sounds to me like you deserved your black belt, and were stil posessing an "empty cup" so you could learn more. Congrats.

You know, I went through hell to get that belt. I went to the hospital no less than three times due to sparring "accidents". Once with a broken eye socket, once with a dislocated finger and a third time from a broken knuckle.

One thing about really getting hit. You learn how much pain you can endure and still keep going. When another black belt hit me in the eye (we were wearing pads and gloves, it was just a lucky shot) it dropped me to my knees. A couple of seconds later, I felt like I could keep going. The instructor told me to sit out. When I went to blow my nose, my eye socket filled up with air. That was a weird feeling.

I still felt like I could have gone on if push came to shove. That's the difference with actually getting hit and knowing what it means as far as whether you can keep battling.

I have had my problems w/ the UFC type format, (especially in the beginning when people who had no business participating were getting hurt), but to dismiss all of the martial artists who have fought in them as "not respectable" is the height of ignorance and of course something that you would never repeat in their presence. I've known great fighters, legitimate champions in sanctioned organisations who would correct you about the Gracies.

One thing that I do like about the UFC is that it really separates the BS/foo-foo/useless martial arts from the ones that are superior. (Jui jitsu). Most of the popular arts taught in the US are great for fitness, but if you plan on going to prison anytime soon don't bring your kung fu. :D

sorry Denis, but I know plenty of kung fu guys who would have no problem with jui jitsu types. There is no one style that is inherently superior to another. Just like at the track...its all about the driver.

Agree with nostatic. An accomplished boxer is a "black belt" in boxing. A hardened street fighter is a "black belt" in street fighting. It's all about the man, not the style.

Where's that gun thread...

Absolutely boxing is a martial art, and a highly developed one at that. When you throw all the styles together in vale tudo matches, (popular in certain parts of the world), fighters who are not fantastic grapplers don't have a prayer. I studied Japanese karate for a while, (Mas Oyama), and my best friend has a black belt in Korean karate. Between the two of us, we have been in more real fights than I'd care to think about and both of us know that a grappler would kill either of us quickly once they got a hold. Real fights wind up on the ground 99+% of the time, I'm amazed that you guys don't understand this. Whatever, fighting is unwise anyways. :cool:

Denis, Mas Oyama was hard. He fought bulls for cryin' out loud. Once again, the grappling, grabbing, joint-lock guys do have an advantage if the skill level is there. they can even take a punch to get to where they need to be.

In fact, the early UFC matches were always long, boring wrestling matches with both fighters wrapped up for 30-60 minutes until one got the other into some sort of submission. They must have changed the rules or something because now it's all punching, kneeing and kicking with no Ken Shamrock style fighting any more.

I hear that argument from jiu jitsu guys all the time. But I don't think it is necessarily true. Someone who is well trained in long range combat (relatively) would never get onto the ground. It likely would be over before it got that far. It ends up on the ground because people don't use deadly force. That's why this UFC stuff is nonsense...it isn't real. To me, "real" fights mean one thing: life or death. If you put a San Soo guy in there, the first strike would jab both of the eyes out. Fight over. Or a Hsing I guy would do a wood punch and burst a few internal organs.

None of my fights have ever ended up on the ground. Oh wait, that's because I walked away or difused the situation rather than feed in...

I don't like to brag, but every fight I have been in ended with someone crying . . .

that was baby jezus...he hates fighting.

Or is it that he hates bragging?

oh crap...

I knew that 99% of fights wind up on the ground years before I knew what Jui jitso even was, hell, I knew it in Catholic grade school. Eye jabs? Are you freaking kidding? Might as well use the "goat rubs a tree" move from the kama sutra book of *******. If that schit worked, 1/2 of the prison population would be blind. :rolleyes:

Unless you can get your opponent to agree to stand still while you do the "one-legged crane pulls a can of whoop-ass out of its ass" move, you better know how to grapple or you will get killed. Really.

Also, eye-gouging is one of the two things not allowed even in "anything goes" contests. Must be why your guys don't enter. ;)

And yes, Mas Oyama is the "hardest" style of karate, in terms of hard/soft. I have mad respect for the softer styles, (like Jui jitso), the Gracies are the classiest fighters on the planet. Royce Gracie will pass up the chance to strike someone when the face is free for the taking because he must beat him w/ grappling for honor sake. And win he does, every time against every style. It is no joke. I think that they would accept any master of any style to come to their school and have a match, and the best part is that he would leave in one piece after they beat him. :cool:

:D :D :D

If we fight, we will both wind up in the hospital. To get my foot out of your ass.

I'll hit you so hard, it will kill your whole family.

So hard that you will get arrested for speeding in San Bernardino.

Teach you a lesson that you'll never remember.

And I could take on this Royce and guarantee the same result as all my other fights. . .

Can you spit? I like to spit.

In Jr HS I remember one fight I witnessed between a rather strange young fella and a much larger, older bully. While in the fight, strange fella reached into his pants and rubbed his butt, pulled out his hand with some poop on it and proceeded to rub it on his opponants arm.

The larger kid was in shock. A hush quited the circle of kids that had formed to cheer on the warriors.

The bully stood in horror and shock for what seemed like several minutes than a little girl gave a blood curdling scream as if she had just seen the face of evil (prehaps she did!). All the kids scattered, screaming in terror including the bully.

I remember just standing there and looking at this kid. The kid looked over at me and all I could say was "Good form!" and I walked away shaking my head and thinking about my first lesson in "dirty fighting".

He was never bothered again.

That's certainly one way to get back at someone who is beating the crap out of you.

Well since we're boasting about here....
I'm 6'4", 240 Lbs and fit and I've NEVER lost a fight to anyone bigger than me.....

...... then, again; I've never fought anyone bigger than me?


I haven't punched anyone for 15 years..... but I'm gonna smack someone real soon.......... the other day I had this idiot behind me that was a candidate! Real soon, I say.

A South African guy I know was returning with 3 South African mates from watching a rugby match. All early 40's presentable chaps.

It was late at night and they missed a train so they decided to walk to a pub for a beer and wait for the next train. Some cracker starts hassling them for change on the way to the bar. He is told to leave in various ways, doesn't, then starts getting in the face of the smallest of the four guys.

When he is told to f@#k off, he whistles and his buddy emerges from the shadows. Not knowing who else is the shadows, the guys decide to act whilst the odds are 4 to 2 (at this point you should keep in mind that South Africa has compulsory military service and far far meaner streets than Sydney).

The cops arrive a few minutes later to find 2 VERY sorry looking crackers who - quite literally - never knew what hit them...

Back in the day, if you wanted to get into a fight in L.A., you'd go to a Raiders' game. Of course, the question was, who did you want to fight: Crips, Bloods, Rollin' 60s, or just plain old assinine drunks pissed off at Al Davis. :D

Amen to that. :eek: