[quote]Sifu wrote:
If you are charging someone every step forward that you take is going to change which side you have forward.
If you throw a power kick off of your rear leg and use it to close distance you are going to set that leg down in the lead, so your lead is going to switch up.
Also there is the issue of real world self defense like fighting multiple opponents or dealing with surprise attacks. Believe it or not people out on the street are real dastardly and they do things that most of you probably think are unfair in a street fight. You have to be prepared for that. That means being able to defend either side of your body. [/quote]
I agree. And for self-defense purposes, I absolutely agree with you. I have been the first to say that self-defense is not MMA or boxing, and that it is a different animal entirely. For this, yes, someone should be trained from both side because it’s unknown what the situation will be in a true self-defense situation.
But we’re not talking about that. We’re not even talking about kicking- we’re talking about boxing. And what I think we’re talking about it some guy bouncing around like he’s point sparring and switching feet all the time, and then wondering why he has poor balance.
If the guy can do it, he’s not alone. Hatton switches to southpaw on the inside, Ward used to, and Roy Jones could fight with his feet side by side if he wanted.
But I doubt this guy is like them. The trainers are going to do what all boxing trainers do- learn the basics a million times until its absolute route for him, and work his fundamentals until he wants to walk out of the gym and go be an accountant. If you start having fighters bouncing around and switching, some guy with solid fundamentals and actual good balance is going to wait for him to switch and throw an off balance punch and then put him down.
If I was fighting him, that’s the first thing I’d be waiting for- let him switch to southpaw, step forward with his right foot, and immediately start throwing 2-3-2’s with a counter lead. He’s not experienced, so I doubt he’s going to realize right away that when you’re fighting lefty you’ve got keep your right hand up ALL the time, and because he’s off balance he’s easy to knock down.
But fuck it. Let him fight, and let his trainers deal with it when some Castillo type catches him with a left hook.