UseoForce

Bottom line to me: There is a universal moral right and an immoral wrong and we should all do everything in our power to do the right thing.

I think you're wrong on many levels. You said "Morals are only "good" or "bad" in so far as they accomplish our subjective wants or needs." That is wrong. We should only do the right thing when it serves our self-interest? There is more to life to feeding our own personal desires. That is the height of selfishness. I don't consider martial arts some kind of pursuit of self perfection, but striving to be unselfish is just a basic part of human decency.

Okay, I disagree with the whole premise here. I do several martial arts and NONE of them have kata.

Just to head off anybody...let's not turn this thread into a debate of what consitutes a "master." I think we've all seen that enough . What I've seen of Li is pretty awesome. I'd like to see him fight MMA style or something though, instead of just movie scenes.

I love medieval styles, wish I had someone to train with.

Go step into the ring for full contact professional MMA and then tell me its not a fight.... As to whether or not todays fighters can fight in the 8 man tournaments popular in UFC's of old, it depends on who they've got to fight. For example, todays MMA fighters are so much more skilled and well rounded than those of 10 years ago, as a result, fights are much more taxing on the fighters. There still are 16 man tournaments in MMA (Pride has them) but fighters require time off in between fights because their opponents are so much tougher and more skilled. Put one of todays MMA fighters in the 8 man of 10-15 years ago, and he'd still mop the floor with those fighters. I agree entirely on your last 3 points. BTW, NFL football or even basketball is not a fight but I wouldn't go there either. I'm not saying these guys couldn't kick my butt. I just saying that the UFC is still a sport. Don't get me wrong, the UFC is "as real as it gets" and there are tons of valuable lessons to be learned from it.

Just talk to him first. My instructor wouldn't care, he likes us to crosstrain

Today's fighter are 100000000000000000x tougher the the early UFC fighters. Every time old "legends" are pitted against half-decent modern fighters, the legends lose miserably. I have all the respect in the world for the pioneers of MMA, but the fighters today are better than ever. By the way, the UFC was always a sport. Never a fight. Think the original UFC only had 2 rules (biting and gouging)? What about: -No multiple opponents -No weapons -No concrete -No broken glass or pebbles or debris -Nothing to improvise into a weapon -The referees -The MD's ...I could go on. The UFC does a good job of simulating a real fight, and there are a host of great lessons to be learned from it. Nevertheless, it is and was never a real fight. Additionally, it is totally immaterial whether it was more of a fight then or now because the fighters now would destroy the old fighters under any rule set. Adding a few additional rules hasn't undermined the qualities that make a good fighter.

I wish you luck. I'd reccommend looking into some powerlifting forums. All of us here will help as much as we can, but I'm no powerlifter and I don't think you will find many online here. I do strength train, though, so if you have some specific questions, myself and many other people here would be glad to help!

I disagree. The UFC fighters are better than they ever were, plus the sport is getting more and more mainstream acceptance. It should stay the course (except for a few of Dana's decisions...)

I'd have to disagree with the not muscular part. He's not ripped, but I'm sure he is very muscular.

Your namesake, hip tosses, uchi mata, and various trips are my favorites.

Running for conveinance

Are you saying that from experience?

I guess it would depend. If I want conveinence or if I strongly anticipate a life-threatening confrontation, the knife, certainly. If I'm working security or something, probably the spray. Probably fewer liability concerns that with a baton. Of course I would prefer a firearm over any of the above.

Hughes would kick butt, weight classes or not.

Okay, Matt is awesome, but I refuse to believe that Royce had no chance whatsoever no matter how he trained. By the way, I just read a statement by Royce on another site. Basically says what I said: He didn't train enough for this fight.

Good BJJ practioner in MMA...Matt Hughes! Look at hispast few fights-Kimura on Riggs, armbar on GSP, and he destroyed Royce on the ground. He doesn't refer to his game as BJJ, but there you have it.

Just like to add that electrical body fat analyzers are USELESS. I have a swimmer friend, ripped and lean as can be. Told him he had over 20% body fat.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing Royce, the Gracies, or Gracie Jiu-jitsu (I love jiu-jitsu!). Bottom line is Royce was totally unprepared for this fight and gave an embarassing performance. I'm not saying he should have won. I'm saying he should have put more into the fight and his training. Shark Ocean thing: What you said is true enough, but relatively speaking, Royce's jiu-jitsu SHOULD have made him into the proverbial shark. He's probably been training jiu-jitsu since before Matt was born. Sad to see Royce lose like this.

Right now, I'd say I'm somewhat ashamed of Royce. I've always supported him and the other Gracies so much. Heck, the amount I spend on his books could feed the kids and pay the rent itself! I'm not ashamed of Royce because he lost. Matt Hughes is an incredible fighter. I knew in my mind that Hughes would win, but my heart was rooting for Royce. It is the way Gracie lost that saddens me. -He came into the fight in less-than-top condition. There is NO EXCUSE for that. -His entire performance was listless at best. -He got beat on the floor. NEARLY SUBMITTED?! What about sharks in the ocean, Royce? -He didn't really seem to take the fight (or the preparation) seriously. Anyone catch the hype show on Spike? Compare Matt's training to Gracie's. No contest. -He seemed to care more about a 1.5 MILLION dollar pay-day than winning the fight. I didn't expect Royce to win. I DID expect him to be in shape. I DID expect him to fight with some fire. I DID expect him to do alright on the ground, even if he could only weather a couple rounds of Matt Hughes's GNP. I DID expect him to at least try a submission. Everyone loses to Matt Hughes. He's awesome. But if you gotta lose, lose like Carlos Newton and go for a triangle. Lose like St. Pierre and tag him a couple of times. I look forward to watching Karo Parisyan fight Hughes (I think Karo actually stands a chance). Your thoughts on this fight?

I love when Jack Bauer on 24 whips out his steel...

I agree Jersey Devil. Watching Royce's old fights, frankly, I thought his jiu-jitsu was downright sloppy. Could I have gone in there and done what he did back in the early 90's? Probably not. Could I do it in another year or two if I trained for it? Without a doubt.

That kind of attitude won't help, trust me. Talk it over, have a rational conversation. 45 minutes is a long way to be driving several times a week. Maybe you can work some special arrangements with the intructor, like private lessons on weekends or something.

That's how I feel. I think butterfly knives are WAY over-rated. With the wonderful selection of top-notch one-hand opening tactical folders out there, why would you want anything else?