quite a bit of room for skill improvement.

 

"But GSP lifts weights for a fight."

"Are you GSP? If so, could you sign my Affliction shirt?"

 

Whenever I catch people in armbars these days, I never finish. I want my partners to learn how to get out of it so they get something out of the training session. Even when the seniors are cheering me on and making fun of me for not being able to finish a locked-in submission ("You should just stay standing. Haha"). We're not in Abu Dhabi, we're at a gym. People who count gym wins are usually losers. Besides, I'm a white belt. I'm expected to suck.

 

 

You know, sometimes people can display awe-inspiring strength. You see it all the time in greco-roman throws and slams; there's technique, but for those real five-pointers it's absolutely incredible seeing the strength involved.

No, that type of strength is fine. If you know how to use your strength, then I have nothing but respect for you. There's nothing cooler than a balance between strength and technical knowledge.

Here's an example of where displays of strength are awesome.

 

The violent, pointless strength that people display when first starting a martial art, however.. yeah, that sucks. The kid I was training was swinging his fists at me to make a point, not to learn. He wanted to prove himself better, he wanted to display his violence.

In doing so, he learned nothing about how to punch properly. And come Tuesday, when he'll be thrown into the deep-end in the ring, he'll realize exactly why you don't swing like an ape. I won't be able to spar him, so he'll probably end up with one of the tougher guys.

 

When I spar with newbies, my jabs are just small taps and I barely throw any other punch. I won't gain anything going all out with a new boxer. There's nothing I'm going to learn from it; my technique is already pretty solid and if I spent too much time counting my wins in the gym nobody would take me seriously!

I do, however, make sure that the newbies don't get too confident. I might let a guy jab me once or twice, but I've seen far too many novices get too confident after making contact with a punch and start swinging with the intent to cause damage. Yeah, when that happens, a sharp combination is in order.

Simply put, when teaching people how to fight, I don't think gentleness is enough. In a harsh world like boxing, being too kind sets one up for disaster.

 

It sounds like you're a good guy to train with.  Congrats on your restraint.  That being said, sometimes that type needs to get mauled a bit to make them pay attention.  Have worked with a few :-/

 

Good first week!

 

 

Oh, I'm way too used to losing my temper; restraint is something I learned quite recently!

A few years back, if somebody tried to swing at me after I'd asked them to do a controlled jab, I'd have either refused to train them or gotten rough. I was a pretty stupid kid, in all honesty.

In a combat sport scenario, people get mauled soon enough. I for one am a firm proponent of throwing aspiring fighters into the ring on at least their second night in the gym. It really filters out those who have what it takes and those who don't. Cruel? Yeah, but boxing's cruel.

Oh dear, I'm starting to sound like one of those bitter boxing coaches you see in the movies!

 

 

I was going to say more or less the same thing.  The first time he tries that and gets his clock cleaned, I bet he learns.  And if not, maybe it'll take two or three times.  

 

 

 

It took me just once to learn my lesson!

When I started boxing at 11 years old, my head was full of Mike Tyson's relentless aggression. I tried to copy his style...

And I got my ass so soundly kicked that I never tried that crap again.

[raptron]

Just popping in to say EEEEE! I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE CROSS-TRAINING WITH GYMNASTICS! I always feel like it would have so many great applications for other sports and disciplines, so I look forward to hearing about your classes. 

 

Also sweet challenge.

[Kishi]

 

That's awesome.

Seriously, that's like "Hey, maybe I ought to have a look to see there are any karate dojos around my place" awesome. I'd start looking around now, but my timetable right now is already way too full.

That being said, I often find that some of the most annoying folk to train are those who've got experience in another style.. and aren't committed to what you're teaching them.

I've met tons of grapplers, karateka, taekwondo practitioners and the odd kung fu practitioners who've been amazing to train. They're disciplined, attentive and they want to learn to improve themselves.

On the other side of the spectrum, you have people looking to disprove your style. The most recent example would be a young man who came to my gym around February last year; he said he'd had a lot of experience in a style called Choy Lee Foot (or something like that).

I'm the de facto nice guy in the gym; I help out the new guys whenever I can. But this kid... man, he was too much. He was trying to teach mehow to punch in the first gym session. He'd give pointers to more experienced boxers and he'd explain the way things were done in his style and why it was better than what we did.

However, he was.. extremely unfit. He could barely run half a mile before puffing out. He'd talk bad about us boxers, but he couldn't even do what we did for conditioning!

By the time the coach let him spar, nobody wanted anything to do with him. So, being the only guy who was still trying to be nice, I volunteered.

We didn't finish the round. The kid threw everything he'd been taught out of the window and started waving his hands about everywhere and jumping into crazy stances. I realized at this point that he was only here because he wanted to test his style against mine. The other boxers looked in the ring and laughed.

I was a very, very proud guy back then; I was react very badly to people insulting my pride. I've grown up a bit now, but back then I blew up completely, knocked him down, and walked out of the ring. To this day, he is the only person I have refused to spar.

It's a massive shame; after meeting this guy my impression of kung fu was in the dumps. I made the awful mistake of generalizing practitioners based on this one dumb-ass.

As for what happened to the kung fu kid, he no longer comes around the gym. Nobody took him seriously because of his attitude; the coach himself gave up on him.

 

Well...

 

The thing is, our karate is pretty exceptional. Lots of dojo are wrapped up in a particular mindset that regards tradition and picture-perfect form as the primary goal, and fighting utility as secondary. This is assuming you find a good dojo, and not one that's dedicated to stroking the ego of the head instructor - this is very common in traditional schools.

 

My style is Shotokan, and it generally falls prey to this kind of thing. But my sensei 'grew up' in New York, where the martial culture mixed with hip hop and created the notion of street samurai trying to beat one another into submission. He learned that the art ultimately exists to teach a lesson that has to be applicable to the real world. Once you know that lesson, you can either train it statically as its own thing, or train it in the context within which it would actually be used. This is how he chose to train, and this how he trained me, and God willing it will be how he trains me again if I ever find my way back.

 

If you ever do want to get into karate, I'd suggest looking into Kyokushin or Enshin style schools. They tend to focus on hard-contact work, and also on being very, very close range, which would suit your current style very well.

 

And yeah, you're right. You meet good people and bad people from all styles. That sucks that your impression of Choy Li Fut was so bad - CLF is basically the Chinese version of capoeira, and most of those schools promote themselves through performing Lion Dances during Chinese New Year. It looks like a lot of fun.

 

But yeah, if you go to train in traditional schools and they can't even meet basic conditioning standards, then it's probably a bad place and you shouldn't be there.