Waiting for the bus; getting on

waiting for the bus

Using the feet properly, or at least getting to the stage I’m at has been a long and winding road. I’ve already described the amazing potential the feet have and how getting a feel for whats happening in the foot can assist in stablity, or being rooted/grounded. Obviously, the drawback of being too stable is a lack of mobility, a wall built with foundations is very stable but has minimal mobility, obviously fine for a wall except in extreme situations, earthquake/hurricane perhaps.

For humans wanting to be able to avoid incoming attacks stability has it’s role but good mobility is essential to avoid attacks and to set up your own. The answer is to be ‘on your toes’ rather than ‘on your heels’, the first supports movement while the second hampers movement. That’s not to say that you cannot move if you have your weight on your heels, of course you can, but it takes a preparatory movement to do so. I tell the kids in my class that its the difference between waiting for the bus and actually getting on the bus.

getting on the bus

It’s fine standing on your heels waiting for the bus but when you get on you need to move forward and your posture must support that movement. If you need to hurry to get on the bus, if it’s about to leave you really need to move from the front of your foot, i.e. be ‘on your toes’.

Nothing to spectacular in any of this but it’s amazing how many people in martial arts are rather flat-footed. It’s not universal, of course, but if you practice the hateful sanbon kumite and the like you’re training yourself to ‘move in stance’ and to not use your feet effectively. It’s like trying to move with an anchor pulling you back!

Elsewhere movement is optimised. At Primal, Steve Morris got us to repeat kick like they do in Muay Thai which trains the feet to move rapidly. The little ‘skip’ is key which serves to not only ‘charge’ the kick but also to adjust position in relation to the target. For me this had the wonderful spin-off of helping my foot movement in general, this became evident in the movement drills Morris introduced. These involved chasing each other around, meaning you have to move quickly to avoid the other bloke while staying close. It’s not a case of running away, rather adjusting position.

This training coupled with watching and getting an impression of Manny Pacquiao really helped me get to grips with moving my feet so they could make tiny adjustments for whatever reason, i.e. throwing kicks/punches, pushing off to move away. That is not all you can glean from watching such an excellent fighter as Pacquiao, it’s merely one aspect, albeit a vital one.

By concentrating training on optimising the potential of the feet anyone can learn to greatly improve their movement. But even you you become more ‘getting on the bus’ than ‘waiting for the bus’ you will notice an improvement.

Greatest ever fight

From tonysports

Potentially the greatest, anyway. Yesterday it was announced that the Mayweather vs Pacquiao scheduled for March 13th is off due to a row over the drug testing procedure. It seems that the Mayweather camp has been casting doubts over Pacquiao’s status in regard of performance enhancing drugs, despite there being no evidence at all to suggest he is anything other than completely clean.

Pacquiao has agreed to the standard drug-testing protocol of the Nevada State Athletic Commission but Mayweather wants to implement the more stringent protocol of that used by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. This version is used to test Olympians in the US, with Mayweather claiming that if this protocol is good enough for the Olympians then it should be required for a fight ‘of this magnitude’. As Pacquiao has not agreed to the USADA testing protocol Mayweather said

I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same. It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night

That’s a bit rich in my opinion, there is no suggestion whatsoever of Pacquiao having failed a drug test in that past. It seems like an example of the usual pre-fight  games Mayweather plays. To me he’s taking it too far as he’s accusing Pacquiao of being a cheat and by doing so questioning the legitimacy of his achievements.

This implication is hypocritical in that Mayweather has had to agree to an unprecedented financial penalty if either fighter weighs in over. This is set at a staggering $10 million per pound as against Marquez in September Mayweather paid the penalty of $600,000 when weighing in two pounds over. Cheeky sod!

It’s all a bit silly and no doubt will be sorted eventually. Personally I detest all this nonsense and trash talking. It’s all far too WWE which is becoming an increasingly common, unwelcome addition to the UFC as ex-pro wrestlers join up. In regard to the fight in question the last word should stay with Pacquiao

Now I say to Floyd Mayweather Jr, ‘Don’t be a coward and face me in the ring, mano-a-mano and shut your big, pretty mouth, so we can show the world who is the true king of the ring’

Of course, all this nonsense could be nothing more than a promoter promoting…….

Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao

Rated, by Ring magazine, as best pound for pound fighter in the world, Pacquiao is also the first fighter to become lineal champion at four different weight classes. He recently destroyed Ricky Hatton in the second round by KO after knocking him down twice in the first. He’s quick, to say the least and moves so well, his timing is exquisite and he really can hit hard, here’s the link to the fight on you tube, it may be removed soon. The clip shows the final KO several times, Pacquiao whips in a huge left hook leading with his head, it’s a great shot. It’s interesting that the commentators say that Pacquiao has learned a lot in recent years and really come on. Something that Ricky Hatton could heed if he’s to continue…..!

Steve Morris encourages us to ‘watch the fight’ to help continue to learn, and at the moment Pacquiao is my favourite. The idea is not just to watch and enjoy but to get the impression of the fighter, be inspired and try to take on that impression. You can read Steve’s views on this here and here.

Watching great fighters in this manner is an excellent way to pick useful stuff up. The Pacman has supreme footwork/movement and exquisite timing and this is shown clearly in the following training highlight. His hand speed is incredible throughout the clip, but in the section where he is shadow boxing the way in which the hands lead the feet is stunningly rapid. Getting the hands to set the pace for the feet is something that Morris bangs on about and is an excellent way to get yourself moving more effectively. It’s a bit like a sprinter using his arms.

During the subsequent section of sparring Pacquiao’s timing and movement allow him to completely dominate his sparring partners. While this, of course, would be expected, it’s an excellent illustration of timing, in my opinion. He is forever beating the opponent to the punch, or put another way using the interval of time (as Morris calls it) to either hit or avoid/defend. It’s a great clip, inspiring and kinda gets you going.