Jeremy Stewart
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Posts posted by Jeremy Stewart
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22 hours ago, Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu said:
Yes, but we tend to think of the -do as somehow older, more traditional, or grounding. But, from the book on the history of Taekwando I am reading, which is really also a history of Karate (because TKD is basically Karate at root), it may have been the case that the -do movement is relatively modern, that that nomenclature came after the -jutsu. And, at least by that writer's account, the -do movement very well may have developed as part of the affluence of the new Karate students in Japan. I'm not educated in the history of Karate, but I do find it interesting that Okanawan Karate was basically imported to Japan principally in the abstraction of forms. Japan already had a history of sparring oriented martial arts (Kendo, Judo), but instead Karate took on a -do priority in philosophy or orientation, at least in its first decade or so. The non-fighting nature of Japanese Karate seems to meet up with affluence, at least to my ear. You get the same thing in the appeal of traditional martial arts to the west, at times, learning less-applicable abstractions (taught to the middle class), while projecting images (fantasy?) of lethality. Today I was just reading that one of the reasons why mid-century Japanese Karate did not have much "combination" fighting and concentrated on only single strikes was the belief in that a single strike would be deadly. There was no reason to throw and land more than one strike. One could see how a martial art developed both around - do (Dao) and one-death-strike, grows quite far from actually fighting prowess. Perhaps we go to far astray in this, but I find it interesting.
It's not to far afield assessment. You can see it in general terms at a lot of clubs and gyms. The more genteel an environment a person comes from, the less comfortable they are with violence and the notion of getting hit, especially in the face. It's not always the case but from observations over the years it's an accurate one. Working class people generally don't react that way.The very notion of single shot death blows is far removed from reality and you can really only understand that viscerally if you come from a rough neighbourhood. Look at Alma Juniku for instance, she comes from Logan City. I don't know what suburb of Logan. I come from Logan. To most people from Logan, just merely existing is a daily fight. My point to that, is she feels it viscerally, instinctively that one shot does not make the kill. Such high and mighty deliberations on one shot kills can only ever be made by the rich, as they have the time to ponder such things. Here's a sad but funny anecdote on how people regard Logan City....... My son was out and about in Brisbane City. He starts up a conversation with a girl. She asks him where he comes from. He says Logan. The girl replies, don't people die in Logan?
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15 hours ago, Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu said:
Here's a long selection on the history of -do, you may find it interesting:
Here is an amazing passage that lays the foundation of Judo, as an art, right along class lines, in the words of the founder himself, Kano:
Thank you Kevin. I found the sections of the book you posted very informative and I agree the concept of do has been romanticized to fit within the ideals of a modern affluent world. I find in the above quote by Kano some relevance to the beginnings of my journey in the martial arts. My first art and love was Karate, I began training in a small rough mining town. Anyway, jump forward a bit and we're back in the back smoke and I wanted to continue my training. However believe it or not there wasn't much choice, the karate I'd been doing out west didn't exist in the city, This was in the eighties. There was a lot of as Kano put it, ill disciplined ryu around. I wanted to train at one of these ill disciplined ryu, as a lot of my mates did. My father didn't want me to train with these thugs as he put it, so I ended up at a kickboxing school that had it's roots in Taekwondo. So the point of my ramble is Karate at that time and place (at least a certain kind of karate) carried with it unfavourable association.
With regards to the modern conceptualized ideal of do, there was none of this at my kickboxing school. We trained, and we trained hard and I like to think that training in a hard physical combat oriented environment by way of it's very nature reveals oneself to oneself, because in the end it's really only yourself you're fighting. I also think that training in the combat arts gives you a certain strength of character that pulls through persnal adversity like no other art form can.
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8 hours ago, Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu said:
It's very interesting for you to expand the subject to the level of arts in general. I did not expect that! In combat arts there is an added dimension, which is that fighting itself - and by that I mean "real" fighting as a capacity - tends to favor those who are raised in rough lives. Having to scrap, or be physically competent is something you learn at a young age, generally, and these qualities and their relationship to violence, really seem to help performance in combat sports. The rich or affluent are widely seen as "soft", which is why many of them may be drawn to fighting arts/sports, as a way to prove or improve themselves. In Thailand we are seeing a huge trend of this from the Chinese middle class males who are now coming to toughen/prove their manhood, now that their country is in full economic bloom. This is repeating much of what has happened from the last in previous decades. You saw it in the huge success of the book A Fighter's Heart, by Sam Sheridan, which was basically a rich Uni boy traveling around looking for tough adventure.
So in fighting there is a kind of contrast, it seems. Over generalizing, you have the "real fighters" who come from rougher backgrounds, and then the meeting them on the other side, you have the affluent who are drawn to the arts because of their affluence. I'm not sure it's the same in the arts, maybe you would disagree. Yes, we have the image of the starving artist, there isn't the same feeling that he is a better artist because he's disadvantaged. One might imagine that an affluent person might make a very good painter, or writer.
But, I'm not entirely sure of the argument there. What is "real" art?
In the story of martial sports and arts there is a very interesting example in Karate, as it was disseminated to Japan in the 1920s and 1930s in a very abstract way, to the affluent, and that even sparring was removed from the equation. Funakoshi, was the man most responsible for bringing Karate to Japan from Okinawa, someone who prided himself on never injuring a single person:
I may be over simplifying things here, but it's all the suffix do. Do or way is seen to be a way of cultivating oneself or for want of a better way to describe it, the way to self improvement. So Karate-do, is a method of spiritual self improvement without a focus on the martial context of the techniques. Whereas if one practices Karate-Jutsu the emphasis is placed on the physical application of the techniques and there viability in actual confrontation. Spiritual edification coming second to the primary purpose in other words. Having said that, I don't see how you can have one without the other.
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18 hours ago, Coach James Poidog said:
100 percent this. Ive seen a lot of cross over in the different styles Ive trained in. Just training in greco roman wrestling you see some cross over to Thai clinching. I think the shared origins, the whys of an art starting, makes it so we will definitely have so.e cross over some where. I also think this is where innovation to you style can come from. Bjj is a relatively new art in comparison, but its evolution in the short time its been around is incredible and its all because no one limits themselves in how they create with it. I see a lot of that ability to evolve quickly available for muay Thai, especially clinch fighting. Just in the different ways of fighting muay Thai you see how imaginations evolved.
Evolution is what it's about, in my opinion. There's so much freedom in muay thai. To me, you can express yourself better in muay thai language than other martial art languages. You can take what you're given and truly make it your own. Your own dialect of a particular language so to speak. It's so adaptable and enjoyable and flows so freely between things.
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I believe one thing we lose sight of is, all martial arts were borne of the need for either war or self defense, so it kind of makes sense that similarities in concepts and physical applications would be apparent across the spectrum of styles.
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2 hours ago, Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu said:
I love sparring with my coach. It's my favorite. But I think that a lot of folks who have apprehensions about it do so because they fear having to "perform" with the coach far more than they do with another student at the gym. Like, wanting to please your coach at the same time as wanting to respect them and not be a dick is pretty complicated. Kru Nu is significantly bigger than I am, but he's got a bad knee and I worry about hurting him, even though I totally shouldn't. So, I don't kick him the same way I would kick a teammate, which just means I'm thinking way more about that than I am with someone else. But then, the reason I love sparring with Kru Nu more than anyone else is that I don't think I "should" win with him, whereas with a teammate it's way more competitive. Plus, he's got way more control than anyone else I spar, so the trust adds to the fun. Karuhat, too. I could spar him all day, every day.
I love clinching with Kru, as he maybe nearly 70 but he's so subtle and relaxed when he turns and trips you.
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17 hours ago, Coach James Poidog said:
Nice! My coach isnt much older than me but could still whup me lol but I really dont mind. Ive been told that its a lose lose to spar the coach either because you lose to them or you do well but then feel bad. I hold my own with my coach but really dont feel bad when I get whupped. I always learn from it. One of the aspects I love about combat sports is how the ego eventually takes a back seat to other aspects after years of getting dominated by others and not quitting. I feel like its one of the healthiest things one takes away from combat sports.
I agree the ego takes a back seat. Combat sports can teach you a lot of things. I am nearly 50 and started with Karate when I was 15. I had always been fit up until I was nearly 40 when I suffered a severe back injury, which has left my left leg somewhat compromised, I also suffered two heart attacks in quick succession. My point to that is, if I hadn't trained in Karate and Muay Thai, I don't think I would have come out the other end with confidence. You get used to training through adversity and this I believe helped me over come probably the most life changing event in my life (my back injury). Also, with regards to training (post back surgery), the best advice I've ever received was, you can still train, you just gotta do it differently.
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It's funny you mention it. I get to experience both ends. At my school, I'm like you, I may be the teacher but I don't consider myself the top of the mountain, I'm there to impart knowledge nothing else, however I know some students feel awry about sparring with me. But when I go to my home gym, where I learned the art and am still learning the art, I like sparring the young fighters as (1) I'm nearly twice their age and I find their energy contagious, (2) The fighters are the best to spar with as they can really help you out. Our Kru is nearly 70 and has been involved with Muay Thai since the early 80's and is a wealth of knowledge.
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18 hours ago, Coach James Poidog said:
I have the same issue. I see what I believe to be heavy interest but its got to be my bubble. Because I have a lot of connections in the mma and bjj world though, I definitely see the difference in interest. Whats crazy to me is how a video I shared on ig of Sage getting crushed by Cosmo ends up being the highest viewed post Ive ever had. Its a reposted video too, so the viewership on that video worldwide has to be bigger than any bjj video ever posted. Theres some sort of disconnect we are missing between people liking seeing striking (and muay Thai in general) and the decline in interest (in training in it?).
I think it may be as simple as they don't want to be punched in the face. People may also be under the false impression, if they train at a fight gym, they in turn must fight. The idea of sparring also scares a lot of people as they don't really understand what sparing is about. The general public may view bjj as a safer pastime.
I teach 4 classes a week. 2 at my local gym and 2 in my shed. I get on really well with most people at my gym and heaps of people want to try muay thai, however they don't make the leap. I have been asked whether or not I teach mma, which I don't. All of the people seem content to stay with their 10am boxercise class.
I have even made it clear, that I am not a fight gym and above all I just want people to come and enjoy the classes, raise your heart rate a bit ,learn a devastingly beautiful martial art with skills that are way more beneficial to them than boxercise. My classes are also aimed at people 45 and over, so they don't feel inadequate amongst the younger set. I could blab on ad infinitum, but my only guess as to why people don't train, is fear of the unknown.
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21 hours ago, Thomas V said:
Yesterday, I sent the following message directly to Sylvie.
While the question was originally meant for her, I'd appreciate other people's insights as well.--- actual message ---
I have been casually (1 or 2 classes per week) training Muay thai near my home in Belgium for about a year.
The classes are great, but there is little to no clinching.
The main reason is that the gym's head trainer has very little clinching experience.As I'd really like to get into clinching, I am going to take some privates with another trainer at the gym.
Apparently he has some clinching experience, and his knowledge is probably adequate for learning the basics like posture, balance, swimming in, same basic positions and their counters.Having watched most of your content on Patreon, (your videos with Yodkhunpon are especially awesome), there are a few things I want to integrate into my clinching sessions from the beginning.
1. Playing around with the clinch, not just doing drills
2. Building a frame (You explained it quite well in a video where you're teaching it to your friend Kate)
3. learning some extremely dominant positions to work towards.Looking through your Patreon content, the following positions stood out to me:
1. The basic lock you learned from Bank (Seems like a strong basic position to learn, and useful to progress to even better positions)
2. Satanmuanglek's Lock, using shoulder pressure under the chin (Seems like a direct upgrade to Bank's lock, if you can manage to get to it)
3. Tanadet's long clinch (Looks like it's very powerful once you get the hang of it, and can relax in the position the way Tanadet does)
4. Rambaa's arm lock (Seems like a guaranteed win, if you can get into this position)A few other positions I'd like to look into in the long term are:
Yodkhunpon's standard clinch position (1 hand controlling the neck/head, the other resting on the opposite bicep/shoulder, ready to elbow)
Dieselnoi's favorite head lock: 2 hands on the back of the opponents head, and kneeing until your opponent collapsesThese last two look great in your video's, but I suspect they're more dependent on the specific style of striking of the fighter to be successful.
Do you think the overall approach I describe above is a good way to go about learning clinch? Do you think the dominant positions I described are a good collection to look into, or would you add some more / leave a few out?
I'd appreciate any advise you can give me.Thomas
Don't be shy to just play around with stuff. Clinching in my opinion is about feeling and being relaxed in what you're doing. I personally enjoy it but a lot of people don't because they don't understand the nuances of it. So just give it a go with your mate.
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The humbleness and simplicity with which they express themselves in these interviews always strikes an emotive chord within me. I really cannot explain how it makes me feel. Joy, just doesn't cut the mustard, but it's the closest I can come.
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19 hours ago, Mathieu said:
If she wants
I'm sure they'd appreciate any help as this would take some of the work load off of them and provide a direct link to him.
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Just now, Jeremy Stewart said:
Fantastic.
. Could you forward it to Sylvie or Kevin, please?
2 hours ago, Mathieu said:He is still in life, i have his phone number
Fantastic. Thank you. Could you forward it to Sylvie or Kevin, please?
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Fantastic.
. Could you forward it to Sylvie or Kevin, please?
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Wangchannoi Sor Palangchai. I reckon he's incredible. According to Wikipedia he's a trainer at Chor Hapayak Gym, Tambon Lam Luk Ka, Amphoe Lam Luk Ka, Pathum Thani. But I also read somewhere that he may be dead. I hope he isn't and that you guys can find out and maybe do a session. I'd be stoked.
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Secrets to the Study of Any Strike - The Formula for Force
in Muay Thai Technique, Training and Fighting Questions
Posted
My Kru talks a lot about this. As he puts it, those little Thai blokes are masters of it, ever wondered how 55kg man can kick like a 100kg? This is force=mass×velocity. He can spend a lot of time talking about it.