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Updates on my Fighting Life

Blogs > XDJuicebox
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XDJuicebox
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States593 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-02-09 20:17:48
February 09 2015 20:14 GMT
#1
A lot of stuff happened since my last blog...a LOT of stuff. It can be found here, which describes my upbringing up until summer 2014.
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/460782-my-fighting-experience

Summer opens up with some buddies of mine drinking like mad. A buddy and mine had been talking shit to each other the whole day for fun, and he was like "fight me" and I was like "okay," but I really did not want to fight him since he was 5'6 (167 cm) and 160 lbs (73 kg), but he had a squat of 160kg and a bench press of 130kg... (350lb squat and a 270lb bench), while I was 5'10 (179cm) and 140lbs at the time (64kg) since I had recently just ended another run of anorexia LOL and was trying to be healthy again. Also, the guy (Spencer) was a wrestler, and he had won second place in his Varsity division at State Championship. I...didn't really want a piece of this guy.
Also, I was kind of retarded at the time, and was in the whole poke mentality, which doesn't really work.

Literally the whole day we were just joking around, but I'm sober since I have to drive everyone home, and Spencer is straight up on 5-6 shots, so not inebriated enough to lose his motor function...but then Gary throws a helmet on me (he's pretty drunk too) and throws the gloves at me and then I suppose I'd do it just to get it over with. He was so done I just took him down, put a knee on his stomach, and that was that.

Then Chris fights Jake, which was really just Jake tackling Chris.

Then Spencer asks me to fight, and I really didn't want to, but I don't know why; I accepted. I guess I wanted to face my fears or something. Or maybe I had an inferiority complex and I needed to prove to myself that I COULD handle him. Because he was better than me at a lot of other things or something really dumb like that.

So I landed 2-3 shots to his ribs, and he wasn't happy. It was kind of dark in his backyard, and he throws a right hook as I shoot for a right straight of my own and I hadn't been practicing with my hands up...

WHAM! His punch threw me to the ground, as I clutched my head in pain. Thank goodness he struck near the eye and not the chin, otherwise I might've had a concussion. 160lbs of pure muscle swinging a hook as hard as he could [he actually broke his hand, even with gloves on]. If I was not wearing a helmet, I don't know what would've happened LOL that helmet can take some punishment man.

After that, I felt a burning impulse to kill my best friend. Thank goodness I still had some sense of self-control and I was able to hold back, otherwise I might've done something that I really would have regretted. I went home, defeated, my ego shattered.

Which was probably a good thing in the long run, but not so much at the time. The next day, apparently Spencer had been bragging about how he punched me in the face to our mutual friends and stuff, so the next day, when I was hanging out at my other friend's house, a mutual friend came up to me to examine my eye. I had a full black eye, which was kind of awkward to hide from my family and my boss and stuff, and while I succeeded the first, I did not succeed in the second LOL. Jamie kissed it though, so that made me feel better. Somewhat.

I got really, really depressed...all sense of self-confidence in my martial capability and combative ability faded...and I felt so lost, so weak, so powerless. I didn't know what to do. I thought I had all of the answers...I did everything right! [Except a whole host of things]

About a week later, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself. Luckily, there was a video, and I started to analyze everything I was doing wrong, and I started finding a lot of things. I tore through book after book, asked countless friends for opinions, and I realized that there were soooo many things that I was doing wrong. I did not have any of the components of power - my range was off, my structure was poor, my timing was good though. But I was off-balance, no grounding, etc...

Eventually I sought instruction, since I realized then that I had absolutely no idea what to do when the fight came to the ground. I could survive more or less standing, but I decided that my lack of ability to groundfight was going to cost me dearly later on...and since I live in Torrance, where better to look than the academy of the legendary Gracie family, which was literally 5 minutes away?

So I dragged some of my friends with me, on the fateful evening of July 14th, and we did the 10 day free trial. I was hooked from day 1. The moves made sense, and they worked. I started going every day...and when September came around, I ended up going twice a day. My understanding of physics and the movement of human bodies was getting really good too; I started being able to apply the principles that I knew about to the techniques that I was learning from the Gracies. I learned to see my own mistakes and correct them, to modify the techniques to work in different situations [though I'm sure I'll learn that later on], to make the moves work for my body, and when the move would work, etc...it was pretty cool! I felt like whenever someone showed me something, I could immediately break it down, figure out how it worked, modify it for me, and get it to work for myself.

Five months later, in December, I got my blue belt :D School had started though, so I couldn't go quite as much, but I was still regularly attending, and it was a lot of fun. I'm starting to be able to hold my own against most people on the mat, and though I don't really tap people out, I can survive/hold a position somewhat decently. My standup game has been improving too; some of my boxing buddies are showing me some stuff, and it's really fun doing the slip/bob/weave while I work for a clinch XD

It felt really empowering though, not letting something like this make me quit, and instead gathering my courage and facing my own wrongness. I felt so empowered that I was able to seek improvement, rather than wallow in my own failure...

I must say, one of the most important things I learned though was that before I'd been relying on my uber-fast reaction time [thanks to Halo XD] to see punches and kicks coming...but then a homie of mine told me that all I had to do was look at his shoulders and knees...since if a punch was to come, it HAD to move. And if he doesn't move his shoulders, then there's no way that punch could hurt very badly. This has helped me soooo much.....it seems like I can feel someone's going to through a power punch at me before they even do it, and it seems like I shoot for the takedown BEFORE they through the hit. I just somehow know. It's really surreal. Even when they try to feint...I think I'm sensing their intention to through a strong hit? It's really weird idk but it's cool XD

Will update later with more stuff.

**
And then you know what happened all of a sudden?
Kronen
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United States732 Posts
February 10 2015 04:12 GMT
#2
Really cool write-up dude!! It's crazy how certain situations can trigger such a change. This past xmas I had to subdue a vagrant that was harassing our motel receptionist, and that triggered my wife into taking some self defense courses. Scared the bejesus out of both of us at the time though....

I'm happy that you followed through with it and enjoying the process. Do post more later for sure.
hymn
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
Bulgaria832 Posts
February 10 2015 10:27 GMT
#3
Hmmm... Talking about seeing punches and kicks and trying to dodge them in reality are two totally different things. Anyway, any semi-competent amateur fighter will not come swinging wildly at you but will wait for you to throw the first punch and try to counter you in some way. In sparring it's different but in a street fight this would be the smart thing to do.
Also, for the kicks, watch not for the knees but for the hips. The guideline is to keep your sight at the chest of the opponent so you can see his shoulders and his hips at the same time.
azk he is the north american player but the titan he is the french stars
XDJuicebox
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States593 Posts
February 10 2015 23:08 GMT
#4
On February 10 2015 19:27 hymn wrote:
Hmmm... Talking about seeing punches and kicks and trying to dodge them in reality are two totally different things. Anyway, any semi-competent amateur fighter will not come swinging wildly at you but will wait for you to throw the first punch and try to counter you in some way. In sparring it's different but in a street fight this would be the smart thing to do.
Also, for the kicks, watch not for the knees but for the hips. The guideline is to keep your sight at the chest of the opponent so you can see his shoulders and his hips at the same time.


Good advice! The hips have always been a bit hard for me to decipher, but I guess it makes sense. I'll work on it!
I've noticed with more experienced fighters it's all about the mind-game and who can stay calmer/own the rhythm. And that is something that I am not very good at LOL
And then you know what happened all of a sudden?
[UoN]Sentinel
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
United States11320 Posts
February 11 2015 03:54 GMT
#5
Entertaining read I'm surprised the rating is so low
Нас зовет дух отцов, память старых бойцов, дух Москвы и твердыня Полтавы
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