Danny boy

Rammon Dekker/Holland. Ryan Simpson/Holland. Danny Bille/France. Stephan Nikiema/France JWP/Australia Daniel Dawson/Australia. Shane Chapman/New Zealand. Orono/Thailand. Namkhbuan/Thailand. Sakmongkol/Thailand. Ivan Hypolite/Holland. and the list goes on and on... Those are my favourite but Thailand is always coming up with new superstars all the time.

They haven't had much luck against the Aussies,Nick Ring was beat by Scott Bannan and Nick was one of Mikes top boys.and Canada's Melvern Murry way done by a couple of Aussies aswell(I think Alex Tui and Steven Vick,I 'm not sure which) The Thai's who fight outside of Thailand are different from the ones who are stadium champions,a different class.It's good to see that guys like Mike Miles promoting the real thing.There is one Canadian who I think has heaps of go,Mike McDonald but I think he should compete at cruiserweight not heavyweight ,alot of those guys on the K-1 circuit are bigmothers and he does look small compared to them.By far the best Kickfighter to come out of Canada would have to be Peter "Sugarfoot"Cunningham,that guy was magic. Cheers.

Thai pads are a good all round tool for all the above but you will need a good pad man to get the best out of it,he will have to know the right combinations of drills and how to hold them. Heavy bag drills are good for the power,as well as it conditions your shins. One tip with your shin ,roll them -don't ever tap or kick anythink that could create a hairline fracture or you have reaccuring injuries,I'd suggest pads and the heavybag filled with rubber shreddings. As for the body workout,I'm not sure what you mean,if your talking conditioning then that just comes from training,roadwork(anywhere from 2-8km depending if your competing),situps (minimum of 30minutes a day) and lots of pad and bag work. The grappling and knee work is best done with a partner. Hope thats a help to you,train hard. Cheers,

Van Damme did Ballet and Shotokan Karate. He came to Aussie to do some promo stuff hit on a media guy missus when the media guy put it on him he ducked for cover. I know that a guy called Zito belted him in a stripclub because Van Damme was mouthing off,Zito was a former body guard of his and Mickey Rourke. Sounds like a hard core hero to me.

On the subject of the kickboxer movie with Van Damme,alot of Thai's were very unhappy and annoyed at their sport being portrayed as it was in the movie and the way that Dennis Alexio was bumped out the back of the stadium really pissed off a lot of officials,from what I was told the producers never told the officals or Stadium directors what they were planning and did it in an underhanded way.They weren't happy about being portrayed as a negative and brutal sport.

I personally think it should be up to the individual but it is a good phsyc-up before a fight(thats a personal thing).

I have seen a lot of so called Muay Thai instructors who teach TDK or Karate in their usual class then put on Muay Thai short and say they are now doing Muay Thai...Kickboxing maybe but most of these cats know very little (to nothing about MT). Just because your wearing the shorts doesn't give you the knowledge(it's like someone just putting on a blackbelt and saying they are a master on Karate and not having a clue),I'd urge anyone truely interested in Muay Thai to check a persons background and who taught them.

Do you think that fighters should do the Ram Muay before a fight as the Thais do?

I'm all for it!

The kids start training at a young age in Thailand because they going to compete its their lively hood,at your age it's not a good age to start to compete but for the training and fitness not a problem,most fighting gyms have separate classes for fighters so I think you will find it not a problem. I have finished competing and still train with the boys and I'm a few years older than you.You'll probably find it addictive.

I like the standard check,the knee check (when they kick you use your knee to check their shin,you checking leg must be on the floor and solid,easy to show hard to explain), Tep or stop kick,evasiveness( make them miss,save your legs aswell) and direct counter(attacking at the same time,similar to a tep). Cheers.

We call that a "tep" if you are good at that you can also stop it before the kick can gain momentum,especially if its a rear leg kick. I have taught my boys to use the Tep or stop hit like a jab constantly attacking the lead leg it makes your opponent very weary of kicking. In Muay Thai if you try that "Touch and go!" move you may end up with a cracked rib ,it may work however if you are moving away from the kick and hook instead of a jab and then go straight into grappling and knees. Thanks for your time, Cheers.

I personally like to catch and counter low and take the support leg out as Ken is discribing. Another is a high check and counter drop shot. That if its Muay Thai ,I don't think you can catch in kickboxing(holding and kicking)Always keep it simple and fast,not to many mechanical moves.

Hi Ken, I have known one Silat guy who competed and he did very well,even with gloves on. I understand your point,there are alot of unproven masters out there but I also think each to their own let them be in there dream world,reality will always rear its ugly head and they may be in for a real shock. Whether you agree with sparring with gloves on or not, it provides you with feed back as to how you will handle a situation when someone is trying to take you out ,even if it is under controlled situation and has rules. Will you panic ,turn your back,freeze up or will you dig deep and do what you've been trained to do...nothing does this better than sparring. I have worked the clubs and pubs and seen guys who are supposed to be Martial artist get beat by guys they should handle easy..I would be very weary of any MA that talks alot without the proof to back it up. Cheers buddy,

There's an old saying"it's not the size of the dog in the fight.it's the size of the fight in the dog!" Having said that it really depends on the individual.

Since there is a wide variety of style on here I am interested to know what you think is the most effective kick for the street? Please state your reasons and art you practise,thanks.

I'd like to get a copy of the fight on tape and see these guys at their prme.

I'm based on the Gold Coast ,the TDK was Chang Moo Kwan and then through a mate switched to Jung Do Kwan which was so to compete in competition of which I was in the state team. Retired to compete in kickboxing. My Instructor in the Military TDK earned his BB while in the Army during the Korean war. I was 15,switched at 17 and began KB at about 18/19. I'm in my 30's now,but feel 18.

Thanks but they didn't have it but they do have some great tapes.

You'd know me from the other message board as The Real Danny,my background is Muay Thai,Kyokushin Kai,Military TDK and currently cross training in the submission arts. I've been involved in the arts since I was 10 when My old brother dragged me to the local boxing club. I've fought as a amateur and Pro ,have trained fighters and helped promote the sport. I've trained/fought in Australia,New Zealand,U.S.A,Thailand,Mexico,Canada,Hong Kong and Singapore. Currently I'm retired from fighting but you never know???It's in my blood!

In my book Bruce Lee was the most real,but I think the point here is they are all movie stars ,whether they can fight doesn't really matter it's their screen presents and acting presents.Hey,there are some actors who can look the part but don't claim to be great martial artist..eg:Robert Dinero in Raging Bull,Danniel Day Lewis,Sly Stalone,Wesley Snipes,Mel Gibson,Mickey Rourke(even though he did box)Brad Pitt,to name a few. The poin is that it the movie business,the business of fantasy

Who does everyone think the pound for pound best muay thai or kickboxer is? My pick is : Ryan Simpson/Holland. JWP/Australia. Shane Chapman/New Zealand. Alex Gong/USA Stephan Niekima/France Orono/Thailand. Samson/Thailand. Runners up: Rammon Dekker/Holland Danny Bille/France. Who do you guys think?

Hey Ken you are partially right about where the name kickboxing came from but the Japanese called it kickboxing in the 60's which was their modified version of muay thai.The American version was born with guys like Joe Lewis and Baines ect which was as you said born from various Martial arts. Muay Thai and kickboxing are worlds apart,its like compairing karate and tae kwon do,they all kick and punch but they are all very different. I like the new set up , Cheers, (Previously known as the Real Danny but now just Danny Boy) ::

I know this is an oldie but I'd be curious to see this fight anyone got a copy on video?

Isn't French Savate big over there,it sort of like kickboxing with a twist,maybe your friend should try that art?