Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Review of the Fedor - Crocop Pride match...
Ok, I gotta admit, I never really was much of a MMA (mixed martial arts) fan. Having watched tomato cans like Bob Sapp and over-hyped C-rated fighters like Musashi become champions in K1, it pretty much reinforced my disdain for this pro-wrestling kind of fighting. That is, until I finally watched a truly good fight on Pride tonight. Here's my analysis of how the fight between Crocop and Fedor went down. CAUTION: if you haven't seen this fight yet and don't want the results to be spoiled, STOP reading this now!
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Ok, here we go:
Round 1: Crocop's style is kickboxing, meaning that he fights best on his feet, not on the ground. As predicted, Crocop was circling around the ring in an outboxing style, waiting for the opportunity to unleash his vaunted high front roundhouse kick.
Meanwhile, Fedor's style is Sambo, meaning that he fights best on the ground and is extremely deadly at close range. As Crocop was circling around the ring, Fedor did the smart thing and bided his time by sealing off the ring and occupying space.
Crocop jabbed and threw some good left straights. In the middle of the round, Crocop landed his best shot, which turned out to be a heavy-handed jab to Fedor's nose. While stunned, Crocop rushed over and landed 2 more heavy jabs right on Fedor's nose, which subsequently was most likely broken by then. However, when Crocop tried to get in his money shot - the left front roundhouse kick - Fedor was able to duck under the kick and avoid a potential KO. By the time the 2nd half of the round came up, Fedor was finally able to close in on Crocop and tackled him down. While Fedor was able to mount Crocop and had great position to land his heavy shots, Crocop displayed good defensive skills and was able to finish the round unscathed.
Close Advantage: Crocop - I thought he really nailed Fedor with some good punches during their exchange at middle range. Had Crocop been able to land his kick or resumed his rush with more punches, I thought the match could have been finished there. However, even though Crocop had the advantage by breaking Fedor's nose, Fedor's determination was building.
Round 2: The beginning of the 2nd round pretty much started the same way as the first round. Crocop was once again circling the ring to create some space and Fedor was sealing off the ring and moving forward. Crocop finally broke the peace by launching his kick. However, Fedor completely blocked the kick aiming for his ribs. Crocop threw 2 more kicks, one aiming for the ribs, one going for the head...but Fedor calmly blocked those kicks with rock solid blocks. Those blocks seemed to sap the energy out of Crocop and Fedor quickly clinched him, then tackled him down again. This time, Fedor was able to land some great punches and spent much of the round mounting Crocop. Fedor outweighed Crocop and the extra weight seemed to be wearing out Crocop on the ground. Not much action would ensue until the end of the round.
Advantage: Fedor - By this time, it was clear that not only had Fedor made up ground from the first round, the momentum had also shifted in his favor. Crocop did a pretty good defensive job on the ground, but he was getting worn out by Fedor's attacks.
Round 3: Crocop's legs were clearly tiring at this point and he tried desperately to land his kicks, but Fedor successfully blocked all the kicks yet again and still looked like he had the same amount of energy as in the first round. After Crocop's kicks, Fedor rushed in again and tackled him. Fedor landed some good shots, but not enough to KO Crocop. Final decision time.
Decision goes to - Fedor
Turning point - Fedor's defense was just simply amazing. He knew exactly where the kicks would be going and blocked them solidly. On the ground, Fedor's defense actually consisted of head movement. With Fedor's subtle head movement, he made sure that Crocop's punches landed on top of his head, which is the hardest part of the human body, which in turn negated any damage done.
Great fight, the level of skill, guts, and intelligence displayed in this fight was a sight to behold. I think I may be becoming a Pride fan soon...
-----------------------------
Ok, here we go:
Round 1: Crocop's style is kickboxing, meaning that he fights best on his feet, not on the ground. As predicted, Crocop was circling around the ring in an outboxing style, waiting for the opportunity to unleash his vaunted high front roundhouse kick.
Meanwhile, Fedor's style is Sambo, meaning that he fights best on the ground and is extremely deadly at close range. As Crocop was circling around the ring, Fedor did the smart thing and bided his time by sealing off the ring and occupying space.
Crocop jabbed and threw some good left straights. In the middle of the round, Crocop landed his best shot, which turned out to be a heavy-handed jab to Fedor's nose. While stunned, Crocop rushed over and landed 2 more heavy jabs right on Fedor's nose, which subsequently was most likely broken by then. However, when Crocop tried to get in his money shot - the left front roundhouse kick - Fedor was able to duck under the kick and avoid a potential KO. By the time the 2nd half of the round came up, Fedor was finally able to close in on Crocop and tackled him down. While Fedor was able to mount Crocop and had great position to land his heavy shots, Crocop displayed good defensive skills and was able to finish the round unscathed.
Close Advantage: Crocop - I thought he really nailed Fedor with some good punches during their exchange at middle range. Had Crocop been able to land his kick or resumed his rush with more punches, I thought the match could have been finished there. However, even though Crocop had the advantage by breaking Fedor's nose, Fedor's determination was building.
Round 2: The beginning of the 2nd round pretty much started the same way as the first round. Crocop was once again circling the ring to create some space and Fedor was sealing off the ring and moving forward. Crocop finally broke the peace by launching his kick. However, Fedor completely blocked the kick aiming for his ribs. Crocop threw 2 more kicks, one aiming for the ribs, one going for the head...but Fedor calmly blocked those kicks with rock solid blocks. Those blocks seemed to sap the energy out of Crocop and Fedor quickly clinched him, then tackled him down again. This time, Fedor was able to land some great punches and spent much of the round mounting Crocop. Fedor outweighed Crocop and the extra weight seemed to be wearing out Crocop on the ground. Not much action would ensue until the end of the round.
Advantage: Fedor - By this time, it was clear that not only had Fedor made up ground from the first round, the momentum had also shifted in his favor. Crocop did a pretty good defensive job on the ground, but he was getting worn out by Fedor's attacks.
Round 3: Crocop's legs were clearly tiring at this point and he tried desperately to land his kicks, but Fedor successfully blocked all the kicks yet again and still looked like he had the same amount of energy as in the first round. After Crocop's kicks, Fedor rushed in again and tackled him. Fedor landed some good shots, but not enough to KO Crocop. Final decision time.
Decision goes to - Fedor
Turning point - Fedor's defense was just simply amazing. He knew exactly where the kicks would be going and blocked them solidly. On the ground, Fedor's defense actually consisted of head movement. With Fedor's subtle head movement, he made sure that Crocop's punches landed on top of his head, which is the hardest part of the human body, which in turn negated any damage done.
Great fight, the level of skill, guts, and intelligence displayed in this fight was a sight to behold. I think I may be becoming a Pride fan soon...
Monday, August 29, 2005
Quote of the day...
"You must explain to him that the inner-circle of the loop line is different from the outer-circle of the loop line." - SD giving an explanation of directions. Although this could have been accomplished by simply saying "take loop A to Tennoji"
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Back to school, escaped from slow death, and life is all good again...
Today's the first day back to my high school in a little town called Torikai, and I couldn't be happier.
Checklist:
1. Finished the final final FINAL fricken draft of the lesson plan that slow death created. After all, with all the edits that good ol' SD made, there wasn't a shred of evidence left that I created it. Well, if the lessons go badly, I'm playing the 'matador' card and olaying the blame onto SD.
2. Finished printing out all of the materials required to execute the lesson plans properly. Actually, that was the easy part, relatively pain-free. Still, I would love it if I could literally execute those lesson plans via shredder.
3. Actually had fun in the office yesterday. With guys like HG, AY, HJ, and AH, along with a gal like HK, the crew kept me relatively sane.
Holy crap section:
Alright, everybody in the office already knows about some dude who called looking for our HR guy's private cell number. To sum it up, he's probably some idiot who got pissed off after being rejected a job offer from us. On top of being irrational, potentially being a stalker to our poor HR guy and potentially even giving us a fake name, he went so far as to call SD an 'idiot' during his conversation with him. That's like the kiss of death, there's no WAY SD is gonna hire THAT guy now. Here's the conversation that I had with him:
P.O'ed guy: I'd like to talk to ___ please.
Me: I'm sorry, he's not in the office today. May I take a message?
P.O'ed guy: I'd like his cell phone number then. Thank you.
Me: Hang on a second please...(on hold, while thinking of a good way to reject that stupid request) I'm sorry, I don't have his cell phone number available at the moment. Could you please tell me your name?
P.O'ed guy: What do you mean it's not available? Do you have his number or not?!
Me: Can you at least tell me your name?
P.O'ed guy: My name is R--ert, now will you give me his cell phone number?
Me: Let me transfer you to someone who can help you. (transfers the phone to SD, who is really the DIRECTOR of our department)
Ok, this is where the idiot tells SD off using foul language and calls him an idiot. He then calls back again.
Me: ECC, this is Jason.
R: I'd like ___'s number, now. Thank you.
Me: No.
R: No?
Me: No. We are not allowed to give out anybody's private phone number.
R: Oh really? And why not?
Me: It's against our policy on privacy.
R: That's a convenient way to say it. Do you have his number or not?
Me: (getting fed up with this conversation...) Have a good day Rupert. (hang up)
What a moron.
Checklist:
1. Finished the final final FINAL fricken draft of the lesson plan that slow death created. After all, with all the edits that good ol' SD made, there wasn't a shred of evidence left that I created it. Well, if the lessons go badly, I'm playing the 'matador' card and olaying the blame onto SD.
2. Finished printing out all of the materials required to execute the lesson plans properly. Actually, that was the easy part, relatively pain-free. Still, I would love it if I could literally execute those lesson plans via shredder.
3. Actually had fun in the office yesterday. With guys like HG, AY, HJ, and AH, along with a gal like HK, the crew kept me relatively sane.
Holy crap section:
Alright, everybody in the office already knows about some dude who called looking for our HR guy's private cell number. To sum it up, he's probably some idiot who got pissed off after being rejected a job offer from us. On top of being irrational, potentially being a stalker to our poor HR guy and potentially even giving us a fake name, he went so far as to call SD an 'idiot' during his conversation with him. That's like the kiss of death, there's no WAY SD is gonna hire THAT guy now. Here's the conversation that I had with him:
P.O'ed guy: I'd like to talk to ___ please.
Me: I'm sorry, he's not in the office today. May I take a message?
P.O'ed guy: I'd like his cell phone number then. Thank you.
Me: Hang on a second please...(on hold, while thinking of a good way to reject that stupid request) I'm sorry, I don't have his cell phone number available at the moment. Could you please tell me your name?
P.O'ed guy: What do you mean it's not available? Do you have his number or not?!
Me: Can you at least tell me your name?
P.O'ed guy: My name is R--ert, now will you give me his cell phone number?
Me: Let me transfer you to someone who can help you. (transfers the phone to SD, who is really the DIRECTOR of our department)
Ok, this is where the idiot tells SD off using foul language and calls him an idiot. He then calls back again.
Me: ECC, this is Jason.
R: I'd like ___'s number, now. Thank you.
Me: No.
R: No?
Me: No. We are not allowed to give out anybody's private phone number.
R: Oh really? And why not?
Me: It's against our policy on privacy.
R: That's a convenient way to say it. Do you have his number or not?
Me: (getting fed up with this conversation...) Have a good day Rupert. (hang up)
What a moron.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Internet is back...
It seems that the nice people at my isp finally decided to reconnect my internet connection. Life is now back to normal, for now...
Work: Once I finish the lesson plans for the dreaded elementary school project, I'll be finally off the hook. Not that I don't like teaching at elementary school, it's just that the curriculum is so damn stupid that it drives me nuts. Let's take a look at the curriculum I was in charge of 'developing'.
3rd graders: Games with hand movement
4th graders: Tongue twisters
5th graders: Exchanging presents
6th graders: Treasures
I have to create lessons based strictly on that criteria. Now if you'll excuse me, I will now light myself on fire.
Work: Once I finish the lesson plans for the dreaded elementary school project, I'll be finally off the hook. Not that I don't like teaching at elementary school, it's just that the curriculum is so damn stupid that it drives me nuts. Let's take a look at the curriculum I was in charge of 'developing'.
3rd graders: Games with hand movement
4th graders: Tongue twisters
5th graders: Exchanging presents
6th graders: Treasures
I have to create lessons based strictly on that criteria. Now if you'll excuse me, I will now light myself on fire.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
No internet makes Jason go...
not crazy, surprisingly enough. Actually I feel a bit liberated now, though I am in an internet cafe to post. Anyways, what's new with me...
1. Ok, yet another change in the quest for more education, instead of going back to Boston to study comp sci, it looks like Temple University in Tokyo would be a better choice.
2. Today's the last day of my vacation and I fully intend to savor every moment until I show up to work tomorrow and have to interact with my boss again. From now on, I'm referring to him as Slow Death.
3. As usual, it's still hot as hell here. The humidity's dropped a bit, but the heat is still up there in the 90's.
1. Ok, yet another change in the quest for more education, instead of going back to Boston to study comp sci, it looks like Temple University in Tokyo would be a better choice.
2. Today's the last day of my vacation and I fully intend to savor every moment until I show up to work tomorrow and have to interact with my boss again. From now on, I'm referring to him as Slow Death.
3. As usual, it's still hot as hell here. The humidity's dropped a bit, but the heat is still up there in the 90's.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Beginning fantasy football...
Alright, so it's finally about time that I started playing fantasy football. I've never played on any real official fantasy leagues before and the only experience that came close to that was NBA.com's virtual GM, which doesn't really count. Expect me to create a blog strictly for fantasy football. Geez, I can already feel myself turning into a stats freak soon.
Ok, I've just created the blog. Please check out fflosaka.blogspot.com to see what happens. For now, nothing new, just some rants about T.O. and Drew Rosenhaus. I'll start a running diary once the draft starts.
Ok, I've just created the blog. Please check out fflosaka.blogspot.com to see what happens. For now, nothing new, just some rants about T.O. and Drew Rosenhaus. I'll start a running diary once the draft starts.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Current state of the Red Sox...
Ok, so the Bosox have won the world series and broke the 86 year old drought. (most people call it a curse) Anyways, following the sox only via internet is a bit annoying, however probably not as nerve-wracking as watching them on tv. The Sox are still in first of the AL east, still beating the "artist formerly known as" Yankees (seriously, what happened to these guys?), yet some writers are still going nuts with their columns about the Curt Schilling as closer drama, the "caveman" in-fighting from Damon, and the annual Manny-wants-out drama.
Ok, enough already! To the Boston fans, the sox are doing just fine. Their still in first place, they still have Manny, and having Schilling pitch in any situation is still better than having him shelved. Relax. The sox have thrived on chaos before, they'll survive. The team chemistry is still there and I'll say again, they STILL have Manny (best damn hitter in the league).
On the other hand, it's up to us as fans to keep caring about the sox. I don't agree with any grace period for teams winning the championship of any sport, about how the fans should not care as much about their teams after they've won. If anything, I hope the fans care about their teams even more than before. Remember, as fans, we bitch about our teams during slumps because we CARE.
Ok, enough already! To the Boston fans, the sox are doing just fine. Their still in first place, they still have Manny, and having Schilling pitch in any situation is still better than having him shelved. Relax. The sox have thrived on chaos before, they'll survive. The team chemistry is still there and I'll say again, they STILL have Manny (best damn hitter in the league).
On the other hand, it's up to us as fans to keep caring about the sox. I don't agree with any grace period for teams winning the championship of any sport, about how the fans should not care as much about their teams after they've won. If anything, I hope the fans care about their teams even more than before. Remember, as fans, we bitch about our teams during slumps because we CARE.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
The beginning...
Introduction:
All right, it's been practically 2 years since I've moved to Osaka from Boston. Some things I missed:
1. Pats win the superbowl against the Panthers.
2. Pats win the superbowl against the Eagles, therefore securing dynasty status.
3. Red Sox win the world series.
WTF! Talk about perfect timing to leave Boston, huh! I was happy enough to witness the utter destruction of the Rams during the Pats' first superbowl, but I couldn't believe that I missed the chance to celebrate all of the above mentioned with other crazy Boston sports fans!
The hell am I doing today:
Well, for starters, I'm an English teacher working for a company in Japan. The task for this week is to finish up the curriculum for elementary school students and have it ready for the next school term. Sounds good right? Well, for those of us who've been in this business long enough, hell no! I just finished a lesson on "Treasures" (WTF?) and I still have to create a lesson of "Giving Presents" (Seriously, WTF?!) Anyways, other than that, I'm really just wasting time here doing nothing. The "lessons" will be done on time, whatever, don't really care now. In the words of one of my coworkers here, "I really just can't be bothered to do it" now.
All right, it's been practically 2 years since I've moved to Osaka from Boston. Some things I missed:
1. Pats win the superbowl against the Panthers.
2. Pats win the superbowl against the Eagles, therefore securing dynasty status.
3. Red Sox win the world series.
WTF! Talk about perfect timing to leave Boston, huh! I was happy enough to witness the utter destruction of the Rams during the Pats' first superbowl, but I couldn't believe that I missed the chance to celebrate all of the above mentioned with other crazy Boston sports fans!
The hell am I doing today:
Well, for starters, I'm an English teacher working for a company in Japan. The task for this week is to finish up the curriculum for elementary school students and have it ready for the next school term. Sounds good right? Well, for those of us who've been in this business long enough, hell no! I just finished a lesson on "Treasures" (WTF?) and I still have to create a lesson of "Giving Presents" (Seriously, WTF?!) Anyways, other than that, I'm really just wasting time here doing nothing. The "lessons" will be done on time, whatever, don't really care now. In the words of one of my coworkers here, "I really just can't be bothered to do it" now.
