Martial Arts Experiences Discussion Thread

[James Y]

Brutal Knockouts 2022

https://youtu.be/vUDOYVQLIEg

Jim

[James Y]

Low Inside Heel Hook to High Instep Kick

From the Hwa Rang Do style.

https://youtube.com/shorts/fnsfl1w80dg?feature=share

Jim

[James Y]

Martial Arts vs Street Fighting

Featuring Geoff Thompson

As always, excellent stuff from Geoff Thompson. Not many 'traditional' martial arts emphasize pre-emptive striking. And Mr. Thompson emphasizes having one good, highly-developed, pre-emptive strike. Other techniques and skills can be used for backup, but that one pre-emptive striking technique, whatever yours is, must be honed to perfection. Meaning trained and trained until you're sick of it, and then training it some more, until it's an automatic action. Mr. Thompson's chosen pre-emptive strike during his years working the door at one of the UK's roughest clubs was a right cross to the chin or jaw.

The reason for choosing one single pre-emptive striking technique is to eliminate the problem of having too many options, which will cause hesitation in a real situation.

https://youtu.be/KwF30Szln-A

Jim

[Naperville]

Allegedly Norman Schwarzkopf said, "The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war." The folks losing in these combative sports competitions are better than 90% of the street fighters out there. Besides, win lose or draw it is fun to get in there and do it.

[James Y]

Allegedly Norman Schwarzkopf said, "The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war." The folks losing in these combative sports competitions are better than 90% of the street fighters out there. Besides, win lose or draw it is fun to get in there and do it.

Agreed.

One thing I have been thinking a lot about lately whenever I watch contact sports is CTE. I remember back in the early 2000s, many MMA/ "cage fighting" fans claiming that MMA does not cause CTE, because unlike boxing, it's not just punching, but also includes grappling, which doesn't cause head trauma.

Which is nonsense, of course. Back then, MMA was still in its early stages in the States. Now we are seeing the effects of CTE in several MMA fighters, particularly ones who engaged in "bangers." ANY contact sport, including amateur wrestling (and probably Judo), and even soccer, can cause various degrees of CTE. It's also happened to many "fake" professional wrestlers. One doesn't need to be KO'd to get it; it's a cumulative effect of jarring of the brain. I've heard it can be present to some degree in men who only played high school football. It can take decades for the effects to show themselves, if they ever do.

It makes me wonder about all the sparring I did as a young man, and the competitions I fought in, even though I was good at protecting my head. I still took shots. But that was decades ago, and so far, so good. My mental health and my memory are as sharp as ever.

Jim

[James Y]

Side Kicks Keep Getting Proven Right

The side kick was always my favorite kick. I personally wouldn't use it above the knee on the street, but in sparring and competition, any level worked for me. For myself, the low sidekick to the knee or shin is better and safer to use than the Muay Thai round kick to the leg, because the latter requires proper and extensive shin conditioning to be effective, and carries the risk of breaking your own shin if it's blocked or lands wrong.

If timed properly, a low side kick to the knee or shin is devastating and difficult to defend against, if timed when the opponent is putting his weight onto his front leg, which he must do in order to step closer to you.

The late, great Joe Lewis had a hellacious left side kick.

https://youtu.be/a57gI3pgzIQ

Jim

[Naperville]

Allegedly Norman Schwarzkopf said, "The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war." The folks losing in these combative sports competitions are better than 90% of the street fighters out there. Besides, win lose or draw it is fun to get in there and do it.

Agreed.

One thing I have been thinking a lot about lately whenever I watch contact sports is CTE. I remember back in the early 2000s, many MMA/ "cage fighting" fans claiming that MMA does not cause CTE, because unlike boxing, it's not just punching, but also includes grappling, which doesn't cause head trauma.

Which is nonsense, of course. Back then, MMA was still in its early stages in the States. Now we are seeing the effects of CTE in several MMA fighters, particularly ones who engaged in "bangers." ANY contact sport, including amateur wrestling (and probably Judo), and even soccer, can cause various degrees of CTE. It's also happened to many "fake" professional wrestlers. One doesn't need to be KO'd to get it; it's a cumulative effect of jarring of the brain. I've heard it can be present to some degree in men who only played high school football. It can take decades for the effects to show themselves, if they ever do.

It makes me wonder about all the sparring I did as a young man, and the competitions I fought in, even though I was good at protecting my head. I still took shots. But that was decades ago, and so far, so good. My mental health and my memory are as sharp as ever.

Jim

Yea, CTE is bad news and as far as I know there is no way to stop it in contact sports(soccer and auto racing sports included) and even the US military cannot prevent it. The US military was working with special helmets that measured blasts and head trauma but I do not think they found a way to fight in one of those giant rubber balls.

Have you noticed that Al Unser Jr is rarely on TV? I think he has had serious head trauma and may be a bit punch drunk.

Most of us would be lucky to see 100. Some of us will be lucky to see 80.

[Naperville]

I may have figured out what ails my shoulder. Supplements! I take a lot of them and just stopped MK-7, which is vitamin K2. I'll stop taking it for a month and see what happens. It allegedly strips calcium out of veins and transfers it to bones.

After the 3-way bypass in 2017, I wanted to see if I could avoid that problem again so I started taking K2 and D3. I've been taking D3 for years over the Winter, so I'm still taking that but now I'm down to once a day. I was taking K2 and D3 2x per day.

[James Y]

I may have figured out what ails my shoulder. Supplements! I take a lot of them and just stopped MK-7, which is vitamin K2. I'll stop taking it for a month and see what happens. It allegedly strips calcium out of veins and transfers it to bones.

After the 3-way bypass in 2017, I wanted to see if I could avoid that problem again so I started taking K2 and D3. I've been taking D3 for years over the Winter, so I'm still taking that but now I'm down to once a day. I was taking K2 and D3 2x per day.

I really hope this works out for you. Maybe that has been the problem.

As for Al Unser Jr., I had to look him up (I’m not really into the sport of race car driving), but I have noticed several older (but not “old” old) MMA fighters slurring their speech. I don’t watch MMA very often anymore, but I first started noticing it with Wanderlei Silva many years ago (well over a decade ago). Someone can have CTE and show no signs of it, because it can take years, sometimes decades, for symptoms to manifest. Lots of fighters (boxers, MMA fighters, kickboxers, etc.) stay in the game too long, because they look and feel fine, not knowing that they already have CTE. And also maybe because they have no other skills or interests in life. Gary Goodridge can’t even care for himself anymore. I’m certain that we’re going to be seeing the obvious effects of CTE in more and more of these MMA fighters as the years go on. Look at Chuck Liddell now, and even many of the younger current fighters. Phil Baroni is in a Mexican prison for beating his Mexican girlfriend to death, and some are blaming it on his CTE (though IMO, there is zero excuse for murder). CTE is a scary thing.

Jim

[Naperville]

I may have figured out what ails my shoulder. Supplements! I take a lot of them and just stopped MK-7, which is vitamin K2. I'll stop taking it for a month and see what happens. It allegedly strips calcium out of veins and transfers it to bones.

After the 3-way bypass in 2017, I wanted to see if I could avoid that problem again so I started taking K2 and D3. I've been taking D3 for years over the Winter, so I'm still taking that but now I'm down to once a day. I was taking K2 and D3 2x per day.

I really hope this works out for you. Maybe that has been the problem.

As for Al Unser Jr., I had to look him up (I’m not really into the sport of race car driving), but I have noticed several older (but not “old” old) MMA fighters slurring their speech. I don’t watch MMA very often anymore, but I first started noticing it with Wanderlei Silva many years ago (well over a decade ago). Someone can have CTE and show no signs of it, because it can take years, sometimes decades, for symptoms to manifest. Lots of fighters (boxers, MMA fighters, kickboxers, etc.) stay in the game too long, because they look and feel fine, not knowing that they already have CTE. And also maybe because they have no other skills or interests in life. Gary Goodridge can’t even care for himself anymore. I’m certain that we’re going to be seeing the obvious effects of CTE in more and more of these MMA fighters as the years go on. Look at Chuck Liddell now, and even many of the younger current fighters. Phil Baroni is in a Mexican prison for beating his Mexican girlfriend to death, and some are blaming it on his CTE (though IMO, there is zero excuse for murder). CTE is a scary thing.

Jim

CTE scares me. Scares my brother who was a Chicago police officer for 20+ years.

MMA is bad news for CTE in my opinion. BJJ is not the issue, it's the striking.

With all of the hockey and martial arts behind me, I never felt the need to get into fights. I am NO martial arts expert, I don't know I just didn't get into that many fights. Never got into a fight in hockey. Maybe only took hits to the head in 1 fight since I was 14. Not counting sparring of course....I almost lost my left eye sparring in escrima with a rattan stick once! I'll be fine though.

My brother though has been in dozens of all out brawls while on duty, and even had his squad car flip and roll. He, I will be watching.

[James Y]

I may have figured out what ails my shoulder. Supplements! I take a lot of them and just stopped MK-7, which is vitamin K2. I'll stop taking it for a month and see what happens. It allegedly strips calcium out of veins and transfers it to bones.

After the 3-way bypass in 2017, I wanted to see if I could avoid that problem again so I started taking K2 and D3. I've been taking D3 for years over the Winter, so I'm still taking that but now I'm down to once a day. I was taking K2 and D3 2x per day.

I really hope this works out for you. Maybe that has been the problem.

As for Al Unser Jr., I had to look him up (I’m not really into the sport of race car driving), but I have noticed several older (but not “old” old) MMA fighters slurring their speech. I don’t watch MMA very often anymore, but I first started noticing it with Wanderlei Silva many years ago (well over a decade ago). Someone can have CTE and show no signs of it, because it can take years, sometimes decades, for symptoms to manifest. Lots of fighters (boxers, MMA fighters, kickboxers, etc.) stay in the game too long, because they look and feel fine, not knowing that they already have CTE. And also maybe because they have no other skills or interests in life. Gary Goodridge can’t even care for himself anymore. I’m certain that we’re going to be seeing the obvious effects of CTE in more and more of these MMA fighters as the years go on. Look at Chuck Liddell now, and even many of the younger current fighters. Phil Baroni is in a Mexican prison for beating his Mexican girlfriend to death, and some are blaming it on his CTE (though IMO, there is zero excuse for murder). CTE is a scary thing.

Jim

CTE scares me. Scares my brother who was a Chicago police officer for 20+ years.

MMA is bad news for CTE in my opinion. BJJ is not the issue, it's the striking.

With all of the hockey and martial arts behind me, I never felt the need to get into fights. I am NO martial arts expert, I don't know I just didn't get into that many fights. Never got into a fight in hockey. Maybe only took hits to the head in 1 fight since I was 14. Not counting sparring of course....I almost lost my left eye sparring in escrima with a rattan stick once! I'll be fine though.

My brother though has been in dozens of all out brawls while on duty, and even had his squad car flip and roll. He, I will be watching.

Best to both you and your brother.

I wonder if CTE is going to be much more commonly seen and obvious in the coming decades. These past couple of decades has seen a dramatic increase in people becoming fighters, or simply participating in combat sports.

Many men and women who have become MMA and Muay Thai fighters, for example, probably would've never even thought about becoming fighters if they had been born 20 or 30 years earlier. Now, everybody and their memaw fancies themselves to be fighters, if you look at YouTube comments. Even if most of those commenters themselves probably don't even train, participation in combat sports is at an all-time high.

Jim

[James Y]

A Demonstration of Elite WWII Combat Techniques

https://youtu.be/gYrU7Msdx3M

Jim

[James Y]

Faurbairn and the Chinese Connection

(Video below, by Tommy Moore)

The legendary W.E. Fairbairn trained in Jujutsu, Judo, French Savate, and etc. He also trained in the Chinese martial art of Baguazhang (Eight Trigram Palm), a so-called 'internal' Kung Fu system, which had a major influence in his combatives system, Defendu. I've already posted about Fairbairn and the Bagua connection, so I won't go into that here.

Even though I have trained extensively in Chinese martial arts, I do agree with Tommy Moore that a lot of Chinese martial arts that are seen today are way behind other, non-Chinese systems, in terms of fighting practicality.

However, I will say there are some schools in which Chinese martial arts ARE trained combatively, and can fight competitively against the more modernized martial arts. And that develop practical 'real world' fighting ability. You just have to know what to look for, *and where to look.* If you don't know what to look for and where to find it, all you're going to see is "s**t." I sparred all kinds of competitive black belt-level people using my 'Kung Fu', and held my own quite well, thank you. I turned a few doubters into believers back in the day; and I've known many other Kung Fu practitioners who were far better than me at fighting with their Kung Fu. Real Kung Fu fighting is neither pretty nor fancy like in the movies. Stripped of all aesthetic aspects, it is very pragmatic.

But such Kung Fu practitioners are in the minority, compared to the mostly artistic dance performances called 'Kung Fu' today. It's not that the principles of traditional Kung Fu systems are inferior to other categories of martial arts; many of the techniques and principles are excellent and quite unique. But in some lineages, the practical application of those principles and combative training have been deemphasized for decades, in favor of aesthetics, forms collecting, 'stylistic correctness,' and the unwillingness to adapt and grow with the times that has killed their effectiveness. It's not that the techniques or the principles aren't legitimate; it's the training emphasis and the mindset that MAKES them effective or ineffective.

The many and varied ways that Tommy Moore demonstrates applications of the Tiger Claw (Fu Jow) technique is the same type of flexibility and versatility of technique and strategy found in virtually any technique in any legitimately combative Kung Fu system. I had to go into that, because MANY people see some sub-par Kung Fu people performing on YouTube, and judge all Chinese martial arts as useless in fighting.

https://youtu.be/8RAHYNihKe0

Jim

[Naperville]

Best to both you and your brother.

I wonder if CTE is going to be much more commonly seen and obvious in the coming decades. These past couple of decades has seen a dramatic increase in people becoming fighters, or simply participating in combat sports.

Many men and women who have become MMA and Muay Thai fighters, for example, probably would've never even thought about becoming fighters if they had been born 20 or 30 years earlier. Now, everybody and their memaw fancies themselves to be fighters, if you look at YouTube comments. Even if most of those commenters themselves probably don't even train, participation in combat sports is at an all-time high.

Jim

We keep an eye on my brother.

Street fights are bad news. Full time training in a full contact sport where muay thai/boxing/striking to the head is involved is probably OK for a year or two but beyond that I don't think it's a great idea. I would only study it for 2yrs max.

[James Y]

Best to both you and your brother.

I wonder if CTE is going to be much more commonly seen and obvious in the coming decades. These past couple of decades has seen a dramatic increase in people becoming fighters, or simply participating in combat sports.

Many men and women who have become MMA and Muay Thai fighters, for example, probably would've never even thought about becoming fighters if they had been born 20 or 30 years earlier. Now, everybody and their memaw fancies themselves to be fighters, if you look at YouTube comments. Even if most of those commenters themselves probably don't even train, participation in combat sports is at an all-time high.

Jim

We keep an eye on my brother.

Street fights are bad news. Full time training in a full contact sport where muay thai/boxing/striking to the head is involved is probably OK for a year or two but beyond that I don't think it's a great idea. I would only study it for 2yrs max.

Geoff Thompson mentioned somewhere that he studied boxing for a year and enjoyed it a lot. He studied it after he'd already won hundreds of street fights while working as a doorman/bouncer using almost exclusively a straight right to the chin, because, in his own words, he was "a crap boxer." But he quit after about a year, because he noticed when speaking, he was beginning to slur some of his words.

Jim

[James Y]

CTE: The Disturbing Cost of Fighting

This is an excellent documentary on a very unpleasant subject. Over the past several years, the subject of CTE in athletes, especially combat athletes, has changed my mind about a lot of things, and is a major reason I seldom watch boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, or kickboxing anymore.

Of course, I occasionally post videos here of tough fights and KOs, etc., from various combat sports, but mostly for educational purposes. I don't derive as much entertainment from watching them as I used to.

I MIGHT HAVE posted this video earlier in this thread; I've posted a few on the subject. My brain is perfectly fine; I'm just too lazy to scroll back through all of my posts to see if I did or not. Whether it was this video or a similar one, there are several on the subject now, and the good ones are worth watching.

Many young fighters either dismiss the possibility of CTE or downplay its effects on quality of life, as if it's something that can't touch them. Or if it does, it does; "I'd rather die in the ring." Which sounds heroic. But as the video shows, the reality is much slower and bleaker than that. Having cared for two people in my life who had dementia (though not from being athletes), I can say first-hand that being the caregiver is difficult and very stressful. I can only imagine the difficulty of having to care for an ex-fighter, with their violent mood swings and even more rapid decline.

IMO, it is essential in life to have a variety of life skills and interests, outside of just fighting and/or sports. A lot of fighters stay in it for too long because that's all they know; they don't know anything else. That's a very limited perspective and a sad way to be, IMO. A human lifetime may seem short, but the window of time a person can be a competitive fighter is VERY short in the context of a typical lifespan. The crowds of people whose cheers they are addicted to will not be the ones caring for them when they can no longer care for themselves.

https://youtu.be/EU4AhFFSlLg

Jim

[Naperville]

Street Fighting Suggestions

https://mdcreekmore.com/fighting-dirty-tips/

[Naperville]

Dealing with firearms


https://twitter.com/UnfilteredOnFox/sta ... 6033081345

https://twitter.com/UnfilteredOnFox/status/1619531276033081345

[max808]

Saturday February 12th 2023:

Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski

#UFC284

...who is this short guy... I didn't see him...

[James Y]

The O'Neill Cover From Bartitsu Lab

https://youtu.be/1BmK51JxdH0

Jim