Germany was the last nation state to leave Feudalism behind. With the advent of the new world and eventual World Wars came changes in conflict resolution. Europe was bound by different fencing traditions, The Iberians with their natural walking gait while weilding swords, German and Austro-Hungarian Saber Fencing, the vestiges of Italian Fencing... Like Brazil, the county fair became a way to advertise the newest combative ideas. Men like Figg would give lessons, and even entertain exhibition matches.
Boxing would be forged out of sword methodology combined with how people fought in the new urban expanses. It would be a while before technical skills really held sway. Grappling and folk wrestling styles were known by people. African and Irish dance and movement skills would develop, boxing clubs would contribute by creating a means to train hitting, and all the while the primacy of sword theory would create a distinct distance, timing and method for launching a boxing attack.
This meant that technique was still quite crude. Boxing was purely viewed as an attack and defend affair, it would take many moons for fighters to understand how to move different parts of the body to slip, to protect, and to counter the opponent. There was the occasional fighter who was lauded as using footwork and a more technical approach, but this has to be put in perspective.
Fights were long because fighters moved slowly and deliberately between launching at attack into the space between oneself and the opponent and coming to grips. We will never know exactly when the technical brilliance of a fighter like Johnson first came into focus. We know that JJ was a marvel, and that he created a very distinct method for parrying blows and gaining distance on the lead usng pronation... what we call a jab today. But I doubt he himself created these ideas in a vacuum.
So when did we start to see fighters with technical chops? Men who developed and used technique to become great and make it look effortless in the ring? Thoughts?
Boxing would be forged out of sword methodology combined with how people fought in the new urban expanses. It would be a while before technical skills really held sway. Grappling and folk wrestling styles were known by people. African and Irish dance and movement skills would develop, boxing clubs would contribute by creating a means to train hitting, and all the while the primacy of sword theory would create a distinct distance, timing and method for launching a boxing attack.
This meant that technique was still quite crude. Boxing was purely viewed as an attack and defend affair, it would take many moons for fighters to understand how to move different parts of the body to slip, to protect, and to counter the opponent. There was the occasional fighter who was lauded as using footwork and a more technical approach, but this has to be put in perspective.
Fights were long because fighters moved slowly and deliberately between launching at attack into the space between oneself and the opponent and coming to grips. We will never know exactly when the technical brilliance of a fighter like Johnson first came into focus. We know that JJ was a marvel, and that he created a very distinct method for parrying blows and gaining distance on the lead usng pronation... what we call a jab today. But I doubt he himself created these ideas in a vacuum.
So when did we start to see fighters with technical chops? Men who developed and used technique to become great and make it look effortless in the ring? Thoughts?
billeau2
All of a sudden Bronny has interest in men and eras where he has already expressed the entire time he has been here he has no interest.
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