A New Era...
of percentage based fight-methodology.
If we looked hard enough, we could probably find the statistically "best" way to win in a variety of combat scenarios.
...kinda like how now-world-renown statistician Bill James completely revolutionized baseball by discovering that 'on base percentage' was the most important criteria in determining your team's win rate.
Not stolen bases. Not crazy plays in the field. Not even home runs. On base percentage.
(The film Money Ball tells this story, and it's absolutely fascinating.)
(Speaking of statistics if Sean Bean had been in that movie, he would have found a way to die... since he's statistically the 'most likely to die' character in movie history'.)
The odds don't lie.
I believe that the same kind of revolution could happen in combat sports, if we just looked at enough data.
We could learn which techniques bear the most risk and which have the highest reward,
We could easily figure out what percentage of champions fight with a "Hands Up" style, vs a "Hands down" style.
Based on this data, perhaps we could silence every "coach" in the YouTube comments section who wants to yell KeEp YoUr HaNdS uP on every tutorial.
"Hands Up" vs "Hands Down" is exactly what I was researching when I found this clip:
After the first few minutes, I actually became desensitized to how utterly spectacular these two guys are.
Vasyl is arguably the greatest boxer to ever live... and a subscriber to the 'Hands Up' style.
Teofimo is a 'Hands Down' kinda guy... and is now the undisputed lightweight champion of the world.
But what about the greatest fighters in every division, throughout the history of boxing?
What about in MMA?
Perhaps the gospels that many assume to be "true" in the world of combat sports, aren't quite carved in stone.
It remains to be seen...
Anyhow, this is just some of the stuff that I'm working on, and one of the reasons why I've been slacking on the ol' newsletter.
That's all for today. Don't forget to watch this clip... you could build an entire fighting style just by practicing these combinations and counters.
Have a fantastic weekend!
-Trav