Oct 10 2007
Complaining Session
I have a fight scheduled in 4 weeks. But excitement is turning to frustration. My left rotator cuff (shoulder) has been killing me for the last few weeks and isn’t getting better. It’s not the kind of thing that would keep me from fighting, but it’s effecting the snappiness of my jab. I’m training hard and doing my roadwork, but I’m feeling exhausted. Dare I say I’m feeling old?
There was a bright spot the other day when I went to another gym and sparred with an open class fighter (10+ sanctioned amateur fights) and easily handled him. But then tonight I got in with a heavyweight that was 10x as mobile as me, despite a 30-40 lbs weight difference, and I could do seemingly nothing with him.
Worse thing is this guy has the style of boxing I hate the most, and have still not learned to face. He fights off his back leg from a philly shell. I have to penetrate deep into his defenses to land all the while he counter punches and rolls off punches. But this guy is even worse, he changes leads thus screwing with my entry angles and he’s all over the place.
I have a fight scheduled in 4 weeks.
Hey, way to go, Nerd of Steel! I’d say I’d be there cheering for you, but I don’t even know where you are, so I’ll have to be part of the virtual cheering section.
Dare I say I’m feeling old?
Dude, don’t even go there. I’ll be 44 next month. Riding home from training tonight, I felt the tiny bit of soreness that I sometimes get in my lower back after a good workout. It’s not a sharp pain or anything severe; it’s just a little pain that I can feel when I sit or lie down. When I felt that little twinge of pain, I thought, “Hey, I’m not old, I’m seasoned!”
That’s how I look at it. Perhaps it’s my upbringing, and the fact that my parents and other ancestors have always seemed young to me, at least young in heart and mind and, to some extent, in body, too. My parents go for regular fitness walks and take their dog with them. My brother is a jock, very active in swimming and karate. My nephew was playing 3 sports when he was 6 years old. My older relatives in earlier generations worked until very late in life and were always active with some project or hobby.
Age is mostly a state of mind. Sure, our bodies can’t do some of the things they used to do for us many years ago, but we learn how to adapt, how to compensate for those changes. You’re not getting older, Nerd of Steel, you’re getting better. I sincerely mean that.
There was a bright spot the other day when I went to another gym and sparred with an open class fighter (10+ sanctioned amateur fights) and easily handled him. But then tonight I got in with a heavyweight that was 10x as mobile as me, despite a 30-40 lbs weight difference, and I could do seemingly nothing with him.
See, you did well against the open-class boxer. Good job! Training has its ups and downs. It seems like you’re in this to go the distance, so I hope you’ll keep a broader perspective in mind.
Worse thing is this guy has the style of boxing I hate the most, and have still not learned to face. He fights off his back leg from a philly shell. I have to penetrate deep into his defenses to land all the while he counter punches and rolls off punches. But this guy is even worse, he changes leads thus screwing with my entry angles and he’s all over the place.
Alright, my friend, I’m going to offer a little unsolicited advice here. Hopefully, you won’t mind. If you do, well, you can punch me sometime. Don’t talk yourself out of this fight, talk yourself into winning.
Consider what he does well, and don’t underestimate him. At the same time, remember the things you do well and how you’re going to use them to beat that guy. It sounds like you’re going to have to cut off the ring in this fight. You can practice that a lot in training over the next four weeks. Let’s see how much good his phancy philly shell and switching leads do him when he’s confined to fighting in an increasingly small square, or trapped on the ropes or in the corner.
Is he a natural right-hander? If so, the switched lead puts him in a southpaw stance. That can be frustrating and annoying, but it’s certainly possible to beat a guy who fights like that. If you don’t feel comfortable with it yet, then work with your trainer, get some coaching on it, and drill the hell out of it from now until fight time. One of the classic ways of attacking a southpaw is to throw a lot of hard lead right hands and left hooks. Does he do the philly shell when in southpaw stance? If so, it should be even easier to hit him with left hooks because he probably is not as used to doing it in southpaw as he is in orthodox, and that philly shell business leaves a huge opening that I have never liked. In exchange for being able to throw some sneaky jabs and balancing at kind of a weird angle, you risk getting clocked unless you’re really fast on defense. That’s not a fair trade, in my humble opinion.
You’ve got four weeks. You can do it. Train hard. Post here. Keep up the great work!
Steve,
Thanks so much. FYI - You don’t ever have to pause before giving me advice, just let it out.
BTW - I’m in Los Angeles county.
I guess I’m kind of a perfectionist and I am definitely too hard on myself.
At my own gym, I get a lot of time with sanctioned amateurs in the open class and novice class and one pro. I consistently do really well. But styles make fights and in the back of my mind I was wondering if I was just getting used to these guys’ styles.
So that’s why I was so happy to step in with a unfamiliar open class fighter and do so well. But then I guess I just got frustrated last night against that one style that still bothers me.
I’m read through your tips on fighting the philly shell and will reread them a few times. I do have some experience against southpaws and use my right alot but we were just doing some light sparring w/ left hands only, so looking back it was unfairly stacked against me.
BTW - You’ve got mail.
-Nerd of Steel
How did you go?