Entry #394

After reconsideration, I've decided to analyze a shadow boxing video I uploaded. It was done as afterthought after a work~out, but skill should be instinctive and automatic in every instance, so it's liable for assessment. Some video is better than none at all. I film almost every account of shadow boxing now, but erase it immediately after watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh-HTqNkWuE

Conventionally speaking, I can recognize that:

> ..."cat~pawing" instead of straight jabs should be avoided.

> ...more hip involvement should be utilized, especially in combinations.

> ...there should be more head movement.

> ...the shoulder should be rotated to get more reach.

> ...practice with this shouldn't be linear. I should be moving and circling.

> ...the chin should be tucked in to more extent.

> ...for the upper~cut, elbows should be lowered in accordance to the shifting of the body so that the fist can rise up farther and stronger.

And in conclusion to that, striking would be slowed down so that detail can be examined because form shouldn't be sacrificed for speed at this point.

However, what I do feels right to me, and I've won with it before. A few years ago (recorded on October 23, 2004 in this journal), I fought Marty Wood, a boxer with an amateur record of 20 ~ 0 ~ 3. I had none, of course. He dominated in the first round, won more narrowly in the second, and by the third, despite his superior conditioning, I had gotten comfortable with my movement and he couldn't hit me, nor avoid my counters. The fourth was the third with less activity. I bled from the first, but he quit in the last. It felt right what I did then, and it feels even better now.

One boxer today advised me not to practice south~paw. I see no reason for that. Actually, I'm equally comfortable in orthodox, but south~paw is what I'm natural with (I specifically chose it for that clip so that my front would be towards the camera for clearer study).

I can win with what I want to do.