Theme: Agency

Boxing is the single most effective means of fighting – particularly if it will ever be other than one-on-one. It is not uncommon for a boxer to take out half a dozen men in sequence. And with boxing, like firearms, you can gain dramatic returns on the first 20% of training, and it preserves movement. Boxing is fast. Kickboxing expands asymmetries of strength by using very strong limbs(legs) to weaken the fragile point of larger attackers (legs/knees). Kickboxing is less fast. One on one wrestling, in which ju jitsu attempts to circumvent the problem of asymmetric size and strength by capture and exploitation of weak spots, especially joints. To no small degree these three techniques, like rifle, pistol, and knife, provide a spectrum, boxing and movement, kicking to weaken, and wrestling to obtain submission, provide situational value. Wrestling is slow. The rest of the martial arts are more equivalent to ballet for men – fitness, calm, confidence, discipline. But the difference between rational man and impulsive animal is that animals (watch chimps and gorillas) go ‘all in’. Man does not. Boxing teaches you to go all in the way other disciplines do not. The principle weakness I have seen in sports and all walks of life, is that men have abandoned the impulse to go all in and ‘let the berserker do his job’. The problem is you must only practice boxing against pads, with a tutor, and not actually engage in bouts. Damage to to the brain – even a little of it, is possibly the worst accumulated cellular damage you can absorb. I fought a lot (multiple times a week) as a child because of the era and geography(farmers) – and everyone was bigger than my little Breton frame. My strategy was to rush, take a hit, get them on the ground and choke them out, or exhaust them. It was always successful (really) even if I felt I rarely ‘won’ in a conflict where I turned someone blue – knocking people out provides a disincentive, and wearing people out gives them confidence in future opportunity. In junior high and high school I was in wrestling for a while and took only two belts in Karate, and after college I took fencing. ( But i find close engagement with other sweaty males too disgusting to tolerate on a regular basis. lol) As an adult I just carry a gun whenever possible and avoid conflict. And that is the best strategy I know of. I’ve written about this before, but my chief antagonist turned out to be a dangerous criminal arsonist, and multiple murderer. He was so fast with punches you couldn’t see them. The only choice was a ground war. He was notoriously unstoppable in fights. The only way to survive (not win) was to get on the ground. Today, we do not have those kinds of fights. And we have developed a tendency for hit and runs. (watch ghetto fights, street fights, classroom fights, bar fights.) And between MMA and the availability of videos, the answer is pretty obvious: box. (Oh. BTW. Knives are an assassination weapon, not something you fight with. That’s just stupid.)

Boxing is the single most effective means of fighting – particularly if it will ever be other than one-on-one. It is not uncommon for a boxer to take out half a dozen men in sequence. And with boxing, like firearms, you can gain dramatic returns on the first 20% of training, and it preserves movement. Boxing is fast. Kickboxing expands asymmetries of strength by using very strong limbs(legs) to weaken the fragile point of larger attackers (legs/knees). Kickboxing is less fast. One on one wrestling, in which ju jitsu attempts to circumvent the problem of asymmetric size and strength by capture and exploitation of weak spots, especially joints. To no small degree these three techniques, like rifle, pistol, and knife, provide a spectrum, boxing and movement, kicking to weaken, and wrestling to obtain submission, provide situational value. Wrestling is slow. The rest of the martial arts are more equivalent to ballet for men – fitness, calm, confidence, discipline. But the difference between rational man and impulsive animal is that animals (watch chimps and gorillas) go ‘all in’. Man does not. Boxing teaches you to go all in the way other disciplines do not. The principle weakness I have seen in sports and all walks of life, is that men have abandoned the impulse to go all in and ‘let the berserker do his job’. The problem is you must only practice boxing against pads, with a tutor, and not actually engage in bouts. Damage to to the brain – even a little of it, is possibly the worst accumulated cellular damage you can absorb. I fought a lot (multiple times a week) as a child because of the era and geography(farmers) – and everyone was bigger than my little Breton frame. My strategy was to rush, take a hit, get them on the ground and choke them out, or exhaust them. It was always successful (really) even if I felt I rarely ‘won’ in a conflict where I turned someone blue – knocking people out provides a disincentive, and wearing people out gives them confidence in future opportunity. In junior high and high school I was in wrestling for a while and took only two belts in Karate, and after college I took fencing. ( But i find close engagement with other sweaty males too disgusting to tolerate on a regular basis. lol) As an adult I just carry a gun whenever possible and avoid conflict. And that is the best strategy I know of. I’ve written about this before, but my chief antagonist turned out to be a dangerous criminal arsonist, and multiple murderer. He was so fast with punches you couldn’t see them. The only choice was a ground war. He was notoriously unstoppable in fights. The only way to survive (not win) was to get on the ground. Today, we do not have those kinds of fights. And we have developed a tendency for hit and runs. (watch ghetto fights, street fights, classroom fights, bar fights.) And between MMA and the availability of videos, the answer is pretty obvious: box. (Oh. BTW. Knives are an assassination weapon, not something you fight with. That’s just stupid.)