then spent a week emulating their specific style, movements, combos, etc. Besides doing a lot of film study research, I also took a deeper dive into the training methods of each boxer.
We all know that anyone who competes at a high level in any sport trains hard and that the best of the best generally train the hardest, but I don't think we understand exactly what that means. Maybe on some level, intellectually, we can say, "wow, that guy really works hard" but the focus, intensity, and effort they put in is beyond the comprehension of a normal human.
I am not sure there is any way to easily communicate this level of training. In books and movies, the hero is almost always "The Chosen One." They were made for whatever heroic duty they perform. Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, any superhero or mythological hero. Characters like James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Indiana Jones, without any magical powers at all, still just seem born this way. We never really see a hero, magical or non-magical, who accomplishes amazing things through visceral amounts of work and perseverance.
Even real-life heroes or people who have achieved highest-level greatness rarely are depicted as putting in that next level of work. In a movie like "Bohemian Rhapsody", which tells the story of the rock band, Queen, almost portrays them like a bunch of upstarts whose youthful, rebellious exuberance is what carried them to stardom. To me, this is insulting. Every great musician has natural talent, but the great ones who become true virtuosos work like nobody else. They work every day, from morning until night, when any ordinary person would have given up long ago. They do the same things over and over and over again, not until it's good enough but until it is absolutely perfect, and perfect in a way that only the best can be perfect. I know this is how Queen approached the process. I've seen a documentary on the band recording one of their classic albums, "A Day at the Races" and I wish the movie could have given me some of that.
I love a good cop drama or spy thriller too, but it's also always bugged me that they never show the cops or spies doing any training. They just get into fights, kick the bad guys' asses, and don't have to do anything to maintain their skills. Of course I know that most other people probably don't care abut this and I am just a nerd and the answer that probably any artist would give me is that it is boring to just show people practicing or training. It's just not going to be as interesting on the screen or even the page.
I am not sure that I agree though. I think we undervalue the true beauty of labor and underestimate our abilities to bring it to life on screen. I think seeing the work that elite level practitioners put into their craft is interesting and gives me more respect for that person and their work. Just being blessed with skills and talent is not nearly as aspirational or impressive.
In rare instances where someone has been able to show what real hardcore training looks like, it has been pretty awesome. Going back to movies about music, one of my all-time favorite films is "Whiplash," is a fictional story about a guy who plays drums in a top level music school jazz band. I neither knew anything about, or cared much about, jazz drumming before I saw the movie, but it blew me away as they managed to convey the blood, sweat, tears and overall kinesis of what it takes to be the very best. Now of course, Whiplash does not show this in a traditionally positive manner and is, to some degree, about abuse, but no one has ever made anything that comes close in terms of the points I mention.
Then, there are the Rocky (and Creed) movies. Rocky I started the tradition of the great training montage scene. Showing him getting into final shape before the fight, culminating with a physical task that he couldn't do at the very beginning. Combined with that series' music, these scenes are awesome and left an indelible mark in our culture. They also definitely demonstrate some of the hard work as well as mental and physical toughness it takes to be great.
But I think the very first day they show Rocky training in the first film actually captures some of what I am talking about better. There is no fanfare. Rocky wakes up way too early, it's completely dark outside, chugs down 5 raw eggs for some reason, goes outside and runs along the lonely streets in the darkness. No one is there, no one cares, and it sucks. Rocky barely makes his way up the famous steps in Philadelphia.
My guess is that this scene is put in to show the transition of what Rocky becomes in his later, famous montage, but I think it says more than that to me. That is what dedication looks like. It is not always fun, it is not always pleasant, you don't want to do it and nobody is going to be there to reward or validate your effort. It's a grind. But you embrace the grind because you want to make yourself stronger.
This scene should serve as a reminder to all of us that while we may not have magical powers or be Chosen Ones, we must have grit and determination and perseverance, even against all odds. We can all embrace the grind. And that the hard work we put in is beautiful. It is what the real, heroic, best-of-the-best do.
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