I like old school training, conditioning and fighting, and collect books from the older, almost forgotten era of strongmen, before steroids e.g. Arthur Saxon (1878-1921). Saxon accomplished lifts that our ‘roider would not even try, such as the bent press of 371 lbs, and a one hand overhead lift of 370 lbs. He was the alcoholic par excellent, once drinking 100 bottles of beer in one day, then lifting weights!

Apart from old time strongmen, I discovered Champ Thomas’ books in the early 1980s, “How to Create a Super Boxer,” “Boxing’s Stonewall Defense,” which appeared later in “How to Be an Ass-whipping Boxer.” The books relate back to the carnival era of boxing, although written by Thomas in his twilight. They are full of interesting material, such as developing power punching by pushing cars and trucks, as well as strategic advice, such as catching opponents on the way in. As well, Thomas sees street boxing, supplemented with techniques such as ripping the eyes, as a more effective form of self-defense than the flashy kungfuey of the time.

My man question is one that plagued me since my prime when I first read the books. Is the “stonewall defense” a goer? This highly protected stance involves facing the opponent on the side, one arm for a high defense, the other bend, held low so that the ribs are protected. The bent elbow protects the kidney area, supposedly. The low arm can snap or flick out in a jab, but for martial arts, a flicking back fist works better.

I found back in my day, that the stance worked ok against people who had not seen it before, just as the White Crane kung fu stance can be deceptive first time round. But, problems would soon develop. Outside of strict boxing, where traps, locks and grappling occurs, the low arm could easily get neutralized. Then there is the problem of Thai-style kicks to the side of the knee which is highly vulnerable. My assessment back then, was that the stance was flawed as a general self-defense stance.

I simply do not know if it would work in sport boxing, so my question to James is to put my mind at rest on the Champ Thomas issue: was he a crazy old guy, or did he taste a kernel of the truth?

Own the collected works of John Saxon, Professor X, Eirik Blood Axe, William Rapier and other counter culture critics, on Kindle, via the link below. Amazon:

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