MovieChat Forums > Kickboxer (1989) Discussion > So the old man trains him for 3 or 4 mon...

So the old man trains him for 3 or 4 months

posted 10 years ago by actionmanrandell
14 replies | jump to latest

for those of you who think that would not be enough time for someone to get really good at fighting

just got to point out that a person will actually learn a great deal in 3 months if all they are doing is learning the realities of fighting

for instance a person will learn more in 6 months of boxing than the average martial artist will learn in 4 years and that is because all they do is learn about fighting in general as such kurt who already has experience fighting(all though as an amateur)

in reality a person who has some experience if all they did was train for a few months with an expert trainer like Xian Chow could in fact learn exactly what it takes to win in a fight

[–] cdz6969 10 years ago

Well JCVD character already had Kickboxing training. Just not on the level of what the old man would teach him. Especially being the master than he was, apparently 4 months of transferring his knowledge was enough to beat Tong Po.

Jesus would support Universal Health Care

[–] creatorof2002 10 years ago

Yes, unlike Karate Kid or various other martial arts movies where the hero starts out a total novice he was in way above average physical condition and was by conventional standards a Karate master, and although nowhere near as skilled as his now crippled brother he had been trained by and sparring with his bro for a long time. So it is much less of a stretch than what happened in Karate Kid.

That being said I think it might have made for a more believable story if his training had been many months, maybe more than a year and included more sparring and more than just one professional fight. Heck, Xian could have said something like "none of the opponents you will be facing are a match for Tong Po. If you fail to win even ONE fight I will quit as your teacher, and being the only teacher worthy of training someone to beat Tong Po that would mean he had to win every fight, which of course he would, I find it strange that he faced the highest rated thai kickboxer in the ENTIRE WORLD after having only ONE professional fight.

I read a rumor of a remake if its true maybe they can make it more realistic.

[–] Herreken 7 years ago

Agreed. He should've fought a bunch of fights. They could've done some sort of montage if they were short on time which I'm sure they would've been.

DISPLAY thy breasts, my Julia!

[–] Electrical1 7 years ago

Fun Fact: the "old man" which is Xian the teacher was only 40 when the movie came out, and assuming Kickboxer was shot in 1988 that means the actor playing Xian was actually 39.

[–] orrdaniel398 7 years ago

I don't think Freddy Li actually expected Kurt to beat Tong Po. It was more like he wanted to "teach him a lesson" for being so arrogant that he thought he could fight Tong Po.

[–] Thomas-FordJr-1 7 years ago

He had some experience as a fighter, but not enough to make the GIANT leap to fight somebody like Tong Po, just training for 3 or 4 months.

It's like saying an amateur boxer, even a really good amateur boxer, can reach a world class level in only a few months of training. It's just not going to happen.

[–] MaximRecoil (4101) 6 years ago

"It's like saying an amateur boxer, even a really good amateur boxer, can reach a world class level in only a few months of training. It's just not going to happen."

Depends on who it is. Mike Tyson was already a world-class boxer in his first pro fight, and if his first pro fight had been for the title, he probably would have won.

[–] MillerJones (467) a year ago

No it doesn't even people with natural ability can not do it in that time frame.

Anyone who claims otherwise have no experience or proper knowledge about the subject.

Mike Tyson was not a world class boxer in his first pro fight otherwise he would have fought at world level he did not experience matters.

In the case of this film it is said he had from a child karate/yoga and later years kickboxing but had he competed not sure he had which is why he would do the soft contact which is why karate is useless in real world.

The final fight is not really a sanctioned one more like a street fight as such so it is possible he could win this after what he went through in the film.

[–] MaximRecoil (4101) a year ago

"No it doesn't even people with natural ability can not do it in that time frame.

Anyone who claims otherwise have no experience or proper knowledge about the subject."

You don't know what you're talking about. I replied to someone who said:

"It's like saying an amateur boxer, even a really good amateur boxer, can reach a world class level in only a few months of training. It's just not going to happen."

A "really good amateur boxer," like Tyson was prior to his first pro fight, already has more than just natural ability; they also have a lot of training and experience under their belt, else they wouldn't be a "really good amateur boxer."

"Mike Tyson was not a world class boxer in his first pro fight"

Yes, he was. If he weren't, I wouldn't have said he was, obviously. In his first ~year as a pro (March 6, 1985 to March 10, 1986) he fought 19 times, winning them all by KO/TKO, with 12 of them being in the first round. There were few, if any, boxers in the world at the time who could have beaten him in his first pro fight, which means he was a world-class boxer by definition.

"otherwise he would have fought at world level"

He did, obviously, which is why he beat all those journeyman pro boxers so easily, i.e., he was world-class and they weren't.

[–] MillerJones (467) a year ago

Here again shows your lack of knowledge or experience about this subject amateur fighting is nothing like pro.

This is like saying a regional champ is the same as world level champ its not far from it.

Had you been involved with any sport like this you would understand.

Yes because you say something it means its true already put you wrong above.

Experience matters you can have all the talent in the world but without that pro level experience it doesnt matter.

You have no understanding how the boxing world works not even sure its worth bothering to continue I expect you have not even left high school yet.

He didnt fight at world level idiot you really need to do your research he went again a lot of regional people who didnt have good records at all after gaining experience he started to step up

[–] MaximRecoil (4101) a year ago

"Here again shows your lack of knowledge or experience about this subject "

Your non sequitur is dismissed. Also:

Comical Irony Alert

"amateur fighting is nothing like pro."

That's obviously wrong (thus proving you don't know what you're talking about), since Mike Tyson and countless other amateur boxers have turned pro and then won their first fight against someone who has had many pro fights. If your asinine assertion were true, no amateur boxer would ever win their first fight, because they would have no idea what they're doing, because, according to you, "amateur fighting is nothing like pro" (lol).

"This is like saying a regional champ is the same as world level champ its not far from it."

No, it's nothing like saying that (though it's entirely possible for a regional champion to beat a "world level champion" on any given night), and you fail Analogies 101 forever.

"Had you been involved with any sport like this you would understand."

Your non sequitur is dismissed. Also:

Comical Irony Alert: Part II

"Yes because you say something it means its true already put you wrong above."

Try that "sentence" again; next time use standard English, simpleton.

"Experience matters"

Obviously, but it's far from being the only thing that matters. If it were the only thing that matters, the more experienced boxer would win every time, which obviously isn't even close to being the case.

"you can have all the talent in the world but without that pro level experience it doesnt matter."

Again, you don't know what you're talking about, Slow Doug. Mike Tyson and countless others have beaten experienced pros when they themselves had no pro experience (i.e., in their first pro fight).

"You have no understanding how the boxing world works not even sure its worth bothering to continue I expect you have not even left high school yet."

Your non sequitur is dismissed. Also:

Comical Irony Alert: Part III

"He didnt fight at world level"

Yes, he obviously did, since he easily beat experienced pros, many of them with first-round knockouts. Only a world-class fighter can repeatedly first-round-KO experienced pro fighters, obviously.

"idiot"

Comical Irony Alert: Part IV, you know, coming from the buffoon who doesn't know how to make an analogy, thinks experience is the only thing that matters in boxing, doesn't think Mike Tyson was already a world-class boxer in his first pro fight, and who doesn't even know how to use punctuation.

"you really need to do your research"

Your non sequitur is dismissed. Also:

Comical Irony Alert: Part V

"he went again a lot of regional people who didnt have good records at all after gaining experience he started to step up"

No, there was no "started to step up" with him. He beat those guys with ease, meaning he was a far better boxer than them from the get-go. In fact, he was a better boxer during his first ~year as a pro than after, i.e., before Cus D'Amato died in late 1985.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8322) 9 months ago

Go talk to Lyoto Machida and see if he thinks his karate training was useless.

[–] HarrySkywalker (508) 8 months ago

Mike Tyson is one of the most overrated boxers ever.

He'd be trashed around for the world title.

[–] Oblivioid (1248) 3 years ago

All the old man does is train Kurt to absorb damage, that's all. "Must train different in America, your defense stink!"