Speedball
15 creative works found
-
American LSD usage declined in the 1970s and 1980s, then experienced a mild resurgence in popularity in the 1990s. The U.S. DEA identified continued tours by the psychedelic rock band The Grateful Dead and the then-burgeoning rave scene as primary venues for LSD trafficking and consumption. As opposed to secretly experimenting on unsuspecting private citizens. American LSD usage fell sharply circa 2000, following a single major DEA operation. The arrest of two chemists, William Leonard Pickard, a Harvard-educated organic chemist, and Clyde Apperson. According to DEA reports, black market LSD availability dropped by 95% after the two were arrested in 2000. Since then many other substances have been marketed to unsuspecting drug users in the guise of Acid. This void of true ergot dust leads me to conclude that the final age of Acid is indeed The Lost Art of Recreation. I have long held a fascination with the sinographs of Chinese Writing. To be even reasonably fluent in this script one must memorize from 3 to 4 thousand of these detailed logographs. A Kangxi dictionary contains approximately 47,000 distinct characters. Try memorizing that tripping. There you have it, the unabridged Five Hundred Year History of the Acid Wars condensed to four simple sinographs.
-
Indian Ink on Illustration Board (c) REO 2007
-
Ink creatures inspired by Ernst Haekels illustrations of micro organisms and all things tiny. This belongs to a set of approximately 35 drawings, a small selection is viewable on the website below, if you’re interested in seeing the others feel free to contact me :) Many Originals are Available, feel free to email me via www.noise.net/becc if you’re interested. (c) REO 2008
-
Keeping up with things series
-
Ink creatures inspired by Ernst Haekels illustrations of micro organisms and all things tiny. This belongs to a set of approximately 35 drawings, a small selection is viewable on the website below, if you’re interested in seeing the others feel free to contact me :) Many of the Originals are Available, feel free to email me via www.noise.net/becc if you’re interested. (c) REO 2008
-
Ink creatures inspired by Ernst Haekels illustrations of micro organisms and all things tiny. This belongs to a set of approximately 35 drawings, a small selection is viewable on the website below, if you’re interested in seeing the others feel free to contact me :) Original Available, feel free to email me via www.noise.net/becc if you’re interested. (c) REO 2008
-
Photo taken of me down at my local West Norwood & Tulse Hill boxing gym. ==== SUFFERING FROM A MID-LIFE CRISIS At age 46, I guess, I’m suffering from a mid life crisis. That is to say, I feel I have to do all the things which I ever dreamed of doing; but, didn’t do when I was young, right now; or else, maybe, never?! After all, if I leave it until when I’m aged 50+/60+...will I still have enough health/energy/strength left to be able to even attempt doing these things, anymore??? BIKING Consequently, a few months back, I brought myself a ‘mountain bike’; and, learned to ride by traveling going up and down all over London. Most kids learned to ride their very first bike when they were aged 6; me, I learned to ride my very first bike at age 46; well, far better late than never is all I can say! BOXING My latest venture is to learn how to do boxing at age 46; by joining the local gym; and, occasionally, entering the ring to go and spar with say 16 year old kids who are, at least, 30 years younger than me; and, a hell of a lot taller, quicker, stronger, far more experienced than I am at fighting! Needless to say, I didn’t win any of these sparring matches; but, still, I gave it a go; and, I believe that over time…that is, providing I choose to stick with learning boxing – the art of hitting without getting hit…then, I will eventually get better. OTHER Other things I need to go and learn are how to…swim, dive, roller skate, skateboard, mountain climb, parachute sky dive, bungee jump, -etc. I’d also like to learn how to ride a motor bike/and, how to drive a car/HGV/-etc. I’d like to write a book/produce a movie/-etc. There are so many things that I’d love to do and experience before I die/or else, do lose all fitness. ==== LINKS Details of Clinton McKenzie who runs the gym; a former both British and European Champion boxer. http://www.mckenzieboxercise.com/ Video showing the actual gym itself…; and, also, some of the characters who attend there… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSWwqXz6QKY ...in the youtube video clip above; you will also see Angel McKenzie; a female boxing champion; who also gives classes at the same gym. ==== The girl who took the photographs is called: Egidio Newton; she put a ‘copyright notice’ with her name being included on every single photo, excepting one; you can do an internet search to find out more about her work.
-
Photo taken of me down at my local West Norwood & Tulse Hill boxing gym. ==== SKIPPING – THE INVISIBLE ROPE TRICK I used to skip before when younger; at say age 14-16…I could skip so fast that you couldn’t even ‘see’ the rope; I remember how people would just stand around and stare at me…wondering to themselves how comes the rope had quite suddenly turned completely ‘invisible’?! However, now-a-days, at age 46, I must confess that I can no longer make the rope turn so quick as to become ‘invisible’ anymore; therefore, I guess, I’ve slowed down a hell of a lot. But, I’m hoping that one day, either sooner or later; through having done sufficient practice; then, even that skill might be able to return…??? LEARNING HOW TO SKIP I think, I read it somewhere that 10 minutes skipping is the equivalent of 1/2 an hour running. I can very well believe that; especially if you are skipping constantly non-stop! I find that either my legs grow far too tired/or else, I feel totally out of breath; so I have no other choice but to stop skipping. Learning to skip, at first, I have tremendous difficulties co-ordinating…hands/body/knees/feet…and, so after around just 1 or 2 turns of the rope…the rope gets all tangled up(usually around my legs/head)?! Then, I have to stop skipping and work at untangling the rope…in order to start skipping, again; and, also, have to begin another count. Then, as one’s co-ordination gradually improves you find yourself able to count up to 10/20/50/100 skips with no entanglement. Only trouble now is…your legs are getting dead tired…and, so you are ‘praying’ that the rope will eventually get entangled around you…so that you can stop?! Then, when you are doing say 200+ skips with no entanglement happening…you are so tired that you feel you will have to stop whether you like it or not…entanglement/or, no entanglement. If you can do 500 skips non-stop; then, I’d say you were pretty damned fit! Another way to practice skipping is just do it for say 3 minute rounds; with 1 minute rest in between. If the rope suddenly becomes tangled up; you just immediately unentangle it, and, keep on going just like before; continuing to skip not using any specific count at all; but, instead, simply following the clock. Sooner or later, one tends to get really bored with doing just ‘one’ same style of skipping exercise; then, you learn to switch the skipping routine constantly; say, 10 skips on one leg/10 skips on the other leg/10 skips using alternate legs/10 skips lifting up both legs together low/10 skips lifting up both legs together high/10 slow skips/10 fast skips/-etc. Thus, the skipping routine is kept ever constantly changing; and, there’s much less chance that you will ever become totally bored. ==== FEMALE BOXERS Just behind me on the right, the photo on the wall is a picture of Angel McKenzie/champion female boxer; who also gives classes and trains at this same gym. You might be very highly surprised to hear this; but, 50% of the gym clientele are male/and, 50% are, in fact, female. So, there are a lot of female boxers out there. Though, many go mainly to do boxercise; which is like circuit training/or, solo work, hitting heavy bags/or, practicing doing shadow boxing; as opposed to letting themselves get hit in the actual ring; ring work is entirely optional; and, nobody is forced into doing it meaning neither male/nor female. RING WORK Only those willing to take the risk of getting hit do choose to go into the ring; and, even then they tend to wear proper protection such as… -thick padded boxing gloves / -padded headgear / -mouthguard / -groin guard / -chest guard/(female) / -etc. Going in the ring carries a lot of potential danger with it; and so you need to be in shape to both give and take punishment; of course, accidents can occur. When you really sit and think about it…it’s possible to leave the ring with a bleeding or broken nose/bleeding mouth/broken teeth/broken jaw/black eyes/cauliflower ears/possible low blows/headbutts/elbows/-etc. So, especially, if the sparring is not ‘controlled’ things can most definitely go wrong; which is why most sparring is strictly supervised. On the other hand, it’s possible to spar very lightly as well using… -non-contact / -light contact / -body contact, only/with no head striking / -head/body full contact / -slow/or, fast striking ...so anybody can choose to spar safely if they wish; you just have to determine exactly what the rules will be from the outset; then, try your best not to break them by say having gone and lost your temper after getting hit! You can also change the kind of sparring right in the middle of a session; going from soft to hard/or, vice versa, from hard to soft. PAD WORK In the above photo, sitting on the stool on the left is, Chris, who is Clinton McKenzie’s son. He’s still a school kid; as I’ve often seen him wearing his school uniform outfit; but, oh boy, can he box; I think, he has championship talent; some thing which must run inside of the family, I guess. In particular, I love to watch this guy work using hand held pads, which he does simply second to none! The whole of the entire gym gathers around to watch when he’s working the pads; as people shout both enviously, and, also, admiringly, “that’s the way to do it!” This young kid makes absolutely no mistakes on the pads which is simply amazing. I tried doing pad work myself; but, always found it extremely difficult; you have to hit hand held pads for a whole 3 minutes long; whilst the instructor calls out exactly which combination of punches to throw; right/double right/double left/combinations using alternate hands: three-four-six/uppercut/body/hook/-etc. I find that when the 3 minute round session starts both my hands are hitting the hand held pads with a fair amount of power; but, by the end of 3 minutes, all the power has completely drained out of my hands; and, I’m tapping the pads instead of striking them! Also, sometimes, the instructor tests both your awareness and reflexes by hitting you in the head with the pads to see if you will duck/dive/bob/weave or not; if not, then, of course, you get hit! I find, I’m so concentrated on striking; and, figuring out which hands to use to hit which pad with; that I completely forget all about defense so the pads hit me in the head nearly every single time! I’ve still got loads to learn on how to master pad work. ==== LINKS Details of Clinton McKenzie who runs the gym; a former both British and European Champion boxer. http://www.mckenzieboxercise.com/ Video showing the actual gym itself…; and, also, some of the characters who attend there… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSWwqXz6QKY ...in the youtube video clip above; you will also see Angel McKenzie; a female boxing champion; who also gives classes at the same gym. ==== The girl who took the photographs is called: Egidio Newton; she put a ‘copyright notice’ with her name being included on every single photo, excepting one; you can do an internet search to find out more about her work.
-
Photo taken of me down at my local West Norwood & Tulse Hill boxing gym. ==== Here I am working out by using the speedball. I never used a speedball before in all of my entire life; so this exercise was entirely ‘new’ to me; I had however seen it being used in boxing films/documentaries/photographs; therefore, I was very highly intrigued by it all; and, wanted most desperately to learn how to fully ‘master’ using it. I would practice away at striking the speedball for up to 15 rounds lasting for 3 minutes each; with one minute rest in between. From not being able to do it at all; I eventually got better; I even heard one guy say I was the best he’d seen! (Believe it or not, it’s true, that in boxing there is a 3 minute clock which contains markings: 0-1-2-3…and, when the 0 comes around it rings to indicate the start of the round…; when the number 1 is reached…it means 1 minute gone; when the number 2 is reached…it means 2 minutes gone; and, when the number 3 comes around the clock rings again…thus, indicating the end of a 3 minute round…then, there is 1 minute rest…between 3 and 0…and, then, this whole cycle repeats itself all over again.) However, this particular speedball in the photograph was under-inflated; meaning it was slow. When they replaced it with a fully inflated speedball…I felt like going straight back to the beginning of my learning curve…as a fully inflated speedball also moves much faster. In boxing, I learned that it really is a case of making one step forwards; then, taking 2…or even 3…steps backwards! Just when you think to yourself I’ve gone and mastered this; then, somebody, comes along and tells you you were doing all it wrong; and, so need to go learn to do it right. ==== LINKS Details of Clinton McKenzie who runs the gym; a former both British and European Champion boxer. http://www.mckenzieboxercise.com/ Video showing the actual gym itself…; and, also, some of the characters who attend there… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSWwqXz6QKY ...in the youtube video clip above; you will also see Angel McKenzie; a female boxing champion; who also gives classes at the same gym. ==== The girl who took the photographs is called: Egidio Newton; she put a ‘copyright notice’ with her name being included on every single photo, excepting one; you can do an internet search to find out more about her work.
-
Photo taken of me down at my local West Norwood & Tulse Hill boxing gym. ==== Again, this is me working out by using the ‘speedball’ equipment; trying hard to fully concentrate on keeping the correct rhythm going. To me, much of learning boxing is to do with learning to have good timing/rhythm. / / With bad timing/rhythm you tend to do rather poorly! ==== LINKS Details of Clinton McKenzie who runs the gym; a former both British and European Champion boxer. http://www.mckenzieboxercise.com/ Video showing the actual gym itself…; and, also, some of the characters who attend there… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSWwqXz6QKY ...in the youtube video clip above; you will also see Angel McKenzie; a female boxing champion; who also gives classes at the same gym. ==== The girl who took the photographs is called: Egidio Newton; she put a ‘copyright notice’ with her name being included on every single photo, excepting one; you can do an internet search to find out more about her work.
-
Photo taken of me down at my local West Norwood & Tulse Hill boxing gym. ==== Me practicing skipping, again, once more. In boxing there are many different ways of learning to skip. You can jump very low for example; which is a way to conserve energy. You can jump very high as well; which is a way to burn up more energy. You can also change the skipping rhythm going from slow to fast. You can jump using just one single leg/or, jump using both legs. You can alternate legs, as well. You can let your legs move backwards(as in going for a sprint)/or else, move forwards(as in doing the Ali shuffle). -Etc. In fact, there an almost endless variety of ways that you can use the skipping rope; especially, if you were to combine watching how others use it-then, imitate them; being put together with the use of your own imagination to invent combinations of your own. ==== LINKS Details of Clinton McKenzie who runs the gym; a former both British and European Champion boxer. http://www.mckenzieboxercise.com/ Video showing the actual gym itself…; and, also, some of the characters who attend there… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSWwqXz6QKY ...in the youtube video clip above; you will also see Angel McKenzie; a female boxing champion; who also gives classes at the same gym. ==== The girl who took the photographs is called: Egidio Newton; she put a ‘copyright notice’ with her name being included on every single photo, excepting one; you can do an internet search to find out more about her work.
-
Photo taken of me down at my local West Norwood & Tulse Hill boxing gym. ==== Here I am wearing a pair of ‘bag gloves’; which one uses to practice punching against the ‘heavy bag’. The girl who took the photograph suggested instead of taking a photo of me actually punching the heavy bag; that I should instead punch towards the camera lens; and, this resulted in 3 photos… 1) where my ‘guard’ is shown retracted as in a defensive pose 2) where I’m attacking with my punch being fully extended out / 3) where I return straight back to my defensive ‘guard’ again. Anyway, I decided to post only 2 of these photos, namely, 1/2; as both 1/3 do look exactly the same. ==== LINKS Details of Clinton McKenzie who runs the gym; a former both British and European Champion boxer. http://www.mckenzieboxercise.com/ Video showing the actual gym itself…; and, also, some of the characters who attend there… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSWwqXz6QKY ...in the youtube video clip above; you will also see Angel McKenzie; a female boxing champion; who also gives classes at the same gym. ==== The girl who took the photographs is called: Egidio Newton; she put a ‘copyright notice’ with her name being included on every single photo, excepting one; you can do an internet search to find out more about her work.
-
Photo taken of me down at my local West Norwood & Tulse Hill boxing gym. ==== Here’s me being shown in a boxers attacking pose; with my right hand being fully extended outwards. NOTE: I can see, at least, 2 big mistakes here. 1) I’m actually ‘right’ handed; so the jab should, in fact, have been executed with my ‘left’ hand, instead?! 2) My back hand is down far too low; it should have been raised up more to cover my jaw; otherwise, I could very easily get knocked out! I guess, when one is taking photographs; then, one is quite simply posing; and, not thinking too clearly about exactly what it is you are doing; so as to get all of the technical details of the moves correct. ==== LINKS Details of Clinton McKenzie who runs the gym; a former both British and European Champion boxer. http://www.mckenzieboxercise.com/ Video showing the actual gym itself…; and, also, some of the characters who attend there… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSWwqXz6QKY ...in the youtube video clip above; you will also see Angel McKenzie; a female boxing champion; who also gives classes at the same gym. ==== The girl who took the photographs is called: Egidio Newton; she put a ‘copyright notice’ with her name being included on every single photo, excepting one; you can do an internet search to find out more about her work.
-
Photo taken of me down at my local West Norwood & Tulse Hill boxing gym. ==== THE BOXING RING Here’s me in the boxing ring. It’s the ultimate ‘goal’ that every boxer works for. All of the… -reading books / -watching boxing videos / -running/road work / -skipping / -circuit training / -stretching / -speedball / -punch bag / -shadow boxing / -weights / -etc. ...is for the purpose of getting in the ring; which is where it is ‘all’ meant to come together. SPARRING I do very well recall my very first experience of sparring in the ring. My opponent was 15…and, I was 46; and, basically, he ‘battered’ me! Hit me on the head continuously…luckily, I was wearing headgear…and, all of my reflexes seemed to just completely ‘freeze’...I just stood there like a total statue and took the endless punishment! Finally, I said to him to stop hitting me on the head so much; and, aim to strike the body, instead; as I didn’t wish to go wake up with a total headache in the morning! Luckily, my opponent agreed to this; and, started hitting my body really hard. Frankly, I couldn’t wait for that first 3 minute round to end. I was shocked by my own incredibly poor performance. When I looked back and analysed it; it’s because I didn’t understand how to block/parry/dodge/use footwork/and, had poor timing/co-ordination skills…that’s why I very nearly got killed! My second sparring experience went little a bit better. / / FIGHT On my 2nd sparring experience. My opponent was 16 years old; 30 years younger than me; but, he was very skilled/experienced. I told him to go real easy on me…as I was still a beginner just learning. We both sparred for 3 whole rounds lasting for 3 minutes each; with a rest in between. After realising I had just survived through this experience relatively unscathed. I then suggested to my opponent let’s go all out and do it for ‘real’; either you knock me out/or else, I’m going to knock you out; to which he agreed. He then proceeded to go knock me out, literally; I fell to a hard temple shot; and, found myself suddenly being seated in the middle of the ring; wondering to myself what the hell was I doing on the ground?! CONCLUSION Boxing is no game; it is literally ‘the school of hard knocks!’ I still haven’t given up on learning how to spar/fight properly; all the time, hoping and praying that one day I will ‘win’. I most probably will never make it to ‘world champion’ status, though; as most boxers tend to have retired by their 30’s. Basically, as I myself have found, the older you get; then, your reflexes tend to be a lot slower; that’s how you end up getting caught repeatedly, again and again, by the opponents punches! Nevertheless, whether you are young or old/male or female…boxing can help to improve your overall fitness/as well as, bringing a certain self-confidence that you could successfully defend yourself in a fight if ever push came to shove; especially, if the person you are fighting against is far less experienced. Clinton McKenzie, the guy who runs the boxing gym is 54; but, I’ve seen him spar with opponents who were half his age; and, he always beat them. It should be noted this is a super-fit guy who’s been working at it constantly for all his life; he’s also been both British and European champ; and, his family consisting of Duke/Winston/Clinton are listed inside of the Guiness Book of Records as being the boxing family that has won the most titles. ==== LINKS Details of Clinton McKenzie who runs the gym; a former both British and European Champion boxer. http://www.mckenzieboxercise.com/ Video showing the actual gym itself…; and, also, some of the characters who attend there… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSWwqXz6QKY ...in the youtube video clip above; you will also see Angel McKenzie; a female boxing champion; who also gives classes at the same gym. ==== The girl who took the photographs is called: Egidio Newton; she put a ‘copyright notice’ with her name being included on every single photo, excepting one; you can do an internet search to find out more about her work.
RedBubble is a great place to find art, design, photos and writing from over 80,000 talented people.
You can buy their stuff
On stunning greeting cards, awesome t-shirts or beautiful prints to hang on your walls.
Risk Free Returns
It’s really simple. If you’re not happy with your purchase for any reason, we’ll fix it.
About RedBubble
Since February 2007 we’ve shipped over 331,500 items to more than 70 countries around the world.
Join In
Sign up for your free account, upload your work, join some groups and share your creative genius with the world.