elbows_and_knees

A few things here. 1. martial dictates fighting. not all styles have a tie to a religion. Shuai chiao is one of them. it predates shaolin and thus was not tied to any religious beliefs. Some sport styles were tied to religion prior to them becoming a sport - the old muay styles have a huge buddhist influence. Muay thai in thailand still has that influence, but outside of thailand, it's not like that. 2. 95% of us are NOT warriors. That term indicates one who has been in a war. Many people here have never even been in a fight, much less a war. These days, I think the term "warrior" is nostalgic - people like to think that they are training to become one. 3. understanding of psychology is not missing from sport styles. Intimidation is a great factor. Why do you think the stare down is so important? you are trying to break their fighting spirit. 4. I guarantee you, most of the people you run into - trained or not - are afraid to die. However, fear of death really serves me no purpose in a fight. I have never fought in the ring or street with the thought of death - only of finishing the fight. So, who is better off, you - who supposedly isn't afraid of death, or me, who doesn't even think about it?

A lot of people think that, but then they find out that it's not so easy... theory vs application.

^This is where theory comes into play. Sure, a knifehand to the throat will work. But you don't know how to time it, how to set it up, etc. because you aren't using it in practice.

in the words of bruce lee, "boards no hit back" Sure, you can practice full force on equipment, but there is a big difference in trying to hit a certain spot on a stationary bag and trying to hit the throat of your movig, resistant opponent who not only doesn't want to get hit, but wants to tear your head off.

yeah, there is plenty. Also, you can do a search on manu ntoh. He was born in africa (if I remember correctly), was raised in france and has been training thai boxing for years. He's been to thailand several times to train and to fight. He also competes in boxing and san shou.

No, but they have a known rep for it style wide. Pretty much all combat sports do - wrestling, thai, boxing, etc. In addition, there are some more traditional styles that have a similar rep - like bando, which developed along similar lines of muay thai. the traditional muay boran is tough as well. There are plenty of traditional schools that train hard I'm sure, but they tend to be limited to particular schools and are not known for it like the sport styles are.

since ong bak is not a karate movie, It wasn't on my list. But ong bak is awesome. for best karate based movies, I say karate kid (the original) best of the best

No offense, but it sounds like the problem is you... she's lazy, you outrank her, and she kept using the same technique repeatedly. If she just kept pumping her sidekick, either time it and counter, or sidestep and counter. As for your pride, forget about it. There is no room for pride in MA training. When your pride gets hurt, some people are less likely to try again whatever it was that hurt their pride the first time. Instead, look at it as a learning experience. She kicked your butt. Now, analyze what she did and what you didn't do. Next time you spar her, be more prepared. Losing happens. I've lost to girls before as well. It just means that she may be more skilled than you thought she was - or you are less skilled than you thought you were. Either way, learn from it and keep training hard.

that's not necessarily true. MA with a tie to some religion are about non-violence. Karate, shaolin, etc. those which lack that tie - shuai chiao, for example, are not.

I dunno if I would be that extreme. I wouldn't say that they added sparring just because "they didn't get it" Matter of factly, funakoshi did NOT want to add sparring to his curriculum. Look at the wonders that sparring did for judo. Look at the result it got them when they defeated the best ujutsu school in japan. Considering Kano's previous training, he definitely "got it", but he felt the need for a means of live application.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with simplicity. I have a very good spinning heel kick, yet I have never used one in a fight... I haven't needed it. I think the beauty in alot of what we do is in the simplicity. Consequently, there's not really a need for thousands of techiques, IMO. It is great to know that they are there, but I wouldn't say that keeping it so simple limits your skill by any means.

No offense, but you are sparring improperly. sparring is a training tool - don't think of it in terms of win / lose. When you do that, you fall into the mode that you described - you don't try new techniques and strategies, because you are too focused on not losing. When this happens, your progress will stagnate because you are no longer learning and experimenting. When I spar, I spar with a goal. If I want to work slipping, then for the entire session I will slip. It doesn't matter if I get hit or not - I'm going to keep slipping, as that is my focus at the present time. When you spar with a goal, you will find that you make much better progress than if you just spar blindly.

kumite when done properly is what is teaching you practical application. I'm not talking about light contact, pitty pat style point sparring where you can hit someone on top of the head with sloppy technique and get a point. I'm referring to good, hard sparring. That and bunkai teach you how to practically apply the techniques you are learning. Kata is also important, but proper sparring as a training tool should not be overlooked.

yes, but at the same time you have to think of your students. 1. not all of them will be able to afford them. 2. you may have visitors who want to spar, have had prior training, but don't have their equipment 3. students who aren't sure about their level of committment will not run out and spend money buying equipment for something they aren't sure they will stick with. you should tell your students that yes, ideally they ideally want to buy their own, but at the same time, you should have several pair readily available.

I've done that as well. I've made the handle on the bag tear, and I've bent a link on the chain, causing it to fly off. I had to replace the chain in the latter case and the whole bag in the former.

the size thing is a myth. you have to be HUGE in order for your body to slow down significantly. Look at heavyweight boxers, for example. They are not slow at all, and they have power. Don't feed the myth... breaking gones won't be an issue as long as your form is correct. Since the bag is canvas, definitely wear gloves, or else you will likely tear the skin off of your knuckles.

bjj. They will not promote you until you can keep up with the guys in the belt above you all of the time and beat them and least some of the time. I know of guys who have been white belts for more than two years, and blue belts for three or more. However, you have a different issue - you want to progress WAY TOO FAST. two months in a belt rank is nothing. Slow down and make sure you perfect what they are trying to teach you. If it that easy for you, you should seek another style. It sounds like you are looking for a mcschool.

Actually, There's nothing wrong with a set pattern per se. The problem comes when you ONLY use that same set pattern over and over. It makes you more predictable. for example, I don't always want to throw 1,2,3 - jab/cross/hook. use it, but also mixt it with other combos - 1,3,2 - jab, lead hook, cross, or 1,1,3,2, etc. when you vary your "set pattern" it appears more random even though it technically is not.

but how you train shouldn't be the point - how the school trains you should be the point. If only one person in a kung fu class (for example) trains in such a manner, then what does that do for the school as a whole, or for the art? Nothing. Thai boxers have the reputation they have for intense training because it is a standard for them. same with boxers and wrestlers.

Not really. Look at all of the overweight black belts and instructors there are out there. Also, strength is achieved through progressive resistance training. Your average football player, powerlifter, etc. is stronger than your avg. MA. Also, not all arts emphasize endurance in the same manner. I can take you to 10 dojos, 10 kwoon and 10 dojang and I will bet that none of them have the same conditioning as a boxer. The reason is because that's not what they train for.

correct - they fight as often as once per week. this kind of negates the need for sparring for them. it sounds like you may have kicked to hard before you were ready. Either that or you already had small stress fractures, which resulted in the crack if they were left untreated.

eye gouging was actually permissable. You would get warned and fined, that's it. If the guy couldn't continue, you still won.

sparring is ALWAYS a good idea, mainly for the reasons thaegan stated. Besides, when you train now, are you REALLY clawing your parnters full power? are you REALLY gouging them? If not, then you are still no better off than you would be by modifying your techniques to spar with them. Also, remember that fighting is more principle based than technique based. there are several different techniques which utilize the same principle. For example, in judo, I can do the throw tai otoshi with my leg below your knee - you will fall unharmed. Using that same throw and actually blocking your knee, I will damage your knee pretty badly. I can throw a full ippon seionage and you will land safely on your back, or I can stop halfway and you will land on your head - same principles, but different ways of doing the technique.

because we intentionally tried to popularize it. muay thai is the national sport of thailand. it's like baseball is in america. it's been like that since the 1920's when they officially coined the sport format and the name muay thai. It was brought to the US, mainly via adjarn chai sirusute with the same intention - and he succeeded. Muay thai is now a household name, pretty much. bando does not seek this popularity, nor do any other thai arts.

There are a lot of different stories, especially among the burmese and thai. for example, you know the story of prince narassuen, who the thais say defeated like 12 burmese warriors in consecutive matches, and that's how he earned his freedom (he was taken captive)? Well, according to the burmese, that is a lie. They say that he was an excellent diplomat and befriended everyone. They thought that he would be a prime candidate for helping to improve relations between burma and thailand, which is why they let him go... We will never really know, I guess.. It's the same with the history of muay thai. during the wars, most of the writings were burned, and what is left is a mix of mainly thai, cambodian, burmese and european accounts of the art. Once again, we may never really know.