"I would advise you when You do fight Not to act like Tygers and Bears as these Virginians do - Biting one anothers Lips and Noses off, and gowging one another - that is, thrusting out one anothers Eyes, and kicking one another on the Cods, to the Great damage of many a Poor Woman." Thus, Charles Woodmason, an itinerant Anglican minister born of English gentry stock, described the brutal form of combat he found in the Virginia backcountry shortly before the American Revolution. Although historians are more likely to study people thinking, governing, worshiping, or working, how men fight -- who participates, who observes, which rules are followed, what is at stake, what tactics are allowed - reveals much about past cultures and societies.
"Gouge and Bite, Pull Hair and Scratch" The Social Significance of Fighting in the Southern Backcountry [more inside]
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey
on Apr 1, 2013 -
55 comments
Wiktenauer is a catalog of fighting manuals and other primary sources related to historical European martial arts.
posted by zamboni
on Dec 26, 2012 -
11 comments
The Judo Chops series at MMA website
Bloody Elbow will help you discover the "art" in mixed martial arts. Each entry uses photos, GIFs and expert explanation to break down just what goes on in a high level mixed martial arts fight.
[more inside]
posted by Bookhouse
on Sep 4, 2011 -
47 comments
At nightfall youth gangs transform the streets of Kinshasa's townships into arenas of the fight. Although many of these boys and young men are trained in foreign fighting styles such as judo, jujitsu and karate, in the public clashes between the fighting groups, these boys and young men perform
mukumbusu.
This fighting style, inspired and based on the gorilla, was invented during the last decade of colonialism, and is an original mixture of a traditional Mongo wrestling practice,
libanda, and Asian and Western fighting practices.
An essay from
Edinburgh University's Center of African Studies (PDF - or
accessmylibrary link)
[more inside]
posted by Smedleyman
on Jan 13, 2009 -
15 comments
Born on the streets of seafaring towns like Marseille,
savate has evolved into a fighting art that rivals Muay Thai in ferocity and effectiveness. The history channel's outstanding Human Weapon series of videos
explores the roots of this martial art. Modern match-ups in the ring range from the
sublime to the
ridiculous.
posted by Gordion Knott
on Mar 4, 2008 -
27 comments
The Cossacks, a proud people with a long
history, are famous nowadays for their dancing, whether of the
mass spectacle variety, or the slightly lower-key celebration of
actual Cossacks. They have some pretty famous
music, too, often featuring
balalaikas. (Behold, the
real lyrics to "Tetris") But dancing and singing is not enough for
some, apparently, who seek to refine
Cossack martial arts.
posted by StrikeTheViol
on May 23, 2007 -
36 comments
For the past few days I have been mainly totally jealous of the guys in this
video (linked google video). It features Toronto's
Team Ryouko performing martial arts and breakdancing moves that look lifted straight out of beat-em-up computer games. I wish
this (linked google video) was me on the beach (rather than
this). Some more
here.
Others doing similar stuff include "Martial Arts Trickz" from
bilang.com which despite a pretty lame name are capable of some amazing
things (linked google video, few
more).
(
yesterdays post on breakdancers reminded me of how jealous I am of these kinda guys because they appear to me to be so free of gravity)
posted by 13twelve
on Feb 28, 2006 -
33 comments
Because He Fight To Live… And He Fights Dirty As Hell! Bob developed his unique style of "dirty fighting" during his
40 years of formal training, bar brawls and street fights, bounty hunting and busting up narcotics gangs. He served his country well as a "hot-zone" combat soldier in Vietnam, worked as a private eye, a personal armed bodyguard to superstar rock groups (like
Aerosmith, the
Who and
Led Zepplin), and a canine handler for 11 separate jurisdictions. He's also a recognized
"Chi Master" - at an infamous
Soldier of Fortune convention, he
drove a steel rod through his forearm, tied it to a new Ford Mustang, and dragged the car 287 feet... without blood, without pain, without scarring. (Don't try this at home.)
posted by Sticherbeast
on Jan 24, 2006 -
57 comments
