What the What is Going on with Suckerpunch?

Posted on 20. Apr, 2009 by Jeremy in Books, Press On, Publishing Suckerpunch, Writing

The latest revision is being reviewed by my agent, and will hopefully go out to editors soon.

Back up – what the what is Suckerpunch?

Suckerpunch is the first book in a series featuring heavyweight mixed martial artist Aaron “Woodshed” Wallace, who is stuck on no-name cards for tiny organizations. Woody is trying to put his violent (and, ahem, possibly illegal) past behind him with help from his trainer and mentor, Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Gil Hobbes.

When Banzai Eddie Takanori – president of MMA’s largest organization, Warrior Inc. – offers Woody a short-notice fight against a highly favored poster boy, Woody sees his shot at salvation.

By the time Woody figures out he’s just a pawn in a high-stakes game between psychopaths, he’s in way too deep.

Good thing he knows how to take a punch.

And give a few back…

A Different Kind of Workout

Posted on 23. May, 2008 by Jeremy in Press On, Sharpening, Writing

From what I’ve seen and felt, the only thing that can prepare one for an MMA workout is an MMA workout. I went into Tuesday’s class feeling pretty good despite a tender thumb (tweaked during my first class one week prior when I stumbled into a rack of wooden swords – if they’d been real, I’d be typing with stumps right now), and ready for more boxing drills and sparring.

Ah, surprises. We warmed up as usual, then went right into 5-minute rounds of agility and power movements:

  • Footwork through a rope ladder on the floor
  • Forward high jumps over little hurdles with our knees as high as we could get them
  • Hopping on one foot in and out of a rope ladder on the floor
  • Lateral high jumps over hurdles
  • Moving laterally along a rope ladder on the floor, touching the toes of each foot inside each square
  • Start over and do it all again

We did three rounds of that with 30 seconds rest in between, and I had to take a few breathers during the last round. It doesn’t feel good to let the other guys down by taking a break, but I didn’t want to dig a hole I couldn’t get out of.

Then we moved on to something I was really interested in; the instructor, Fernando Neto, an MMA fighter and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt from Brazil, showed us how to transition into an armbar from the guard when our opponent postures up and plants a foot for balance. This is the kind of stuff that will really inform my writing and give me an understanding of MMA strategy. How to set something up and execute it with all the details on where to put your hands, feet, hips, etc.

After that we sparred. I find it fascinating how two people who’ve never met can say, “Wanna go?”
“Sure.”
“I’m Dave.”
“Jim.”
Then they touch gloves and begin to kick, punch, choke, and crank each other. When it’s over, they touch gloves again and say, “Nice work.”

It’s honest and real, and incredibly refreshing. There are no facades, at least not for me. I don’t have the energy to spare for it.

Driving home, one week after the first class that left me barely able to dial a phone, I felt great. A few tweaks here and there, but the long Memorial Day weekend should be ample time for those to heal.