The Internet is crushing you.

I can't wait to see how apathetic, lethargic and self-absorbed our society is in 20 years. It's going to be great. We've got a bunch of clowns now who want to overthrow the government but have no concept whatsoever of how to govern themselves or even how a government works or why it exists. They want to abolish religion because of all the horrible things religious people apparently do, but have never even looked inside a bible, torah or qur'an and would never chance being caught reading one for fear that it would make them uncool. They don't want to be told what to do and yet they'll expect their own retarded demands to be bowed to simply because they "occupy" some space and bitch and whine for shit they don't even comprehend or deserve.

As it is now the majority of kids under 30 years old are what you call aliterate. That means that they can read but they choose not to. And I'm talking about books, not blogs. Web logs and social media sites like facebook, twitter and whatever else are so full of typos, spelling errors and overall grammatical languorousness that they can hardly be considered reading. Not to mention that they're all nothing more than the narcissistic ramblings of self-obsessed assholes (I don't consider this blog any better either). Well, that's why sooner rather than later, aliteracy is going to become straight up illiteracy. Books will be considered an outdated thing of the past just like cassette tapes.

I used to have this tape.

Attention spans will become so short that people will probably not even watch TV anymore and if they do they'll be more in tune with the commercials than the actual shows. Not that it matters because their fat, pumpkin-shaped faces will be glued to their hand-held media devices the entire time anyway. Pumping their brains full of the alternative reality / fantasy universe that is "The Internet."

This is going to be, quite possibly, the most decadent, weakest most lameass culture that civilization has ever produced. Anyone outside of it who wants something from it will be able to just walk right in and take it any time they choose.

Maybe you're wondering what my plan is to prevent any of this. Well, outside the realm of preparing my own children to (hopefully) thrive in it, nothing. I don't plan on doing anything at all. This world is not mine to change or to fix. I'm going to sit back and watch it all go to ruins and I'm going to say I told you so when the time comes. I suppose that makes me part of the problem and so be it. I welcome that, actually. I wish I could crush this whole planet under my fist. Eat it and shit it back out. Then walk away from it like it never meant anything to me in the first place.

I want to watch people starve because they never learned even the most rudimentary skills of self-preservation. I want to see mushroom clouds. Really, I just wanted an excuse to post that football gif, it's fucking hilarious.

I'm addicted to shadowboxing.

I find myself doing it constantly. It's good though. I'm slowly learning to pace myself through it. It's strange too that I'm finding I can get more power and snap into the more relaxed punching style. Relaxing while you box is one of those things that everybody "knows" but nobody really knows it until they've learned to do it through experience. That might be the toughest thing about learning to box. Reading about it is easy.

 Nowadays everybody is an expert on boxing theory. In practice though it's a whole other thing. You're going to lose a lot of rounds, you're going to get so tired that you can barely stand and you're going to sweat so much that at the end of a training session you can wring out your T-shirt like it's a wet washcloth. Very few people stick with boxing beyond the first few months. I see people come and go all the time. New people show up, typically in groups, and most of them are full of enthusiasm and untested knowledge. The lazy ones are immediately identified. When the rest of us are jumping rope, they're stretching. When the rest of us are jogging, they're walking. When the rest of us are shadowboxing, they're either standing still, chatting, or doing some kind of alternative fitness exercise. Wall sits or squats or something. Fuck them anyway.

I thought my years of strongman training and competition would be an advantage in boxing but it's not. It's almost a disadvantage. The added mass puts me a few weight classes above where I should be so all my sparring partners have a much longer reach than I do. The added power to my punches on the bag is okay but that kind of power fades quickly. Your power absolutely needs to come from technique first and foremost, and muscle second. That's probably why I shadowbox constantly now. I'm practicing how to throw punches like I'm cracking a whip instead of dropping a battering ram. My background in taekwondo is somewhat helpful but not much. The balance in the footwork is different. Also, while you can get a lot of power out of a taekwondo punch, it's such an overcommitment that you absolutely have to land it or you're screwed because there will be little or no time for a follow up. Great for breaking boards in the backyard but boards don't move around and they don't hit back.

The blocks found in taekwondo are almost useless. Positioning, footwork and head movement go so much farther than blocking does that there's very little comparison. And if and when you do block, it's a very small motion with the rear hand and then right back to your guard position and not an attack in itself meant to break your opponent's wrist or whatever. Those kind of blocks are another example of overcommitment. Chances are they'll miss anyway because punches come at you a lot faster in the ring than they do in a parking lot brawl. Not to mention an experienced fighter will be throwing combinations. You'll never be able to block them all and you'll open yourself up sooner rather than later. This isn't the Matrix. You can't recognize an attack and then launch that heavy a counter-attack before it gets to you. Not for very long anyway. Learn to keep moving, keep your hands up and your head down.

This guy has never lost a fight before. His blocking is phenomenal.

If you don't believe him, just read any of his youtube comments.

Stamina is way more important than strength when it comes to boxing. Any fighting sport really but I think particularly boxing. Without decent stamina you won't even make it through training, never mind sparring or ever competing. Even when you get to the point that you can work out without feeling like you're going to die, the ring is still exhausting. You need endurance to get through training, you need training to develop techniques and you need sparring to turn those techniques into skills. It all starts with building the stamina to get through it.

Shadowboxing is one of those exercises that you can do forever and I don't think it's ever too much. It takes a while before you can do it without wasting a lot of energy trying to make every punch a knockout haymaker. As your technique gets better, you can get though it using less energy and your shoulders build up to it. Once you're there, it's just refining that technique. Drill your footwork, drill your basic punches, drill your combinations, then let your imagination take over and pretend you're in a fight. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Shadowbox with nothing. Shadowbox with your sparring gear on (wraps, gloves, mouthpiece, headgear, groin sheild). Shadowbox with dumbbells. Don't shadowbox with just your wraps on though; that's lame. You don't need wraps on to shadowbox. There's no point to it and it identifies you as either a beginner or a phony. Put your wraps on when you're going to glove up and spar or hit the bag, otherwise don't bother. It's equivalent to putting plates on a barbell with the numbers facing out.

One side of this barbell is loaded right and one side is wrong. That's just the way it is.

Look at us with our wraps on. We're WARRIORS!

The coolest thing about shadowboxing is that it's fun. There are so many nuances of every basic punch to master and shadowboxing is one of the best ways to do it.

Broken Issues at The Corktown in Hamilton, Ontario on May 12, 2012

Here's part two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VwfKUxxJwo (blogger's being uncooperative now about posting the actual video).

I work with the singer and the drummer. This was a "Last Band Standing" competition for a lot of cash and a record deal. Broken Issues sold the most tickets and had the loudest crowd but the clowns who came on next still managed to win. I guess the judges wanted something less aggressive and more non-threatening. They're probably goofs anyway.

Round Timer

http://www.onlineboxingtimer.com/

I like that you can customize the settings on this one. There doesn't seem to be any sound though which is bullshit but a lot of times when I'm training at home it's while everyone else is asleep anyway.

I found this one on www.PrecisionStriking.ca
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4633554/Boxing/Boxing%20Beats/RingTimer.mp3

Something I like to do is to play the above mp3 in Windows Media while running a metronome on Youtube at the same time. Just look up "metronome" and there are lots to choose from. The faster the better.

Why can't there be gyms like this everywhere?

I've had a recurring dream for years now where I'll just happen to come across a gym in some random location and have it all to myself. This video reminded me of it.

If "all it takes is one person to stand up," what are you waiting for?

If "all it takes is one person to stand up," what are you waiting for? Stand the fuck up! This whole thing disgusts me but probably not for the same politically correct reasons as everybody else. I want the pencil-neck dweeb to stand up for himself instead of waiting for the rest of the world to do it for him.
Somewhere near the beginning of the above movie trailer it 's mentioned that a kid killed himself because he couldn't handle being bullied anymore. Know what that accomplishes? Nothing! Sweet fuck all. The bullies who tormented him might feel some shock at the guilt trip imposed on them in the aftermath but it will be short-lived. Some of the girls at the dead kid's school might even post his picture on Facebook with some half-assed quip about how bullying sucks and demand that all their "friends" share it if they hate bullying. Meanwhile they did nothing to help the situation while this kid was still alive.
I don't understand opting for suicide before even attempting revenge. If he was going to kill himself anyway, what did he have to lose? You don't need to bring a deadly weapon to school and get yourself locked up but you could at least get your fists in front of your face and if somebody wants to beat you up, make him earn it. Trip your bully from behind in the bathroom and stomp on his hands. If he beats you up he beats you up; you would have got beaten up anyway.
Martial arts training should be mandatory in schools from a young age. I can understand that not everybody wants to be a fighter, but everybody should at least know how to fight. Pacifism is only something to be respected when it's an individual's personal choice. When a person gets beat up because he has no concept of how to defend himself or he's too afraid to hit back then that's not a choice. That's just weakness and weakness can be eliminated as long as it's caught early enough.
Learn to fight. Teach your kids to fight and bullying won't have to be such an issue. Nobody should have to feel like a hopeless victim. When you're capable of smashing someone's face with your bare hands you're no longer hopeless. Level the playing field. Make everybody equally dangerous and the world might be a far less dangerous place.

The Mighty Atom's 12 Rules for Raising Delinquent Children

 

 

 

How To Ruin Your Kids - Guaranteed 100% Infallible
By Joseph Greenstein

 1. Begin in infancy to give the child everything he wants. In this way he will grow up to believe that the world owes him a living.

2. When he picks up bad words, laugh at him. This will make him think he is cute. It will also encourage him to pick up cuter phrases.

3. Never give him any spiritual training. Wait until he's 21 and then let him decide for himself.

4. Avoid use of the word "wrong." It may develop into a guilt complex. Later, when he is arrested, he can conclude that society is against him and that he is being persecuted.

5. Pick up everything he leaves lying around, books, shoes, clothes. Do everything for him, so that he will be experienced in throwing all responsibility upon others.

6. Let him read any printed matter that he can get his hands on. Be careful that the silverware and drinking glasses are sterilized, but let his mind feast on garbage.

7. Quarrel frequently in the presence of your children. In this way they will not be too shocked when their home is broken up later.

8. Give a child all the spending money he wants. Never let him earn his own. Why should he have things as tough as you had them?

9. Satisfy his every craving for food, drink and comfort. See that every sensual desire is gratified. Denial may lead to harmful frustration.

10. Take his part against neighbors, teachers, policemen. They are all prejudiced against your child.

11. When he gets into real trouble, apologize to yourself by saying: "I never could do anything with him."

12. Prepare for a life of grief. You will be likely to have it.