Why “old school” kicks the **** out of “generation x”

WHY “OLD SCHOOL” KICKS THE **** OUT OF “GENERATION X”
By Professor Chuck Marby/Ring Talk

NO SCHOOL LIKE “OLD SCHOOL”

Las Vegas, NV- I can almost hear the groans from the Generation Xer’s already…”Here’s another Geezer living in the past!” Maybe so, but give this “Geezer” the courtesy of being heard out, then make up your mind. Why is it that boxing is the only sport in which those that participate in it aren’t light years better than those who fought in the 1920′s and 30′s, even through the 1970′s, when the athletes in football, basketball, and baseball all have surpassed prior generations?

YOU MUST WORK LIKE A TRADESMAN

Could it have something to do with the frequency of fights? I mean, how do you expect to rise to the top of your profession when you ply your trade only once or twice a year? But, I think the reason goes even deeper than that. And it goes back to doing thingsOld School.”

FIGHTERS WERE TRAINED BY “COMPETENT TEACHERS”

I have already identified myself as a “Geezer,” but I’m really not that old…yet. I wasn’t around in the 1920′s and 30′s, even the 40′s or early 50′s. But the man who taught me how to fight (Lou Kemp) was, plus I can read, and I care enough to watch a lot of old fights. So, in no particular order is why I say the fighters today can’t touch the fighters of yesterday, and that there’s”No School like Old School.”

TALENT POOL WATERED DOWN BY 17 DIVISIONS!

1. Lack of talent pool. You go from eight weight divisions and one sanctioning body to seventeen weight divisions and four “major” sanctioning bodies, most of which won’t even recognize fighters from the other groups, much less let allow them to fight each other. Think I’m jesting, you do the math. Then you add on top of that, the fact that most of today’s fighters simply do not put in the time in the gym, much less fights, so the activity level alone is a major factor in their lack of development.

FIGHTING STIFFS WON’T HELP THE “LEARNING CURVE”

2. Meaningless records. We don’t have the fight clubs anymore, so the only way a fighter can make any money is to get on TV. The only way to get on TV is to have a perfect, or near perfect record. The only way to have a perfect record is (A) be a Superman, or (B) fight a bunch of nobodies. Guess what? Most records are built up by fighting far less than qualified fighters, which may get you on TV, but helps a fighter learn nothing! “Old School” fighters and trainers were more concerned with having their fighter face different styles, even if it meant a loss or more, so that they could learn and progress, because they knew there would be another fight next month, because fights didn’t depend on protected pugs with undefeated records. Thus the “Old School” fighters learned.

ANYBODY CAN GET A LICENSE TO TRAIN PUGS!

3. Corners without a clue. If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times in a corner during a fight. The scene goes something like this. The fight is lopsided in favor of the other fighter, the camera follows the beaten up fighter back to his corner. The guys imitating real seconds jump into the ring (usually 10 or so seconds late), throw water everywhere except where it’s needed, and then give the following words of advice, “This is it! You’ve got to go for it all.” Then the schleps jump out of the ring, usually forgetting to even put the mouthpiece back in, and you wonder why their guy loses?

TEACHERS LIKE RAY ARCEL, DON CONLEY, EDDIE FUTCH ARE GONE

But the big thing, the big reason why “Old School” was better, is while you have people today who train boxers, who teach fitness and nutrition, there is no one around teaching the finer skills of the sport. I was taught, and a lot of fighters I’ve seen on film used their whole body to box. They carried their left hand a little low, they used their right hand to block or parry punches (You don’t even hear anyone use the WORD parry anymore!).

VERY BASICS OF BOXING HAVE BEEN FORGOTTEN TODAY

“Old School” knew how how to use their shoulders, to keep their left shoulder in front and forward. They knew how to stay balanced when they punched. My trainer had me walking in the ring throwing nothing but left jabs in the air for three months until I could do it with balance and leverage. How many kids today would stay in a gym for three months punching nothing but air?

NOBODY IS TAUGHT TO FIGHT USING ANGLES

And how many fights have you seen lately stopped on cuts? Old School fighters were taught that an orthodox fighter should always keep his face turned slightly to the right when he jabs, so when (not if) heads do collide, the side of your head get hit, and you don’t get busted up around the eyes.

HOOKERS ARE IN BROTHELS & NOT GYMS

And “Old SchooL” fighters knew how to throw a left hook. I haven’t seen a decent left hook since Smokin’ Joe Frazier retired and then Mickey Ward had enough. You do not extend your arm when you throw a hook! When you hook, your left foot and hip has to turn with the punch, all with the same motion. That’s where the power comes from. But today you see hooks flailing out like kites in the wind. And I won’t even get into the art of timing a punch, because if you ain’t Old School, you won’t have a clue, and if you are, you already know!

Professor Chuck Marby
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