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.
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.
[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.
[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.
[27] In March 2013 Slack was hired to write regularly for Bleacher Report; initially as a featured columnist and later as "Lead MMA Analyst".
Moving to Fightland allowed Slack to embed UFC parent company Zuffa's copyrighted fight footage in his articles.
[38] Slack has written and self-published four ebooks: And one printed book (published by John Blake Books): 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.
[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.
[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".
"[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".
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.