After my warm ups, Dash and I discussed the concept of styles, in this case meaning how someone boxes. “If a boxer builds the right style,” she said as I hit the weights, “then they majorly up their chance at a win, even when they're totally outclassed.” To clarify this, she contrasted the styles of a few past sparring partners against her own, a style she describes as a crafty rush of speed. Against Rarity, she noticed a lot of setups into pinpoint punching, while Fluttershy leaned on turning defense into offense, like when she rolled with Rainbow Dash’s straight and shifted into a chin raising uppercut. Pinkie Pie developed into what Dash calls a ‘grab bag boxer’ during their training, and Applejack countered speed with power, power so raw and untamed that only one of her punches landed, that one landing square in Dash’s stomach and sending her crumpling to the mat

She must’ve seen the fear of Celestia struck into me, because not long after, she said, “And that’s why, along with proper training and conditioning, you gotta develop a good style, and that starts with a solid foundation!” At that point, it was time to manage the weather, so she let Ms. Grab Bag Boxer, herself, teach me the fundamentals, starting with footing. She spoke at length on how stance width affects mobility, likewise increasing how often an opponent’s punch makes contact, which, unless you’re into that sort of thing, isn't highly desirable. Concerning proper distance, she said, “Everyone has their own sweet spot, but as long as your legs are pitching a little tee-pee, you’ll be A-OK!” Vividly colorful, to say the least, as was much of my time under her wing.

The whole time she was teaching me the basic system of movements-including the gallop-like shuffle used to dart in and out of range, the thing that stuck with me most was the moniker she gave it: the Pop, Boom, Pow Shuffle. Her reason for the name? “It creates the space you need to let your punches go pop, boom, pow!” When I asked her to teach me those punches, she insisted I first learn about the 3 places a punch can start from: the shoulder, the hips and the feet. As she had me block her jabs from those 3 spots, I could feel why she wanted me to learn this before we began, as her shoulder punches allowed for a quick pace and threw off my timing, leading to me eating many punches before I found my groove. Accordingly, punches from further down allowed for more impact, at the cost of speed and mobility, with that much carrying into her lesson on the Jab, Cross, Hook and Uppercut, the 4 punches essential to building a style.

The uppercut, as she demonstrated, is a rising punch built to both pop the target upwards and split mask guarding, something I learned when she split mine and bopped me on the forehead(repeatedly, I might add). The hook, in contrast, goes right around mask guarding and attacks their sides, with altered angles creating altered attack paths they need to account for before the damage piles up too high. With the Cross, the opposite hand punch crosses the body to deliver maximum impact, should the target leave enough of a landing pad for it. On the other hand, the jab is a quick, lead hand punch Pinkie calls the Pester Punch; according to her, “you can move around with the quicker versions of it and pester them into going where you want them to go, blocking where you want them to block and leaving an opening for your other hand to fill, preferably with a more potent strike”

At that point, she went into the concepts of rhythm and combos, both of which the Jab plays a crucial part in creating. Done well, the Jab can interrupt your opponent’s rhythm and let you establish your own through well executed spacing between strikes, leaving ample time to weave together a series of them-also known in boxing as combos. To help me develop my own, she detailed a 1-6 number system she uses to memorize any combos that pop into her brain, 1 being the Jab, 2, the Cross, 3 & 4, lead and rear hooks, and 5 & 6, lead and rear uppercuts(with the letter b following any punches aimed for the body). It was very confusing at first, but the way she set those numbers to a rhythm really helped clarify how her system worked, more so when we practiced a few of them, like 1-2-3, 6-3b-2 and 1b-2b-3-4-5. I only hope my combos are as easy to remember and easy to break out when the punches come fast and furious!

Progress since last week: I can finally touch my toes! Feel so much more flexible now, although I’m not quite sure what that has to do with Boxing

Goal for next week: Create and memorize my own combo. Maybe a variation on 6-3-2?

Song of the Moment: “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J
Heard this on Pinkie’s headphones while we were taking a break from training, and I must say, it puts me right in the mood to get up and work until I ensure that I can look over at Applejack and say, “Don’t call it a comeback!”

Author's Note

Tune in next time, when Twilight starts her real workout regiment and Dash teaches her about Dynamite Strength. Don't miss it!