Literature Analysis #2

Muhammad Ali

Topics/Events

  Muhammad Ali is one of the most famous boxers of all time. His conversion to Islam and draft evasion conviction surrounded him with controversy and even exile from boxing for three years. Despite the hiatus, his quick reflexes and strong punches helped Muhammad Ali become the first person in history to win the heavyweight champion title three times. I believe the author choose to write about this person to show how even if you are the main topic on a controversial debate and exiled from boxing for three years, you can still  become a three time world heavyweight champion of the world.I chose to read this book because I wanted to get to know how was the life of one the greatest fighters ever. I found this book to be realistic because I got to know more about personal life of Ali and got to see what he had to go through.

People 

   Two people that are important from this text are Muhammad Ali himself and his trainer, Angelo Dundee. Angelo was a brilliant motivator who was in Ali's corner almost his entire career and has trained over 15 world champions. The other important person is Ali, who at six feet two inches, 236 pounds, became one of the most recognized sports figures in the past 100 years and influenced millions of future fighters to take up on boxing. After reading this, I feel as through I came away knowing and meeting him because I got to see/read what he went through, the ups and the downs.

Style

   As I was reading, I noticed some foreshadowing to give you an idea of what to come, and also some symbolism here and there to give the text a little more of an appealing "taste" to it. When describing a place and an important person, the author uses lengthy and descriptive writing to make you feel like you are there.    The way the author shows tone is by showing the struggles Ali went through one of which was when he converted to Islamic beliefs and like I said before, was exiled from boxing for three years. As a fighter myself, I can only begin to imagine the struggle that was for him.

Masterpiece Gallery

Here are some of the people that are in my "team"/network, that can help me with my goal of becoming a great boxer.

• Chance Miranda: He plays baseball and can help me with hand-eye coordination, http://cmirandarhs14exposcomp.blogspot.com/
• Elias Barriga: He can help me with my nutrition, http://eliasbarrigarhs14exposcomp.blogspot.com/
• Alfredo Arriaga: Does cross country and can help me with cardio: http://aarriagarhsexposcomp.blogspot.com/
• Jake Dickens, Matthew Berumen, and Matt Reynolds can help me overall and with advise: http://jdickensrhs14exposcomp.blogspot.com/      http://matthewberumen327.blogspot.com/    http://mattrey18exposcomp.blogspot.com/

MASTERPIECE ESSAY #1

 MASTERPIECE ESSAY #1

   For a very long time now I have wanted to fight as boxer and eventually become a pro boxer and fight the greatest fighters out there to become a champion and be the best. I recently started to train in boxing to get better and start fighting but as I am training and finding resources on boxing, I began to think. Why out of all the careers out there that range from being a teacher, to being a carpenter, to even being a police officer, why choose boxing as a career. Why choose to fight people and make a living out of it.

   Lets take Manny "PacMan" Pacquiao for example. He chose to fight and become a boxer because it was pretty much his only option, living in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines, where there was a lot of poverty, drug dealings and killings, the only two things he had to chose from where to let things happen and probably end up dead or fight and survive. Now that he is a pro boxer, he is a ten time world champion, one of the best boxers ever, named man of the decade and has opened up many doors to his life which have taken him to music, acting and many more things.

   Now let us look at another amazing boxer who has defeated 17 world champions and has world titles in six different weight classes. His name is "The Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya. As a child, Oscar was bullied for many years, he got picked on and beat up almost every day. Because of that, Oscar took up boxing to learn to defend himself from his bullies. Now, fast forward 20 years later and he is one of the most successful fighters ever.
   I talked about great fighters who have pretty good inspiration to take up on boxing. But now the question is, what is my reason to fight. Why do I box. I chose to box because I want to be able to protect my loved ones from danger. I fight because I want to show everyone that I am strong enough to defeat anyone I am up against but most of all, I fight because it is something that I truly love to do everyday all day.

HAFTA/WANNA (late)

Some of the similarities I see between life during high school and life after high school are that no matter what, you are always gonna learn something new. Whether it be a new subject in high school or a new boxing skill, you are always going to be learning something everyday. On the other hand, I can also see a lot of differences between them. One of them is that you have much more time to really study or do what you want to do. Use me for example, I am a senior high school student and a boxer. I spend half of my day at school and doing homework and the other half on boxing and training, which means that I don't have as much time to myself or to train/improve myself as I would if I was already graduated and out of high school. I believe that after high school graduation, some people do just "magically" transform because I have see that happen. I have seen some people who are hard workers, great people and have mostly A grades but after graduation they completely change for the worse. I think I balance myself well for a high school student, I go to school, do my work, have some time to myself and with family and then I box and improve as much as I can in the time I have.

My Resources So Far

1. Fundamental Boxing Punches: https://www.coachup.com/resources/boxing/fundamental-boxing-punches
2. Pro tips for punching hard: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-techniques/punch-techniques/pro-boxing-tips-for-punching-power-frank-buglioni
3. Top ten pro boxing techniques: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-techniques/punch-techniques/10-pro-boxing-techniques
4. Mindset of a Champion: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-training/mental-training/mindset-of-a-champion
5. Nutrition 1: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-training/boxing-diet/a-healthy-boxers-diet
6. Nutrition 2: http://reginaboxingclub.ca/blogs/post/nutrition-for-boxing
7. Guide to Shadow Boxing: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-training/boxing-workouts/guide-to-shadow-boxing
8. Why use light punches: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-strategy/boxing-offense/the-art-of-light-punches
9. Some Southpaw Tricks: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-strategy/boxing-offense/5-southpaw-boxing-tricks
10. How to Fight a Counter-Puncher: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-strategy/boxing-styles/how-to-fight-a-counter-puncher
11. Last Minute Fight Preparations:  http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-strategy/fight-tips/last-minute-fight-preparation-tips
12. Heavy Bag Workouts: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-training/bag-training/killer-heavy-bag-workout
13. Other Important Body Parts: https://www.coachup.com/resources/boxing/other-important-body-parts-for-boxin
14. How to survive: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-strategy/boxing-defense/how-to-survive-in-a-fight
15. Sparring for Beginners: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-training/boxing-sparring/beginner-sparring-survival-guide
16. Basic Punch Combo:http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-strategy/punch-combinations/basic-punch-combo
17. Breathing Techniques: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-techniques/body-movement/breathing-techniques-for-fighting
18. Power Punching Secrets: http://www.expertboxing.com/boxing-techniques/punch-techniques/power-punching-secrets-part-2-implosive-punching

LAUNCH

Ever since I was around the age of two, I have wanted to become a pro boxer and a WBC world champion. AS a kid, I would train with my father everyday and I would have fights with everyone in my neighborhood, supervised of course, to see just how much I have improved. Around the age of ten I stopped and went on to soccer and baseball at the same time and a little bit of wrestling in high school. But none of that gave me the same feeling as boxing does. That feeling of training your ass off everyday and to get in a ring to fight, to hit, to get hit and to win. There is nothing like it. Some of the tools that I can use from last semester are my friends/ colleague who know about nutrition to help me get better at what I should eat and not feel sluggish. The only thing I need to not feel any kind of regret is to give it my all everyday I train to improve my skill and beat everyone I face. I think what will impress others is the fact that before, the only thing I would do is watch videos and play video games, and now I take training very seriously. I believe I am making my dream a reality one punch at a time. The best thing about this right now is the fact that I already have peers to help out, the public to give me advise, and the experts to slowly take me were I want to be at.

My Vocabulary #1

1. Scion: a person who was born into a rich, famous, or important family
2. Patriarch: a man who controls a family, group, or government
3. Charity:  the act of giving money, food, or other kinds of help to people who are poor, sick, etc
4. Meager: very small or too small in amount
5. Itineraries: the places you go to or plan to go to on a journey
6. Coterie:  an intimate and often exclusive group of persons with a unifying common interest or purpose
7. Lavish:  given in large amounts
8. Exasperated:  to excite the anger of
9. Infrastructure: the underlying foundation or basic framework 
10. Cavalcade: a line of riders, vehicles, etc., moving along in the same direction
11. Hovel: an open shed or shelter
12. Profusely: given, produced, or existing in large amounts
13. Reliant: needing someone or something for help, support, etc.
14. Adrenaline:  a substance that is released in the body of a person who is feeling a strong emotion (such as excitement, fear, or anger) and that causes the heart to beat faster and gives the person more energy
15. Quarrel: a ground of dispute or complaint 
16. Charisma: a special charm or appeal that causes people to feel attracted and excited by someone
17. Derogatory: showing a lack of respect for someone or something
18. Derivative: something that comes from something else : a substance that is made from another substance
19. Manager: someone who is in charge of a business, department, etc.
20. Ambition: a desire to be successful, powerful, or famous