So I got tix to see the Pacquiao vs. Hatton fight. Excited is an understatement...this will be my first time going to a big fight ticket, I've been to a couple pro boxing fights but not like anything of this magnitude. The unfortunate thing is that I'll be going to the fight by myself, but I really don't give a f**k because it's MANNY!!! It's been about 10 or 12 years since I've last been to LV and I hear a lot has changed. I'm definitely looking forward to this trip, I haven't been on a plane since Frisco 07...I'll definitely miss my wife & son though.
A couple of my friends started "training"...I guess you could say it's another example of how Manny Pacquiao inspires people. Boxing is definitely a great workout because it's full body movement. In any case, it made me want to start training again. So I've been shadow boxing here & there and slowly working kicks in and now I want a heavy bag..it's just great stress relief. Now I'm starting to get to a point where I want to spar LOL. I remember how much/often I used to spar back in the day...
My older bro got his black belt in Tae Kwon Do when he was 9...he was the youngest black belt in North America. He was on TV, did martial arts showcases (I remember one of his finales was jumping over 4 people bending over and breaking a board with a flying sidekick...at the age of 9!!!) participated in Tae Kwon Do tournaments across the province etc He trained for a good 20 years...as a result, I automatically became a "student/punching bag" and picked up a thing or two here and there LOL I even participated in a few tournaments...although I didn't take it as seriously as my brother (I'm a better basketball player than him, shhhhh LOL), I got pretty good and even won first place at a tourney LOL. I always ended up being my brothers sparring partner if none of his regular "students" and friends weren't around for a session...I used to look at it as him beatin' up on me LOL, but I look back and I think it taught me to defend myself and made me mentally tough in the sense that up until today, I know I can take the average persons best punch...I took my brothers best shots. No way in hell is the average Joe gonna hit me harder than a black belt and the average Joe won't be able to throw punches AND kicks faster than a black belt.
I hope my friends end up wanting to spar...not because I'm violent or any crap like that. But for the sport of it and to get a good work out. I miss sparring...thing is, it has to be under control. That's always 1 thing a lot of people who've never been taught properly don't understand: You can through punches at 100% speed @ 50%, even 30% strength...but if you don't know how you can really hurt someone. It's also one thing to shadow box and punch a bag, but it's another to spar and have a moving target hitting back :) As Bruce Lee(R.I.P.) said in Enter the Dragon: "Boards don't hit back"...
IMO, Bruce Lee is the greatest fighter of my time...he really knew how to harness energy & power and was mentally an absolute killer. His whole approach to fighting & combat is on some next level shit...but I'll rant about that some other day. I'm gonna go shadow box LOL.
