Gstaad
OK, sports fans, it’s time to spill the beans. Some time last year, I wrote about rich man’s kick-boxing, the art of punching and kicking at someone holding up pads. It’s the best conditioner I know if done correctly and non-stop. I also call it the most Christian of sports because there’s a lot of giving it out and receiving nothing in return.
It goes something like this: left jab, right cross, then another left jab and right cross, then left front kick followed by right roundhouse kick, then left front kick again, followed by right roundhouse kick, and then the whole thing all over again. It takes about one minute to complete ten cycles. Which means one’s thrown about 40 punches and about the same amount of kicks. Then, after a break of about a minute or less, you start all over again but this time with variations: more left or right hooks, some uppercuts, more low round kicks (because although high ones can be very effective, they leave the kicker very vulnerable to counters).
If this is boring you, it’ll be over soon. Left jab, right cross, left jab, left jab, left hook, right uppercut, low left round kick, low right round kick, left kick, right kick; on and on it goes and you feel like a champ (you look like one, too – even though I say so myself – after 60 years of boxing and martial arts). Finally, it comes to an end. It’s been 30 minutes of throwing leather and kicking padded thighs. The sweat is pouring and the few visitors watching are not about to get in and mix it with you.
Three weeks ago, however, things changed. My tough Turk trainer, Cureyt, put the pads aside, gloved up, and we started sparring.
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