THE COMBINATION MAN
Mark Hatmaker
The heyday of professional boxing and professional wrestling (the real deal, that is, shoots not shows) spanned the late 19th century and stretched into the early 20th century. Bouts in these twin combat sports could be found in practically any locality big enough to support more than a handful of men. Boxers and wrestlers, both amateur and professional could be found filling out all weight classes engaging in bouts week-in and week-out (some large cities had bouts practically every night of the week).
It may be hard to imagine but pre-cable, pre-Internet, pre-motion picture for a large part of this era, pre-professional football, pre-over-concern for the safety of "our children" boxing and wrestling were a huge influence on society and culture. There was a higher percentage of boxers and wrestlers then than we enjoy now. More people attended these events than attend now (more people see such events now due to technology but more attended pre-satellite feed and DVD distribution). These fans were avid, consuming a myriad of weekly periodicals following every bout and all the corresponding hype that goes along with matchmaking. Yes, thanks to the web folks still can be just as compulsive but with much greater ease. The avid fans of that time had to actually go to the newsstand and purchase the fan publications and not merely click a button for free-these were seriously avid fans.
This was a time when almost every city could support a boxing gym or wrestlers' club. A large portion of the youth of the time entertained ideas of ring glory or victories on the mat. AYSO wasn't on the map, becoming a model or "idol" was not a career option, kids were still encouraged to learn how to protect themselves, and "no contact" rules would have been laughable. All in all this was a time of swift development for both sports as so many participants pushed tactics and strategies forward and a large informed fan base assisted in that effort.
To these educated sportsmen and fans there was a special term for someone skilled enough in both sports (boxing and wrestling) to earn the title combination man. A combination man was an athlete who could fill in the bill of either a boxing card or a wrestling event. You weren't a combination man if you merely sometimes survived one of these sports for the money; for example, say you're a good boxer and you'll allow yourself to be stretched for a round or two for the pay or vice versa. To be a true combination man you demonstrated that you had true skill at both sports and could perform ably in either. In other words, we are looking at an effective early incarnation of a mixed martial artist.
To Commerce-Beginning with ESP RAW 123 our long-running DVD series is going to begin an extended sequence of educating the skill-sets needed to build a formidable old-school combination man. We will be combining the Four Tiers necessary to create that old school mixed martial artist. The Four Tiers being:
- Conditioning: "Old school wisdom says "Fights are won in the gym not in the ring." With that in mind the inTENS PREMIUM Service (free to RAW Subscribers) will key directly to what we are doing with the Combination Man Program.
- Boxing: We will re-visit old school combinations, tactics, and drilling methods to recreate what we can of old school finesse.
- Shooting: We will emphasize leg-diving and 2nd to 3rd move chains in both offensive and defensive takedown work.
- Par Terre: We will build mat-flow via fundamentals that replicate old school work with high-percentage hooks dove-tailed at every feasible position.
The Combination Man Curriculum will proceed in an ABC/1-2-3 fashion where each block builds upon another. They can be used in isolation but we feel that more powerful/synergistic rewards will be reaped by mastering what proceeds each block.
This curriculum is in response to a question that I have heard over the years, "Where do I start?" The best answer will always be a paraphrase of Heraclites "Ever-newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers." In other words, jump in anywhere and you will experience something you can use, but this curriculum is the result of years of trying to distill, synthesize, and codify these twin sports that I love to no end. If a fraction of my passion for this project comes through then we'll be good to go.
Onward and upward Combination Men & Women!
