Coach Rocky

Friday nights have turned into secret grappling training nights with the gentlemen. Spending time with older dads and just shooting the s**t while getting in some serious reps in has been so good for my mental health. Tony, Sean and Nolan have given men so many insights into being a man and a father and I am enriched by their company.

My kid doesn't play outside like I did, but she will chase a butterfly or a bird for hours. So we chase butterflies. She's disappointed she didn't get 1st place in track and field so I hold her accountable everyday about going to the gym. I teach her that victory is the result of daily accountability, not a burst of passion or effort. I just try to fill in the gaps that our culture has nowadays so my child is well rounded.

Free knowledge because I'm sick of ya'll doing it wrong.

Good padwork should involve: Not too many verbal ques. Footwork, attack and defense being demanded in proportion to an actual fight. The pad holder should encourage movement concepts like pivots and direction changes. The fighter never has to take the strike immediately. I encourage my students to have proactive defense like moving the feet/head after punching and applying frams and various guards. Counters and block reactions need to be realistic.

I am a parent. I understand in 🇨🇦 and around the 🌎 the economic stress put on families is crushing. But there comes a point where poor parenting creates a burden for society. The first checkpoint of this is encountered by teachers. Uncoachable is a heavy handed term, but I wouldn't use it if I didn't already exhaust every communication style approach or even class structure. There comes a point where I would have to no longer teach, but entertain kids with games and story time and end up getting zero results. The truth is you cannot teach anything. You only make people think. And kids left to be raised by phones and tablets believe the world must serve them like an algorithm catering to every desire instantly. Anything less than that is a reality they are not emotionally equipped to cope with. It doesn't take a genius to see where this temperament can lead in adulthood.

I teach lots of stuff, but I like boxing. It is the rhythm base for modern fighting. Really turning your hips behind punches and being in balance is a beautiful thing.

Padwork is proximity training. Bagwork is for power. Shadowboxing is for speed.

Rant about the way new "fighters" carry themselves and how stupid it all is.

My inner thoughts 24/7. Maybe sprinkled with some drooling and flexing too.