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Jack Slack

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Jack Slack is a pen name of an anonymous British freelance writer, podcaster, analyst and amateur historian of combat sport;[1][2][3][4] most notable as a mixed martial arts (MMA) striking analyst,[5][6][7][8][9] writing detailed, analytical breakdowns of fighters, fighting techniques and strategies, using videos, photos and animated GIFs.

Slack formerly wrote regularly for BloodyElbow.com, Bleacher Report, Vice Sports and Unibet. Due to successful Patreon support, he independently writes on his blog FightPrimer.com and bi-weekly broadcasts Jack Slack Podcast (formerly named Fights Gone By (FGB) podcast) on YouTube.

Background

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Slack describes himself as “a martial arts fanatic from the U.K. who got involved in karate very young, then boxing, then most recently jiu-jitsu". Initially he started researching and writing for his own training improvement in order to compensate for his "shortcomings in his own physicality", and later, by motivation to showcase to the casual fan and the mainstream media how MMA is a highly skillful art form.[5][10]

In a 2012 AMA, Slack wrote "I've been analysing techniques since I realised that coaches couldn't or wouldn't tell me everything they knew or even what they most liked doing themselves. I knew there had to be more to it than just the same basic techniques performed at the opponent so I started watching boxing. When I started in boxing in my early teens I loved scrapping but I couldn't stand watching a boxing match - watching guys like Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Jersey Joe Walcott soon improved me so much that I couldn't stop watching old fights."[11]

Slack's pen name is a reference to Jack Slack the "Norfolk Butcher",[5] the 1743 Norfolk boxing champion who defeated famed English boxing champion Jack Broughton in 1750 as a heavy underdog and remained undefeated as champion until 1760. Slack has said that he does not particularly admire the man, whose life was "more than a little shady", but that the name has "a ring to it".[12][13]

Anonymity

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In a post on mixedmartialarts.com forum in June 2013, Slack explained his reason for his anonymity: "Only reason I haven't done any video podcasts or anything is because I like being able to train without the pressure of being that guy from the internet. I wouldn't want to do an instructional video - all my content is about what great fighters do! I'm absolutely nothing special in personal ability".[14]

Historical European martial arts (HEMA) writer Peter Smallridge wrote in June 2016 "and while Slack explains his anonymity as the result of his personal lack of athleticism and competitive record tarnishing his analytic reputation, his understanding is top notch."[15]

Career

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Slack's first public contribution to analysing striking came in the form of sharing passages from published authors from his book collection. The first one posted on MMASHARE forum August 2011 titled Jimmy Wilde - The Art of Boxing.[16][17] From January 2012 onwards he started to write and publish his analytical breakdown on his newly opened blog FightsGoneBy,[18] while promoting his articles on major MMA forums and gaining popularity.[19]

In January 2012 he started using the pen name Jack Slack, submitting Fanposts regularly to SB Nation's websites Bloodyelbow.com (MMA) and the now defunct HeadKickLegend.com (kickboxing),[20][21] and also writing an article for CagePotato.[22][23] In April 2012, Slack's article was first published on BloodyElbow front page, and soon he became a stipend author for the website.[24][25] In that same month he was interviewed by sports announcer and commentator Mauro Ranallo on The MMA Show radio podcast.[26] From July 2012 onwards he focused his writing on more popular fighters in order to increase his readership.[27]

In March 2013 Slack was hired to write regularly for Bleacher Report; initially as a featured columnist and later as "Lead MMA Analyst".[28][29][30]

The editor of Fightland contacted Slack and offered him a position as a writer. Though Slack's initial intention was to write two articles a month for Fightland while continuing writing regularly for Bleacher Report, which he started doing from November 2013, on March 31, 2014, Slack left Bleacher Report and was writing eight articles a month only for Fightland.[31] Though a regular writer, Slack was not exclusive to Fightland, and wrote articles for Fighters Only magazine and Unibet UK blog.[1][31][32] Slack is known for his use of animated GIFs in his articles. Moving to Fightland allowed Slack to embed UFC parent company Zuffa's copyrighted fight footage in his articles.

In February 2019, Slack left Fightland and Vice Sport, and wrote regularly for Unibet.[33][34]

Since July 2020, due to successful Patreon support,[35] Slack writes independently on his blog Fightprimer.com.[36]

Podcaster

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Since August 2016, Slack is the host of Fights Gone By (FGB) podcast,[37] (now the Jack Slack Podcast) which he independently finances via Patreon.[38]

Book author

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Slack has written and self-published four ebooks:

  • Elementary Striking: Strategies for Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA (2012)
  • Advanced Striking: Tactics of Kickboxing, Boxing and MMA Masters (2012)
  • Fighting Karate (2014)
  • Finding the Art: Essays on the Principles, Tactics and Techniques Which Govern Combat Sports (2015)

And one printed book (published by John Blake Books):

  • Notorious: The Life and Fights of Conor McGregor (2017)[39]

Striking analysis

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While Slack is known for analyzing MMA fighters, he has also published articles on professional boxing such as Pulling Back the Curtain on Muhammad Ali,[40] on Kickboxing such as The Finest Striker on the Planet: Giorgio Petrosyan,[41] on Muay Thai such as Eight Limbs: The Masters of Each Strike in MMA,[42] on Karate such as Glory 19: Why Karate Doesn't Work in the Ring,[43] on Wing Chun such as Wing Chun and MMA: Controlling the Center,[44] articles on the history of martial arts such as Interpreting the Bubishi: One Thousand Pounds Falls to the Ground.[45] and critical articles such as Wushu Watch: Lessons to learn from Aikido.[46] He has also published semi satirical articles such as Star Trek: The illogical fighting style of James T. Kirk and Street Fighter in the UFC: Hadoukens and Izuna drops.[47][48] Slack also published articles about fighting techniques in the Animal Kingdom such as Jack Slack: Street Fighting Roos.[49]

Slack has stated in his July 2014 article Jack Slack: Four Strikers That Every MMA Fan Should Be Watching: "Top level grappling, boxing and Muay Thai are light years ahead technically of what we see in mixed martial arts competition, but progress in MMA is shockingly rapid."[50]

On FGB podcast #212 (July 2020) Slack has criticised the current state of Women's MMA (WMMA) on the following points:  

  • Most WMMA is missing an “alive element” that a fight should have because they fight like they're hitting pads and not actually in a fight, meaning both women punching like they're hitting pads while disregarding any strikes coming back at them.
  • Most WMMA striking involves a series of repetitive combinations that don't change or evolve as the fight goes on.
  • They throw multi punch combinations head first, not thinking about counter strikes.
  • Just because you can pump hands doesn't mean you're a good puncher/striker for example Ronda Rousey.
  • Eye vs Calvillo displayed that movement is key in a fight, and if they just stand in front of each other, it's gonna be the same exchange over and over again.

Slack stated that good striking comes from not only hitting pads, but also faking out the opponent, anticipation and expectations of the opponent, going high and low, body language, trickery, etc. As good examples, Slack praised Rose Namajunas and Valentina Shevchenko because they understand movement and building combinations is key to good striking.[51]

Slack's popular series of articles titled Killing the King, which break down the current UFC champions weaknesses, and how they could potentially be beat,[52] have spanned through four different MMA websites during his career: BloodyElbow.com, Bleacher Report, Fightland and FightPrimer.com

Slack lists former MMA Heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko as the top striker on the feet and on the ground, in MMA history.[53] He has published a three part article series titled Analyzing Fedor.[54][55][56]

Slack has stated that to him the "striking bible" is the 1940 book Boxing by boxing coach Edwin L. Haislet and that the "grappling bible" is the 2008 book Jiu-jitsu University by Saulo Ribeiro. Slack's favourite book of all time is the 1975 book The Fight by Norman Mailer.[57][58] All in all, between 2016 and 2017 on FGB podcast, Slack has recommended 41 various books to read which have been compiled by his fans as a list named "Jack Slack's reading list" on Goodreads.[59][60]

According to Slack, the 2003 film Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior starring Tony Jaa; "is perhaps the finest martial arts movie of this generation",[61] and that Tony Jaa's multiple attackers scene in the 2005 film Tom-Yum-Goong (The Protector); "[is] the best fight in movie history".[62]

Reception

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Matt Saccaro of CagePotato describes Slack as "by far the greatest assessor of in-cage techniques that has graced the keyboard",[7] and Ben Fowlkes of MMAjunkie describes Slack's work as existing "in that rare sports writing space where the reader comes away with a better understanding of the sport itself, rather than merely the people in it".[5] Mike Johnston of Sportsnet wrote "There aren’t many people on the planet better capable of analyzing a fighter’s strengths, weaknesses and evolution than Jack Slack".[63] Joel Snape of Men's Fitness magazine, wrote "He’s a scholar of the fight game, an excellent technician, and I fully recommend checking out his books and blog – even if you aren’t interested in improving your own striking, it’ll give you a huge understanding and appreciation of the fight game."[10] Graham Barlow of The Tai Chi Notebook wrote "I’d go as far to say that he’s totally changed my appreciation of the depth of the technicalities of Mixed Martial Arts".[64]

Mark Serrels of Kotaku (Australia) describes Slack as a "peerless" writer who is "so on the ball it is unbelievable — to the point where fighters will often approach him for help with strategy or read his articles in an attempt to improve".[65] Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw stated that he used Slack's article Killing the King: Renan Barao in preparation for his fight against then title holder Barao.[66] MMA coaches, fighters and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan have been reading Slack's articles and have found them to be educational.[7][66] Tristar owner Firas Zahabi stated "He's an expert at what he does and I recommend his material".[67]

George Mills of BT Sport in reference to Slack's 2016 article Justin Gaethje thriving amid chaos, wrote "Looking back in 2020, those words are almost prophetic in describing Gaethje’s ascent through the UFC ranks".[68]

Pundit Arena describe Slack as a "brilliant technical analyst".[69] John Franklin of Combat Press has listed Slack as one of the five best MMA analysts, and stated that "Slack has made Fightland relevant as a place for analysis".[70]

Singapore Evolve daily has listed Slack's podcast Fights Gone By #1 on its 4 Of The Best Martial Arts Podcasts You Need To Start Listening To Immediately article. Following 3 podcasts included Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour, The Joe Rogan Experience and MMAjunkie Radio. They describe Slack as knowledgeable, writing:

Slack loves to delve deep into the technical aspects of a bout, pinpointing the strategic nuances and habits of each fighter that has a direct impact on the result of a fight. More often than not, Slack’s insights are spot and really make a lot of sense.

Technical aspects like the role of reach, the taking of dominant angles, and the significance of feints, among others, are focal points of discussion. Every nuance that can affect the outcome of a fight is examined in-depth and scientifically.[71]

Jeremy Brand of MMASucka.com has recommended following Slack's Twitter account on his top 10 MMA Twitter Accounts You Should Follow list, stating "If you don’t follow Jack Slack, then you may not want to know about MMA on a deeper level. This guy is a wealth of knowledge. His 20.4k followers are treated to some great fight breakdowns and more."[72]

Awards

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Slack was a World MMA Awards nominee for MMA Journalist Of The Year 2014 award.[73]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jack's Blog".
  2. ^ "Articles by Jack Slack - Fightland - Fightland". FIGHTLAND.
  3. ^ "Interpreting the Bubishi: One Thousand Pounds Falls to the Ground". Fightland.
  4. ^ Jonathan Snowden. "Who's Better Right Now: Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather?". Bleacher Report.
  5. ^ a b c d "How much can the Internet teach you about fighting? You might be surprised". MMAjunkie. 19 February 2014.
  6. ^ Fox Sports. "Machida vs. Mousasi is a stylistic treat". FOX Sports.
  7. ^ a b c "MMA Fans "Don't Give a Flying F*ck" About the MMA Media (and That's a Bad Thing) - Cagepotato".
  8. ^ "Man-Cave - Want to learn a bit more about Irish UFC star Conor McGregor's techniques? Look no further. - entertainment.ie". entertainment.ie.
  9. ^ "How Exactly Alex Gustafsson Beat Thiago Silva in Stockholm by Jack Slack". Nordic MMA Everyday at MMA Viking. 23 November 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Guest Post: Jack Slack on meta-learning and body-punching". Live Hard. 3 December 2012.
  11. ^ "r/MMA - Comment by u/A_Native_On_Reddit on "I'm a Jack Slack AMA"". reddit. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  12. ^ Jack Slack (19 July 2012). "The Origins of the Name". Bloody Elbow.
  13. ^ "Jack Slack – 'The Norfolk Butcher' - All Things Georgian". All Things Georgian. 29 July 2014.
  14. ^ "What does Jack Slack look like?". The Underground. June 2013. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  15. ^ "What You Should Read to Help Your HEMA (That's Not HEMA) – Part 1 – LeonPaul.com". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  16. ^ "Jimmy Wilde - The Art of Boxing". MMA FORUM.
  17. ^ "Boxing Tactics of Foreign Masters - K. V. Gradopolov". MMA FORUM.
  18. ^ "Fights Gone By: Classic Fights and Finishes".
  19. ^ John Joe O'Regan. "Video Breakdown: Key striking moments in Alvarez vs Chandler".
  20. ^ "New article on Headkicklegend ~ Fights Gone By: Classic Fights and Finishes".
  21. ^ "Jack Slack". Vox Media.
  22. ^ "UFC 143 Striking Breakdown: Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit".
  23. ^ "Jack Slack". Twitter.
  24. ^ Jack Slack (18 April 2012). "I hit the front page!". Bloody Elbow.
  25. ^ "Masthead". Archived from the original on 24 October 2012.
  26. ^ "The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo".
  27. ^ Jack Slack (11 July 2012). "Taking Current Requests". Bloody Elbow.
  28. ^ Jack Slack. "UFC". Bleacher Report.
  29. ^ "Jack Slack's Sportswriter Profile - Bleacher Report". Bleacher Report.
  30. ^ https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jack-slack/88/796/568 [self-published source]
  31. ^ a b "Jack's Blog".
  32. ^ "Fighters Only". Twitter.
  33. ^ "Jack Slack". Vice. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  34. ^ "Jack Slack". www.unibet.co.uk. Unibet. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  35. ^ Kenshin, Lawrence (5 November 2016). ""The Emperor of Muay Thai" Namsaknoi: A Great Lesson on Energy | [Patreon Exclusive In-Depth Content]". Lawrencekenshin.com. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  36. ^ Slack, Jack (30 September 2020). "FGB Podcast #233: Adesanya vs Costa Autopsy". Reddit (Jack Slack verified account). Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  37. ^ "4 Of The Best Martial Arts Podcasts You Need To Start Listening To Immediately". Evolve MMA. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  38. ^ "Jack Slack is creating Fights Gone By Podcast". Patreon. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  39. ^ "NOTORIOUS - JACK SLACK (JOHN BLAKE)". The Phoenix. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  40. ^ "Gunnar Nelson Analysis – Robin Black & Lawrence Kenshin".
  41. ^ "Digital Platform Exclusively for Sports Fans". Archived from the original on 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  42. ^ Paul Campbell (23 October 2015). "Our favourite things online this week: from Brian Clough to Muay Thai". The Guardian.
  43. ^ "Γιατί το καράτε δεν δουλεύει σωστά μέσα στο ρινγκ". 12 February 2015.
  44. ^ Steven Moody (23 April 2015). "Fightland Article About Wing Chun".
  45. ^ "Chinese Martial Arts in the News: June 22, 2015: Swords, Combat Sports and Martial Arts Studies". Kung Fu Tea. 22 June 2015.
  46. ^ "Wushu Watch: Lessons to Learn from Aikido". Fightland. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  47. ^ "Star Trek: The Illogical Fighting Style of James T. Kirk". Fightland.
  48. ^ Mark Serrels (18 February 2015). "Watch People Using Street Fighter Moves In Real Life".
  49. ^ "Kangaroo Kickboxing: "More Technical Than Many UFC Main Events"". Caged Insider.
  50. ^ "Jack Slack: Four Strikers That Every MMA Fan Should Be Watching". Fightland.
  51. ^ Slack, Jack (15 June 2020). "FGB Podcast #212: The One Where Jack Praises Valentina Shevchenko". YouTube (Jack Slack official Channel). Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  52. ^ Jared Loper (28 December 2014). "Jack Slack's "Killing the King" Series". The Jiu-Jitsu Times.
  53. ^ Jack Slack. "Jack Slack's Top 7 Strikers in MMA to Date". Bleacher Report.
  54. ^ Jack Slack (31 May 2012). "Analyzing Fedor: The Striking Of The Emperor". Bloody Elbow. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  55. ^ Jack Slack (4 June 2012). "Analyzing Fedor: Revolutionizing Ground And Pound". Bloody Elbow.
  56. ^ Jack Slack (9 June 2012). "Judo Chop: Analyzing Fedor's Punch and Clutch". Bloody Elbow. Archived from the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  57. ^ "Mailbag: A Small Boxing Reading List". YouTube (Jack Slack official channel). 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  58. ^ "Mailbag: A Small Grappling Reading List". YouTube (Jack Slack official channel). 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  59. ^ "Jack Slack's reading list (41 books)". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  60. ^ "Reddit - MMA - Jack Slack's reading list - All of the books he has recommended on his podcast so far". reddit. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  61. ^ "Jack Slack: Ong Bak in the Real World". Fightland. Archived from the original on 22 January 2019.
  62. ^ "Guilty Pleasure: Tony Jaa Had the Best Fight in Movie History". Fightland. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019.
  63. ^ Johnston, Mike (26 June 2020). "Can Hooker beat Poirier to cement status as title contender?". Sportsnet. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  64. ^ Barlow, Graham (2017). "Review: Notorious – The life and fights of Conor McGregor by Jack Slack". thetaichinotebook.com. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  65. ^ "Punch-Out!! Is More Realistic Than You Might Think". September 2015.
  66. ^ a b The Joe Rogan Experience (hour 1.06)
  67. ^ Zahabi, Firas (20 October 2015). "Ask Me Anything Replies - MMA - Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - Coach Firas Zahabi (min 30:45)". YouTube Tristar Gym official channel. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  68. ^ "UFC 249 preview - Ferguson v Gaethje, Cejudo v Cruz and Ngannou v Rozenstruik". BT.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  69. ^ Team, The PA (2016-02-09). "Does New Conor McGregor Training Clip Hint At Different Tactical Approach For Rafael Dos Anjos Fight?". Pundit Arena. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  70. ^ "The Biggest Difference Makers in MMA, 2015 Edition: Nos. 11-20".
  71. ^ "4 Of The Best Martial Arts Podcasts You Need To Start Listening To Immediately - Evolve Daily". Evolve MMA Singapore. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  72. ^ Brand, Jeremy (14 April 2020). "MMA Twitter accounts you should follow". MMASucka.com. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  73. ^ Paul Quigley. "7th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards winners list". Archived from the original on 2016-01-05.
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