Tyson and training

Everyone in boxing and fighting knows who Tyson is. Before his downward slide Tyson was known for his evasion of punches and speed, this video illustrates some of his Fight Camp training and the techniques used. Pay particular attention to the repetitious nature of his training – they keep drilling the same things over and over.

Some say that 1,000 good repetitions are needed to learn a technique or combination, others say 10,000. The take home message here is practice, practice, practice the basics. The Japanese Samurai who were involved in frequent combat only practiced a few select moves, over and over, they didn’t keep adding more and more complex techniques. Mastery of the fundamentals is what makes a truly great fighter, not flowery or complex techniques and once you have some mastery of the basics you have greater freedom to adapt and improvise.