TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Printable Version

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - TravelerKai - 10-23-2017

Quote: (10-18-2017 11:19 AM)polar Wrote:  

Quote: (10-12-2017 08:48 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  

All this stuff works. Western scientists cannot figure out how it works and some have given it light credit but it does work well, especially if you get the good stuff from a legit store and not some watered down Western version.

If it tastes too bitter toss in some ginseng, if you can afford it. Those two will heal your adrenal glands, so beware if you start getting better adrenaline rushes that wash from head to toe.

Kai, this is relevant to my interests...could you please do a break down of supplements for overall energy levels, focus, etc., especially to sustain the endocrine system? Perhaps overall Chinese supplements that are readily available and conveniently packaged (capsules etc.) in the west?

Ah, missed your post somehow.

I actually first learned about this from here at RVF. Then I realized this was the same stuff I saw my Chinese in laws using as well as all the other older Chinese around me. The only difference is that I buy the ingredients in raw form and not droplet bottles like Seduction Sutra (aka Sebastian Sebi) recommended.

Quote: (09-14-2012 10:57 AM)Seduction Sutra Wrote:  

I got it from a friend of mine. I would say the course is worth the money. The following is the notes on adrenaline from his course.

Adrenaline is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands and is released in response to stress. Adrenaline released for short periods is not a big deal but becomes problematic when it is prolonged. When it is prolonged it lowers levels of LH Lutenizing hormone, which in turn lowers testosterone production.

Adrenaline receptors in abundance in stubborn fat areas: stomach hips, glutes etc. When adrenaline is sensitive we utilize energy from stubborn fat areas for stressful situations. When we are stressed too often the receptors get worn out and the brain gets the signal that you do not have enough energy stored in stubborn fat areas. Subsequently more energy is stored in stubborn fat areas when you eat.

Adrenaline is highly inflammatory and causes a subsequent increase in cortisol to drive down the inflammation.

Adrenaline resistance comes from too much stress: work, poor sleep, relationships, financial, excess caffeine consumption, stimulants like most fat burners, too much intense exercise.

Balance adrenaline by adding in more restoration activities: swimming, tai chi, chi kung, yoga, joint mobility, meditation, massages, vacations.

If you do three adrenaline workouts per week you need to do three restoration workouts per week as well.

Supplements that help with adrenaline resistance (complete with the supplements he recommends; see the links):

- Theanine: amino acid that helps with relaxation. Take 100mg two times per day. Also high in green tea.
- Reishi mushroom : modulates cortisol and helps with stress management at 500mg 2x per day.
- Rhodiola : An adaptogen that also helps with increases oxygen uptake.
- Siberian ginseng : another adaptogen and also helps the hormonal pathways go from pregnenelone to DHEA rather than to cortisol.
- B vitamins : B vitamins get depleted from too much stress. 1 tab 2-3 times per day with meals.
- Maca: 2-3 tablespoons per day: helps with adrenal health. Also helps women make more progesterone and is great for estrogen metabolism.
- Systemic enzymes; lower inflammation and helps with recovery. 2 caps three times per day in between meals.

Quote: (09-14-2012 09:09 AM)MidniteSpecial Wrote:  

Seduction sutra real nice info man thanks for sharing.... did you buy his thing? I'm interested but don't want to spend the coin...He seems legit though...I'm on the path now man..no coffee, trying to sleep 8 hrs plus every nite...and taking adrenal supplements, which in one week has me feeling more and more like a morning person...doing sprints...lifting heavy...getting sun...eating grass fed.....starting everyday with organic whey protein in filtered water....dark leafy greens...5-8 tbs of olive oil a day....coconut oil...flax seed oil....siberian ginseng from real good source...taking a liver supplement from argentina 100% grade a grass fed beef...having sex raw and not always ejaculating...etc..etc

What I do is buy the raw ingredients from the Chinese Traditional medicine store. I was actually planning to do a datasheet on all this shit and decided not to. I was going to take pictures of the stuff so guys can learn how to buy it, because they got shit in there at 600 dollars! Chinese think the older a ginseng root is, the better it is. Now that might be hokey, but I ain't buy that shit to find out. I get 80-200 dollar amounts and that usually lasts me a while. Also there are several kinds of Ginseng as well as fake ones.

It's a little bit off topic for this thread, but if you really want more information on it, I can try and see what I can find but I need a new photohost site to host pics though.

Chinese people also like sipping these glass vials filled with these things in a honey mixture.



Of course, the ones I bought in China were even better than the ones I could buy in Houston. The ones in China were surprisingly expensive too (in Chinese money I thought). This stuff is a HUGE HUGE deal in China for Chinese people 40 and older. It has to be a several billion dollar industry.

So to recap, my current vitality stack is the following below:

1. Panax/Korean Ginseng
2. Ling zhi/Reishi/ganoderma
3. Optizinc with the 2% copper
4. Selenium
5. Vitamin D
6. Saw Palmetto or Cialis 5mg
7. Fish Oil
8. DIM (Diindolylmethane) <- This is a MUST HAVE! Knocks the estrogens off the stomach!
9. Multivitamins

Extra stuff I sometimes take

Maca
Trib
Milk Thistle (because I drink alcohol)
Kidney detox tea
Creatine

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - TravelerKai - 10-23-2017

Quote: (10-23-2017 08:59 AM)heavy Wrote:  

Quote: (10-09-2017 01:36 PM)heavy Wrote:  

First BJJ competition coming up within two weeks. I've been spending a lot of mat time on the mat and took a private lesson yesterday.

Blew through my learning curve the last week or so, trying to keep it going until tourney. It's amazing the drive and focus generated by an upcoming competition.

This winter will be huge for me, as I'll have extra time to just be at the gym. Wish I'd have started this in my 20s.

Won Lost Won Lost (it was double elimination tournament).

I was at the top age of my bracket...middle aged dude going against kids. My last loss was to an 18 year old kid for 3rd place, and I had zero energy.

I had my first ever adrenaline dump after the first match. I was basically was in shock after it, laying in a chair, only wanting to sleep. I've never experienced it to that level.

During the second match, I was going against the guy who ended up winning. I almost landed a takedown on him where we rolled into the scorers table instead. If I'd have gotten the takedown, it may have turned out differently...he had tight game though, respect.

Takeaways:

1. Doing a tournament focused me and made me way better just leading up to it. I'm far better than I was only 3 weeks ago...even than 2 weeks ago.

2. It's exhausting. The only thing I can relate it to is running long distance. I ran a decent mile race in high school (under 5 min), and that's a similar feeling. I purposefully waited until the last minute to sign up and was the only one from my gym who entered. As a gym, normally we push conditioning more leading up to tournaments.

3. My gym (culture, owner, coaches and members) is great. I would say 2/3 of the BJJ I watched looked sloppier and looser than what we strive for in my gym.

4. I'd never cut weight before, had no idea what I was doing, and was a little outta wack all day from it. Now I know why guys pay so much attention to cutting and replenishing before competition.

This is something that could take up a few books worth of discussions. I would say there are tiers to it, like amateur, pro, and elite levels of it.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Dalaran1991 - 10-24-2017

Kai, what would you describe the fighting styles of Tony Jaa? Among all the "martial artist" in movies, he's the least fake.

It's certainly Muay Thai boxing but with a lot of SMJ mixed in, I can see several Aikido/Jujutsu locks and breaks. However, the fast strikes/deflect/ripostes hand movements must be Kung Fu?

How effective in real life is such a combination?

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Fortis - 10-24-2017

I know I'm not kai, but couldn't resist replying, Dalaran.

Tony Jaa is interesting. I heard he actually doesn't use Muay Thai in the films. I heard he uses something called Muay Boran. Supposedly, it's an older, stripped down Thai Martial art.

I usually hear good things about MT as a striking art form, but the biggest complaint I've heard from my fighter friends is that you often encounter "thugs" or criminals in your classes. Guys who are training so that they can be better criminals and stuff. Not sure how true that is. I also heard the same thing about Sanshou (sp?) schools in China.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Dalaran1991 - 10-24-2017

Yeah, I heard the same thing. Apparently that Muay Boran thing is how his most famous series Ong Bak started. Dont know what it looked like in real life. Though according to wiki, Tony did all of the stunts himself without neither technical assistance nor airbrush, so that means the moves are actually legit (but certainly too flashy for real life).

I heard all kinds of different things about Muay Thai, supposedly it's very brutal, that's how it got associated with the criminals. Then again it could be all a marketing ploy.

One such myth I heard is that Muay Thai people would punch against the wall until their knuckles are broken and numb, wait for it to heal and harden, then punch and break it down again. And again until they lose all sensation from the fist and have diamond-hard fists.

You can give me 10th dan in Aikido/Jujutsu, there's no way I would risk taking an elbow / knee strike from those MT people. That shit cray.

The vid I posted, even though it's a movie, all the bone breaking are still brutal (and weirdly satisfying) to watch.

Tony Jaa got my vote for being an authentic guy who put in both the work and the time, achieving "honest" success without sucking some Jews dick like the Hollywood crowd.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - TravelerKai - 10-24-2017

Muay Boran is basically the ancient form of Muay Thai. Ancient Muay Thai had allegedly alot more techniques in it than what we see today. If you really think about it, most likely, some Buddhist monks likely from China taught those moves to someone in Thailand and they blended it with 8 limbs style fighting. Or someone else blended it after leaving a monastery. Turning any fighting style into a spectator sport ALWAYS removes most moves. San Shou is basically Gongfu for sport spectatorship. Judo is the sport version of Japanese JuJitsu. You cannot have dudes dying in practice or the ring!

Since no one wrote anything down, we can never get proof, but the movesets bear those hallmarks.

In that video a few of those moves are not old Wushu but some Indonesian Pencak Silat.

As for thugs taking martial arts classes in Asia, that's absolutely true. Fortis knows better, but for anyone lurking, be careful who you fuck with in Asia. You don't know WHO these people are, or WHAT they do outside of class. I posted several pages back about this before. Real killers casually walk around in broad daylight all over Asia, every country in Asia.

The danger to foreigners is that not only could they be triad or similar, but the police will not help you at all and you will get slayed. Even in front of many witnesses. Never disrespect the locals and attempt to smack someone around trying to show off. In Thailand, knives, sticks, bottles, guns, etc. can be used on you, including kicks and elbows. China, Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Japan, Korea are no different except some have zero guns floating around.

TLDR: In Asia be respectful and even killers will be nice around you, they don't like attention. Act an ass, and you will be playing Russian Roulette with your life.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - ScrapperTL - 10-24-2017

If your interested for whatever reason in Actors who are also bad ass Martial Artists, check out Cung Le.
Tony Jaa is a beast but in an organized Martial Arts bout of any style, my money would be on Cung Le over Tony Jaa.
Round 1 KO!

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Dalaran1991 - 10-24-2017

Interesting, I watched a lot of Pencat Silat when I was a kid growing up in Vietnam. I wasn’t impressed because it looks very competition-heavy.
Back in Viet the more feared martial arts are the traditional stuff passed down undiluted from old families in rural villages. The stuff that Viet special forces used against US Marines and French soldiers twice their size.

What Kai said about don’t go dicking around in Asia is the reason why I left. Come to think of it the whole bullshit in Europe is not much worse. Here you cant do anything because of SJW, in Asia you cant do anything because of gangsters and killers mixed in with the people, going to temple and super market just like you and me. One wrong look and “your house will burn the brightest that night”, or so the saying goes.

I came back for one summer and took one aikido class. There was this one guy, he must be 5”2 or shorter, but is a fucking killer. Bald, killy eyes, tatoos and tiger tooth around his neck, you name it. The dude throws people twice his size around and throw punches that break jaws. In an Aikido class. I later learned that he is a professional debt collector. My other buddies say he’s cool though as long as you don’t fuck with him, but I wasn’t around long enough to find out nor did I want to.

If that was just an Aikido class, I don’t know what a Muay Thai class in Vietnam looks like.

Oh, of course I know Cung Le. He's Vietnamese. It's not an equal match with Tony Jaa because Cung has much more body mass. Tony also has less of a killer instict, he's very Zen and monk-like while Cung is in it for the kill.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Fortis - 10-24-2017

Well, Le is also like 50 pounds heavier than Jaa, so might not be a "fair" fight if they were to compete. Ha. Cung's a middleweight, right?

That said, Le is a bad ass for sure.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - TravelerKai - 10-24-2017

Quote: (10-24-2017 10:23 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  

Interesting, I watched a lot of Pencat Silat when I was a kid growing up in Vietnam. I wasn’t impressed because it looks very competition-heavy.
Back in Viet the more feared martial arts are the traditional stuff passed down undiluted from old families in rural villages. The stuff that Viet special forces used against US Marines and French soldiers twice their size.

What Kai said about don’t go dicking around in Asia is the reason why I left. Come to think of it the whole bullshit in Europe is not much worse. Here you cant do anything because of SJW, in Asia you cant do anything because of gangsters and killers mixed in with the people, going to temple and super market just like you and me. One wrong look and “your house will burn the brightest that night”, or so the saying goes.

I came back for one summer and took one aikido class. There was this one guy, he must be 5”2 or shorter, but is a fucking killer. Bald, killy eyes, tatoos and tiger tooth around his neck, you name it. The dude throws people twice his size around and throw punches that break jaws. In an Aikido class. I later learned that he is a professional debt collector. My other buddies say he’s cool though as long as you don’t fuck with him, but I wasn’t around long enough to find out nor did I want to.

If that was just an Aikido class, I don’t know what a Muay Thai class in Vietnam looks like.

Oh, of course I know Cung Le. He's Vietnamese. It's not an equal match with Tony Jaa because Cung has much more body mass. Tony also has less of a killer instict, he's very Zen and monk-like while Cung is in it for the kill.

Indonesian/SEA style Silat tends to be two ways. The competition heavy one and the killing/self defense one. From what I know, you can get both at most schools, but when they do demonstrations outside or competitions open to the public, you see the sport side of it. It's also how they get sparring practice, because you cannot spar with Jason Bourne tactics. You might have to take classes to get the rest. Talking to the instructor about what you are looking for is always key before taking any class anywhere in the world.

For Vietnam's military, I have no idea what they use now. I know that Vovinam seems to be a South Vietnamese thing, hence the main schools being in Houston, where alot of them escaped the fall of Saigon. Lots of my Vietnamese friends are into it and they are like 2nd, 3rd, or whatever generation removed from there.

Vovinam was invented to be used against the French actually, not the Americans or North Vietnamese. It's older than the Vietnam War. It's possible they are using a type of Vovinam in their military but of course they would probably call it something else because Vovinam used to have a heavy politics side to it as anti-Ho Chi Minh and anti-North.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Dalaran1991 - 10-25-2017

Damn it Kai you simply know everything martial arts related!

Yeah when talking about Vietnam everyone says Vovinam, but it was invented in 1938 (during the French occupation) and no one in the martial art community really takes it seriously. Vietnamese martial arts have a long history. For people who dont know, Vietnam is the most militaristic society in South-East Asia. With 75% of the country covered in jungles and mountainous areas, ancient Vietnamese were real badasses and their martial tradition date back as far as 1000BC. Sadly not much history is recorded.

No idea about what they teach nowadays, but in general self-defense in Vietnam relies more on grappling and SMJ than striking. The striking arts are heavily influenced by Chinese stuff. Make sense because for a people with small physique.

@Kai: another question for you (and I guess it's another thread too): just to what extent can one fight against multiple attackers?

We all know that it's not like the movies. In real life even an UFC champion might got shanked by a 16 years old pot head. But multiple attackers scenario IS real, and I suppose do happen regularly.

I think in case of 2-3 attackers, if the attackers are really noob, and the defender really knows what he is doing, then is doable. What happens if weapons are introduced (no guns, but knife, bottle, batons etc.) for both parties?

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - TravelerKai - 10-25-2017

Quote: (10-25-2017 04:42 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  

Damn it Kai you simply know everything martial arts related!

Yeah when talking about Vietnam everyone says Vovinam, but it was invented in 1938 (during the French occupation) and no one in the martial art community really takes it seriously. Vietnamese martial arts have a long history. For people who dont know, Vietnam is the most militaristic society in South-East Asia. With 75% of the country covered in jungles and mountainous areas, ancient Vietnamese were real badasses and their martial tradition date back as far as 1000BC. Sadly not much history is recorded.

No idea about what they teach nowadays, but in general self-defense in Vietnam relies more on grappling and SMJ than striking. The striking arts are heavily influenced by Chinese stuff. Make sense because for a people with small physique.

@Kai: another question for you (and I guess it's another thread too): just to what extent can one fight against multiple attackers?

We all know that it's not like the movies. In real life even an UFC champion might got shanked by a 16 years old pot head. But multiple attackers scenario IS real, and I suppose do happen regularly.

I think in case of 2-3 attackers, if the attackers are really noob, and the defender really knows what he is doing, then is doable. What happens if weapons are introduced (no guns, but knife, bottle, batons etc.) for both parties?

Only 4 people max can attack you at the same time otherwise they will start hitting themselves.

If behind you is cut off (by a wall or debris), then only 3 people can attack you.

Concepts on multiple attackers can be lengthy but I will provide some cliff notes:

1. The concept of bringing an attacker to your front before dispatching him. For example I could tiger claw someone's windpipe, use my free hand to pull him to my chest, then elbow him in the spot of his nose bridge or throat (keeping his body as a shield against the others to provide spacing.)

2. Knowing when to change your backstop. Move around to get your back covered, or in some cases when to pressure your enemies into a corner.

3. Priority. Bigger attackers. Attackers with a weapon. Smaller attackers. Even women like in today's thread. You have to pick the most dangerous to attack first, but sometimes you can use a weaker one as a hostage to demoralize the others.

4. Win the mental/frame game. If you are not huffing for air and bloody, they may stop their attack.

5. Fight to win. When surrounded, is usually the best time to hold no technique back even using their knife against their own bodies. Being a lamb will get you killed. Mobs are more dangerous than most threats and not worth that risk.

6. Know when running will work. If you have hurt a number of them and they are all showing it, see if you can escape.

7. Don't get over distracted. Don't overwatch the others to the point that you are not watching the guy in front of you pull a knife out.

8. Principles of distance and position, leverage apply to multiple attackers.

9. Use the environment if necessary. If there is a brick on the ground, you would be dumb not to use it if you can grab it without compromising your defense. At the same time, don't overcommit to any strike or object laying around. You may want to factor in them using it on you as well if you throw it, so you may want to hold it. An object like that can also help you escape as well if they are bunched up.

Fighting multiple attackers without a force multiplier of your own is serious business. The best strategy is always to have one of your own.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Dalaran1991 - 10-30-2017

@Kai + other long time fighters: after all this year of doing combat sports, how do you deal with adrenaline addiction?

Since I started sparring intensely 2 months ago, everyday I don't fight I feel extremely agitated, I can't concentrate on anything and I sure as hell can't sit in an office. In contrast while I'm in the field I achieve a zen-like focus, the adrenaline rush is ecstatic, I feel impervious to pain and fatigue. This must be what people who do drugs feel like. Indeed, it is only when I come home and wake up that I even realize I bruise myself some places I didn't notice.

Is it part of why combat veterans (those who are good at it) can never really let it go and come back to civilian life?

Have you had periods where you take a break from fighting? How does that feel?

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - little wing - 10-30-2017

I'm 21 and in decent shape. I would like to learn how to fight properly. I have some boxing gloves and a heavy bag in my dorm but that's about the extent of my fighting skills, some basic punches and combos.
Ideally I need something cheap, I can't yet afford to drop 50-100$ a month to join a martial arts gym.
Any recommendations? I looked into local MMA gyms but they are all 80-100 bucks a month. I'd be interested in BJJ but I just can't spend that much money until I have a decent job next to my university studies

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - TravelerKai - 10-31-2017

Quote: (10-30-2017 10:11 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  

@Kai + other long time fighters: after all this year of doing combat sports, how do you deal with adrenaline addiction?

Since I started sparring intensely 2 months ago, everyday I don't fight I feel extremely agitated, I can't concentrate on anything and I sure as hell can't sit in an office. In contrast while I'm in the field I achieve a zen-like focus, the adrenaline rush is ecstatic, I feel impervious to pain and fatigue. This must be what people who do drugs feel like. Indeed, it is only when I come home and wake up that I even realize I bruise myself some places I didn't notice.

Is it part of why combat veterans (those who are good at it) can never really let it go and come back to civilian life?

Have you had periods where you take a break from fighting? How does that feel?

That's a time, maturity, age, and a lifestyle issue. I nor anyone else should or can tell you how to handle that. You may find the solution on your own later on. For now as long as you are not endangering yourself, I suppose it is okay.

Most of your brothers here get the same rush over new hoes/bangs. Most here still do not seem to be tired of it yet, some guys seem to be more interested in other things now, but for me I got tired of it at around 28. Your mileage may vary bro.

Taking periodic breaks and hiatuses from anything is always healthy. It allows time for reflection and growth. I take short breaks from the forum usually once per summer and sometimes once in the fall or winter.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - lowbudgetballer - 11-06-2017

Quote: (04-12-2017 10:29 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  

While we're at it, lets go back all the way to the roots and discuss medieval arts.

There have been countless and often pointless debate about samurai vs knight, but I found a link that discusses this pretty neatly.


http://www.thearma.org/essays/knightvs.htm#.WO5E9mnyiM-

The guy John Clements is legit. A strong contributor of the ARMA movement and also knows lots of stuff about Japanese sword:

Way too long to post it all here, but it comes down to this.


I fence regularly with a buddy who does longsword, and even though we often come off even, its simply because I have better footwork. The reach advantage of the longsword is fucking huge. Imagine a 7" tall Taekwondo guy who keep snapping kicks at you while you cant reach him. But you cant grab his leg because it (the sword) would sever your arm.

With a shorter weapon like the katana you really have to go banzai and charge it close while protecting yourself with a somewhat weaker swordblade.

I would recommend people trying this out. Its great fun, lots of cardio, and might actually comes in handy with all the refugees shit going around. Suited up in full plate / samurai yoroi with a two handed blade / nodachi sure as hell beat the shit out of islamic invaders. As Charles Martel did, so shall we

Quote:Quote:

Educated Guesses

As our hypothetical fight ensued, any number of things might happen. In the course of striking at one another, a chance blow by either side could possibly end the fight. The katana may or may not be able to make a lethal or incapacitating cut (something difficult to do against plate armor, let alone a maile coat with a shield). But the knight, unfamiliar with the aggressive style or nature of his opponent, might throw out a strike that makes him vulnerable to a well-timed counter-attack. Of course, the samurai might also underestimate the power of the Medieval sword's cleaving blows and agile thrusts, even against his armor. The average European two-hand sword is longer in handle and blade than the average katana by several inches to as much as a foot or more and is not at all slow. It has a versatile hilt used for binding, trapping, and parrying. But the katana is also a fast weapon that cuts strongly and guards well and comes in a variety of lengths.

Despite its considerable reach though, there are numerous techniques for infighting using the long-sword's "half" guards and there are many techniques for striking with a shield. But then the katana is very good at close-in slices, which a straight blade cannot effectively do nearly as well. Of course, against good armor such actions can be negligible and fighting against shields was relatively unknown in Japan. So on one hand, the knight's fighting style –either of close-in sword and shield clashing, or large passing steps with long-reaching shearing cuts and plunging thrusts with a longsword or greatsword –might prove decisive. On the other, the intense, focused, counter-cutting style of the samurai with his razor-keen blade and own experience in armored fighting might prove decisive. Then again, maybe they'd kill one another?

It could be argued that the samurai by nature could have a tactical advantage in attitude and fortitude as a result of the psychological elements of his training and fighting methods. He is well- known to have integrated unarmed techniques into his repertoire as well as having a keen sense of an opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Still, much of this is intangible and subjective. Besides, although not widely appreciated, it is now well-documented (particularly from Medieval Italian and German fighting manuals) that European knights and men-at-arms fully integrated advanced grappling, wrestling, and disarming techniques into their fighting skills. They also studied considerably on tactics and the military "sciences." There is no evidence to the myth that knightly martial culture was any less sophisticated or highly develop than its Asian counterparts –its traditions and methods only fell out of use with the social and technological changes brought about by advances in firearms and cannon.

While it is known that the average samurai had a large inventory of unarmed fighting techniques at his disposal, these too would be unlikely to play a part against a shield wielding warrior. Some could suggest that the samurai was simply a better swordsman and more tenacious warrior and would likely out-fight his European counterpart. Others could say, "No way," and argue a skilled, superbly conditioned knight in full plate armor using either a sword and shield combination or a longsword would be near invulnerable and brutally overpowering. Still others could rightly point out that such over-generalized statements either way are un-provable conjecture. There are so many elements to address and practitioners who are experienced in one form of sword art or familiar with only one type of blade and not others will tend to favor what they're familiar with. It is rare to find individuals with a deep grasp of the attributes of each method and the arms involved.

Those who think the Medieval sword and shield was and is just a "wham-bam, whack-whack" fight are as greatly misinformed as those who imagine the katana was handled in some mysterious and secret manner and can cut through anything as if it were a light-saber. Those who presume the use of Medieval long-sword merely involved a brutish hacking are also under a tremendous delusion. It is a mystery how such beliefs can be held independently of those who today assiduously study and train in the subject as a true martial art, and spend years in practice with the actual weapons. Perhaps this ignorance is due to watching too many movies or the influence of fantasy-historical societies with their costumed role-playing.

Medieval and Renaissance sword fighting is often viewed by the uninformed as a wholly subjective matter either consisting of merely brute force and ferocity, or else incapable of reasoned analysis and discernable principles. Both are equally inaccurate. It is sad when leading modern fencing masters (experienced only with the dueling style of light foils, epees, and sabers) will issue naïve, unschooled statements about how Medieval swords "weighed 20 pounds" or could only be used for "clumsy" bashing and chopping. There is a definite prejudice that the modern refined fencing sport is "superior" to earlier, more brutal methods. Without going into the history of warfare, it's important to state it is a myth that personal combat in Europe was entirely crude, cumbersome, and never an art. It may perhaps be true that, only in a modern cultural context, it cannot compare to the surviving systematized traditions of feudal Japanese sword arts. However there is sufficient evidence surviving that when paired with contemporary research has given us a much better under-standing of the function and use of Medieval and Renaissance European arms and armors to confirm that they consisted of a highly effective and dynamic "Science of Defence."

Keeping our hypothesis broad

To be fair, while there is an extraordinary amount of nonsense and fantasy surrounding historical European swords and sword arts, there is a good deal of myth and ignorance on the true teachings of historical Japanese fencing. While there is today an active subculture promoting and preserving historical Japanese bujutsu or practicing modern budo and a great deal is also known about their practice, the equivalent can not yet be said for "lost" Medieval or Renaissance fighting arts. But, at least for the latter, there are dozens of surviving technical guides from the period describing the actual methods and techniques of knights and men-at-arms in great detail.

So, given the complexities of the question of what kind of knightly arms and armor from what period we could consider in a hypothetical knight-samurai encounter, it might be easier to just imagine an unarmored duel, sword against sword, without shields. Let's assume that our gladiatorial fantasy would be fought by two respective 15th century warriors with single swords alone. In this way we essentially have two fighting men both experienced in using a long sword as well as fighting unarmored.

This solves a lot of questions. But even here the issue is problematic. We still need to ask what kind of katana and what kind of longsword? What length of blade and handle? There was no standard generic model for either weapon, after all. So, assuming that we choose two weapons of comparative dimensions, we could make the knightly longsword of the cruciform-hilted, double-edged, slightly tapering variety.

Under this scenario, the katana would have a slight advantage, we could imagine. It's adept in unarmored cut and thrust fighting where the slightest wound from its keen edge could perhaps sever a hand or disabled an arm. It could also thrust well and might even threaten a pressing or slicing draw if close in. The half-swording techniques of the longsword would also not be nearly as viable here, though its hilt design might prove very useful. While the longsword would be menacing in its quick and long-reaching thrust, its stabbing attacks would perhaps not be that unfamiliar to a samurai use to facing spears. On the other hand, the knight would himself not be that unused at all to facing a curved single-edged blade, likely being skilled in or familiar with such ones as the falchion, badelaire, messer, long Grossemesser, and even Turkish scimitars. So again, the outcome of the match would come down to intangibles of personal attitude and individual prowess. As to the issue of the deadliness of thrusting wounds versus cutting ones, well, the historical and forensic evidence does favor the lethality of stabs--but only in contrast to lacerating flesh wounds not deep cleaving blows.

Considering the many issues brought out in describing the modern reconstruction of historical European martial arts, contrasting them with the practice of Asian fighting arts is a legitimate area of speculation. If we had a time machine and for depraved research wanted to go back, grab a hundred random Medieval knights and an equal number of samurai, match them one on one and throw them at each other, we might be able to come up some statistical averages (and some serious ethical problems, as well). In one sense we are talking about very different approaches to armed personal defense in this comparison. But, then again it's all the same when reduced to two armed combatants facing one another in antagonistic combat. There are many universal commonalities and shared fundamentals between both European and Japanese feudal warriors, but there were also significant technical and stylistic differences in their respective approaches. If not, their martial histories and their arms and armors would not have been so distinct.

So what can we really know?

As can be seen, there are just far too many variables and unknowns to make a judgment either way for such a theoretical question as who could defeat whom between knights and samurai. The fight cannot be reduced to any generalized statements about who had the overall historical advantage in skill or who had the superior array of arms and armor. In matters like this we certainly cannot not invoke mystical principles or endless "what ifs" and still engage in intelligent conjecture. All we can do is give an opinion of questionable value. Still, it is an intriguing comparison to ponder objectively.

Are you guys aware of the Samurai pirates fighting the Spanish in the Phillipines?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1582_Cagayan_battles

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - lowbudgetballer - 11-07-2017

Quote: (11-06-2017 01:32 PM)lowbudgetballer Wrote:  

As can be seen, there are just far too many variables and unknowns to make a judgment either way for such a theoretical question as who could defeat whom between knights and samurai.

Also, this Eastern European beheaded a samurai.

https://www.meettheslavs.com/legendary-m...word-duel/

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Dalaran1991 - 11-08-2017

@lowbudget: concerning the Russian guy vs Samurai, I stopped reading after he "BEHEADED" the samurai. Contrary to Hollywood and video game, almost no cutting weapon can cut off a man's head, especially if used one-handed while on horseback. Unless it's an execution. A moving target makes it mechanically very very difficult to behead someone.

If they said he slash open his head/neck I might have consider it.

Jap pirates against organized, professional spanish soldiers is really a no-brainer here... The Spanish has pikemen, gunners AND swords and bucler man. That's basically the ideal army composition for late medieval period.

I was talking about individual one on one knight vs samurai. Comparing group combat between late medieval professional European soldiers to a bunch of unorganized pirates is not the same thing.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Leonard D Neubache - 11-08-2017

Although it would be exhausting to research in detail, I would love to see combat comparisons on an equipment-cost/training-hours basis.

People often talk about how the katana is so desperately superior to the spear or the gladius, but how many Roman soldiers could you train and arm per one Samurai?

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Leonard D Neubache - 11-08-2017

Quote: (10-30-2017 07:53 PM)little wing Wrote:  

I'm 21 and in decent shape. I would like to learn how to fight properly. I have some boxing gloves and a heavy bag in my dorm but that's about the extent of my fighting skills, some basic punches and combos.
Ideally I need something cheap, I can't yet afford to drop 50-100$ a month to join a martial arts gym.
Any recommendations? I looked into local MMA gyms but they are all 80-100 bucks a month. I'd be interested in BJJ but I just can't spend that much money until I have a decent job next to my university studies

I'm not an expert like TK but one often overlooked piece of advice I can give with authority is to build your grip strength. Start today. Treat it like lifting. Work that grip and give your hands a day of rest. Don't overdo it to the point where you damage your tendons. It's not quite like bicep curls where you can just keep going until your arms give out. For that reason it takes time to build grip strength without compromising it in the long term, but the good news is that it's easy to fit into your routine.

Unless you end up doing a purely striking form then having an incredible grip is a massive advantage.

A friend of mine wanted to teach me how to break a wrist grab (I was humouring him). I grabbed at maybe quarter strength. He told me "nah, mate, grab as hard as you can!" He tapped out a second later.

Whether you're scruffing some jerk or applying a wrist lock, having good grip strength is a real game changer.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - TravelerKai - 11-08-2017

Quote: (10-30-2017 07:53 PM)little wing Wrote:  

I'm 21 and in decent shape. I would like to learn how to fight properly. I have some boxing gloves and a heavy bag in my dorm but that's about the extent of my fighting skills, some basic punches and combos.
Ideally I need something cheap, I can't yet afford to drop 50-100$ a month to join a martial arts gym.
Any recommendations? I looked into local MMA gyms but they are all 80-100 bucks a month. I'd be interested in BJJ but I just can't spend that much money until I have a decent job next to my university studies

Take boxing. Some boxing gyms are as low as 35 bucks a month. Depends on where you live. I have had guys in California tell me their boxing memberships were 50 a month. The lowest I have ever seen personally in Texas was 25. It just varies.

Boxers that switch to MMA, don't have to waste a tremendous amount of time on handwork, so you will be ahead so to speak, when you are ready to switch.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - lowbudgetballer - 11-09-2017

Quote: (11-08-2017 06:35 AM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  

@lowbudget: concerning the Russian guy vs Samurai, I stopped reading after he "BEHEADED" the samurai.

Point taken. Conversely, 2 documented incidents.

'baller

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - Dalaran1991 - 11-13-2017

Kai, can you recommend some general endurance routine for contact combat sport? Something easily integrated into daily/weekly routine (just no running please)?

I realize that I have great aggression, ballistic force and speed, but I tire way too quickly. So this means while I do well in matches with a point system, I often struggle in "fight until either of you drop" matches.

Either I'm expanding my force way more than it's necessary, or I just dont have enough endurance (make sense cause I never really trained for it). Maybe both.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - H1N1 - 11-13-2017

^ you're also new to the sport, and are unlikely to have relaxed properly yet. Consequently, you're probably expending far more energy than you should be to complete every action. With all the activity you have posted that you do on a weekly basis, I suspect your conditioning is fine, you just need time in the sport so you can learn to relax, and fight hard whilst still being loose.

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TravelerKai’s Martial Arts Datasheet - TravelerKai - 11-13-2017

Quote: (11-13-2017 06:36 AM)H1N1 Wrote:  

^ you're also new to the sport, and are unlikely to have relaxed properly yet. Consequently, you're probably expending far more energy than you should be to complete every action. With all the activity you have posted that you do on a weekly basis, I suspect your conditioning is fine, you just need time in the sport so you can learn to relax, and fight hard whilst still being loose.

It's called White Belt Syndrome in BJJ. Most new white belts try to rip people's heads off, choke others to death, crushing their own arm in the process, and try to break off everyone's arm.



Work with the techniques you know and do them slower and correctly. The speed and endurance will come later on afterwards.

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