Differences in bag work. Re: Cognitive aspects.

[Sinister]

In lieu of Pugilistic's thread about the cognitive aspects of training, it spurred me to make this thread which I'd already thought about for a little while on the differences of bag work. This is one of those subjects where I really explored the notion of "why?" People hit bags, but are they really positive of what they're training? Do the skills translate to moving combat? Is anyone supervising and if so, what exactly are they supervising? I'll show some examples of supervised bag work, and drills, some of them will be footage you may have seen before, but in this light more will be observable about what's going on.

First is Kolli's bag work. This session was a good one for two reasons, one is it alerted me to a mistake he'd been repeating that I'd seen but not paid enough heed to. Second is he was tired, and he knew he was going to struggle with form in the last round or two. Kolli's a good thinker in the ring, so what I try to do is give him ideas:



I really like that last round, because he learned the concept of bullshitting in the ring. Making it look like you're working harder than you are. A practice that suits his personality well.

Next up is Art, with two different types of bags and different reasons they're used. Art is also a thinking man, so he doesn't need to be babysat. Just basic corrections and he can run with it:



When supervising bag work with a person who has some experience it's less about repetition (repetition happens on its own, it doesn't need to be harped on), and more about what to do and when, then let them play with it. It's also how you spot thinking weaknesses in fighters. A robotic guy will just blast away at the bag over and over again. They'll naturally fall into drilling. But the drilling should facilitate technique:





The above fighter is a bit robotic in nature. The kind of kid who doesn't think deep thoughts in the middle of a task. More of a workhorse who needs to be given tools (he won't invent anything). So you gotta use drills like the above footage before you try to get him to think creatively. He'll first learn to do it out of necessity, when exhausted, when the roboticness is beaten out of him. Then you can give him more adaptive free-form exercises:





This is to demonstrate what I mentioned in Pugilistic's thread about it being the trainer's responsibility to assure that the fighter is developing mentally as well as physically. Some of these guys I've worked with have had to make changes to their styles in general and it's very difficult to do that and feel good about it. They have to be worked in the Gym in ways that facilitate the building of their own confidence and satisfaction with the adjustments they need to make to improve.

 

[SAAMAG]

Kolli's seems to be a very upright fighter. I watched the first couple of minutes, and then fast forwarded to the around 9 min. What a difference. In the beginning is was very much a 1-2, hitting the bag on the way in with more linear attacks, moving a his feet a little. At 10 minutes...he's far more dynamic using the movement of the bag to simulate the movement of a person, moving around it, pivoting, throwing in volume, at angles, at different elevations. An obvious change up.

Art looks good. I noticed the lack of rotation on the left straight as well. He seems to have that habit. After a couple minutes I went to around 6 minutes. Like Kolli, at that later point of you giving him some insight he's also now punching with a higher volume, and better movement. I checked out a bit of the little bag too. I have a preference for that sort of workload. I tend to always make my guys move typically before and after a series of punches. Movement in the beginning to get into position or setup the angle, and then after to get out and setup another counter for an anticipated reaction (in this case the bag). He got the idea at the end there. Good stuff.

I reaaaaallly like the way Praetorian boxes. I like the way he moves, his posture...everything. He seems to be more of an inside guy based on his posture. Sort of reminds me of a honey badger. :icon_chee That second video of him looked like a 3-2-3-2 though. The free form clip reminds me of Tyson training videos...he's explosive, great speed, built well for a peekaboo style. Something to think about. Get some uppercuts mixed in with those body hooks...right body, right uppercut, left hook...man...he'd be a monster.

 

[Sinister]

Kolli's seems to be a very upright fighter. I watched the first couple of minutes, and then fast forwarded to the around 9 min. What a difference. In the beginning is was very much a 1-2, hitting the bag on the way in with more linear attacks, moving a his feet a little. At 10 minutes...he's far more dynamic using the movement of the bag to simulate the movement of a person, moving around it, pivoting, throwing in volume, at angles, at different elevations. An obvious change up.

Art looks good. I noticed the lack of rotation on the left straight as well. He seems to have that habit. After a couple minutes I went to around 6 minutes. Like Kolli, at that later point of you giving him some insight he's also now punching with a higher volume, and better movement. I checked out a bit of the little bag too. I have a preference for that sort of workload. I tend to always make my guys move typically before and after a series of punches. Movement in the beginning to get into position or setup the angle, and then after to get out and setup another counter for an anticipated reaction (in this case the bag). He got the idea at the end there. Good stuff.

I reaaaaallly like the way Praetorian boxes. I like the way he moves, his posture...everything. He seems to be more of an inside guy based on his posture. Sort of reminds me of a honey badger. :icon_chee That second video of him looked like a 3-2-3-2 though. The free form clip reminds me of Tyson training videos...he's explosive, great speed, built well for a peekaboo style. Something to think about. Get some uppercuts mixed in with those body hooks...right body, right uppercut, left hook...man...he'd be a monster.

Yes, you got the idea of how I work them. In the beginning they're always a bit stiff and rigid, their minds don't flow so good. The more instruction they're given, by the END of the work they look their best. Kolli and Art are both tall rangy fuckers. Art is a bit rustic, though because he was recently converted to Southpaw. When he lined up and hit the bag orthodox everything was all fucked up, so much so I didn't know where to begin correcting things. Then one day he was messing around Southpaw, lo-and-behold he IS actually left-handed. Everything Southpaw was nearly completely correct just by happenstance. He's not used to throwing his left from that position, so it's a bit messy.

Preatorian is aggressive, because he's tiny. He's all of 5'2" if he's lucky, and will be fighting at around 126-130. Short arms, long torso, wide back. So he needed a completely different style, AND one that suited that roboticness of his. He's NOT creative, so I had to build those defensive positions and movements into his style. And being as he had been trained in the peek-a-boo system, we had to give him movements that weren't so lower-back oriented. More hip movement and placement.

It's going to take him a while to get uppercuts down, but those are my specialty. He's stuck in external rotation, so his left uppercut will be okay, the right will take time because he'll need to bring his knees together once his internal rotation is developed.

 

[orion78]

Thanks for sharing man, you seem like a good coach and your students listen. I wish I learned straight boxing first. Coming from an MMA gym and various striking arts where I was considered a good striker with good hands, I see I have so much to learn when I watch boxers both great and ones like I see in these video's who have a trainer like yourself really taking them through steps and lessons.

 

[SAAMAG]

Yes, you got the idea of how I work them. In the beginning they're always a bit stiff and rigid, their minds don't flow so good. The more instruction they're given, by the END of the work they look their best. Kolli and Art are both tall rangy fuckers. Art is a bit rustic, though because he was recently converted to Southpaw. When he lined up and hit the bag orthodox everything was all fucked up, so much so I didn't know where to begin correcting things. Then one day he was messing around Southpaw, lo-and-behold he IS actually left-handed. Everything Southpaw was nearly completely correct just by happenstance. He's not used to throwing his left from that position, so it's a bit messy.

Interesting. I've met guys who will write and what not with their right hand, but actually be a natural southpaw. It's funny how that works. That was something else I noticed about the first two gents...the rigidness. Even after the rounds were over and they were moving better, they were still a little rigid but far far better than just a few minutes prior. I'm sure that will work itself out as well over just a little time with you.

Preatorian is aggressive, because he's tiny. He's all of 5'2" if he's lucky, and will be fighting at around 126-130. Short arms, long torso, wide back. So he needed a completely different style, AND one that suited that roboticness of his. He's NOT creative, so I had to build those defensive positions and movements into his style. And being as he had been trained in the peek-a-boo system, we had to give him movements that weren't so lower-back oriented. More hip movement and placement.

It's going to take him a while to get uppercuts down, but those are my specialty. He's stuck in external rotation, so his left uppercut will be okay, the right will take time because he'll need to bring his knees together once his internal rotation is developed.

Man...once you get him going between body hooks and uppercuts...that's going to be a wonderful thing to see. His style thus far perfectly suits his body type I think. Great job on that. It'll be interesting to see how his career develops (assuming that he's looking to box professionally one day). I'll definitely be rooting for him and your entire club.

I believe your method of uppercuts are little varied relative to mine. What technique are you going to use on his lead uppercut? Load up the front, (possibly dipping the lead shoulder?), and shift to the rear lifting the front heel and externally rotating the rear knee? I'd imagine for the rear uppercut of course he's going to have to rotate that back knee to the inside while raising the rear heel as he transfers the weight to his front leg during the punch?

Something I've done when some guys don't get it, I tell them that for the general uppercut (not withstanding the slight variances that can be had for different situations) that they're basically vertical left hooks and vertical crosses as far as the lower body is concerned. Then they get it well enough to start getting the mechanics down.

Can't wait to see him progress.

 

[stormy]

Sinister,

How much does the big bag weigh?

Much thanks for the clips and breakdown.

 

[sboone**]

The above fighter is a bit robotic in nature. The kind of kid who doesn't think deep thoughts in the middle of a task. More of a workhorse who needs to be given tools (he won't invent anything). So you gotta use drills like the above footage before you try to get him to think creatively. He'll first learn to do it out of necessity, when exhausted, when the roboticness is beaten out of him. Then you can give him more adaptive free-form exercises:

Are those guys [usually] physically stronger than thinkers?
I consider myself a thinker. I want to know whats behind every movement, every step I make, every punch I throw.

 

[Sinister]

Interesting. I've met guys who will write and what not with their right hand, but actually be a natural southpaw. It's funny how that works. That was something else I noticed about the first two gents...the rigidness. Even after the rounds were over and they were moving better, they were still a little rigid but far far better than just a few minutes prior. I'm sure that will work itself out as well over just a little time with you.

Man...once you get him going between body hooks and uppercuts...that's going to be a wonderful thing to see. His style thus far perfectly suits his body type I think. Great job on that. It'll be interesting to see how his career develops (assuming that he's looking to box professionally one day). I'll definitely be rooting for him and your entire club.

I believe your method of uppercuts are little varied relative to mine. What technique are you going to use on his lead uppercut? Load up the front, (possibly dipping the lead shoulder?), and shift to the rear lifting the front heel and externally rotating the rear knee? I'd imagine for the rear uppercut of course he's going to have to rotate that back knee to the inside while raising the rear heel as he transfers the weight to his front leg during the punch?

Something I've done when some guys don't get it, I tell them that for the general uppercut (not withstanding the slight variances that can be had for different situations) that they're basically vertical left hooks and vertical crosses as far as the lower body is concerned. Then they get it well enough to start getting the mechanics down.

Can't wait to see him progress.

I'm one of those guys who writes with my right hand but is a natural southpaw. My left is MUCH stronger than my right in-terms of brute force. But as a kid I was TOLD to hold the pencil in my right hand. So that's what I learned to do.

And yeah Praetorian's going to go Pro eventually. He's moving here sometime early next year (lives in NY now), and I want him to do either a year in the Amateurs, or win 10 straight, whichever comes first. If I don't like what I see, he'll do another year or another 10 fights. He's only 18 after all. But if he's in the Amateurs just wreckin' fools, then we'll turn him Pro after the first run.

Well, I'll teach him more than one lead-uppercut. But the one I think will work for him the most will be similar to an up-jab, just with the hand turned upside down. Because the posture of that punch will facilitate a nice circular overhand right to follow it. If he's in close I'll allow more liberal movement of the weight, he'll need it to get around the opponent anyway and avoid standing right in front of them. I don't want him to dip that shoulder because with his style he's already going to look like he's eating punches as they bounce off those big ass shoulders of his, I don't want him ACTUALLY risking eating them. But your notion about the rear uppercut is correct, and getting him to rotate internally is going to be a task. He widens-out when he's excited.

I like that method of describing uppercuts. Whatever makes them raise their eyebrows and nod.

Sinister,

How much does the big bag weigh?

Much thanks for the clips and breakdown.

It's somewhere around 200lbs or so. I forget.

Are those guys [usually] physically stronger than thinkers?
I consider myself a thinker. I want to know whats behind every movement, every step I make, every punch I throw.

As a trend, thinkers do tend to be less athletic than doers. There's a big chicken and egg argument over why. Is it nature or nurture? Can they be made into athletes is all the good part of their genetic code primarily in their brains? It's a big subject with lots of possibilities. But Art is a rare find, very athletic and a thinker, he'd have had a good career had he began sooner, enough physicality to hang with the cyborgs, and the brains to out-think them. Kolli's actually not very athletic, but he can think well in the ring and do what's asked.

But in the ring you REALLY want a doer, or to emulate one. If you've thought about what you want to do, it's already too late.

Even I myself at the end of the day am a much better brain than I am a muscle. I just like hitting people, so I can block out the thinking if I have to.

 

[sboone**]

As a trend, thinkers do tend to be less athletic than doers. There's a big chicken and egg argument over why. Is it nature or nurture? Can they be made into athletes is all the good part of their genetic code primarily in their brains? It's a big subject with lots of possibilities. But Art is a rare find, very athletic and a thinker, he'd have had a good career had he began sooner, enough physicality to hang with the cyborgs, and the brains to out-think them. Kolli's actually not very athletic, but he can think well in the ring and do what's asked.

But in the ring you REALLY want a doer, or to emulate one. If you've thought about what you want to do, it's already too late.

Even I myself at the end of the day am a much better brain than I am a muscle. I just like hitting people, so I can block out the thinking if I have to.

Deep stuff (especially the underlined sentence). I back it 100% and it applies to much more things than just boxing.

 

[Strykerx]

There actually is a theory in typology regarding this very topic of thinkers and doers. I'm a strong advocate of Jung Typology or other variants such as MBTI. I have yet to see anything that disproves it. In the history of boxing fighters share very common traits this also applies to trainers too. Both physically and mentality.

According to this theory there are 8 cognitive functions and 16 personality types.
http://www.cognitiveprocesses.com/
For athletes these types standout: ESTP, ISTP, ESFP, ISFP
For coaches these types standout: INTJ, ISTJ, ESTJ, INFJ, INTP

The most important function that stands out for sports or combat is Extraverted Sensing (Se). This is what enables doers to do their thing, fluidly and naturally. Being in the moment as they call it. In sports Se dominate types are the majority, football, basketball, boxing, mma yup you're bound to find one. Ty is what I consider a Se dominant type. These types of athletes while gifted physically both have the same type of weakness as well as strengths.

Sinister while he also possess Se traits it's just not his dominant function. His strengths are with his foresight and thinking (INTJ). Which in the coaching world makes a strategic general. If you want to see a famous example of this type check out the New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Virgil Hunter and possibly Eddie Futch . They use Extraverted Thinking (Te) while it's not their dominate it's only second to their Foresight (Introverted Intuition) which enables them to see the bigger picture and plan accordingly. If you notice all these guys are thinkers, very strategic ones. Andre Ward performance against Dawson, Frazier against Ali, all very strategic.

Then they're guys like Art and myself ISTP, Introverted Thinkers (Ti) who second strength is Extraverted Sensing. This is the second most common type in sports. Our ability to think on the fly and adapt is un-match. However these types need to understand and break something down prior to being able to do it gracefully. So it takes us awhile of practice. We're strive to be masters of our craft which gives us the moniker " craftsman or mechanic". So we're very methodical in our approach. Outside of boxing Art and me have a lot in common, we're also computer techys and nerds. That's not just sheer coincidence, it comes down to our personality type and how we like to fix and repair things.

That's not to say you can't become a top athlete without being the types I listed. This is just the majority, every type has their strengths and weakness. Like Oscar De La Hoya he is and always was a Feeling type. His performances always look great when he had emotional attachment to his fight. But like in the Hopkins where he is wasn't angry or anything, Hopkins approach the fight in a friendly manner. Beyond Hopkins skill his cerebral approach lead Oscar to being flat.

The mental side of things is very interesting part of fighting.

 

[Sinister]

Oh man, you and Dadi will get along JUUUUUUST fine.

 

[Pugilistic]

Man I really like your methodical approach. My trainer doesn't seem to have your type of style although it may be that he has his own reasons and methods and/or he's just more focused on teaching career fighters. He usually tells me do this or do that but doesn't really share his analysis with me on why I suck at doing some of the things he tells me to do.

 

[Sinister]

Man I really like your methodical approach. My trainer doesn't seem to have your type of style although it may be that he has his own reasons and methods and/or he's just more focused on teaching career fighters. He usually tells me do this or do that but doesn't really share his analysis with me on why I suck at doing some of the things he tells me to do.

Sorry I neglected to reply to this, thread got swallowed up a bit.

This goes to what I believe the role of trainers is. I've mentioned this in other threads, but Boxing is one of the very few Sports that has both trainers/coaches, AND conditioning coaches. In most other Sports what we call "conditioning coaches" are simply, trainers. So the "why" becomes very important. One of the trainers at Tocco's whom I work very closely with knows just as much as I do about how to move in Boxing. But he's been in the game so long and invested so much into it without getting as much back that he had reduced himself to basically a mitt-holder. He had stopped supervising shadowboxing, bag work, etc. He had also forgotten a lot of the conditioning things HE used to use to strengthen his fighters in a manner befitting to being able to box better.

It's funny, because things happen that will set you on the right path. He lost his best fighter to a VERY dramatic situation, and then less then a month later he accidentally chopped part of his finger off at his day job, thus, he can't hold mitts. So he's had to spend time doing all the things he hadn't BEEN doing. But it's gotten him back to the roots of how to build a fighter. Last weekend we were looking at his younger guys' hips and legs, going over whether or not they even can or cannot even DO the moves he wants them to do. A lot of trainers lose touch with this stuff, or never learned it in the first place. But if you want a guy to box well, IMO, it's a priority to make it easy for them to do. To train them, not just bark at them until they try in a stressful manner to get you to stop barking at them.

 

[Strykerx]

Since not many are contributing, I'll write about something I read this week. The importance of Spatial Thinking and it's worth to sports particularly combat sports. Spatial thinking involves analysis, problem solving, and pattern prediction involving objects and their spatial relationships. In the combat world this compose of range, timing, and ring generalship.

I mentioned earlier about personality types, well this comes into play about that. People with strong Spatial thinking can do well in sports. Why, well because they can think on the fly and adapt. This adaption goes two ways a fighter changes his strategy and overcomes or makes a slight adjustment and keeps doing his thing. Like Sinister once said there are pressure fighters and then there are guys like Hagler, Duran, Chavez.

This is important to this thread because you can see what I'm talking about by watching the videos of the fighters posted. I can see Art and Kolli are guys I would think would adapt and change up their strategies. Where as Ty would make adjustments and keep pressuring forward. I know this because when Ty isn't doing that he doesn't fair well. Perhaps the nature of his style or his disposition? Like I said about Ty earlier he is a Extraverted Sensing dominant type, he simply needs to do and think from there.

They all use Spatial thinking but in different ways. One guys goes with the flow the other controls it.

 

[Sinister]

Since not many are contributing, I'll write about something I read this week. The importance of Spatial Thinking and it's worth to sports particularly combat sports. Spatial thinking involves analysis, problem solving, and pattern prediction involving objects and their spatial relationships. In the combat world this compose of range, timing, and ring generalship.

I mentioned earlier about personality types, well this comes into play about that. People with strong Spatial thinking can do well in sports. Why, well because they can think on the fly and adapt. This adaption goes two ways a fighter changes his strategy and overcomes or makes a slight adjustment and keeps doing his thing. Like Sinister once said there are pressure fighters and then there are guys like Hagler, Duran, Chavez.

This is important to this thread because you can see what I'm talking about by watching the videos of the fighters posted. I can see Art and Kolli are guys I would think would adapt and change up their strategies. Where as Ty would make adjustments and keep pressuring forward. I know this because when Ty isn't doing that he doesn't fair well. Perhaps the nature of his style or his disposition? Like I said about Ty earlier he is a Extraverted Sensing dominant type, he simply needs to do and think from there.

They all use Spatial thinking but in different ways. One guys goes with the flow the other controls it.

Good post, and spatial thinking can be evident LITERALLY in a boxing ring. Kolli and Art NEED their space. They need to be able to have a half a second to allow for the adaptation process to work. Whenever I moved with Art, if he kept me at the end of his jab, it made my life very difficult even if he didn't do anything with that initiative. If I made a move too far away, and too soon, he could adapt and land something else.

Ty has a reflex where he'll just bull forward out of frustration sometimes and throw a billion punches. What I'm trying to do as a trainer is equip him with a style that allows for him to do that without taking damage. But as you say, he has to DO first, then he can think. He gathers himself under the pressure of close-quarters combat, being right in the face of the problem. Whereas guys like Kolli and Art need to stand back and look at it, even though they're both do-ers. This is why I taught Kolli how to push and bully smaller guys. It's a ruse, he's not REALLY a brawler, never will be. But he can pretend to be one long enough to get the space he needs.

 

[Discipulus]

You mentioned once how Mike used his pawing jab to make him seem like a pressure fighter, though he was really looking for counters all the while. Is this a similar method, giving him space and time to think?

 

[Sinister]

Yes indeed. Mike was always a counter-puncher masquerading as a volume pressure guy. So the pawing jab came in very handy, supplemental punches if you well. Made him seem very busy to the other guy and to observers, but they weren't the punches he looked to land. Mike was something of a pressure fighter as an Amateur, though. Similar to the way Joe Louis was a fleet-footed mover. When Georgie Benton got a hold of Mike, the first thing he did was teach him to stay still longer.

 

[fightingrabbit]

Yes indeed. Mike was always a counter-puncher masquerading as a volume pressure guy. So the pawing jab came in very handy, supplemental punches if you well. Made him seem very busy to the other guy and to observers, but they weren't the punches he looked to land. Mike was something of a pressure fighter as an Amateur, though. Similar to the way Joe Louis was a fleet-footed mover. When Georgie Benton got a hold of Mike, the first thing he did was teach him to stay still longer.

Real interesting that you mentioned this. As i've been studying the Whitaker vs. Azumah Nelson fight the last day or two, and just yesterday i was really listening in (or trying to) on Bentons coaching in between rounds over the garbled, shitty audio.

Anyways for the first 3 rounds Whitaker is fighting like a bat out of hell. He was fighting well albeit intensely, with a lot of frantic movement. Backpedaling, circling, ducking and turning the charging Nelson. Then at the end of round 3 i listen in to what Benton tells Pea, I couldn't hear all the words, but heres what i made out..

"Stop moving so much, just let him come. See look, even though you're moving, you're still where hes at. You understand what i'm saying? You're still right there. So just take your time, let him fire. And when he fires make a move."

I replayed it a bunch of times. But hearing what he said in the bold struck me as profound. It sounded like such a simple piece of advice in the afterthought, but i was totally like 'Whoa, hes right'. Everything he accomplished by circling and backpedaling could have been accomplished just by standing right in front of his man. Minus the expenditure of energy. Nelson was always right in his face regardless.

Then what do you know, the next round Whitaker goes out, absolutely no more frantic back pacing and circling all over the ring. Hardly any steps back for that matter. Just cool and collected, standing no more than a foot from Nelson, calmly slipping and countering in punching range. Its like he morphed into a completely different fighter in the minute between rounds. It was seriously trippy to see. It says alot about Whitaker as a fighter that he could implement a change in the mode and intensity just that quickly. But it also spoke volumes about Benton as a trainer, how his words could transform his fighter right before your eyes from a round to the next.

Alot of people spout off about how certain fighters can adapt during a fight (about Mayweather mainly). Honestly i've never seen a clear case of this myself in all my time of watching fights, and i'm sure this is because i haven't paid close enough attention or really watched for it. But this is about the only instance of a mid fight adaptation that was clear as day. Like i got hit in the face with it.

 

[Strykerx]

Real interesting that you mentioned this. As i've been studying the Whitaker vs. Azumah Nelson fight the last day or two, and just yesterday i was really listening in (or trying to) on Bentons coaching in between rounds over the garbled, shitty audio.

Anyways for the first 3 rounds Whitaker is fighting like a bat out of hell. He was fighting well albeit intensely, with a lot of frantic movement. Backpedaling, circling, ducking and turning the charging Nelson. Then at the end of round 3 i listen in to what Benton tells Pea, I couldn't hear all the words, but heres what i made out..

"Stop moving so much, just let him come. See look, even though you're moving, you're still where hes at. You understand what i'm saying? You're still right there. So just take your time, let him fire. And when he fires make a move."

I replayed it a bunch of times. But hearing what he said in the bold struck me as profound. It sounded like such a simple piece of advice in the afterthought, but i was totally like 'Whoa, hes right'. Everything he accomplished by circling and backpedaling could have been accomplished just by standing right in front of his man. Minus the expenditure of energy. Nelson was always right in his face regardless.

Then what do you know, the next round Whitaker goes out, absolutely no more frantic back pacing and circling all over the ring. Hardly any steps back for that matter. Just cool and collected, standing no more than a foot from Nelson, calmly slipping and countering in punching range. Its like he morphed into a completely different fighter in the minute between rounds. It was seriously trippy to see. It says alot about Whitaker as a fighter that he could implement a change in the mode and intensity just that quickly. But it also spoke volumes about Benton as a trainer, how his words could transform his fighter right before your eyes from a round to the next.

Alot of people spout off about how certain fighters can adapt during a fight (about Mayweather mainly). Honestly i've never seen a clear case of this myself in all my time of watching fights, and i'm sure this is because i haven't paid close enough attention or really watched for it. But this is about the only instance of a mid fight adaptation that was clear as day. Like i got hit in the face with it.

I think those are both cases of a fighter being too fast for their bodies. Albeit the amateur system probably had something to do with it. Mike isn't exactly fast but perhaps he tries to do too much. Its tough but one has to find that medium between the two.

Something I've only manage to work on this year. I'm a fast guy who like most speedy guys suffer from overworking. However once I learn to slow down mix that speed methodically I give every single person I've ever sparred against (even pros) problems.

I learned this from watching the Charley Burley video and Sinister's posting. In all combat sports what does a Master level guy do? Wrestling, BJJ, Judo, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Karate, etc what do all high level master technicians do? They don't waste energy, their speed is used intelligently, small subtle movements, and knowing when to attack fiercely. Simplicity is consider the greatest form of sophistication.

edit; So I learned I was wrong about me being a thinker by nature I'm a Doer who thinks.

 

[Discipulus]

Sinister, I'm a little confused about something. In Art's rounds on the small bag, you tell him to hook when he pivots, and say to throw the rising hook in particular. But the punches he throws don't look to me like rising hooks at all. :icon_conf I was just thinking about my hooks again today (maybe I'll post a bag video tomorrow if I get the chance), and practicing my form. But now I'm worried I'm doing something wrong after all.