JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
When Joshua Iyalla punches someone in the ring, they probably won't see it coming. Iyalla is a trained martial artist and content creator. And according to Guinness, he broke three world records last week - the most punches in one minute with gloves, without gloves and with dumbbells. We called him up in England, where he lives, to talk about his record-breaking punches. Joshua, welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
JOSHUA IYALLA: Thank you so much for having me.
SUMMERS: First of all, I just have to say congratulations. I just got finished watching the video of you hitting that punching bag over and over again, and it literally looks like your fists are flying.
IYALLA: (Laughter) Appreciate it. I just want to say that was probably the coolest intro I've ever heard...
SUMMERS: (Laughter).
IYALLA: ...Of just anything. Like - yeah, you guys just hype me up, so appreciate that, Juana.
SUMMERS: I mean, this is such an incredible feat. You're doing these full-extension punches - and that's when you throw a punch straight out, right?
IYALLA: Yeah, yeah. So a full-extension punch is when your hand goes to your chin and then it fully extends so there's only a slight bend in your elbow. And that's because you don't want to lock your arm out and, like, do some damage to your body.
SUMMERS: So you broke three world records last week. What was the biggest challenge to get there?
IYALLA: Ooh, you know what? It was the mental training for me. So when I heard I'd have to throw over 450 punches in a minute, I was like, that sounds absolutely ridiculous. But it's just breaking down those mental barriers and realizing that your body is so much more capable than you realize.
SUMMERS: I mean, what are you thinking about? What's going through your mind as you're throwing these punches over and over and over again? Are you counting, or is there some kind of mantra that you say to yourself?
IYALLA: So when I'm in that minute, it's completely just zoned in. I'm not thinking about anything apart from, you better keep those punches up, boy, otherwise you're not getting those records. Like, you have to punch fast. So I'm just trying to think of anything but the time so it goes by as quick as possible.
SUMMERS: Now, I've read that you used ChatGPT to come up with a training plan. Tell us about that. And how long did you train to get to this point?
IYALLA: Oof (ph). So ChatGPT is probably my best friend. I speak to ChatGPT more than I speak to my friends at this point. I'm a big advocate of using AI and using all the resources which you have. So I'm actually a mathematics graduate, and I'm big into my analytics and stuff like that. So my uncle's a boxing coach, and I spoke with him. I've got some of his training programs. And I literally just gave the AI some data about me, about how I train, about my current stats, my weight, my current speed, and then we worked together and we came up with a plan which clearly worked.
SUMMERS: I know you've been doing martial arts since you were a kid. What made you decide to go for this record now?
IYALLA: I actually saw this record years ago. It was at the start of my social media journey - 2019. And one of my other friends currently held it. His name is Pavel Kickboxing (ph). And at the time, I was like, that guy is incredible, and I'm just not that guy. You know, I'm not as fast as him, I'm not as good as him. And when I started this training, it was tough because I was consistently training every day, and I think I could only throw just over 300 punches in a minute. And no one knows this, but I actually failed my first attempt.
SUMMERS: Wow.
IYALLA: And it really lit a different fire in me because I'd worked so hard. I had my friends come and watch. And after that, I said to myself, this can never, ever happen again. So I got to work. I started training twice a day. I started doing mental visualization training. Everything changed because I was not going to fail again. And this time, I actually went to do it in person at the Guinness World Records office. And rather than doing just one record, I went for three world records, and thank God that I smashed all three.
SUMMERS: Wow. I mean, you've smashed these three records. What's next for you? Any other big goals?
IYALLA: So my whole purpose on my social media is I'm a big advocate of anything you set your mind to, you can get done. So I really don't know. As of right now, I am actually potentially considering the Olympics, just to prove this point even further. I mean, I've just become the world's fastest puncher in terms of those Guinness World Records, but I'm a big advocate - you are limitless. So if I wanted to go to the Olympics, I'll set my mind and train for whatever sport I want to do that in. But as of right now - ooh, I don't know. I really don't know.
SUMMERS: What would you say to other aspiring boxers or punchers out there who might be watching your videos and seeing what you've just accomplished?
IYALLA: I would say there's too much negativity in this world, and so many people will tell you what you can and can't do. You are limitless. There's too many people to impose their limitations on you. Anyone out there that's pursuing any sort of goal, if you can conceive it, it's definitely possible, so don't let anyone else stop you.
SUMMERS: We've been speaking with Joshua Iyalla. Congratulations, and thank you so much.
IYALLA: Thank you for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
