Sunday, July 8, 2012

June Update and Elementary Striking

Hey guys,

Can you believe that it's been six months since I began this little blog? In that time Fights Gone By has gone from dragging in 50 hits on it's first day, to 200 at the end of the week and now thousands a day! I am so glad that my analysis, views and coaching are appreciated by fans, fighters and even coaches around the world.

I have been terribly slap dash in updating my blog since my return to writing at the start of June, and for that I can only apologize. While I did get the third installment of the Southpaw Guide up, I haven't done much else, even in the way of telling people what I'm doing at the moment!

To bring my supporters up to date, I have been continuing my commitment to Bloody Elbow with my MMA analysis, which is going extremely well! I have long contended that fight fans would much appreciate actual analysis and breakdowns more than gossip, and the incredible reception of my pieces at BE so far (many of which have produced the most traffic for the week that they have been published) has simply served to prove this. I have also been increasing my amount of training days - teaching more striking technique and making a concerted effort to improve my fledgling Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game (developing a passion for the X-Guard in the process). While I am not teaching striking full time yet, I am able to focus almost exclusively on writing and training - and that truly is my dream existence.

Another activity I have been engaging in, which I have only mentioned briefly up until now, is writing a guide to the techniques that I teach to my students and training partners, and which have allowed me - as a nonathletic individual - to hang with the finest karateka, kickboxers and MMA fighters I've met and which I have accumulated from kickboxing, boxing, MMA, Muay Thai and karate coaches everywhere I have traveled. As opposed to my first book, Advanced Striking, which was based on case studies, this one will be about many of the principles that I mention throughout my articles. The Pattern of Offense, moving to and striking from angles, Open and Closed Guard, Punch and Clutch, and defensive tie ups will all be covered in detail.

The idea of the book (the working title of which is Elementary Striking) is to teach the basics of striking martial arts, and the basic principles and strategies which govern striking as a science and art. A great many of the books out there charge readers $50 to learn the basic mechanical movements of striking and offer little to nothing in the way of strategy. My second book will be released exclusively for Kindle on Amazon and won't cost more than $10. It is my hope that I can produce a work which becomes as valuable to the fighting community as Dempsey's Championship Fighting or Edwin Haislet's Boxing. While that is a lofty aim, I will be more than happy if my second book can produce not only competent strikers, but ones who understand the hows and whys of not getting hit and landing clean blows.

Meanwhile I will have a short series coming to Fights Gone By which I have wanted to write for some time. This series will be an analysis of Joe Louis who I (and many others) consider to be the finest technical boxer to date.

With all of these things in works it may be a week or so before you start to see pieces appear on Fights Gone By, but after that they should be coming thick and fast! ;)

P.S: Look out for my new logo which is also coming soon!

Cheers so much for all of your support,
Jack

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