Simple yet unbelievable.

[MoppyPuppy]

So yeah, I was like... at this gym right?

And I meet this pro boxer, conversation went foreward.
And we somehow got to the subject to where he says playfully:

"Try and hit me"

So I totally did, and he blocked EVERYTHING.

Now this is what you'd expect from a boxer, what baffles me is how much at ease he was. Not just in demeanor but his movements seemed genuinely slow.
My punches were as fast as they can push them. And he like just slapped them aside.

Now when I say he "Blocked" thats an overstatement, he sorta just waved them off, it was the coolest thing I have ever seen.
(despite people laughing at me)
And it has compelled me to learning martial arts and stuff like that a little earlier than I planned as I'm joining the marines sooner or later in my life.
I'm still 16.

Maybe I dont really want to learn a martial art, but just know how to block and move really really fast.

Like how that guy blocked all my stuff. He wasn't even trying. It was sick...
And he wasn't even moving very fast.

But there is a technique to doing it that you need to learn as I couldn't do it myself, not even close.

Now dojos and other stuff dont teach soley that, I plan on learning Aikido this summer hopefully, but how does one learn simply how to be QUICK???

The "I'm gonna put my fist in your face and theres nothing you can do about it" kind of physical form that where if you were to fight an average person, you could beat them despite you martialartlessness just because your first punch is so fast the opponent has a hard time avoiding a hit, and the blocking that makes the person look like he has years of training, (which may be true) but if you look carefully hes simply doing what anyone else would do, but hes/shes moving really fast when pushing the opponent's punches away from you.

I dont know, maybe that boxer guy got me frustrated.
HE MADE IT LOOK SO ---- EASY!

[Fred27]

but how does one learn simply how to be QUICK???
!

Well the stuff that works 99% of the time is reptition, practice, practice, endless practice and then some more practice.

[Ron Tisdale]

Dude, you met a man that made you look silly, and you didn't ask HIM to TEACH you??!!?? What are you thinking? Go find this guy, or the local gym he trains at, and train there.

You got a glimpse of someone really good. Take full advantage.

Best,
Ron (and you can train aikido too...)

[Josh Reyer]

So yeah, I was like... at this gym right?
Like how that guy blocked all my stuff. He wasn't even trying. It was sick...
And he wasn't even moving very fast.

But there is a technique to doing it that you need to learn as I couldn't do it myself, not even close.

Now dojos and other stuff dont teach soley that, I plan on learning Aikido this summer hopefully, but how does one learn simply how to be QUICK???

Well, in the boxer's case, he's seen thousands of punches thrown at him. Punches of many different stripes and colors. He's actually been hit by them, too. So, compared to you (or me for that matter), everything is slowed down for him. It's like driving on the freeway for the first time. Everything seems so fast, but when you get used to it it seems slow. Or playing guitar: at first it seems like you have to move your fingers at a ridiculous pace, but soon you become used to the movements and the rhythm, and you have the extra sense of space you need.

Now, add to that, you were probably looking right at where you were going to punch. Having been punched at thousands of times, the boxer can read that. He can probably tell where you're going to throw a punch before you even consciously realize it. In addition, he could undoubtedly tell from looking at your shoulders which hand you were going to punch with, and what course the punch was going to travel. He's been trained to pick up on very subtle clues to recognize incoming punches, and compared to the typical opponent he fights you were probably telegraphing more than AT&T.

So, not only do the punches seem to come at him slow, but he also knows where they're coming from and where they're going. Finally, there's the raw physics: it's a much greater distance from where you start the punch to where you finish it than it is for him to move his hand to block it. Particularly since he knows he doesn't have to move too much; he knows exactly how far to block your punch in order to not be hit.

The boxer didn't make look easy by being superfast, he did it by being efficient, and by not hurrying. In other words, the whole time he was thinking calm, calm, calm, slow, slow, slow. It was composure and skill born out of years of practice on a multitude of fronts.

The same idea is in baseball, too. The pitcher doesn't try to pitch faster by speeding up, he tries to slow down and get more power built up via a higher leg lift, takeback, etc. The batter doesn't try to hit the high heat by speeding up his bat, he tries to stay back, wait for the pitch to come to him, and just naturally explode into the ball with the batting stroke he has ingrained into his muscles with thousands upon thousands of practice swings.

Don't think "fast". Think "calm and efficient". That's where the speed comes from.

[cxt]

MoppyPuppy

No offense to you--seriously.

Your surprised that a "pro-boxer" can pretty easily shut down the punchs of a 16 year old kid??

It would surprise me if he could not do so.

Having been 16, you will look back at this in 10 years and be utterly amazed at how much faster and stronger you are at 26 than you were at 16.

If you keep training

The guy could do what did because he spent YEARS of blood, sweat and tears, carefully, patiently, buliding those skills.

In order to have them, you must work for them--there are no short-cuts, no easy way--you have to earn them.

You got a good look at what hard work oevr time can do for you.

Excellent example to motivate you to do like wise.

[Black and Blue]

Moppy Puppy,


Did you try kicking him in the groin? <g>



Phil Scudieri

[Brian Owens]

...Now dojos and other stuff dont teach soley that, I plan on learning Aikido this summer hopefully, but how does one learn simply how to be QUICK???

It was said above, and it bears repeating: practice.

When you've practiced enough that you can move without taking time to think about it, that's when you appear to be moving with blinding speed.

When you have to think, "Okay, if he does this, I'll do that, and if he does that, I'll do this, and..." Well, you're going to be as slow as cold molasses.

You can't learn this from reading about it or talking about it. There are no "moves" that you can learn that make you "an unbeatable fighter in only six easy lessons."

You've just got to do it...over and over again.

The hardest part about learning martial arts (and many other skills for that matter) is that you must keep repeating the basics until they are ingrained before you can move on to the next step. Some people are in too much of a hurry, always thinking there's some special secret that the master is holding back that will make them great, and they get bored and quit or move to another school, always thinking the grass will be greener on the other side of the fence. The reality, of course, is that the master became a master by devoting years to the practice, and as often as not returning in the later years to the basics...

and finding fresh meaning in them.

[DRooster]

..."And I meet this pro boxer, conversation went foreward. And we somehow got to the subject to where he says playfully:"Try and hit me" So I totally did, and he blocked EVERYTHING."

So, you've seen good ability in martial arts, from a boxer.

GO LEARN BOXING !!

..."Now dojos and other stuff dont teach soley that, I plan on learning Aikido this summer hopefully, but how does one learn simply how to be QUICK???"

You are confused.
Moppy, GO LEARN BOXING at this guy's gym, as Ron suggested.

If you do ANYTHING ELSE to try to become like that boxer guy you are being blindly stupid.
He seems like a gift from god.

You can learn other martial arts for fun later, once you can easily avoid getting hit from youngsters' punches.

[Robc]

...and don't try kicking him the groin. He'll knock your lights out.

[Chris McLean]

He was reading your telegraph. Not being trained your telegraph is worse than some one who has been taught how to punch. sounds like a really nice guy because all he did was slip. perry, redirect, and deflect. He didn't counter attack. Congratulations you have had your first lesson.

[powerof0ne]

I don't know why this is unbelievable...you're a 16 y/o that doesn't have much experience, this guy is/was a pro boxer. If you actually go train with people that are "pro", you'll find this happening for a long time until you get experience. In fact, people that aren't pro could do the same thing to you. I know amature boxers that have 50+ ring fights that are very good.
One thing I will say is, don't just train/dabble a little bit in a few arts thinking you've learned all you can..I'm getting the impression you are going to, though.

[Black and Blue]

Rob,
I can appreciate your concerns for the "youthful, inexperienced" Moppy and his circumstance, however while teaching MA for 8 years in the DC area I fought several boxers and wrestlers and I assure you a well placed, powerful front kick to the groin or a powerful round kick to the inside or outside of the knee will stop just about anybody in there tracks.
Phil Scudieri

[powerof0ne]

So, you kicked guys in the groin or to the side of the knee cap in sparring? Or was this in self defense? In self defense I've always felt the groin was a very overrated target to strike but this is for another thread, some time.
I have to agree with Robc, though...the kick to the groin will more likely just enrage a seasoned boxer and he will knock your lights out. Now, if you actually grabbed someone in the groin and twisted("squeezing the peach")the success rate for this would be much higher.
Now, why would you kick someone in the groin when you're in a mutual "sparring" environment? You wouldn't, unless you're a jerk. So, you taught martial arts for 8 years? Total? Or just in DC? I'm trying to understand the point of what you said is all.
Only once have I ever kicked someone in the knee cap, and it was because I was out numbered, and yes, it worked. In sparring you don't intentionally kick to the groin or to the knee cap..at least no where that I ever trained, thank god.

[Black and Blue]

These were self-defence situations. In class we use rules. I've been teaching since 1973
Phil Scudieri

[powerof0ne]

Moppy Puppy,


Did you try kicking him in the groin? <g>



Phil Scudieri

Ok, so you said you yourself did this in self defense? Moppy here was telling all of us how this sounded like a mutual "sparring" test or drill of some sort. You remind me of the bad guys from the Karate kid movie telling Johnny to "sweep the leg" by asking Moppy if he tried kicking him in the groin. Thanks for the laugh.