flowbox seminar review

[lorenzodamarith]

hello,

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! !!!

this seminar was very very good!
this seminar rocked very very hard!

this seminar continued where the last one (november) left off.

coach haggard started things off by taking the class through some intu flow for warm up and then we got intu-box! today, coach jones expanded greatly on the footwork component of flowbox with circling (last seminar dealt with linear footwork... left-right, front-back). coach jones explained all of the details necessary to circle an opponent efficiently as well as how to use footwork to control an opponents location (putting them where you want them).

once the class had a handle on how to do that, coach jones revisited a popular topic:

HITTING THINGS AND PEOPLE VERY VERY HARD!!!!!

coach jones went over the proper mechanics of all of the basic punches. next, he brought the punches and the footwork together, through a combination of movement drills and punching drills.

interestingly, there were very few questions from anyone. this is a HUGE testament to the coaching skill of coach jones. his knowledge and experience are incredible. he is able to conduct an extremely thorough treatment of a subject, in very little time. further, coach jones is able to convey complex topics in a way that is easily understandable, even by beginners.

this left LARGE amounts of time for doing what we all went there to do..... HIT THINGS!!!!!!!

at this point, it should be mentioned that everyone seemed to really enjoy, absorb and implement the material.

enter the story of isaac and lorenzo...

isaac is a fairly serious guy, about 150lbs. really great to train with. some mma experience and looking for more!

lorenzo is a fairly strange guy, about... fat. really... to train with! hahahahaha!

a lot of joking around, but a lot of really in depth training.

in short, we WRECKED each others hands. even through focus mitts, the punches were landing with some authority! we actually requested one another to lighten up a few times!

folks, you should have seen isaac's punching! once he would get a punch down... it was AMAAAAAAAAAZING! a warning for anyone planning on sparring with this guy: don't. he will kill you. not purposely, of course. but mortals cannot handle such force.

speaking of punching, folks, you should have seen COACH JONES PUNCHING! you know how in star wars, it looks like the death star destroyed a planet? no.

coach jones did. the planet was mouthing off and he punched it.

folks, many of us have seen "hard hits" before, but this was something else entirely. you should have seen the looks on the faces of the class. everyone was very surprised to realize that sort of power actually exists, and that we could do it too (not quite like coach jones, though. not yet).

more to follow......

[lorenzodamarith]

hello,

yes indeed folks, coach jones taught us the beginnings of how do do what HE does. it is clear he holds nothing back. EVERY details is presented and practiced and implemented. coach jones could obviously move along quickly, but doesn't. he takes the time necessary to make sure we really learn the material.

coach haggard did a magnificent job of holding the mitts for coach jones (and withstanding the punches)! he was also available for questions at a moments notice, and that was very helpful. he seems to really understand what someone means when they ask a question. you always get a better answer than you expect, because coach haggard helps you ask better questions!

also, before the seminar, worked on clubbells with coach haggard. only one move: the mill. it was very interesting. hadn't been able to do that before. it was a very exciting experience to finally handle clubbells and really get a look at how cst fits together. much appreciation to coach haggard for that!

after the seminar, coach haggard was doing some rings. we went over the very very basics of ring work, but the real event was watching him "do his thing"! coach haggard did things that would likely rip lesser beings arms out of the sockets! no joke. it was awesome! even better, was the way he broke down each exercise into it's components so a beginner could work on the same things. again, seeing cst in action, up close and personal was astounding.

the mighty wildman was present! always in a good mood and always ready to work hard. it is clear he gives 1000% in everything he does! after the seminar we (wildman, isaac and self) talked. hadn't realized that wildman is part of cirque berzerk! so he told us about his experiences and goals with that! GOOD STUFF! even better was his ability to bring that together with what we had done today! mechanical principles, training principles... everything.

also, another cst was in the house and brought with him the COOLEST name known to mankind!

rocky steele! this guy was great! we didn't get a chance to talk much, but before the seminar, we got to talk and compare some notes about cst. he was very encouraging of a beginner. taught him how to wrap his hands and he taught an interesting variation of the squat (without realizing it). rocky did a private with coach jones and clubbells AFTER the seminar! that's a hard hard man right there! very glad we met!

more to follow........

[lorenzodamarith]

hello,

in general, the seminar flowed well. coach jones very ably covered all the subjects he planned. he kept us on task and working, without over working us (4 hours, whew!!). everyone was in a good mood, worked diligently, and IMPROVED significantly.

the coaches and instructors did exactly that... coached and instructed, and did it well.

one of us "sparkled"... but you folks will have to guess which one! hahahahahahaha!

lastly, there was a photographer there. she was very nice, kept that camera going and had very very festive socks! oh yeah!

it was a great great seminar. it was a great great time. it was a very very good value. money well spent. time well spent. if you get the chance, go to a flowbox seminar. you will love it!

thanks

[Joseph David]

Good review Lorenzo,
Sounds like everyone learned a ton from a masterful teacher :)

[lorenzodamarith]

hello,

joseph david, you hit the nail on the head! coach jones is a jedi master! granted, it helps that we all had a preexisting interest in the subject matter, but he really does present material in a way that sparks interest. nothing boring. it is clear that when coach jones is teaching, he has a PLAN.

AND... he is as cute and cuddly as a mafia enforcer or a prison ganglord!

thanks

[Rocky]

Lorenzo, very good accounting of the days events. It was a pleasure meeting you also. You seem to have your navigation set to achieve great things through CST.

Recognition and personal thanks to Dennis for all the ground work, providing his personal arsenal of Clubbells to me and his instruction assistance. You are and will make a fine Instructor and Coach.

Great seeing Mark "the Train" Wildman. He has taken to the concepts and literally rips your %#@&% head off when he puts it all together. I'm glad he didn't miss the mitts or I wouldn't have made it back to Vegas.

Nice meeting everyone else. You all showed a very great committed effort to learning this valuable information and skill.

Coach Jones, in a word, AMAZING, he really should have been ring side at the MGM in Vegas getting one of the two 147lbs ready for the Multimillion dollar fight. I am sure at some point this will happen. We are fortunate to have access to such a phenomenal teacher.

In summary an exhaustive but invaluable one day round trip from Las Vegas to Burbank and back, that was worth every penny. Great Stuff!

And now it's at least one day maybe two of Intu-Flow®.

Thanks again
Best
Rocky

[Coach Haggard]

Nice review Lorenzo!

I posted a short review myself (mostly I just linked back to this because Lorenzo did such a good job ;) ) on the General Discussion Forum with a link to some photos. If anyone wants to see some pictures of the event, you will find my review at this link:

http://www.rmaxinternational.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19494

Or...I guess you could also skip my review and go straight for the photos :D! Here you go:

http://picasaweb.google.com/eleazar7/December2008FlowBox#

-Dennis

[lorenzodamarith]

hello,

your review was great coach haggard! it is good you mentioned "power lines".

coach jones showed us a concept called "power lines"... lines along which force is transmitted via punching. through use of proper footwork, he showed us how to SIGNIFICANTLY amplify the force one can apply to a punch when circling.

once the class caught on to the idea of "power lines", the entire gym was filled with the loud banging sounds of gloves smacking mitts. REALLY loud banging folks...

if you EVER wanted to learn proper striking, whether for competition or just interest, you MUST come to flowbox seminars.

no joke folks, learned more, much more, from ONE seminar with coach jones than SIX weeks at a boxing gym (a good one, too). even if you are flying into the area and need a ride to and from the seminar, let us know and we will get you there! just contact coach haggard (eleazar7).

thanks