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FSM First Look: Unguarded by Scottie Pippen

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Scottie Pippen has been called one of the greatest NBA players for good reason.

Simply put, without Pippen, there are no championship banners—let alone six—hanging from the United Center rafters. There’s no Last Dance documentary. There’s no “Michael Jordan” as we know him. The 1990s Chicago Bulls teams would not exist as we know them.

So how did the youngest of twelve go from growing up poor in the small town of Hamburg, Arkansas, enduring two family tragedies along the way, to become a revered NBA legend? How did the scrawny teen, overlooked by every major collegiate basketball program, go on to become the fifth overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft? And, perhaps most compelling, how did Pippen set aside his ego (and his own limitless professional ceiling) in order for the Bulls to become the most dominant basketball dynasty of the last half century?

In Unguarded, the six-time champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist finally opens up to offer pointed and transparent takes on Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, and Dennis Rodman, among others. Pippen details how he cringed at being labeled Jordan’s sidekick, and discusses how he could have (and should have) received more respect from the Bulls’ management and the media.

Pippen reveals never-before-told stories about some of the most famous games in league history, including the 1994 playoff game against the New York Knicks when he took himself out with 1.8 seconds to go. He discusses what it was like dealing with Jordan on a day-to-day basis, while serving as the facilitator for the offense and the anchor for the defense.

On the 30th anniversary of the Bulls’ first championship, Pippen is finally giving millions of adoring basketball fans what they crave; a raw, unvarnished look into his life, and role within one of the greatest, most popular teams of all time.

There’s More To Shadow Boxing Than Warming Up For Your Boxing Training Workouts

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Shadow boxing is often looked at as just a quick way to warm up before the actual boxing workout session. Shadow boxing no doubt serves to warm the body for the upcoming workout. More importantly though, shadow boxing helps you to groove the skills you have been taught by your boxing coach during your boxing training workouts. It also serves as a tool to hone your own unique fighting style. If you think it’s just throwing punches to break a sweat, you’re going about it the wrong way.

When you’re shadow boxing, It’s best to shadow box in front of a mirror where you can monitor the technique that has been taught to you. I often say…the mirror doesn’t lie. Once you know what to look for, it’s impossible to have bad technique in front of the mirror! Unless of course you just don’t care or aren’t really focusing and putting your all into it. Shadow boxing is when you can better groove the new skills your trainer has been teaching you. Skill retention is a lot better when you shadow box in front of the mirror, grooving good skill.

If you really focus on what you’re doing while shadow boxing, progression is heightened. Your boxing coach won’t have to yell at you so much to stop dropping your hands when you’re working the bags. He will be very pleased to see your fast progression due to your commitment to solid technique when shadow boxing. Boxers can say all they want that they have been putting in the extra work shadow boxing, but good technique will be the telling sign and truth to the coach that the fighter has indeed been putting in the work.

Great fighters will tell you that when they shadow box and move around they envision real situations that may come up in the ring. They think about another fighter being in front of them firing back and moving away. From offensive combos, to defensive tactics, all is covered. Boxers are continually focusing focusing on what an opponent can possibly do while shadow boxing. That is why some boxing coaches call shadow boxing shadow sparring. It actually looks like the boxer is sparring an invisible opponent.

Look at an experienced fighter’s body language and eyes when doing this. It shows they are in a different world. Indeed they are, a world where they see themselves dominating. You wonder why these fighters get so good? Because they see themselves doing it first. The mind can’t tell the difference from something it’s experiencing or imagining. That’s why this secret is so important to apply. Your boxing performance will improve very quickly when you practice shadow boxing in this manner.

Now think about that the next time you shadow box or shadow spar.

About the author: Rob Pilger is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Level II USA Boxing Coach.

Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football

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Born in Rio Pardo, Brazil, Carlos Henrique Raposo had dreams of becoming a professional soccer (futbol) player. After a youth career at Botafogo and Flamengo, he had his sights set on the future. Whether given the nickname “Kaiser” due to his resemblance of superstar Franz Beckenbauer or a bottle of Kaiser beer, he used his new-found name to begin a career where he “wanted to be a footballer, but did not want to play football.”

Thus began a decade-plus career that spanned across Brazil (Botafogo, Flamengo, Bangu, Fluminense, Vasco da Gama, and America), Mexico (Puebla), France (Gazelec Ajaccio), and the United States (El Paso Sixshooters). Relying on his charm and friends in high places—from fellow footballers Carlos Alberto Torres, Ricardo Rocha, and Renato Gaucho, to reporters willing to write “stories” of his “career”— Carlos Kaiser used his skills of deception to have a storied career without ever stepping foot on the pitch.

Whether faking injuries, having friends lie for him, making up tall tales, or getting thrown out of a match just before taking the field, Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football is an incredible story of the lengths one man went to have a professional soccer career without every playing a game.

Originally published in the UK, and with a world–renowned documentary released on his life, Kaiser! shares the lengths taken by one man who wanted all the glitz and glory of being a professional athlete . . . without ever having to be an actual athlete. So whether you’re a fan of soccer, futbol, professional sports, or stories of cunning and deception, Kaiser! is the story you don’t want to miss!

Understanding the Benefit of Biomechanics in Golf

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There is information available widely through the web, PGA courses and magazine articles that brings you up to date with the latest thinking in golf. They teach you the latest on how to swing each club correctly, how to putt, how to analyze your swing, how to get mentally ‘tough’, how to improve flexibility and how to get fitter and stronger for golf.

Today there is a plethora of information being offered about golf. Some of it correct, all of it interesting, but how much of it is relevant to you? And how do you know which of these generic exercise tips is going to help you? Even if you trained using each one for 6 weeks and then took the results onto the course and tried them – how do you then know whether your performance is ‘that exercise’ or that you just had a good day?

Even video/digital analysis, although interesting from all points of view measure the movement discrepancies in a golfer’s swing, it doesn’t tell us why you are performing these movement aberrations. Knowing what you’re doing wrong, but not knowing why you’re doing it is sometimes worse than not knowing what you’re doing wrong!

Golfers and Coaches need a simple system of analysis that they can use in conjunction with their coaching techniques to find out why golfers perform their particular swing. Although there are fundamental similarities to all good swings, each swing is like a finger-print and unique to that individual. Why is it unique? It’s because we are all biomechanically different, and unless you understand what those differences are, how can you identify whether your swing is due to poor technique or something that has to done to compensate for a mechanical problem? You can’t. The variety of golf swings that exist represent the many ways that the human body can compensate for its biomechanical problems.

For example, let’s take a typical handicapper’s slice. You know the typical causes of a slice and the things you would normally work on, bearing in mind the individual you are helping and what you see. At the same time we also know that these ways don’t always work. There may be a number of reasons for this: they may not be practicing, it may take some time to work out which is the best method for them, or quite simply it may be that the person doesn’t have it in them to do what you’re teaching. Alternatively, it is likely that they can’t physically do it. If that pupil has a longer right leg (assuming they’re a right handed golfer), then they will have a tendency towards a more upright back swing. We know this because of the way the spine and pelvis work biomechanically. A longer right leg compresses the joints in the spine on that side and so the person can’t rotate easily. They therefore have to side bend to gap the joints and initiate movement, which causes an upright backswing. We also know that this then leads to a more out-to-in downswing and therefore a slice (depending upon grip and ball position of course). So you could work all day on preventing this upright backswing, which you know is leading to a slice, but it will not change until you’ve addressed the leg length discrepancy.

Invariably these leg length discrepancies are caused by a rotated pelvis and often they don’t cause symptoms so you won’t even know they exist. If this is the case, then doing some simple exercises can help re-align the pelvis, reduce the leg length discrepancy and allow you to flatten that back swing.

There are many more of these examples. As well as leg length discrepancies, other biomechanical issues can include, poor motor programming strategy (the way the muscles link together in movement patterns), poor control between the pelvis and shoulders, nerve adhesions or stiffness, faulty core muscle control, immobility around the hips, pelvis and spine, and simple lack of flexibility. Some of these issues sound quite technical and complex, but they’re actually very simple to test and eradicate.

Biomechanics works ‘hand in glove’ with your teaching; it is crucial Pro’s understand and embrace this as its going to be the next big thing in golf.

There is a system that exists that can help others learn about and address these issues. It comes in 3 forms. First, there is a software package that takes you through some simple biomechanical tests. This expert system takes you through a series of exercises to eradicate biomechanical problems. Second, there are courses, which are endorsed by the PGA, which teach PGA professionals how to assess their own pupils and administer the exercises themselves. Lastly, experts can come to your club and assess your pupils individually and make recommendations based upon a detailed assessment of their biomechanics. Following a discussion with these experts, a decision can be made as to the best program for them to follow.

A Raw Tribute to Mr. Brodie Lee

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Mr. Brodie Lee recently reminded me to never stop betting on myself, so I felt compelled to dedicate this month’s editorial entirely to him. As a preface, this piece is going to be a little raw (no pun intended).

Professional wrestling is one of those interests that became part of my life along the way. I think it’s a misconception that older wrestling fans are all die-hards. People don’t realize that wrestling is simply another item on The List (pun intended) of things we enjoy, similar to watching the NBA, playing Fantasy Football, or binge-watching new shows.

People who don’t like wrestling will always think it’s stupid and weird. They’ll adopt the generic, stereotypical position that people who enjoy wrestling are stupid weird. Well, my response to this lately has been, “You know what? I think people simulating rape and murder on shows like Criminal Minds is pretty fucking weird.”

If people just knew how many deaths the longtime wrestling fan must endure, maybe they’d leave us alone. When I was barely a teenager, the great Owen Hart plunged to his death during a live WWE show. I thought it was tragic and rare at the time. Now I know it was just tragic.

Fans react differently to the passing of wrestlers based on their own histories of reinforcement. Perhaps they remember watching their favorite wrestler on WCW Saturday Night with their father or maybe they have a special WrestleMania memory involving close friends. Add to this the often tragic, abrupt, and unexpected nature of deaths in wrestling, and it’s easy to see why adult wrestling fans have such strong emotional reactions to events like Brodie Lee’s recent passing.

Personally, my history of reinforcement with Mr. Brodie Lee was very brief – like 6 months of being an All Elite Wrestling (AEW) fan brief. For whatever reason, I was in one of those life phases in which I wasn’t paying much attention to wrestling when Lee was big bootin’ people as Luke Harper. I knew of his existence, but not much beyond what he looked like. But when Mr. Brodie Lee debuted on AEW Dynamite last year in the midst of COVID-19, I was paying attention to wrestling. I loved Lee’s look and mischievous energy. Watching from home, his charisma was palpable in that empty stadium.

Fortunately, due to the pandemic, I was in a life phase where I could watch AEW Dynamite every Wednesday. This meant getting weekly doses of Mr. Brodie Lee as leader of The Dark Order. I wasn’t quite sure the direction in which Lee would take this group of misfits but I was excited to find out. Then it happened. After a Dark Order segment to end Dynamite, I did a google search of “Brodie Lee” and “WWE”. The fact that I did this search outside of my allotted TV watching time signaled to me that I was now an official fan of Mr. Brodie Lee.

The articles and podcast transcripts produced by my Google search only made me a bigger aficionado of the Exalted One. I learned that Lee, real name Jon Huber, decided to leave the WWE and safe money behind to pursue new opportunities in AEW. The decision didn’t seem to be made on whim, however. After years of giving his blood, sweat, and tears to the WWE, Huber concluded he was not going to receive a huge push or promotion in the company any time soon. I got the impression he wanted to stay there – until he didn’t. Maybe he saw AEW as a more realistic path to his desired spotlight. Whatever his motivations, Huber took that path and became an AEW champion rather quickly. I must admit, seeing him destroy Cody Rhodes in a blink of an eye was pretty damn awesome to watch.

Luke Harper or Brodie Lee were never a part of my greatest memories (unless you consider watching wrestling during a pandemic good times). So why is the recent passing of Jon Huber hitting me extra hard if I was only a true fan of the man for about 6 months? Our history of reinforcement together was brief to say the least.

Perhaps it has to do with Huber’s path to that TNT Television title.

Perhaps, as a grown-ass fanboy closing in on four decades of life, I know what it feels like to scratch and claw and give everything you have – and still not achieve a desired result.

Perhaps it’s because I know what it feels like to take a leap of faith while trying to outrun father time.

And how it feels like to have to provide my credit score to people less credible than me.

Perhaps it’s because some days I want to give up.

Or perhaps it’s because Mr. Brodie Lee reminded me that it’s never too late to raise that strap.

FSM Editorial: In Free Solo, Conquering Fear Is Not the Goal

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An abridged version of the recent award winning documentary Free Solo goes something like this: Man climbs giant rock in Yosemite with no safety equipment for first time in history. The longer version involves a man with poor social skills, elite climbing skills, and a small circle of really patient friends. Instead of spoiling the journey for those who have not watched this epic documentary yet, I just want to focus on something simple said by protagonist Alex Honnald when he was discussing the danger of free soloing the famously tall El Capitan:

“YOU FACE YOUR FEAR BECAUSE YOUR GOAL DEMANDS IT.”

I physically moved, well flinched actually, upon hearing that quote for the first time (I’ve watched the film many more times since then). So simple yet so profound – one of those obvious tidbits of information I hear once in blue moon that completely changes my way of looking at something.

For so long, I’ve conflated conquering fear with the ultimate outcome of a goal. Consider for example, a swimming goal for a child who is afraid of the water. The goal itself is recording if the child gets in the pool or not, not necessarily if they are afraid. In that sense, conquering the fear of water isn’t the ultimate goal – getting in the pool is! Not being afraid is just a benchmark to hit along the way.

Or think of a person who wants to visit someone in another country but is too afraid of flying. If the goal is to fly to another country, they will have to learn more about flying than just how to manage their fear. Being unafraid won’t guarantee the individual makes it to his or her final destination. Imagine showing up in the wrong country? Then we’ll have new fears to deal with. Another example is a first time entrepreneur who finally overcomes their fear of taking out a large loan. They were just loaned the money, now what? 

Alex Honnald’s goal was never to conquer his fear of dying. His goal was to free solo El Captian. When he was confident enough in his skills and preparation, his fear of making a fatal mistake subsided. But he still had to climb the darn rock!

You face your fear because your goal demands it. So I’m moving forward with this new mentality of looking at conquering fear as more of a benchmark, or a dragon to be slain along the way, than the end result.

To purchase Free Solo on amazing 4K, click here.