White Warlock

Oddly enough, spittle significantly escalates the degree of force used. In some States, spittle can be argued to be a chemical weapon, especially if you were knowingly sick at the time. Silly, eh?

Ahh, i'll add another one. It's okay to be shy... but at least get up enough guts to approach them and show you are interested. From there, being shy may actually help you to pique their curiousity. Again, don't fake it.

Well, first off... take it off of pluralities. You don't aim to 'get' girls, you aim to 'attract' one particular girl. Or, at the very least, one particular girl at a time. Here are some recommendations: Treat every woman you meet, in fact... every person you meet, with respect,Be sincerely interested in them as a person, and not merely their body, Decide on 'one' woman you want to know, and then get to know her, Be assertive, but not aggressive, Respect the woman's choice to be assertive, Spontaneity actually works wonders. Giving a gift to a total stranger can open up their eyes to you, Take a hint. If she gives you a second glance, she's 'likely' interested, Don't be cocky. Nothing is more unattractive than a cocky guy, Introduce yourself, but end your self-focus at that point. After your introductions, focus on her, and... without being intrusive, get to know her, If you find you're really not interested, be courteous and depart. Don't change your focus and go after her friend, you'll only look like a total jerk to 'both of them,' as well as to any other women that witnesses this, Brush your teeth, maintain proper hygiene, dress well, and groom. Only a pathetic handful of women are interested in going out with transients. If you wish to impress them, impress upon them your interest in them... not how valuable, or worthy, you may be to them. Generally speaking, women prefer being valued over having a man of wealth. Listen, Listen, Listen... Don't just hear... actually listen. There WILL be a test. And last, if you have to fake any of the above... you're going to live to be a lonely old man.And to continue to keep her attracted to you: Understand and fully respect the word, "NO,"Sex is nice, but it can quickly destroy a great friendship. Always measure your options and determine whether you want to have a lasting friendship, or a one-night fling with the potential for bitter residual feelings, When in doubt about an argument, don't continue arguing, just apologize, If you love a woman, then show it. Only one thing makes love grow, and that's more love, If you don't, then end it, If you have doubts about whether you love her, then figure it out quick... or end it, Always maintain proper perspective. Don't sacrifice all your dreams, but at the same time, don't expect to sacrifice their dreams. If your goals are not compatible, and you two are not able to find a compromise, then accept this and move on. Destroying one or the other will leave a lasting resentment that will 'eventually' cause the relationship to collapse, And last, money is important and it pays the bills, but love brings you happiness. Keep that in mind when you find yourself complaining about her credit card expenses. As to honesty, i would disagree, especially if combined with openness. It's not a good idea to be honest about whether your GF's sister is hitting on you. It's not a good idea to be honest about all the women you've slept with in the past. It's not a good idea to be honest about how you were dating other women during the first six months of their relationship, because you were feeling insecure. And it's definitely not a good idea to be honest when they ask if the jeans they are wearing makes them look fat, or whether they need a boob job. I recommend sincerity instead. Sincerity, by definition, holds with it a degree of common sense and constraint. It also leaves you with the ability to 'weasel' out of those Catch22 questions.

Well, the thing is... the warriors of today do not focus on hand-to-hand. As to the size issue, i had read something about that... but i thought this was proven to be a false archeological examination of evidence.

Good posts all. I feel that training is what gives you your options. If you train only to cause serious damage, that's your only recourse in a confrontation. As to the degree of threat... it is subjective, i agree with Lucky there. On the other hand, confrontations are dynamic, and what you may one moment think is a non-lethal threat, could turn into a lethal one in a split second. Therefore, i'm inclined to perform maximum stopping power at all times. That is not to say i would perform a lethal counter-attack. By stopping power, i mean act in a fashion that will give me the best assurance that the confrontation will end immediately. The longer it continues, the larger the degree of threat posed. After all, we are human... our assailant is human... and we learn, therefore they learn. I prefer not to give the assailant an 'opportunity' to learn.

lol, no. Will edit my above post to reflect who i am addressing it to.

Ack! You are correct Beiner. Silly me for speed reading. To address CT's post, it would be a tough call, for many reasons. The olympiads of then were utterly merciless during competition, including ripping intestines out and tearing off fingers. Add to this that many of the olympic winners of these ancient competitions were purported to be soldiers that had fought countless times in 'real' hand-to-hand wars. In that regards, i would put my money on the ancient pankrationists... assuming we're working with the rules of then, instead of the rules of now.

or soil yourself. I disagree. The boxer, being not trained in how to deal with a kick, having one hand down may very well encourage the boxer to make the foolish 'reaction' of attempting to 'block' a low-spun kick. *snap* get a new arm. It is best if the boxer treats the kicker as if he were a 'long-armed' opponent. Stay out of range, until the kicker overcommits, then enter inside and finish him off.

I was so tempted to disagree with you DM, just on principle. The focus of this thread is about 'distracting the mind,' so to address the thread's topic, a full-on barrage of strikes and balance attacks works quite effectively in 'distracting the mind.' On another note, i personally prefer someone hold onto me. At least i know where there one hand is, and it's preoccupied doing something almost useless. In fact, i can use his commitment against him. Indeed, in aikido... the system you purport to study, we wouldn't even waste our time trying to get them to let go. We would just move about and allow their committed action of holding onto our shirt, as a weapon against them.

Ugh, dude... Gilbert, you state here that you posted your background in the drunken boxing thread, but when i go there, i find a post from you saying you posted your background in this thread. Neither thread includes any of your background. Playing us?!?

You mean like our Member of the Month?

Umm... the pankration of today is not the pankration of ancient times.

Nobody in this thread called you names, or indicated they didn't believe you. You began to talk about the subject, but didn't provide insight into your background on it. My question, as well as a those of a few others, were reasonable. As i stated in another thread (here), there will be questions, and if you're not ready to answer those questions... then may i suggest sticking to sharing ideas, learning, posing questions of your own, and interacting in a positive way. Be well

Yes, the first 10 UFCs allow you to watch the sport change to what it is now, as well as watch how the martial art community slowly 'wake up.' I recommend watching 1 through 10. The more modern ones are rife with rules, but you can gain a better understanding of what 'works' in these sort of competitions, as opposed to the "guessing game" that existed in the early UFCs.

Umm... Gilbert, you threw the first stone at Thaegen when you stated the above comment in the first page. Judge not others, lest ye be judged yourself. I'm at a loss here. You created this thread and brought the topic up. Now you don't want to talk about it, except via email?!? Forums are a great place to share ideas, learn, pose questions, and interact. It's not a great place to sermon, lecture, or insist upon faith as the guiding force. There will be questions, and if you're not ready to answer those questions... then may i suggest sticking to sharing ideas, learning, posing questions of your own, and interacting in a positive way. Just my observations, hope it helps.

But... mind your checkbook. Having an open mind does not mean being gullible. The brain is a vital organ, but it is an organ of choice use. If we were to use our heart as we use our brains, we would all need defibrillators.

It is a historical event... turned into legend through time... and then put to the screen thousands of years after. What did you expect?

hehe *walks off to the makiwara and performs a few face plants*

I'm sorry Gilbert, but you didn't answer my questions.

Gilbert. Did you study this and, if so, what form?

This thread is bothering me, so let me interject. Gilbert, if someone disagrees with something you say, it's not necessary to insult them. This also goes contrary to aikido principles. Moving on, you described three 'tricks' that have been commonly demonstrated as arguments for the existence of ki, but can you describe what ki is, rather than generally define it as the ambiguous "internal energy?" Also, you've explained the application of tricks that could very well be explained by a simple examination of physics, so i'm wondering if you can 'pinpoint' at what juncture 'ki' is being applied in your three examples. Now for corrections/comments: Unbendable Arm In one example, you explained the application of the unbendable arm. You stated that 'thinking' it's not going to bend will essentially prevent the person from bending it, while strength would not be as effective. That is not actually the correct approach, and attempting such will still allow the person to bend the arm. One is reactive power, while the other is committed power. Both fail... for they are based on the idea that such things are stagnant, or stationary. Ki is often expressed as 'energy' and is described as 'flowing.' In order to apply the unbendable arm correctly, one needs to visualize a torrent of energy flowing through the arm to a point in the horizon. As to whether this is ki, or whether it is visualization techniques... is a debatable point. Without the ability to provide concrete data of the former, we must defer to the latter as the most likely. Immovable Object In the second example, you posed the common trick of immovability. When someone attempts to push you, he is capable of driving himself towards you in any way he wishes, which gives him 'control' and allows him to direct his efforts towards your center, thus knocking you over. However, when you put force on their elbows, you are taking their control away. You are able to redirect their focus slightly up, or to the sides. Doing so means the person pushing must attempt to compensate, or fall off balance. What you are doing here is not making yourself immoble, but unbalancing the other opponent as he attempts to push against you. It is the same, if not as exagerrated, principle as someone pushing against a closed door and then another person opening that door while the other is pushing. Whoop! There he goes! An even better example would be that of pushing against a globe. If you push to the center of the globe, it will topple over. But, if you push to the sides, it will rotate on its axis. Again, the question of 'where' ki is being implemented here is sought. Since we are bipedal creatures, it takes a lot for us to push something AND stay balanced. It takes only a little bit of physics to exploit this. Cheerios For lack of a better name, the O example you posed follows the same principles as the unbendable arm. I.e., see above. As to ki, there's a nice thread in this forum that i was involved in just a few weeks ago. Does anyone remember where it is and can possibly provide a link to it?

I have experienced the greatest results for reducing back pain by building up my abdominal muscles. The problem isn't normally a weak back (backs are usually pretty dang strong), but a strained or overworked back... due to an imbalance of the front and back of your body (wherein the front is not doing enough work, and the back is having to compensate). Building up the abdominal muscles helps to regain this balance. And deadlifts?!? If you're back is already straining, that's just going to make it worse. I recommend refraining from straight-out back exercises until balance is obtained and then, when balance is obtained, supplementing back exercises with lots of ab-work, to maintain that ever-so critical balance.

i just hope you're not visualizing a chihuahua. Rick, that's more than most.

Aye, i heard the same AngelaG. Does wonders for me when my back goes out, or neck stiffens up.

I'm thinking more aggressive and more assertive. Personally, i aim for being 'way overboard' in my efforts, not in matching them, or even being 'slightly' over them. Not unless i'm sparring, that is.