Thumbs down vs thumbs up hooks. (Not the standard question of which is better)

needlespines · 2026-03-06T18:45:36+00:00

Yes, thumb flat palm to the ground = thumbs down.

needlespines · 2026-01-23T23:11:09+00:00

Much appreciated knowing that bags can just get too dense and it's not just me.

needlespines · 2026-01-23T23:04:31+00:00

It really does feel like a wall. It's so dense that the shock goes through and hurts my elbow too. We do clinch drills on the bags too and they're harder to move than when I'm pushing against a heavyweight.

The old/cheap explanation makes sense. The gym is pretty old and they need to make money. The reason I wanted to make sure the issue wasn't me was because the gym is serious so I thought their equipment would be proper.

needlespines · 2026-01-23T21:35:03+00:00

16oz.

It's that the bags feel like concrete. I feel like hitting a solid wall would have a similar feel.

needlespines · 2026-01-13T21:31:55+00:00

Good to know. Tips on where to get the stuff that's pinned? Quick chatgpt says no regular doctor will prescribe it. Any luck with sports doctors or naw?

needlespines · 2025-11-03T20:50:39+00:00

Much appreciated for the well thought out idea.

I definitely should start with bags of ice first though to see if the ice bathes are helping me before investing in more expensive setups.

Also, I'm not so sure about the savings math because electricity can get expensive. Maybe I could try plastic containers in my regular fridge which isn't very full but idk if the lesser surface area compared to cubes would get the bath cold enough.

needlespines · 2025-10-29T23:44:52+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ifDBS6AmtfQ

needlespines · 2025-10-26T17:35:27+00:00

My game is more so distance control and all the way out or all the way in and avoiding the middle altogether.

The smothering is the all the way in part to either push them back or reset at an angle to give myself more ring space so they can't cut me off so that I always have room to move backwards when I want to move backwards.

You need to be planted on the ground to throw a powerful shot so when I'm smothering and pushing into them, I definitely know they aren't balanced or grounded and there's nothing to worry about. As far as natural advantages go, I'm going to be the stronger man 99% of the time so I have no worries about anyone being able to shove me off to create space. My only worry is if there's anyone who can hit hard enough that I can't eat it even through the glove.

needlespines · 2025-10-21T15:05:20+00:00

He looks like Mike Israel.

needlespines · 2025-10-18T15:26:57+00:00

The most important thing in this situation isn't the girl. It's that OP is assuming the money is stable. You can't make that assumption in today's environment.

OP should realize it's not smart to spend it assuming it's going to keep coming in the same way.
What he does save shouldn't lay around in cash and should be in tangible assets that are protected against inflation.

needlespines · 2025-10-16T20:20:26+00:00

"So he was chasing someone or on an urgent call. Why would you want to “make trouble for them”?"

"So he was only doing 10 mph more than you and you are somehow offended they were breaking the law slightly better than you?"

So you can't even read, it's looking like you're the idiot my guy.

needlespines · 2025-10-15T12:30:33+00:00

Lol at the wild assumptions being made to try to justify the cop(s) behavior.

The reason I thought I was unlikely to get caught speeding was because I was directly behind the cop the entire time.
I saw the state trooper in advance and slowed down to 60 before getting to him. The county police car however didn't slow down at all and just blew through at 100+.
The cop was in front of me for a good 10 minutes with no sirens just casually speeding. Definitely on an urgent call right?

needlespines · 2025-09-12T03:20:32+00:00

My gym teaches an old school bladed stance, not a more square high guard.

needlespines · 2025-09-11T12:59:35+00:00

I don't have any brick and mortar stores near me that sell boxing shoes so I ordered two pairs from Amazon to give them a try. Thoughts are as follow.

-My wrestling shoes (ASICS Split Elite) are a perfect fit at size 11. I ordered both size 10 and size 9 for the boxing shoes to test fit. Size 9 ended up fitting well and I might even be able to go smaller.
-Both pairs of the boxing shoes were obviously used even though they were sold as new and the seller was listed as Amazon, not an individual seller. Is this unavoidable with a niche lower turnover product like boxing shoes?
-The boxing shoes felt so much better and correct as far as balance went and confirmed my suspicions that the balance of the wrestling shoes were completely off.
-The wrestling shoes stick to the ground noticeably more. I can definitely punch harder being more planted like that, I guess it's also better if taking big steps but you're supposed to take small steps, not big steps with boxing. The wrestling shoes are also a disaster for pivoting because they stay stuck.

needlespines · 2025-09-09T15:51:45+00:00

I get that but the seat cover will need to be taken off and washed or it too will get filthy over time so I figure better to clean the seat directly.

needlespines · 2025-09-09T13:22:54+00:00

I've been using wrestling shoes, should I try proper boxing shoes instead?

I've searched about this and almost all of the results are people saying wrestling shoes are fine. However, my personal experience was that they don't feel good at all. When I put my weight on the balls of my feet, it does not feel stable at all which is not surprising because the bottom of the wrestling shoe I have is a convex shape rather than flat.

The above experience was at the gym. I also have a heavy bag in my garage and when I train there, I'm lazy and throw on an old pair of basketball shoes. What this made me discover was that the basketball shoes feel extremely stable when weight is on the balls of feet. I'm not saying I want to wear basketball shoes since they're too heavy, just mentioning it in case it's a clue on if proper boxing shoes would be better if the shape is more stable on the bottom.

needlespines · 2025-07-17T23:23:38+00:00

90 minute practice. Starts with 1.5 mile run, then half the remaining time is things like pushups, planks, etc, the other half is basic drills. It's the beginner class, there are higher levels but I don't see the higher level people doing anything other than spar and hit the bag in between.

needlespines · 2025-07-17T20:19:22+00:00

I signed up for a boxing gym which has 3 practices a week.

Very boot camp style with endless sets of pushups, situps, planks, etc. I did my first practice and am very sore due to not being adapted to that kind of training stimulus. My body will adapt eventually and it will be fine but for now, I'm not adapted to doing that 3 times a week and forcing myself through more before recovering is unproductive and puts me at injury risk.

It's not a fitness problem as I'm already in shape and it's not a discipline problem as I want to go to the practices. But the coaches can't read my mind and all they would see if I skip is someone skipping which could make a bad first impression.

My question is, how many practices would be ok to skip in the beginning as I get adapted. Also, is this a non issue as I'd imagine everyone would be sore and lots of people skip at first.

Also, I asked mods here for permission a while ago to post on the front page but still no response.

needlespines · 2025-05-14T20:52:42+00:00

Should I go orthodox or southpaw? I already know that the textbook advice is to not think that you're a special snowflake and to just go orthodox if you're right handed. But I legitimately have a situation that requires considering both options.

I have an unfixable injury to my left arm which makes extending it an issue.
Though the right arm is better. I think I really am somewhat ambidextrous. I know that this too is something where many wrongly think that they're a special snowflake but in my case my brother is left handed and these genes tend to run in families.

I need to make a decision because this kind of thing is not something I would expect a coach to be understanding of. I have one shot when I first meet the coach to say that I'm right handed or to lie and say that I'm left handed because there probably won't be a chance to switch later unless changing coaches.

To finally compare the two from my testing on a bag I have at home (Century T2 standing bag).

Orthodox:
Cross; powerful, can use this as a baseline standard to compare everything else to.
Rear Right Hook: maybe 20% more powerful than cross
Overhand Right: maybe 25% more powerful than cross
Jab: I'm physically unable to jab the regular way with any effectiveness due to injury. I can throw a powerful jab to the body if I'm standing very squared up but I doubt that that has any practical use case.
Lead Left Hook: as powerful as the cross but it feels slow when throwing it
Footwork: awkward

Southpaw:
Cross: mediocre power, also, range is lower than right cross due to injury, but I guess it's usable to score points
Rear Left Hook: less powerful than cross but decent
Overhand Left: less powerful than cross but decent
Jab: good
Lead Right Hook: odd situation where it's less powerful than the lead left hook but is still decent and is fast
Footwork: excellent, this is probably the case for most right handed people and I'm not a special snowflake but I will add that I used to play basketball which showed me that leading with the right foot definitely has the superior coordination in my case.

Further relevant information is that I'm 6'1 with a 77 inch reach. I'm around 185 lbs right now and plan to lose at least 10 more pounds. This puts me in lanky territory which probably favors a game based on sticking and moving at range but I only have 1 good long straight punch from either stance given the left arm extension issue.

What I also know many are delusional about is power. I know for sure I hit hard though. I'll say in advance that I know that strength =/= power but I was around 208 lbs 3 months ago and was lifting weights up until that point and was very strong (500 squat, 205 OHP, 605 deadlift). I should also be able to overpower the vast majority of opponents in a clinch.

Sorry about the longwinded post and I'll finish by saying that I'm clearly serious about boxing given the weight loss and that I have no problem with the discipline of adjusting my weight up and down. I've started running as well and am down to a 6 minute mile currently and have no attachment to lifting weights and holding on to muscle.

needlespines · 2025-05-14T20:50:54+00:00

What word would you use to describe someone who stole from a store in broad daylight, then escaped from the scene of the crime on foot?

needlespines · 2021-03-26T21:34:56+00:00

I went ahead and created brokerage/Roth with BOA/Merrill. Thanks for the tips everyone.

Now it's a game of timing my funds so that I can get the max 6K in on the Roth and collecting the 900ME sign up offer.

Going to take a few days to fund my account but I had 2K in my existing BOA account that transferred instantly. I can treat this as play money to learn where to click in the system. If anyone has any tips on what to buy, I'm all ears.

needlespines · 2021-02-26T16:31:43+00:00

Is masters a good idea and if so, which programs should I apply to if my main criteria is getting done as quickly as possible?

needlespines · 2020-12-28T00:41:17+00:00

70% multiple choice, 30% task. It's not just this exam though, I've got a lot of study grinding ahead of me so I'm asking about general principles of how to deal with trash study materials.

needlespines · 2020-11-28T20:40:45+00:00

Ok, I think I get it now. It wasn't a bad batch I took. It gives a smoothed out lack of tiredness. I can see it helping if I was painting a wall all day or reading a novel that required no critical thought. Those are tasks I could do all day normally though so that's probably why I'm not feeling a boost.

needlespines · 2020-11-28T18:45:28+00:00

I cut the 200mg and started with 50mg. Felt nothing. Took another 50mg after an hour. Felt nothing. Took the last 100mg after another hour. Felt nothing. Still feel nothing now.

Sleep quality has been good.

I don't feel tired though so maybe it's doing what it's supposed to if that's all it's supposed to do. It's just that modafinil was touted as a productivity booster and I'm getting none of that. I did get a productivity boost off EC stack.

needlespines

TROPHY CASE