Yarg!
Platinum Membership gift from THE BOMB SQUAD!
Been busy with work so I dont post much anymore. But I gotta say this: I was looking for a Muay Thai gym or Boxing gym to train striking some more because my BJJ place MT is not very extensive. Frankly, I think it should just say a BJJ place. Its just alittle side thing they got going with the MT- which is just really MT by name, and not by principles (no Wai Kru, no traditional names, no history, no elbows- just roundhouse kicking and punching bags)- which is great; I don't mind it, definately turns me into a good fighter, fast. However, I do want to know the tradition behind MT and to give you an example of how things are ran there: BJJ class times total about 25+ hours a week, whereas, MT is 1. So I have been shopping around, looking for boxing or MT to make myself into a better striker.. be more of a well rounded fighter. Anyways, I see these gyms advertising "BOXING!" or "KICKBOXING!" , but when I check them out its filled with these pinner guys who put NO emphasis into their training and chicks who can't hit worth shit, and the trainers who don't even correct them. These classes mostly just skip rope or shadow box to Euro Dance music and soo fitness based and no technique its ridiculous. It saddened me to be honest. Then.. I stumbled upon this one place today. It was located in the bad part of town so to speak, and it was this shady little place. It had a run down weight room at the front , there was this door leading back. I walk in and I see a wall filled with photographs of kickboxers duking it out, pictures on the wall of the great fighters (autographed) rusty trophies and rusty belts and about a 100 different plaques. I go inside some more and I see these barely tapped together punching and kicking bags, two tattered rings and and gloves that have connected with one too many jaws in their life span hanging from the walls. There were only a few bulbs lighting the place, the floor was dirty and the ventiliation was poor. The place must have been worth about 100k max. However, I saw something in that little ghetto gym that I didn't see in those 100 million dollar boutique gyms: dedication. People were going all out on the bags; you can see the sweat and dedication their faces as they began a combination of jabs, crosses, hooks, upper cuts in a systematic dismemberment of the bags. In the ring there were two guys with headgear going full contact and an old white coah screaming instructions at them. In the corner I saw a guy jumping rope at a 100mph and at another corner I saw a guy going all out with a partner who held focus mitts. I saw that in their second ring there was this large black trainer, literally taking hits to the face, dodging and bobbing and weaving, yelling at his student to come at him harder and faster, and to not be afraid. This man had both eyebrows swollen, sweat glistening from every pore, both ears cauliflowered and as I talked to him after, missing about 6 teeth: gold medalist, ranked 5th in Canada, kick boxing and boxing. He didn't care if he got hit- infact he welcomed the shots. He could easily have counter punched, and ended his student right then and there, but he calmly and methodically threw jabs, hooks and crosses at his student , just fast enough for his studen to dodge and improve, never once losing his cool, and always shouting encouragement. Thats how a boxing gym should be ran, and those little run down places are where champions are made. Boxing gyms should be about blood sweat and tears, and hours of sparring, hitting mitts and nonstop training. Not standing in rows of 5 shadow punching to Techno as some 22 year old chick trainers going "Faster guys! Faster!" into her attached headset. This gyms got a great junior program too, so I think I am going to take my little brother and sign him up while my parents are away.. and I also think I am going to go back to that little gym, and I think I am going to keep going back there for a long time to come. Expect to see me in Vegas in the near future.