[QUOTE=Ray Pina;963235]Sitting here doing bong hits reflecting before surfing like I do and it hits me, that there are many here tossing out the term “sport fighting” like its ping pong. Check out this white-dude “mere kick boxer”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY6M1gZ6uMU
Does that seem like play? And that’s kick boxing. No dragging someone down and pinning them against the cage and just man handling them with fists, back fists, elbows, knees, forearms.
There is a revolution going on. We’re experiencing the best fighting this world has probably ever seen. Never before have fighters been exposed to so many disciplines… and to excel at them.[/QUOTE]
Hi Ray,
Your comment is a bit of an exaggeration. I am willing to bet that ancient Pankration was much more challenging than today’s fights and the fighters tougher than today’s fighters. The only forbidden techniques were biting and eye gouging. They fought outside in the dirt and the sand and naked!
Before anyone tries to cited the better condition of today’s athletes due to improved training protocols, scientists have already exhumed the body of a noted ancient Olympic athlete and have determined their conditioning was comparable to today’s athletes.
There is one noted occasion in the histories of a fighter winning the fight the moment he died from being choked out. He was breaking the toes of his opponent while his opponent was choking him out. His opponent tapped out while he died!
There is another noted event in the histories of Alexander the Great. Alexander was noted for keeping high level individuals such as Philosophers, Artists and Athletes, etc. around him. During one of his parties in Persia there was an argument, similar to the ones many like to have on the board here, between a Soldier and an Olympic Pankration Athlete. The Soldier argued that the Athlete was not a REAL warrior, so the Athlete challenged the Soldier to a fight. Of course the Pankration Athlete made the Soldier submit pretty easily, whereupon the Soldier, in order to demonstrate his point, grabbed a spear and ran the Athlete through. Winner, Soldier, loser, Athlete!
One cannot argue how tough they and what a manly fighter they are, but then not allow for comparisons between open hand fighting and weaponed fighting, one-on-one duels and melees! As long as one allows for exceptions of any kind they are playing by rules. Once one limits the discussion to fighting with rules there can be no clear comparison between the apples and oranges of sport and reality! If you add rules, you are playing, not fighting!
I don’t care how tough anyone is in the ring, a bullet or a hammer to the back of the head will take anyone out easily and so much for years and years of training to convince oneself how tough they are! Many times how tough or well trained you are makes no difference at all, all it takes is an idiot with a clever or devious mind and a well executed plan to take you out; I give you David and Goliath!
Another case in point is the ninja vs the samurai. The samurai fought, in many duels anyway, according to some kind of established rules of conduct, they wanted to win with honor, while the ninja were only interested in winning, no matter how it was done and to he!! with honor.
I understand that you, and many others here, enjoy the challenge of fighting to test yourself, but in truth all it would take is an idiot with a gun or car to make it all worthless effort, as far as being tough goes that is!
