Edward Latimore's blog

Ed "Worst Case Scenario" Latimore is currently ranked as the #4 amateur heavyweight in the country.  Before he was a high profile pugilist, he was a lowly writer on this site putting together self help blogs and how to's.  After a move to LA to train under the tutelage of the American Heavyweights squad kept his free time to a minimum, I was able to talk Mr. Scenario into writing out his opinion on this weekend's bout between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao.

It's been a while since I've taken the time to contribute some musings about the combat arts we practice and worship like a pugilist religion, but I thought I'd take a moment and give my quick take on the upcoming fight this weekend between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. In my writings I have a tendency to ramble on to the most interesting tangent I find myself writing to, but I want to keep this one short and sweet. 

Follow me after the jump for my breakdown and prediction:

           (Chris Lozano KO's Gerric Harris at CV9 Photo provided by Hexlinc)

In the spirit of today's event, combined with a rather slow news day, here is a really great KO piece written by The Worst Case Scenario, Ed Latimore.

So the title of this article says it all. I don't have a long a intro or set up to go with this one, but if you're familiar with my body of work in the fight game, then you know I've got the history to write about this. If you aren't, then 14 of my 16 wins have come by way of knockout with 12 of those in the first round. It would actually be 15 but we'll let that one slide since I'm almost positive I broke orbital bones and his nose. In this case, close is good enough for me.

I've wanted to right this for a while, but I was missing a few vital components. I wouldn't feel right writing about this topic, despite my resume, if I didn't know how to explain the basic concepts behind knocking someone out. It's not just about throwing hard shots and hitting a guys head. Some people want to make it sound like punching power is something mystical that can't be taught and that it's the end all to knocking someone out, but I know otherwise. It's the result of a few things, and you can work them to. Warning though--I didn't put all my secrets here, but the adept student of the fighting game should be able to fill in what I've left out for the sake of not exposing ALL of my secrets. Without further ado, read this and be on your way to knocking guys out.

To continue reading please select read more:

This is a short little blurb for you to keep with you. It's been a while since I wrote about something that would directly help you be a more effective fighter and I'd been thinking of something highly effective, short, but ultimately did not rely on technique. I think teaching technique is great, but writing is the wrong medium for it. Instead, I like to focus on things that can help you in other ways. Things like how to use and train your mind to make you a better fighter. It's amazing how much faster you can improve when you begin to consciously use thoughts and ideas as well as your body to pick up fighting abilities.

Check out the rest after the jump:

StandThemUp.Org's Ed Latimore not only has a fantastic knack for writing but is a nationally recognized amateur heavyweight who is currently competing for his shot at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Before you read what very well maybe something that changes your outlook on competition and fighting in general, I wanted to give you a quick update on his status of the "Last Chance Tournament". 

Eddie won his first fight against the representative from Ohio (Ricardo Walber) by 17 points, which is about as wide as a margin that the athletic commission will allow.   Eddie is now re-matched against a previous foe (Colorado) which he beat in the national tournament earlier this year.  The bracket for the 27 man tournament is on the right and you can expand it by clicking the image.

The Worst Case Scenario presents:
Chicken Soup For the Fighters Soul

I can't tell you how important your cardio is. You hear it all the time, but I can't think of one other thing that will decide the outcome of most of your early fights than who is in better shape.

Film everything about your training if you can. Then go back, study it and see what you're doing wrong. One objective viewing of yourself shadowboxing is worth more than you know.

Technique is essential, but perfect technique is over rated. Effective technique is under rated. What's more valuable: A pretty hook that almost never lands or a less than "perfect" one that has an 80% KO percentage?

Pain is the great equalizer in fighting. No matter how much better than you someone is, if you can cause them pain, you stand a chance.

The first ball shot is free. Use it wisely.

More insight after the jump:

Today I'm going to blow the lid off of something you've been conditioned to think from the moment you started to fight. It is this pervading myth of talent. Well I'm here to tell you that there is no such thing as talent. There are no gifted fighters, no prodigies, and no reincarnated masters of the 7 fists walking around. That's the truth.

Yes, there are some incredible fighters out there--much better than you will realistically ever be--but it is almost certainly not genetic or a gift from God. Further more, there is a slight to moderate possibility that you can become just as good as anyone that's ever done this. In fact, as you will soon learn, there is a pretty good chance that you'll become just as good as anyone that's ever fought. How is this possible? Am I smoking crack? Have my own bitches turned on me and started smacking me around? No, no and HELL no. What am I talking about then?

There are two books you should read: The Talent Myth by Larry Gluck and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Since you probably won't, I'm going to sum up the message of these two books for you. Basically, there is no such thing as talent.

Everyone that is really good at something got that way because they:
 

1.  Practiced doing it correctly for 10,000+ hours
2.  Spent way more time than you looking stupid while doing it incorrectly
3.  Maximized their strengths and minimized/ignored their weaknesses while doing steps 2 and 3

Allow me to elaborate point by point.

1) Practiced doing it correctly for 10,000+ hours

Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice does. There is a study cited in Outliers where students from a music school were broken into 3 groups. Group A were students that were so good they were certainly going to be able to make a living performing. Group B was not so talented, but they could end up as backups or teachers. Group C students were more than likely going to be serving coffee somewhere instead of making a living from their music. After analyzing the group of students, you know they found to be thing that separated the three groups?

The students in Group B practiced more than the the students in Group C, but the students in Group A practiced a LOT more than the students in group B.
If this all seems obvious so far, it should even though these were scrub beginner musicians. These were musicians that were ALREADY good enough to get into the best music school in Germany! However, this next fact should hammer the point
home.

Upon further analysis, there were no students in groups they didn't belong in. In other words, there were no students that practiced like A group musicians in C group or vice versa. I don't need to elaborate on the importance of this in your
training. Gladwell, the author, says that to get to expert level at something, it takes about 10,000 hours of practice.  Whether this number is true or not, consider the following break down:

40 hours a week of correct practice, it would take you a little over 5 years to get to the expert level. This is the real reason why child "prodigies" emerge. Kids don't have little things to worry about like bills and a social life so they can live in the gym, in math books, at the chess bored or on an instrument. Everything else is taken care of. You probably aren't so lucky to have that advantage if you are reading this, but you can always do more. If you ARE so lucky as to have that advantage, what's your excuse!?

Check out other myths and strategies in the full entry: