Darrell Foster on how he turned Farhan into a lean fighting machine

At one point during our conversation with Darrell Foster the worldclass fighter and fitness maverick abruptly flings a few coins on the wooden floor of his vanity van a few feet away from a suburban venue where the shooting of a boxing scene for Farhan Akhtars Toofan is set to commence The clamorous interruption evidently has us startled and it is at this point that Foster would deliver upon us his winning blow had we been in a physical bout with him Hollywoods goto person when the sport of boxing needs to be replicated for reel Foster is responding to our questions pertaining to his E2 Enlightenment and Exercise program which focuses on training the brain just as much as one does the body for boxing Its also the method he employed to build Akhtar into the physical genius he seems to have become if his Instagram posts are anything to go byGone with the windTrainer to Will Smith for the Muhammad Ali 2001 biopic and to Miles Teller for Bleed for This 2016 Foster asserts most of the boxing occurs between the ears In a bid to establish his point on the importance of mental agility he reiterates that exhausting an opponent mentally is just as crucial as getting him physically depleted You have to understand the human mindset If you get cut hit or hear a loud noise I can get a reaction from you Thats when Ill hit you You make your opponent do that and in that split second the game is yours The analogy of a train coming down the track is employed here The train can only operate on the track Its a boxers job to derail the opponent get him tired and keep him looking for you Im going to teach you to make your opponent feel like theres something buzzing in his ear he must turn instinctively instead of strategically and you must be able to disappearMaking a runner boxHaving ascertained Akhtars dedication to become the boxer he was set to play in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehras film Foster was willing to take up the boxing drama But even though Akhtar had spent a fair amount of time learning to box before his arrival Foster says he initially wasnt impressed I was impressed with his physicality and his dedication But Ive dealt with boxers for 50 years on a worldclass level What I spotted in Akhtar initially were things I knew I was going to have to undo After my initial consultation via Skype his team told me of the track movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag that he had done Since that involved a lot of leg work I decided to start there in terms of setting his speed and teaching him how to shift his weight We went back to basics learning balance and ring work I taught him the same way I would a fiveyear old by starting from scratch He was an open vessel I used analogies he says going on to highlight an example when further prodded I would ask him to walk and fetch the gloves at a small distance When hed return Id ask him if he thought about how he walked and bent down to fetch the gloves Hed say No And Id say thats where we need to get you as far as fighting skills are concerned It must feel so natural that you strike your opponent your hand is back and you havent thought about it We have to get to a point where you eliminate the thinking process and operate on natural instincts We all have two arms and two legs and most boxers go rightleftright with their punches I had to teach him to double and triple up with one armSetting goals and meeting themWhen Fosters kids decide to hop aboard a treadmill he instructs them to set their goal up front Before you step on you have the choice to decide how much you want to run But once thats set you will not stop If you pass out Ill pick you up and get you medical attention But you wont stop because youve decided to quit His attitude with Akhtar he alludes was no different I told him weve got one holy grail mdashthe script Were serving the movie and thats a tall task I cant act like him he cant fight like me so weve got to blend Failure is not an option We have to get to the finish line together With abundant Hollywood projects on his resume he admits that he has also developed a fine understanding of lenses and camerawork a knowledge that afforded him immense control on the set of Toofan Rakeysh hasrelinquished his authority with nothing but humility Hed announce to the crew that they must follow my instructions If I think we must cut well cut Wed do whatever is needed to get the required performanceCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates