Fighting as a Taller Fighter

Posted in Journalism, Kickboxing with tags , , , , , on September 8, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

What NOT to do, courtesy of Peter Aerts

International Kickboxer Magazine, Vol.17, No.1

If I landed a shot for every time someone said my height was an advantage, I would never have lost a sparring session. The annals of K1 are littered with tall fighters who have at one time or other, ruled their division or at least made a lot of trouble for everyone else. There are, or course, fighters like Ray Sefo, Gokhan Saki and Chalid Die Faust who, scraping six feet and weighing not much more than 100kgs, also create a lot of trouble of their own. This has everything to do with exploiting the weaknesses of fighters taller than them. In short – it’s one thing to be tall, but quite another thing to take full advantage of it. Continue reading

Slowinski's Perfect Training

Posted in Journalism, Kickboxing with tags , , on September 8, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

International Kickboxer Magazine, Vol.17, No.1

Paul Slowinski is a more complete and successful heavyweight fighter than any other our region has produced. He has been a world Muay Thai Champion who trained extensively in Thailand and, in the last few years, has been taken under the wing of the most successful champion in K1 history, Ernesto Hoost. On Saturday February 18, a group of students at Melbourne’s best new gym, Hammer’s Gym in Blackburn, got the opportunity to find out what makes a champion when Paul taught a seminar. We got a chance to see what Hoost has been putting him through, but also got the opportunity to measure up against Australia’s best heavyweight. Continue reading

What Makes a Good Counter-Fighter?

Posted in Journalism, Kickboxing with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 7, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

International Kickboxer Magazine Vol. 17 No.3

Competitive fighting can be viewed as being similar to a conversation; one person talks, one person replies. Each person says what they believe will give them an advantage and hopefully, the upper hand. After all, fighting is all about convincing the three judges, whether it comes by knockout or their considered decision, given the arguments that are presented to them. As a counter fighter, you specialise in replying to your opponent. This means you tend to let the other fighter put his case first, which is difficult for a beginner to achieve; in addition to the pain, being hit is pretty alarming! Counter fighting really depends on a cool head and a sound defence.      Continue reading

Champion vs Champion II: Parr vs Buakaw

Posted in 'John' Wayne Parr, Journalism, Kickboxing with tags , , , , , , , on September 7, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

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International Kickboxer Magazine Vol. 17 No.3

Being cut from the K1 roster would be a difficult thing for anyone to accept, but a fighter’s job is all about challenges. John Wayne Parr is committed; consistently rising to them is what fans know and love him for. Continue reading

It's On! Spong Vs Carnage

Posted in Journalism, Kickboxing with tags , , , on September 7, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

International Kickboxer Magazine Vol. 17 No.3

Tyrone Spong is certainly the man of the moment. He has a mystique that precedes him on a number of different fronts; he has, by the tender age of 23, amassed a professional record of 87 fights for 82 wins, held a slew of titles and is currently moving into the world’s premier stand-up martial arts arena, the K1. This foray has co-incided with Royal Rumble Magazine (the premier Dutch fightsports publication), naming him as the best pound-for-pound kickboxer in the world. Any opponent he draws will be of interest, simply by the light they are cast in when standing alongside him. Nathan ‘Carnage’ Corbett is one of the world’s only other fighters, let alone of the same weight class, that can claim similar standing. While he has roughly half of Spong’s pro fights to his credit, he enjoys a similar win/loss/draw ratio and a similar mystique. Continue reading

Sparring Smart

Posted in Journalism, Kickboxing, Writing with tags , , , , , , , on September 6, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

 

 

Sparring with Peter Graham probably wasn't very smart.

International Kickboxer Magazine, Vol 16, Number 6

January 2009

Sparring is the business end of training. All forms of conditioning (weights, bagwork, padwork, running, drills, etc) should be integrated into a training regimen to serve this most crucial of activities. The quality and intensity of your sparring will be the most important determining factor in pre-fight preparation. Continue reading

The Lost Art of Reading

Posted in Reading with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

The Lost Art of Reading

This entry takes its title from Rodney Hall’s keynote address at the 2010 Byron Bay Writer’s Festival. I had hoped to begin with a link to the lecture which I believe the ABC filmed and will eventually upload onto youtube. While googling, I found this interview, which is a really interesting introduction to the man.

http://blog.booktopia.com.au/2010/04/27/feature-rodney-hall-author-of-popeye-never-told-you-answers-ten-terrifying-questions/ Continue reading

At the Gay Bar…

Posted in Fiction, Writing on September 2, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

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The Prince of Wales was pumping, along with the rest of Fitzroy Street. In the name of gentrification, the Port Philip City Council had constructed some kind of super-tram stop where Fitzroy Street curved into The Esplanade and, in their wisdom, effectively created a bottle-neck. It became even busier than it was before. At eleven thirty at night, the dark was split into a kaleidoscope of refraction. I parked the Passat down a side street on the West St Kilda side, the only place you’d even consider finding a park at that time of night. Continue reading

Theme Parks and Obstacle Courses

Posted in Fiction, Writing on August 31, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

 

Chapter 23

Wally and Johnny were standing outside the sliding door to the pub when Pat got back. Wally was dressed in full lycra; white, orange and lime. A racing bike with a matching colour scheme leaned against the brickwork beside him.           

“You look like a fucking radioactive boiled egg,” said Pat. 

“Gee, Pat, tell us what you really think. Don’t hold back now.” Continue reading

Finding Cronos

Posted in Fiction, Writing on August 29, 2010 by Jarrod Boyle

Francisco_de_Goya,_Saturno_devorando_a_su_hijo_(1819-1823).jpg

1.

I knew Marie was finishing late tonight, so I ate an early dinner at the pub. I had a couple of pots with a counter meal and was feeling good when I stepped out into the crisp, dry, mid-winter evening. I was crossing the parking lot when I saw something I didn’t like. Continue reading