History of Combat
Posted: 21 Oct 2012, 11:46
Many thousands of years ago, in the Far East (specifically China), to protect/defend small locations from higher numbered invading soldiers of larger locations, the combative martial art of Gung Fu is first developed.
It is explicitly designed for a single practitioner to be able to ward off multiple attackers – with or without weapons (e.g. swords, knives and sticks) against those with or without weapons; hence, the ‘secret’ training and warfare techniques go far beyond those of any one-on-one (present day) combat 'sport' competition (such as MMA/UFC) and is introduced to the modern era western culture by someone who becomes a Gung Fu master and instructor at the unprecedented age of 19 – Lee Jun-fan a.k.a. “Bruce Lee”.
Years later, Lee combines the ancient martial art with ‘western boxing’, wrestling and other ‘tactics’ and calls his new ‘art form’ Jeet Kune Do (JKD). First, however, Lee teaches many friends and eventually opens his first kwoon in Seattle, Washington (named: Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute) and opens his doors to whomever (Chinese and non-Chinese) wants to learn.
Up until that time, it is considered (within the Chinese martial arts community) a form of treason to teach non-Chinese; Lee is threatened by certain members within the Chinese martial arts community to stop teaching non-Chinese or face battle from their top fighter.
Lee is undaunted and states, “I will teach whomever I choose; I do not care what color (i.e. race) they are!”. The challenge is met and Lee defeats the martial arts master via submission. Today, all over the world, martial arts studios and anyone willing to learn owe Bruce Lee much gratitude.
http://www.brucelee.com/about
‘Western boxing’ as Lee refers to the sport that many have grown to love is confined (in the modern era) to hand-to-hand combat techniques and its methods that include blocking, parrying, dodging and foot movements also have ancient roots.
Similar to Gung Fu, ‘western boxing’ is not originally designed merely for sport competition but initially for warfare type combat where the smaller/outnumbered man, with superior training, can have advantages over larger/multiple men.
This general philosophy sustains when the ‘sport’ of boxing is prominently revived in the early 18th century via British bare-knuckle fighter/trainer James Figg.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Figg
For nearly a century, men of all sizes compete against each other and with techniques and training specifically designed to help benefit the smaller man (in height/weight/reach), there is only one ‘weight division’.
Only around the turn of the 19th century are the lightweight/middleweight division(s) opened; many of the specialized training and techniques are eventually either ignored or lost as competition, for smaller sized men, becomes easier.
Today, of course, this has greatly escalated with more than a dozen different ‘weight divisions’.
In the 20th century, the term “pound for pound” is coined and this further suppresses a fighter’s potential (although it may not be intentional, it is the reality) as it is no longer necessary for a fighter to successfully move up in weight class to attain a high degree of acclaim (e.g. Monzon and Hagler).
In between all of these historic occurrences, the London Prize Ring Rules (that succeed Broughton’s Rules) are eventually replaced by the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/1743.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Prize_Ring_Rules
The bottom line, folks, is that ‘pound for pound’ is a fantasy term – either a fighter has the ability to successfully compete in a higher weight division(s) or not; it is simply not reality and to be able to understand reality, one must first recognize what is fantasy.
‘If I can get close enough,’ he [Bob Fitzsimmons] once said, ‘I'll guarantee to stop almost anybody. The bigger the man, the heavier the fall.’ [1902 National Police Gazette 27 Sept. 6]
“To tell you the truth, I can beat any man in the world!” – Bruce Lee (birth name: Lee Jun-fan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KfUSBTtsFA
Believed to be a powerful sign, Lee, according to the Chinese zodiac, is born in BOTH the year and the hour of the Dragon (11/27/1940 between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.; San Francisco, CA, USA).
FILM fight scenes of:
Smaller man vs. bigger man:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ60YrIR2xQ
Smaller man vs. multiple men (with and without weapons):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKIFlaV0 ... re=related
These are just examples to give some insights into such matchups and for this account, it does not matter if the fight scenes are scripted (for anyone may look like a million dollars in a fight video) – whether it is real or not.
“Sugar” Ray Leonard talks about Bruce Lee:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Z-tTzYTG0
Countless people still ask whether Bruce Lee’s abilities are as real as they appear on film.
(Ever wonder why no one asks those questions about Sylvester Stallone a.k.a. ‘John Rambo’ and ‘Rocky Balboa’?)
Many questions contain the answers – such as, “Is there really a GOD (i.e. a CREATOR)?”
The fact that one asks those questions should provide the answers.
(Do not assume to know in what direction I am going, with the above statements – it will be revealed later).
“A wise man’s question contains half the answer.” - Solomon Ibn Gabirol (Jewish philosopher; 1021-1058/1059)
P.S.
Just pointing out historical facts – nothing personal against ‘pound-for-pound’ fans/practitioners.
Also, once the full body of my work is released (hopefully, within the next few weeks), there is no major documented boxer in gloved history that will any longer be a ‘mystery’ (i.e. their actual ability level at their peak) – such as:
Bill Farnan
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/BillFarnan.htm
Canadian George Godfrey
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/g ... george.htm
Charles Hadley
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/hadley-c.htm
Frank Slavin
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/fpslavin.htm
Harry Laing
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/laing-harry.htm
Joe Butler
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/butler-j.htm
Ed Binney
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/binney-e.htm
Lonnie Bradley
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Human:4821
Bruno Arcari
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/arcari-bruno.htm
P.P.S.
Remember, my work is about much more than just boxing/sports; hence, I need to be careful about when it is released (you will, hopefully, understand once you see the full complexity and diversity of the work)......
It is explicitly designed for a single practitioner to be able to ward off multiple attackers – with or without weapons (e.g. swords, knives and sticks) against those with or without weapons; hence, the ‘secret’ training and warfare techniques go far beyond those of any one-on-one (present day) combat 'sport' competition (such as MMA/UFC) and is introduced to the modern era western culture by someone who becomes a Gung Fu master and instructor at the unprecedented age of 19 – Lee Jun-fan a.k.a. “Bruce Lee”.
Years later, Lee combines the ancient martial art with ‘western boxing’, wrestling and other ‘tactics’ and calls his new ‘art form’ Jeet Kune Do (JKD). First, however, Lee teaches many friends and eventually opens his first kwoon in Seattle, Washington (named: Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute) and opens his doors to whomever (Chinese and non-Chinese) wants to learn.
Up until that time, it is considered (within the Chinese martial arts community) a form of treason to teach non-Chinese; Lee is threatened by certain members within the Chinese martial arts community to stop teaching non-Chinese or face battle from their top fighter.
Lee is undaunted and states, “I will teach whomever I choose; I do not care what color (i.e. race) they are!”. The challenge is met and Lee defeats the martial arts master via submission. Today, all over the world, martial arts studios and anyone willing to learn owe Bruce Lee much gratitude.
http://www.brucelee.com/about
‘Western boxing’ as Lee refers to the sport that many have grown to love is confined (in the modern era) to hand-to-hand combat techniques and its methods that include blocking, parrying, dodging and foot movements also have ancient roots.
Similar to Gung Fu, ‘western boxing’ is not originally designed merely for sport competition but initially for warfare type combat where the smaller/outnumbered man, with superior training, can have advantages over larger/multiple men.
This general philosophy sustains when the ‘sport’ of boxing is prominently revived in the early 18th century via British bare-knuckle fighter/trainer James Figg.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Figg
For nearly a century, men of all sizes compete against each other and with techniques and training specifically designed to help benefit the smaller man (in height/weight/reach), there is only one ‘weight division’.
Only around the turn of the 19th century are the lightweight/middleweight division(s) opened; many of the specialized training and techniques are eventually either ignored or lost as competition, for smaller sized men, becomes easier.
Today, of course, this has greatly escalated with more than a dozen different ‘weight divisions’.
In the 20th century, the term “pound for pound” is coined and this further suppresses a fighter’s potential (although it may not be intentional, it is the reality) as it is no longer necessary for a fighter to successfully move up in weight class to attain a high degree of acclaim (e.g. Monzon and Hagler).
In between all of these historic occurrences, the London Prize Ring Rules (that succeed Broughton’s Rules) are eventually replaced by the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/1743.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Prize_Ring_Rules
The bottom line, folks, is that ‘pound for pound’ is a fantasy term – either a fighter has the ability to successfully compete in a higher weight division(s) or not; it is simply not reality and to be able to understand reality, one must first recognize what is fantasy.
‘If I can get close enough,’ he [Bob Fitzsimmons] once said, ‘I'll guarantee to stop almost anybody. The bigger the man, the heavier the fall.’ [1902 National Police Gazette 27 Sept. 6]
“To tell you the truth, I can beat any man in the world!” – Bruce Lee (birth name: Lee Jun-fan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KfUSBTtsFA
Believed to be a powerful sign, Lee, according to the Chinese zodiac, is born in BOTH the year and the hour of the Dragon (11/27/1940 between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.; San Francisco, CA, USA).
FILM fight scenes of:
Smaller man vs. bigger man:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ60YrIR2xQ
Smaller man vs. multiple men (with and without weapons):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKIFlaV0 ... re=related
These are just examples to give some insights into such matchups and for this account, it does not matter if the fight scenes are scripted (for anyone may look like a million dollars in a fight video) – whether it is real or not.
“Sugar” Ray Leonard talks about Bruce Lee:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Z-tTzYTG0
Countless people still ask whether Bruce Lee’s abilities are as real as they appear on film.
(Ever wonder why no one asks those questions about Sylvester Stallone a.k.a. ‘John Rambo’ and ‘Rocky Balboa’?)
Many questions contain the answers – such as, “Is there really a GOD (i.e. a CREATOR)?”
The fact that one asks those questions should provide the answers.
(Do not assume to know in what direction I am going, with the above statements – it will be revealed later).
“A wise man’s question contains half the answer.” - Solomon Ibn Gabirol (Jewish philosopher; 1021-1058/1059)
P.S.
Just pointing out historical facts – nothing personal against ‘pound-for-pound’ fans/practitioners.
Also, once the full body of my work is released (hopefully, within the next few weeks), there is no major documented boxer in gloved history that will any longer be a ‘mystery’ (i.e. their actual ability level at their peak) – such as:
Bill Farnan
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/BillFarnan.htm
Canadian George Godfrey
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/g ... george.htm
Charles Hadley
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/hadley-c.htm
Frank Slavin
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/fpslavin.htm
Harry Laing
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/laing-harry.htm
Joe Butler
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/butler-j.htm
Ed Binney
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/binney-e.htm
Lonnie Bradley
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Human:4821
Bruno Arcari
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/arcari-bruno.htm
P.P.S.
Remember, my work is about much more than just boxing/sports; hence, I need to be careful about when it is released (you will, hopefully, understand once you see the full complexity and diversity of the work)......