How's my training... The Answer...

[Suntzu]

for 1… I am sooo happy to be home… Biloxi is cool… but when u are tired as hell, sore and only have $20 in your pocket… there's no place like home…

anyway… I put my training to the test this weekend at the AOW amateur event… small turnout but no lack of talent and heart… so how did my training stack up????

first things first… I came in 2lbs too heavy so I had to do some jogging to get it down…OK, finally made weight… good deal… now lets go eat… and FYI casino buffet food sucks… but the staff was mad cool…

next up… were fighting on the Lei Tai… I really dislike this thing… but I have no choice… so lets just get up there and get the feel… all type of blood stains… that thing could tell a story…

OK… my first fight… this dude from Michigan… off the top I learn of a weakness I need to work on… checking leg kicks… this dude must chop down trees with that thing… so here we go WACK WACK WACK… they don’t hurt initially but u know u gonna feel em later... which i am... but my strengths kick in... well actually they punch in... jab and straight... they get to work... they doing they thang... he cant fake it them joint hurt just like those leg kicks he's givin me... so J and S, they working... Hook comes out to play here and there... Uppercut doesnt wanna seem to so his face at all... and throw doesnt work for either of us... well at least in this round... end round 1...

Round 2… let me see how kick does… I wind up and throw… too late… he shoots it… BAMM… I'm on the ground… and the air in my lungs aint thee no more… get back up… go str8 bact to jab and str8… they workin they workin… we clinch and then BAMM… I'm back on the ground... so pretty much the 2nd round is me scoring with hands and him slammin the sh!t outta me... end round 2...

3rd round… I don’t wanna do this no more… but this is what ive been training for so I steep back on the platform… we both start out slowly… trade a few punches… circle around… trade a few more… circle around… share a smile… than Hell breaks out again… I push him off the platform ... he tries a throw... i stop it... let tr y kick again... high roundhouse to the head... he stops it... puts me on my back... i land a hands-leg kick-hands combo... the gong gongs... its finally over... i'm spent... we share a hug... i told him i dont ever wanna see his face again... he says he gonna buy me a beer( which i nver got, but its all good )... i won round 1... him 2 and me the 3rd... i won... u sure cuz it dont feel like it...

I stumble off the platform… we talk… I talk to some of the other fighters… people pat me on the back… fighters give me dap… I lay down to catch my breath…run to the bathroom and puke out breakfast… and gotta do it again…

BRB with fight #2…

[guohuen]

Great show! Well done!

[Cipher]

It's neat to hear about it. So what's up with fight 2?

[SevenStar]

good job. If you ever get to tunica, the casino food there doesn't suck.

[Liokault]

C'mon...I wanna hear about fight #2.



Just dont tell me you got your arm busted in the first round by a kick (from the hardest kicker in san shou) LOL.

[Suntzu]

OK… so I'm done pukin my guts out… and they call talkin about we've been callin your name… u gonna fight or what… alright… so I go to put my gloves on… My coach talks to a few folks… than BAM I get 20 more minutes to get myself together and my teammate fights his second fight first... he loses to a San Jose fighter... now its my turn again...

flashback… my other teammate fights a San Jose fighter with whom he shouldn't even be in the same room with let alone on the platform with… and bad thingd happen… so I'm FILLED with rage and wanna kill this guy… so I HAD to win my first fight in order to get this matchup... i just wish i had a lil more energy cuz i spent most of it all on the first dude...

so this is when fact meets KF movie fiction… 2 martial artist on a platform… I'm the last guy from my 'school' standing hellbent on revenge… now I'm a shy dude so eye contact is shaky but I gave him the coldest staredown I've given anybody… start round one... i went right at him... jab, str8, double jab... he counters... **** this kid hit hard... he throws a leg kick... i back out... i studied my film i know what he's got... we box back and forth... i snap his head back he does mine... he throws a high roundhouse... whoooaa... that wasn't on the tape... i dodge it... he sizes me up... high roundhouse... i dodge... followed immediately by a spinning hook kick attempt... i get undr that thang... his leg is hooked around my head... i drive and BAM slamm him on his back with all my weight on top of him... we stand up... i feel ever so confident... we go back to boxing each other up... all his punches are power punches... i stagger him with a str8 right... he throws a roundhouse... i catch it... i push him off the platform... oh i'm feelin it now... he cant beat me... we box some more and the round ends... i cnat breathe, i'm dead tired... and i gotta go back up there... just win this round and i can go home...

round 2… I really don’t remember this round except for a few details… we box quite a bit… I get near the edge of the platform catch a right hook and I just take the momentum and just walk myself of the platform… I couldn't see str8… cant breathe… I just wanted a lil break... i get back on the platform... we go at it... we clinch... i get a hip toss on him at the edge of the platform... he goes off... but he takes me with him... i get no points... what a waste... i think i try to push him off the edge a couple more time but one time he holds me and i go off with him and the other, i was just soooo tired i just walked off the edge after him... all i had to do was stay on and that was my round... but any way were brought back to the middle of the platform... he explodes with a flurry of hands and i couldn't stand anymore so i just go down for a standing 8... shouldnt have done that... that ended the round... 2 standing 8's and that ends the round... when i walked off that was the first... shoulda read the rules a lil more closley... round 2 goes to him...

last and final round… we're back at it… a flurry of hands and a front leg roundhouse kick knocked the holy wind outta a brother… u know that panic like breating and stomach muscle spasims… this same sh!t happened to me in San Jose… I get the flashback and all... it was just like i was back in THAT ring with the lights out and the spotlights on u... i swear thats what i saw... but this time i got back up... the ref checks my hand to see if they stay up... they do... he asks if i wanna continue fighting... i squeze and I DO thru the weezing... they line us up... than the head judge calls the fight... 3 standing 8's ends the fight...

sorry for the not so happy ending… but that day… I have never fought so hard in my life… I wanted to quit so many different times but I pushed on… even at the risk of getting seriously hurt… I think they knew I wasn't gonna stop fighting until I won or goe the snot beat outta me...

all and all… it was a fun weekend… made new friends… made new enemies… got reaquainted with old friends… saw some good fights and pushed myself to higher limits… and now training will have an all new meaning… again…

[SanShou Guru]

Hey I got you the 20 minutes! I pointed out to Mike Barry that we were in no hurry and it would make for a better fight of we let you guys rest. Besides I always try to help out Julio and his guys.

Good news is sparring and fighting will be easier now that you have stepped into the ring against an enemy. You fought well but in the end it was your gas that killed you. Conditioning is the most important aspect of the game at any level. You need gas to be able to use your skills. It’s what did in Jason Yee and what you have done in Tim Shelton if he didn’t get his arm broke.

[Suntzu]

Guru... i gave u a shout out fot that in the KFO shout out thread...
but sooo true my gas sucks… but that’s the best I've had in a long while… plus I'm fighting a few years of 'abuse' to my conditioning…

PSA to the lil KFOers out there… say NO to smoking….

[SanShou Guru]

I know I was just giving you a hard time. It's always tough to outfight a San Jose fighter but not as hard to outsmart them. Your guy could have fought three more times and still had gas. you did well though and that was a good young fighter you fought.

Tell Julio thanks again for finding my jacket.

[Suntzu]

Your guy could have fought three more times and still had gas. in that case, i got mad work to do...

[SanShou Guru]

Well quit smoking (if you do) or quit fighting is what I always say.

[Cipher]

Sounds like you did really well.

What is a standing 8? It sounds like something I need to know.

Were was the tourney at?

[African Tiger]

Great fights man, but why (not a diss, just constructive) aren't you shin-blocking those leg kicks? Simplest thing to do, unless your shins aren't conditioned, then....well deal with the pain, I guess?

You could always step into the kicks, if you see them coming. I was able to do that for a while in a "backyard" match. Just make sure you meet the kick immediately as it rises from the floor, before the power stroke begins. Or you could just step back?

[Suntzu]

but why (not a diss, just constructive) aren't you shin-blocking those leg kicks? the simple answer is I don’t train them… most people I work out with are headhunters and I'm the one that throws leg kicks… so they check 'em pretty well… but the first thing I'm gonna do when I get back in the gym is have people kick at me…

a standing 8 is a 8 count to get yourself together and make sure you're alright… or something like that…

[Cipher]

Originally posted by Suntzu
.....a standing 8 is a 8 count to get yourself together and make sure you're alright… or something like that…

Okay, so you can only have 2 standing 8's in a round and 3 in a match?

[Suntzu]

that’s what I was told…

[Mutant]

Suntzu, sounds like you guys had quite a battle on your hands down there! great post, totally captures the stress & pain of san shou fighting :D

Good job for hangin tough and pushing it to the limits! Major props for getting back up on that lei tei and fighting till the end after you were already bonked. sounds like you fought well, need to work on that cardio endurance though (don't we all...)

Congrats, even though you lost your 2nd match, sounds like you won an internal victory!

ps. I saw the tape of Marvin's fight last night and the infamous round kick that snapped Shelton's arm.....**** Marvin's kicking power is just ridiculous, its a good think he's a nice guy!