Alright, so I got some mat time in today. Felt a bit stiff getting started, always do when the weather starts turning. Had Dricus du Plessis on my mind, watched that last fight again the other night. Guy’s got a weird style, right? Looks kinda clumsy sometimes, but man, it works. Decided I’d try and capture a bit of that… energy? Pressure? Not sure what you call it.
Warmed up like usual, jumping jacks, stretching out the shoulders and hips. Nothing fancy. Then I started moving around, shadow boxing mostly. First thing I focused on was that forward pressure he seems to always have. Just constantly walking forward, cutting off space. It feels weird trying to force it, honestly. My natural instinct is more in-and-out, but I kept reminding myself, stay on ’em, even if it’s just air I’m pressuring.
Trying the awkward stuff
Then I tried mimicking some of those shots. You know the ones. They aren’t always textbook.
- Tried switching stances mid-combo. Felt like I was gonna trip over my own feet half the time. Definitely not smooth yet.
- Worked on throwing punches while moving forward aggressively. It’s harder than it looks to keep your balance and power when you’re almost falling forward.
- Threw some of those looping shots he does. Felt sloppy, like I was leaving myself wide open. But maybe that’s part of the trick? Make ’em think there’s an opening?
Spent a good while just on footwork and that constant forward movement. It’s tiring. More mentally tiring than physically, almost. You gotta constantly override the instinct to back up or circle out too much. It’s like that time I tried to fix the leaky faucet myself. Looked simple in the video, instructions seemed clear. But actually doing it? Water everywhere, wrong parts, ended up calling the plumber anyway. Sometimes things that look simple or even ‘wrong’ have a method you don’t see until you really try, or until they hit you in the face, I guess.
Finished up on the heavy bag. Tried putting it together – the pressure, the stance switches (still clumsy), the awkward-angle shots. Landed a few combos that felt okay, felt like I was generating some power even when off-balance. Most of it still felt pretty ragged, though. It’s not about looking pretty, I kept telling myself. It’s about being effective, like Dricus.
So yeah, that was the session. Didn’t exactly become a guru overnight, haha. But it was good practice. Trying something different, getting out of the comfort zone. Definitely got a sweat on, and got me thinking about how there’s more than one way to get the job done, even if it looks a bit funny doing it. Need to work on that stance switch smoothness, big time. Maybe next session.
