That’s my conclusion after Naoya Inoue’s eventual destruction of Marlon Tapales, who had a pretty solid game plan that was giving him trouble. Tapales found a way to nullify the Japanese champion’s vaunted right hand, but the ninth round then saw Inoue solve the problem by throwing it harder and more often. The tenth then saw him become sure of that solution and blasted through Tapales’ guard like a wrecking ball going through a condemned building. (more…)
I’ll keep this short since there’s not much analysis to be had here. It’s just a short note on the current predicament of Colby Covington, the one-time interim UFC Welterweight Champion and now three-time title challenger. He lost all three title shots, and he’ll not likely get a fourth at the age of 35. How he carried himself and insulted his opponent Leon Edwards before the fight, handled his decision loss to the champion, and how fans reacted to his apparent lack of self-awareness is a case study for anyone looking to use antagonism for their own public image. (more…)
My anime of the year for 2023 is Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I don’t watch much anime these days, but I had been looking out for this anime adaptation of one of the best manga I’ve read in recent years. Not only does it have a compelling premise, but it also has lots of juicy ideas in it. The writing of Kanehito Yamada and the animation of Madhouse combined make for one of the best anime series for even non-weebs. For my first post on this show, I’d like to talk about a specific episode that briefly gets into an important martial arts concept. (more…)
On 2 November 2023, almost a year after the collapse of what used to be the second largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, its founder was found guilty on all seven charges against him, which include wire fraud and money laundering. I previously mentioned Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX in a blog post last March where I talked about the fall of two US banks due to losses brought on by the fall of the fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange. Most may consider the story complete, and life shall go on. This is a tale about pride, greed, lust, and the ruin those things bring. (more…)
When beginners start learning about fundamentals in martial arts, they’re told what armchair coaches on social media tend to parrot. After all, seemingly esoteric knowledge for beginners and casuals is surface level information to longtime martial artists. Those tidbits on why you should keep your feet planted and turn your hip as you punch or kick are mostly true, although not the complete truth. The power does indeed come from the ground and from the hips, but not really. Knowing the whole truth can help practitioners take their punching power to the next level. (more…)
After almost two years, it seems like Cyberpunk 2077 was able to pull off a No Man’s Sky by pulling itself out of the pit of shame with great effort, along with help from the hit Netflix anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. I haven’t finished watching the show yet, but it already got me back to the game after 20 months. While my return hasn’t been entirely smooth as I’ve forgotten much of the combat system, I clearly remember the story and setting. That includes a mission in the game that I thought was clever and creative in its own way — Fool on the Hill, which has you looking for holographic tarot murals throughout Night City. (more…)
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is in an interesting spot in his career. He’s in his prime at the age of 32 and is one of the most technically interesting fighters in boxing today. He tried to capture the light-heavyweight world title only to be upset by Dmitry Bivol, who turned out to have the perfect game plan against Canelo’s style. Having taken the second loss in his career, he set out to prove that he’s still the king of middleweight not by fighting the other top contenders of the division, but by completing a trilogy with a 40-year-old Gennady Golovkin. I can’t promise much with this analysis of Canelo vs. GGG 3, but it’s a nice conclusion to what had been an exciting trilogy. (more…)
My eternal quest to find the parallels between real fighting and video games will go on for as long as I live because I have to compensate for my lack of skill and talent in both. My unwillingness to dedicate a significant amount of time in practicing either of them is equaled by my overwhelming need to seem knowledgeable and insightful by bridging the gap between them in increasingly convoluted ways. Let’s now talk about the three levels of combat. (more…)
Jack Slack is one of the best combat sports writers out there, known for insightful analysis. He never fails to educate even veterans who have been training for decades, and I recently experienced the Jack Slack effect for myself. His analysis of Julianna Peña’s upset victory over Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight title greatly informed my viewing of their rematch. The way Peña flummoxed Nunes in that first fight was ridiculous, especially for Nunes. Let’s talk about the dipping jab, a technique that borders on cheesy. (more…)
It has been a while since I wrote a blog post about boxing, and especially Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. He has since been pulled a couple of notches down the P4P rankings due to his decision loss to WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. But while most would say he lost due to being too small for light-heavyweight, that takes away from Bivol’s performance. The answer he came up with for the Canelo question is something I’d like to talk about here, especially its connection with Muay Thai footwork and rhythm. (more…)
