My first job out of college was actually a night shift deal. Well, it wasn't merely a job, rather a career opportunity. And, after my interview I was offered three different positions at this company. One of which was this night shift thing. Naively, I seriously gave major consideration to this for it was closest aligned to my educational background. All these positions offered a base salary that was a good middle class wage for a new hire. However, the night shift job offered 50% more ca$h. I was 22, already a night owl of sorts. Couple this with the prospect of shoveling boat loads of money into my back account... Seemed alright to me...!
So yeah, there were pros and cons to this job that's for sure. Even though I lived only 15 to 20 minutes away, my day was 14+ hours door to door due to meetings and things. On my days off I would attempt to switch my sleep schedule which was interesting. When I wasn't so successful at it, I found myself watching TV late at night, alone in my townhouse just waiting to get sleepy. Truth be told, melatonin, even heavier over the counter sleeping pills did absolutely nothing. It was all about when my mind shut off which often took a while. Still does.
One such evening I was watching a documentary on shaolin monks. Other individuals on earth that are of my vintage may know that shaolin warriors, or shaolin monks, were a major inspiration to an incendiary rap group named Wu-Tang Clan. If my memory serves me correctly, it was these monks as depicted in kung-fu movies that you would find on the odd TV station during a lowly Saturday afternoon. Shaolin monks practiced shaolin kung fu as part of their time at the shaolin monastery. And I am imagining the members of Wu-Tang thought it was just about as gnarly as I did.
In said documentary, they visited many shaolin monks, or former shaolin monks, whom had left the monastery and emigrated to other parts of the world. Most had opened small shaolin temples where they taught the art of Shaolin Kung-Fu. One such individual they showed was a man in his 70's. The purpose of this piece was to highlight his dedication to his craft, after so many decades of practice. To illustrate this point, this man put a plate of steel on his lap which to my eye was roughly 18” square by 2” thick. A mighty piece of steel this was. Then he proceeded to bare-knuckle punch said steel plate. The sound this made was as if steel was hitting steel, a distinctive sound to my ears having worked with this material before. But it wasn't steel hitting steel, it was his knuckles making this noise. Afterwards, he showed the camera those knuckles to reveal the callouses built up over all the decades of this practice. Let me tell you, his knuckles might as well have been made of steel because they did not look normal. According to him, the idea was to condition them to a level of hardness such that when a blow would be administered from a punch, it would be as destructive as possible.
I thought this was awesome. Still do.
Some years later I started to take up basic boxing training in an apartment I was renting. One of the four walls to this place was floor to ceiling mirrors. And I would shadow box in front of this wall for time, both free hand or with 5 lb dumbbells. This free hand method saw me punch myself in the face a few times which was ridiculous and funny at the same time yet slightly embarrassing to admit all these years later.
Then I graduated to punching the partition wall between the kitchen and bedroom. I had just enough space, and it was just wide enough for my clinched fists. At first I bare-knuckled it a la this shaolin monk of an old man. Something I had tried on and off in the past. Then, things became quite serious and I wanted to wail on this wall harder and harder, which led me to forgo toughening my knuckles exclusively. So, I started to use a pair of mma boxing gloves I had lying around. These softened the blow just enough to administer a full force strike. Doing so on a stationary object really taught my body how to take such a high load. Ergo, not only my knuckles toughened up. But my wrists, elbows, shoulders, back. It was all in the name of learning what dishing out such a high impact blow felt like. Also important, the impact zone of this partition wall was so small I had to focus. For when I would miss and hit the edge of this wall, it would really hurt.
This combo of wall punching, and shadow boxing, was a once in a week affair. Over time, that wall started to bow at the impact zone ever so slightly. Then I got a knock on my door during one session. I open it dawning my mma gloves, all sweaty and breathin' heavy in my workout gear. This dude was like, “Do you hear this banging noise...?” I was like, “banging...?” He was like, “Yeah, I'm in this apartment (which was not adjacent to mine but a few doors down on the opposite side of the building) and I keep on hearing this soft bang bang bang. Then it stops, and starts up all over again.” I was like, “Oh sh!t... Sorry dude, I must apologize. That's me.” Then I began a low key explanation to him how I was making the sound from my boxing training. He seemed confused a bit but I assured him it was me making that sound and I would stop. So I did, never to do it again. But I kept up the shadow boxing for time. However, after a while this alone seemed hollow, so I gave up on even these workouts for a bit.
Then a period of a year or two without boxing ensued.
After yet another move in my life smh, I joined a new gym which had a boxing room filled with proper boxing equipment of all sorts. This was a sight for sore eyes coming from someone whom for many years wanted to join a proper boxing gym but couldn't afford the monthly fees (north of $100). After a month or so, I started to visit this room with my torn up mma gloves. At first, I adopted my old routine of working for time. But in my apartment, I would shadow box for 2 to 4, 1-minute rounds. This boxing room had a timer for 2 or 3 minute rounds. Double or triple the time period. So I decided to start out slow and oh my was it difficult because after one minute I could barely keep my arms up to hit the bag.
But I didn't want to give up. That was like death to me. So, I decided to kick the bag when my arms got tired. Therefore, alternating between punching and kicking. Punching and kicking. Punching and kicking. All of a sudden it dawned on me that I, in fact, was kickboxing. Cool...!
What this does for my body is interesting. As I have had many many years of weight training under my belt it gave me something to do which would apply all of that strength to a movement or task. The application of your strength produces a force. Force applied over a specified period of time generates power. So, rather than using strength to oppose a force in my hands or on my shoulders during a lift. I was using force to administer blows. Which of course could be used for self defense.
My cardiovascular conditioning began to be more comprehensive. Initially, lasting for a series of two-minute rounds was quite difficult. Pretty soon, I worked my way up to 8 three-minute rounds with more in the tank. I just choose to cap it at that so I don't train for two hours and prematurely wear my body. But it's not just a cardiovascular deal. Boxing of any kind is essential a form of interval training. For you cycle from maximum physical effort to reduced physical effort. How is this? Well administering a series of blows is a high force and effort. However, the foot work and body positioning involved to practice good defense and set yourself up offensively does not require full effort. More so stamina and agility. You essentially go from an anaerobic movement to an aerobic one respectively.
Present day, I go for eight three-minute rounds as mentioned, but full effort. Well near full effort. No resting, no discernible amounts of fatigue. The rounds are a mix of offensive and defensive work. Offensive as in the punching and kicking. Defensive as in training footwork and slipping punches and kicks.
So that covers what it does for my body. What it does for my mind is arguably the bigger picture here. First and foremost it gets me out of the weight room which from my experience can get a bit monotonous if pumping iron is ALL you do. Secondly, the application of all that strength as I mentioned above makes me focus, emboldening my mind/body connection via a different pathway. Especially when I am trying to learn a new technique. The third and fourth way are going to get their own paragraphs.
Thirdly, in a nutshell, self confidence. Not that I lacked any going into learning how to kickbox. Well, let me explain. From my mid-late teens, into my early 20's I went from a dopey teenager (which ladies loved by the way) without any drive or focus, to a very self confident and self motivated young man (which ladies were afraid of by the way...and still are). It was like I unearthed some hibernating go-getter. Not only did I need high achievement for my chosen career path, I wanted it. I was hungry, and I needed to eat. The about face I just described is thanks to my experience in college which really accelerated this maturation process. Also in my early 20's, I began regimented exercise and conditioning. The consistency of this practice added even more self confidence to the mix for I was doing things that I previously thought I would need to be much more muscular to do. My workouts left me impressed, and I find it hard to impress myself. But I didn't let it get to my head though. Still haven't. This added self confidence was on more of the fearless tip for somewhat obvious reasons I suppose. And for those that don't see it, I was stronger and less susceptible to being pushed around if the time came for that. Not just physically, but mentally as well. The kickboxing, which came many many years later, added to this thread if you will. It simply provided more tools in the bag to keep me a little bit safer during ruffian moments from either a physical or mental/intellectual confrontation. If diplomacy failed of course.
Fourthly, I want to mention this to anyone out there who is going to take up a martial art. This is for you. Be careful, be wary. With great knowledge and ability comes great responsibility. When you practice punches, kicks, defensive maneuvers on a regular basis you will get really good at it. So good that you will be able to hit very hard with seemingly little effort due the solid technique and form you will develop. These punches and kicks can do a lot of damage if applied to another human. Your defensive training will leave your opponents frustrated and keep you safe. I'm of average height and weight, not strength. Especially for my age. I can make the heaviest 'heavy bag' at the gym swing around like a toy pendulum in seconds. This genuinely makes me think like I'm not doing something correct for I don't see anyone else put that type of energy into the bag (it might be due to the gloves I use). And twice now I've busted that thing off its chains making it crash to the floor. One of these times its chain caught me on the arm and drew blood, as if to get me back. The other time I had a physical witness, whom was left a bit shocked. Humble brag aside, the point is I can generate some power. None of that power is applied with any amount of rage. If I let anger get the best of me, I would hit even harder and faster. All that power and speed can really hurt someone...put them in the hospital...and me in jail.
One time I worked with a former club bouncer, he had stories galore of the 'red mist' that would take over gents and generate fist fights. One story ended with a man losing his life. His life.
Likewise, I have seen people walk into the boxing room whom do not look like they can fight whatsoever and proceed to blow my mind. BLOW MY MIND. With their skill, agility, and fighting experience all while looking rather unassuming. So this final lesson has taught me to be humble. For not only can you seriously hurt someone, but, someone who looks innocent as all get out can really put a hurting on you. There will always exist folks whom are more gifted and skilled than you.
Use kickboxing primarily for another form of exercise and hopefully you'll never need to use it as a form of self-defense. I was never belligerent before in my life, but now I proceed with even more caution because of what I just mentioned. Especially in this very litigious society we currently live in.
To cap it off, no I do not spar with other fighters. For one, I would need to go to a dedicated boxing gym for that. Secondly, getting softly beat up on a semi-regular basis is not for me. For if you spar, you will get hit in the head. You will get mildly concussed. You will get hit in the ribs etc... It will hurt over time and I want to preserve my body over time. I'm not a professional fighter, I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself, and I only do this for exercise as mentioned so this is not necessary. Plus, sparring can and will lead into a real fight from time to time. I have often seen recreational sport get WAY too serious among one or more individuals which would lead into a fight. But when you are already fighting, one false move can lead into a full force brawl. Even when the only intention was a mild force one for practice. Especially with my temperament.
So that's it. Kickboxing has brought so much to my life. I'm in love. And I plan on keeping it as part of my routine until the END OF TIME. It's not only taught me more about physical discipline, but mental restraint as well. Use it for good and you shall be rewarded. Use it for nefarious purposes...well...
To help grow this newsletter please Like, Comment, Share, and Subscribe.
To help support this newsletter, consider purchasing a Subscription.