Rob Redmond has written about Shotokan karate for many years.

He was the driving force behind the alt.martial.arts.karate.shotokan (AMAKS) newsgroup way back in the day (before the ‘web was used by anybody for anything except experimentation). And later, his Shotokan Planet website was probably the first ‘non-denominational’ shotokan site on the ‘web. It was certainly the biggest and the best. Through his articles and forum posts, Rob was single-handedly responsible for leading the Shotokan world out of the dark ages of dogma and tradition and into the brave new world of individualized karate training. I consider Rob one of the most influential karate experts of modern times.

Today, he blogs at 24FightingChickens.com where he is a leading voice of reason in the karate web-o-sphere.

To get his excellent book, download it at Kata Book.

This book is a must-read for anyone who likes karate, martial arts, or history.

Thanks Rob for letting us read your kata material for FREE once again!

Old-timers bemoan the lack of body punching in today’s boxing matches. They claim that yesterday’s fighters went to the body more, and with more effectiveness, than today’s greats.

Is this just another boxing myth, or is there really something to it all? I think an examination of the facts leads us to the inescapable conclusion that effective body punching is a thing of the past.

Modern amateur boxing devalues body punching

Amateur boxing judges rarely, if ever, give points for body blows. Whatever the reason, this definitely discourages young fighters from developing the skills necessary to land these sorts of shots.

Many of today’s professional fighters perfected their craft in the amateurs. So it stands to reason that these same fighters are deficient in the skills needed to hit to the body.

In the past, fighters learned by doing. They started fighting professionally at a relatively young age, and they only practiced what worked. The fact is: body shots worked for these fighters.

Shorter boxing matches make body punching less worthwhile

Early professional boxers were more likely to go to the body than today's greats.

In long, protracted boxing bouts, body shots are of much more value than they are in today’s shorter fights.

When fighters know they’re only going to fight a 10 or 12 rounder at the very most, they don’t want to waste energy on punches that might not pay off in the long run.

Muhammad Ali rarely went to the body

Plenty of modern fighters try to emulate Muhammad Ali’s style. Or, if they’re too young to remember Ali, they emulate boxers who were heavily influenced by him. They want to be the outfighter who can hit without being hit.

This style is antithetical to body punching.

Modern protective equipment makes headhunting a viable option

In the past, pro fighters practiced with much less equipment than we have today. If they broke their hand(s), they didn’t eat. Body punching was safer than going upstairs and trying for the quick knockout.

Today, we have all sorts of protection during practice, and the protective equipment worn during fights is more effective.

Further, modern beltlines are higher. In the past, “below the belt” was anything below the points of the hips. Now, it’s anything below the navel. Modern trunks come up higher and referees seem to be more willing to warn for low blows that would have gone unnoticed in past years.

MMA discourages body punching

Mixed martial artists don’t develop any skill with body punching. Despite incessant crowing about “liver shots”, you hardly ever see any actual body shots in MMA.

MMA fighters spend so much time on the ground that they’re unwilling to stand and trade with a skilled puncher. It’s either long-range punches, or wrestling; there is no in-between.

Kelly Pavlik successfully defended his WBC and WBO middleweight titles against mandatory challenger Miguel Espino in front of his faithful hometown fans in Youngstown, Ohio.

Surprise! Miguel Espino came to fight.

Pavlik hadn’t fought since February because of some health problems. Although he looked good during the fight, he admitted to feeling some ring rust. But the surprisingly ferocious attacking style employed by his opponent Espino probably had something to do with it.

Espino gave the champ no chance to use his typical long-range attack. Instead, he crowded Pavlik and made it a fight in a phone booth.

Both fighters threw tons of body shots, and Espino hit Pavlik with many low blows — almost all to the point of the hip.

Kelly Pavlik fights effectively on the inside

I underestimated Pavlik’s infighting abilities. In this fight, he showed decent skill with the short-range uppercuts and hooks that he eventually KOed his opponent with in the 5th round.

While it was obvious to me from watching his past fights that Kelly had a great left upperhook to the body, this was the first time I got a good look at his orthodox left hook to the head. This short-range left hook is surprisingly compact and powerful, and he used it to good effect during the match.

The real story of the fight, however, was Pavlik’s great right uppercut. He used it to knock Miguel down three times. After the third knockdown, Miguel’s second threw in the towel.

A very satisfying, action-packed fight

For a fighter with such a powerful 1-2 combination as Pavlik’s, it’s surprising and refreshing to see that he isn’t a one-trick pony. His inside game is sound and effective.

The challenger, too, deserves credit for bringing it. He must have figured that he couldn’t win a long-range, tactical battle against the champ, so he stepped into the ring with the mindset that he was going to rough him up and either go knock him out, or get knocked out trying.

Kevin Johnson, the American heavyweight, challenged Vitaly Klitschko for his belt in Berne, Switzerland. He didn’t win the belt; instead he disgraced himself for 12 rounds.

Once considered a prospect, Mr. Johnson sold out his manhood in front of a crowd of 17,000 restless boxing fans.

He spent the fight covering up, playing rope-a-dope, and taunting Klitschko with a series of bizarre pantomimed gestures. If he thought to tire Klitscko out and take over the fight in later rounds, he went about it all wrong: he allowed Klitschko to fight at his own pace and didn’t press the action once.

At no point during the match did Mr. Johnson try to win the fight. He was there solely to collect his paycheck and slink back home to Asbury Park. One judge gave Johnson a round; the other two had Klitschko winning all twelve.

In a final irony, Mr. Johnson aggressively stepped up in Klitschko’s face immediately after the final bell as if challenging him to a fight.

Mr. Johnson should have come to Switzerland to fight for his honor and to put on a show for the paying customers. Going the distance against a knockout machine like Vitali Klitschko may sound like a good plan in the weeks leading up to the big fight, but for those of us who had to witness the absurdity of it all, it’s no fun at all.

American boxing is tainted by dismal perfomances like these. If boxers and their promoters want fans to continue paying a premium to see fights, this sort of thing has to stop. The Europeans don’t put up with it, so why should we?

Add Kevin Johnson to the list of boxers (including Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, and several other over-hyped American boxers) whom I have no interest in watching in the future.

Anyone who wants to know why MMA is outdrawing boxing in America just has to watch the last fights from these three boxers to understand it all. In the UFC and other MMA organizations, if you don’t perform well for the paying customers, you’re out on your ear, win or lose.

The average person thinks street fighting is for idiots (and they are probably correct in that assumption). If you end up in a street fight, make sure you’re not an idiot. Check your behavior against this list.

Sloth: Giving up the initiative

Question: What do chess players know about combat that most street fighters never learned? Answer: Never give up the initiative.

In the game of chess, if you keep your opponent reacting to your moves, never giving him a chance to gain the initiative, you trap him in an ever-tightening grip until he strangles to death.

With fighting, it’s the same. Keep him reacting instead of acting, and he won’t be a threat to you.

Pride: Posturing

Posturing is prideful, and it can lead to a fall.

This is pre-fight posturing, and it’s the human equivalent of a frightened housecat that gets all puffed up, turning sideways to make itself look as large and threatening as possible.

When someone is posturing at you, you’re already in a fight; it’s just a question of who throws the first punch. If you already know you’re not going to back down, don’t wait for him to stop posturing, seize the initiative and start the fight on your own terms.

Envy: Starting a fight

In the game of Texas hold-’em poker, the last opportunity to bet is called betting on the river. Good players have a rule: they never do this unless they are sure they have the best hand. Bad players who break this rule find it hard to win because the only players who will call their bet are the players who have unbeatable hands.

When you go around trying to pick fights with people, it might make you feel like a tough guy for a while, because most sensible people will turn you down and walk away. But picking fights is like betting on the river, sooner or later someone will call your bluff and you can bet they’ll be a good fighter who sized you up and thinks he can spank you like a red-headed stepchild.

Wrath: Losing it

James Bond never loses his cool.

James Bond is always in control of his emotions. Even when he’s being lowered by his feet into a tank full of hungry sharks, he has something funny to say about it.

James Bond might encounter some snags and roadblocks, but it’s never because he lost his cool.

Be like James Bond. He would never lose it and then start swinging. He understands that fighting is only one tactic in the war of control and dominance over whoever stands in his way.

James Bond never regrets anything he does. Don’t spazz out and start fighting because you’ll end up regretting the legal and social consequences of losing your cool.

Greed: Not knowing when to quit

Everyone knows that street fighting is an easy way to end up in the hospital.

Fewer folks think about the fact that it’s potentially worth a prison sentence too, if you let things get out of hand.

The next time some pompous MMA instructor teaches you that the best thing to do in a street fight is to take somebody down and ground and pound him, take a moment to consider the ramifications.

“Where the plaintiff voluntarily engages in a fight with defendant for the sake of fighting and not as a means of self-defense, the plaintiff may not recover for an assault or battery unless the defendant beat the plaintiff excessively or used unreasonable force. If two people voluntarily enter a brawl, it is unlikely that either will be able to sue the other. However, if one falls, and the other takes advantage of the situation by kicking him and causing injury, that act may well be considered to be an excessive use of force which would support a cause of action.” – Definition of Mutual Combat

Mutual combat can get you charged with a crime, but in most cases, you’ll be given a slap on the wrist (so to speak). But when you let your greed get the better of you and you land one punch too many, you may just buy yourself three years in a cage.

Gluttony: Fighting because you love the rush

Winning fights is addictive.

Fighting should be a means to an end. When it becomes an end in and of itself, you have a problem.

“The thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die.” Kierkegaard

If you really love street fighting so much that you just can’t get enough, all it means is that you haven’t tangled with someone who handed you your ass so completely and thoroughly that, in an existential fit of despair, you are forced to reexamine your motives and desires.

Fight for the right reason(s), not because you like it. Tough guys do what’s best for them, not what’s the most fun in the moment.

Lust: Fighting with your heart, not your head

Fighting over a girl.

Obviously, that phrase was coined by someone who never won a fight.

But it raises an interesting point. What problem, exactly, do you hope to solve by fighting? And does this problem outweigh the consequences, both immediate and potential, of fighting?

Don’t fight because you are so overcome with a passion that you just can’t help yourself. Instead, only fight if you’ve considered the ramifications and concluded that it’s in your best interest.

Andre Ward won a decisive victory over Mikkel Kessler in round 1 of Showtime’s Super Six tournament.

Although it’s great to see a talented American fighter rise to the level of Champion, his fighting style is the sort that will drive boxing even further out of the mainstream. Unless referees (and boxing’s sanctioning organizations) penalize fighters who use Ward’s tactics, boxing will die.

Andre Ward’s boxing game plan

“I’m not a dirty fighter” — Andre Ward

Ward’s gameplan consists of throwing a power shot, then diving in head-first and clinching. Although effective, this style is not classic boxing. It is dangerous, un-sustainable, and damaging to the sport. Andre Ward seems to have the mistaken assumption that, simply because he doesn’t set out to butt heads, his style is acceptable.

Mikkel Kessler suffered 5 (!) cuts from headbutts in this fight. This is inexcusable.

Headbutts during boxing matches make the sport unsustainable

Even mixed martial arts — led by the UFC — has taken steps to make headbutts illegal. They’re not concerned with a bit of blood; what they understand is something boxers have known all along: if you don’t prevent headbutts, the sport becomes unsustainable. No fighter can last after being butted repeatedly. Careers depend on this truism.

We saw the same sort of style in the Holyfield/Tyson fight. Iron Mike got so angry he bit off part of Evander’s ear. Do we blame Tyson for his savagery and absolve Holyfield of his underhanded attempts to prematurely stop the fight with a butt and win on points? What sort of sport is it if we do?

Until boxers are discouraged from using the headbutting style, boxing will suffer

Boxing has a problem.

I don’t know what the solution to this problem is, but until it is fixed decisively by the action of the sanctioning organizations, it will only get worse.

After Jermain Taylor was knocked out cold by an undefeated Arthur Abraham with only seconds remaining in the 12th round of their October 17th fight in Berlin, he spent the night in the hospital under observation because of a concussion.

This brutal KO, a stunning end to Taylor’s fourth loss in his last 5 fights, should convince Jermain that his days of headlining world-class boxing matches are over.

Taylor’s list of weaknesses is increasing

Opponents seem to have figured out Taylor’s front-footed counterpunching style.  They walk him down, peppering him with double-jab/straight right combos until he puts on his earmuffs.  Then, they unload.

Despite the standard pre-fight disavowals, Taylor’s conditioning problems are everpresent.  He gassed against Pavlik during their surprise-filled first fight, looked wasted against an outclassed Jeff Lacy, and was outworked by both Carl Froch and Abraham before being KOed in the 12th.

The biggest indictment of Taylor’s flagging skills was his inability to crack Arthur Abraham’s bulletproof defense.  Despite throwing everything but the kitchen sink, he was unable to hit Abraham except below the belt.  Taylor’s game plan seemed to be to hope for Abraham to weaken.  It never happened.

Taylor’s trainer, Ozell Nelson (who is as much a father figure as a boxing coach) doesn’t offer up innovative game plans.  It was Emmanual Steward who taught Taylor how to avoid a second KO loss to Kelly Pavlik.  Mr. Nelson simply settles for the status quo.

Jermain Taylor should retire because he is not getting better; he’s getting worse.

• His conditioning is never sufficient, even against a fighter like Abraham who rarely presses the action.
• His flawed looping right hand attack, though potent, will get picked apart by a slick counterpuncher like Andre Dirrell.
• His unwillingness to change trainers and try something new dooms him to repeated failure against better-conditioned fighters who have figured out his style.
• His last KO was a scary, brutal affair.  Taylor should retire while he is still healthy.

Go out in style

There are few boxers with as much “likeability” as Jermain Taylor.  He’s the sort of guy you’d be happy to have as a neighbor or friend.  If he retired now, he would leave nothing but good memories for boxing fans and Jermain Taylor supporters alike.

There’s an old saying involving the game of hockey: I went to a fight last night and a hockey game broke out. Well, last night I wanted to watch a fight between WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch and undefeated challenger Andre Dirrell.  But if a pee-wee hockey game had broken out, it would have been more satisfying and entertaining than the mismanaged 12-round circus that  I was forced to endure during this second bout of Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic tourney.

Carl Froch lacks skill

Froch has a granite chin and enviable endurance.  However, his boxing skills are mediocre at best.

Although his jab is serviceable, his punching technique leaves a lot to be desired.  There’s nothing wrong with his straight right hand, but since it’s probably the easiest punch for a skilled opponent to avoid, I fail to see how it will buy him any long-term success in the division.  His other punches are below average and, coupled with his ridiculously porous defense and plodding footwork, the total package is severly lacking.

Andre Dirrell lacks heart

Andre Dirrell, on the other hand, is a talented puncher but his trainer is incompetent.

Dirrell employs a front foot style reminiscent of Jermain Taylor or Roy Jones Jr.  Consequently, he’s a fast and flashy counterpuncher with the skills to rip apart a one-two artist like Froch.

But he can’t fight moving backwards, and against an opponent with more skill than Froch, he’ll be exposed.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the heart of a warrior.  His talents seem to consist mainly of:

• Running backwards, keeping just out of reach of his opponent
• Ducking repeatedly below waist level while tackling his opponent
• Bum-rushing his opponent across the ring while complaining about being “held”
• Dropping to a knee and blaming his opponent for “pushing” him to a knee
• Initiating a wrestling match, then getting hip-thrown to the canvas
• Complaining when the ref penalizes him, and doing so in a high, affected Mickey-mouse voice
• Verbally baiting his opponent during the match, all the while running away

…and so on.

The judges made the best of a bad situation

Andre Dirrell took his chance to shine on an international stage and threw it all away in one of the most unsatisfying boxing matches I’ve ever seen.

Although Showtime announcers seemed surprised that Froch was ahead by several points on two of the judge’s scorecards, I was surprised that he won only by split-decision.  It was a disgrace that Andre Dirrell wasn’t penalized further for his unwillingness to box and for his stalling tactics.  The referee — a relative unknown — was out of his league in this match.  He should have stepped in earlier and maintened some semblance of order.