Synaesthesia

A)Kick-boxing is not more or less violent than any martial art. The Muay Thai gym that I attend does not require that anyone spar unless they themselves want to. Thing is, you suffer so much pain in hard workouts day after day, you begin to realize that the violence of some sparring isn't all that much worse. B)ALL martials arts are somewhat violent. Do not listen to your boyfriend, he is just afraid you'll kick his butt. Obviously being big and strong helps, but it's importance is generally overplayed. This is particularly true of sharp weapons. A petite woman who has mastered the dagger and is tough could kill almost any martial artist in combat.

Vegan's eat a lot of whole grains, veggies, beans, fruits, plant based oils, and nuts. Chemicals and animal products are evil and you will die a slow and painful death..... !!!!!! Humans eat nothing BUT chemicals. If you go vegan, you'll soon be so overcome by smugness that your lower lip will go over your nose and suffocate you! (Just kidding) Humans are naturally omnivoires, and meat can be a part of a healthy diet. That being said, I think there are automatically some benifits to going vegan, primarily that it forces you to examine your diet more carefully. The same can be done with animal corpses which make for excellent eating.

As I recall it was the american. He delivers an absolutely devastating spinning kick to the body, you can tell it shocks the Canuck. Seconds later he punches the Canadian down, and Theriault's struggling in obvious pain on the ground.

In terms of the sports, I don't think you're allowed to kick to the legs in kickboxing. Moreover, in full Muay Thai, elbows and knees are permitted (including strikes to the head).

I think it's unfair to men. Let's not lie folks, feminism be damned, people laugh at boys who get beaten up by girls.

Although forks require less skill, many foods can be eaten faster with chopsticks. I also believe that sharp chopsticks constitute better weapons than forks due to their smaller striking area, greater length and superior numbers.

I used to struggle to do five pushups. I used a 'navy seal' preperation program. In essence, the idea is to do the excercise three times a week. Do a search for the program. In twelve weeks, you can be doing six sets of thirty five without too much difficulty.

Not to mention a genius.

KSN, actually some british scientists suggested that a high-power(ie, the energy consumption of all britain) neutrino beam could destroy nuclear weapons or any living thing at any part of the globe at any time.

The best style of MA is modern military tactics. Combines air/ground offensive, unmanned intelligence and attack vheicles loitering above enemy positions, armour with infantry divisions forming depth defenses. In particular is the decentralized command of modern martial arts. Each high-level command (offensive action, harassing action) is implemented semi-independantly by various subdivisions of units, creating a much more unpredicable force. They might even be able to beat Bruce Lee.

Take a look at this one: Blinky Rodrigues (USA) vs. Jean Yves Theriault (Canada) That is *brutal*. Remind me never to step into a ring!

Don't necessarily give up on Muay Thai. It should be tough, but it's just stupid to be pushing new students to the point at which they could be injured.

One point which hasn't been stressed much is the use of enviornmental weapons or shields. If I couldn't or was unwilling to escape(primary tactic) I would certainly attempt to minimize the advantage of the knife wielding assailant. I used to be confident about that sort of thing (being the fool I am) but having done some rubber-knife sparring, I realize that I simply don't have the skill to take even a weak and slow opponent with such a weapon.

I don't think you guys are giving enough credit to the self-control of these famous masters. They are, many of them, known in part because of their teaching skills. Most good teachers don't pound students to the ground every time they spar.

I can train hard, train right, but training consistently is the most difficult part. I have never been hit, but I've always thought of long-term staying power as the best sign of mental toughness. (Could be simply because I lack it.)

Probably the easiest way is to spread your legs out really wide. Another way to practice for it is to do regular pushups and put almost all of your weight on one hand. I can barely do one one handed pushup right now.

That's an excellent site. Thanks for the link!

In my Dad's school (Honan Shaolin Wushu) two (somtimes three) man forms are learned step by step and practiced. After the students become advanced enough, they are turned into something of a planned combat drill with the participants actually trying to apply the moves effectively. I find this method really helps kill bad habits to which forms tend to build. It's not a substitute for sparring, but a way to develop a repertoire of moves. It's like learning the words for the language of pain.

I don't care how powerful you are, using the most deadly weapons available is well worth your time in a serious fight. The fact that you don't think a martial artist would ever need to resort to such "mean" techniques suggests to me that you seriously underestimate how dangerous 1. Larger 2.Armed 3.Multiple 4.Experienced opponents can be. The reality is that people are going to try to take you on their own terms. Give me maybe four decent sized, highly aggressive punks and maybe five hours and they could probably take down most trained fighters - particularly those not willing to fight dirty.

I'd have to say that my favorite unarmed techniques in no particular order are the eye gouge, groin strikes/grabs. Even a skilled person could be suprised at how difficult it is to stop a dedicated person from wriggling those probing, hooking fingers into their eyes. yech!

I would fall to the floor sqealing like a pig if I was hit in the midsection so I'm no expert. Howevever, I have found that the way I make the most rapid gains in trunk strength is by doing a large variety of situps. Not just two or three to get the basic areas, do different sorts of movements, perhaps use small weights. btw, that comment about the sixpack is right on. Check out this url http://www.mikemiles.com/people/athletes.cfm and look at the picture of keith crawford. That man doesn't have a visible sixpack, but I wouldn't try a sucker punch on him.

The Ryno, Are you going to attempt to back up your accusations with any facts? Just curious.

Heh, I know, it was an attempt at being facetious. That being said, I'm sure someone who's trained hard for a couple of years at Tai bo would have little trouble kicking me around.

Of course, B isn't really a reason at all since the same would apply to a featherweight boxer versus some 240 pound muay thai monster with lightning speed and relentless endurance.

Neil, Which part is is that boxers couldn't use on the street? Defensive and powerful footwork? Lightning timing and devastating power? A boxer would be killed in street combat. The street calles for tunnelling through buildings with explosives, heavy armor, helicoptors and C-130 gunships.