SevenStar

Depends on their training, but you do know that a number of boxing champs were former MT practicioners who could not gain enough recognition being simply only MT? and you can bet they had to train western boxing in order to be competitive.

bigger bodies also generally translate to bigger necks. the neck acts as a shock absorber for head shots.

he's calling it mysticism because the existence of ki/qi/prana/punap, etc. can't actually be scientifically proven. Howver, the respiratory process can. It's hard enough for many people to even come to a concensus on what qi is, let alone prove that it exists. To each his own though, everyone will believe in what they choose to.

speed is VERY relative here. humans can only achieve so much of it. If greater amounts of speed could be produced, you'd see little guys like de la hoya knocking out big guys like tyson, but that will never happen. That's why there are weight classes. a human will only be able to achieve so much speed - chances are, the big guy will not be too much slower than the little guy. So, the big guy with more mass and slighly less speed still puts out more force than a faster little guy. strength is very much necessary in striking, as speed isn't THAT much of an equalizer. I disagree with judoguy too though - endurance is a must have, especially if you compete, but you can have all the endurance in the world and still lose if your opponent is more skilled than you. in grappling, you really need to understand kazushi, tsuri and kake. on the ground, you really need to understand space, timing and leverage. All of this combined with relaxation produces a good grappler. The attributes are a key point, but at the heart of it all is skill level.

all of the extra mass they carry... it enables them to absorb more punishment.

trees don't have much to do with it. They did that in the old days before the use of heavy bags. Also, remember, it was bananna trees that they kicked - the bananna tree has softer bark than pretty much any other tree. Fighting full contact every week will definitely take it's toll on you. many of those guys have had well over 100 fights. You can imagine the type of damage that would do...

That’s how I was taught. The important thing to remember is that when breathing, it’s more important to get the CO2 out of your lungs than O2 in (little breaths in, big breaths out), that’s why breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth works. And you want to breathe out while exerting yourself, like when you strike. I haven't read this whole thread, so this may have been said, but there are instances where you want to breath in while exerting yourself as well. If you are doing a technique where you are pulling someone into you, for example. If I'm throwing harai goshi, I don't breathe out as I pull my opponent to me - that is opposite of the direction I am exerting force.

that's not true. not all of the movements are taught the same way. for example, a tornado kick where you land on the same leg you kicked with - that is wushu. Also, the focus of them is different.

banannas, mushrooms and raisins... plenty of potassium. potassium helps to dissipate the lactic acid buildup faster.

that depends on how you are lifting. power training is more neurological than muscular. very heavy weights with only 3-5 reps and no more than two sets - this trains the neuromuscular system to contract harder, increasing power output. This type of training can be done daily on the same muscle groups as you aren't training long enough to produce the soreness effect you get from higher rep and set training.

what hudson said was pretty much dead on. I disagree about using lat pulldowns though - if you don't have anywhere to do pull ups, then yes do them, but pull ups are far superior to pulldowns.

champions are muscular because they have to be. judo despite the gentle overtone is a very violent art in competition. They do alot of cardio, bodyweight training, weight training, etc. - it's the nature of competition. I completely agree with what you said - it's not solely for smaller people looking to gain an advantage. there is less leverage involved in striking. it will take a while for someone to develop enough power to take me out with leg kicks, head shots, etc. and it will take them even longer to develop the timing to hit precise areas like knees, groin, eyes, etc.and double that in schools that don't do alot of bagwork and sparring. naturally, size will matter regardless of whether you are striking or grappling, however, in grappling, where you have to opportunity to control your opponent's balance, you might have a better chance.

thai boxers are not recognized for being good punchers at all, except the more western influenced guys... as for tearing up their bodies, I don't think that would be because of their training. In thailand, it's not uncommon for a fighter to fight once a week - that's why you have 21 year olds who have had 90+ fights. THAT'S why their bodies are torn up - they compete so much.

not really - as DM said, it has multiple meanings. it's both the national sport of china and also means "martial art" generically. the same thing exixsts in the japanese culture. taijutsu has come to be known as the hand to hand art of the ninja, however, taijutsu literally translates to "body arts" and was used synonymously with jujutsu - it was a generic term.

theoretically, yes. But the fact is, not everyone can make their arts work for them in such situations. Also, not all styles equip you do be able to do this in a short amount of time. sure there are - because we big guys are interested in judo also. however, one of my coaches at one time held a world ranking, and even though he's much smaller than me, can toss me around like a ragdoll.

I would disagree. there's no ultimate anything. As you may know, modern thaiboxing has been influenced heavily by western boxing. would that actually make boxing the ultimate striking art?

I'm a heavyweight and was referring to kickboxing...I do agree with you though - you should not fight after being KOed or concussed. I actually know someone who developed problems from doing so.

I realize that - it's like pulling the skin on an opponent's ribs while grappling, and other things wrestlers do - it hopefully creates an opening. Problem is, it also ticks your opponent off. I am too. prior to the other thing listed, I spent several years in karate, four years in longfist and two years in jun fan. I agree with that as well - to an extent, anyway.

the combat sport side of wushu is san shou...

agreed. the most I've had happen to me thus far is a few lumps. Never anything serious.

as far as flashy kicks go, look at them as training tools. if you can kick high with power, you can easily kick low. jumping and spinning kicks build explosive power. use that in your front, round, side, etc. kicks.

stances are transitory. even if you have only one fighting stance, you will still unbeknownst to yourself, use others. A few weeks ago in thai boxing, we were working a technique. the retreating portion resulted in the "retreater" having his weight balanced in something similar to a cat stance before launching his next attack. One of the guys who had trained tma before goes "hey, this is like a cat stance!" and I explained to him that he was correct, and that we use alot of stances in transition, but don't train of have names for them like we did in our TMA days.

there's that assumption again... grappling does not imply "grappling on the ground" I can throw him on his head and knock him out. Or, just restrain. depends on the situation. Grappling does not have to be on the ground though. Also, and here's the big plus - what happens if you DO go down? the grappler is better apt to either 1. finish it on the ground, or 2. get back to his feet.

I hate to say it, but those "neat little dirty tricks" are over rated. ever been kicked in the nuts in a real fight? I have. I dind't feel it until after the fight - once the adrenaline stopped. I know others who have had the same thing happen. It works instantly on some and doesn't on others - not really reliable. You can gouge eyes, but you have to catch them first, same with the throat. They are small targets that are moving, making them ared to hit. The fact that his guard is up makes is even harder. On top of that, he's attacking back, making it even harder still. I've been bitten in a fight as well - it's a nuissance but didn't stop me from fighting. the only thing you've listed that's really plausible is thefinger breaking, IMO. BUT, fingers are delicate. How are you training in your school in a REALISTIC way that makes you think you can grab and break a finger on the street? or are you referring only to a grappling situation? If you are, the he could break yours as well, if he desired...

the term "arm punching" is a term associated with boxing, not with hapkido or american tkd. thai boxing has a type of front kick, but if a tkd guy says "Ap Cha Gee" would the thai guy understand? heck no. on the same hand, the tkd guy won't understand the term "teep". it's stylistic, that's all. By thinking of it as an insult, I think you are reading too much into it.