Dog Brothers Public Forum

Sending fight reg.form tomorrow. I doubt I will fight this gathering but, I will register now just in case I change my mind at the last second.    DT

I understand not fighting if you don't feel up to it but, it is a good Idea ( IMHO) to test yourself (within reason)  in extreme conditions when you are not at your peak performance. In real life you do not necessarily have the luxury of preparing for a physical altercation. With that in mind,  I would suggest fighting  under these conditions at least once. Who knows, you may discover something about yourself or maybe get an idea of what your limitations are under similar conditions in the future..                                                     Like DIRTY HARRY said  " A man's got to know his limitations"  DT

I feel many teachers, teach more structured techniques with the idea that it can be expanded upon later by the student.. Sort of a jumping off point in the right direction.  DT

Your like the energizer rabbit!  You keep going and going. 

This classic takes the cake when it comes to embarrassment.     DT                                              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB6KtCHCwuI

 BTW.    No divorce court for this dog.. We went through a mediator and hashed things out quite painlessly.. We may not be the sharpest tools in the shed but, we realize that going to war with each other would be harmfull  to our 5.5 yr old daughter and our families.  In fact we still care and respect each other very much..The truth is sometimes people grow appart for whatever reasons and one must face that fact with the knowledge that it is a human condition. Life is good so why f***  it up!      DT

 My life has been flooded with so many responsibilities this last decade that, working out and training have almost become a thing of the past. I trained for a very short period before entering the last gathering just to try and work out a couple of moves and try to shake the the cobb webs of time. I stay fairly active in my every day life (kids) so that helps to maintain muscle and range of motion to some degree.  A degenerative L-5 vertabrae (vacume disc) in my spine and bone spur along with a fairly serious case of sciatica  does not make it any easier. :-     What helped me get through the last gathering was my tried and true energy diet.  It is not the healthiest diet though it is only followed for three days prior to the day of expected strenuous activity. (And it works)  Here it is.  Three days prior to actvity/event- All meals should consist of nothing but, plain cheese pizza, spaiggetti with some meet sauce, a small amount of fruit vegatables and nuts, whole milk, oatmeal, 12 to 24 ounces of beer each of the three days.  Eat normal to light meals the day of expected activity. I have found that this diet if followed to the letter, works like a charm.  I fought four fights at the last gathering and felt like I had plenty of energy to keep going if I wanted to. This diet produces lots of storeable energy and when your body starts to run out of gas, that is the very thing that triggers the release of all this stored energy. For example. I was very out of shape and my stamina for fighting was quite low this last gathering time. After my warm up knife fight I felt a little short of breath and my muscles were already feeling somewhat fatigued. As I was trying to gather myself I noticed, not only was I starting to recover, I was feeling a surge of energy that kept pumping through the rest of that day and well into the night. Thats how this quick energy/stamina diet works. It gives you the carbs and the ability to burn it efficiantly. The only draw back is  you usualy have to exaust yourself first to trigger the body to release all that stored energy. A short brisk work out will help kick it in ahead of time if you wish.  It is like a shot of nitrous oxide into the fuel system of a race car. If you use it to much it will have an ill effect. I only used it as a quick fix so  I could try to stay in the game.   Speaking of staying in the  game.  My wife just sent me back to the minor leagues (divorce)    and now I am motivated to start working out and try to stay in the game.      DT

I have avoided many potentially dangerous encounters with the use of words rather than with fist's / weapons, I am proud to say.                                                     Never underestimate the power of word.  DT

I rest my case!  I think your son is in good hands.   

 You do cover all ranges very well Crafty !   I think what is even more impressive is that you make it look so easy.   DT

Hey guys,  I have been working on different combos with the swing knife since stumbling on the idea of using it at the last gathering. Double swing knife is proving to be a strong combo but a little cumbersum.   Swing knife and standard knife(reverse grip) combo also works well against right handers so far. I am right handed so that is what I am basing my results on. Using a reverse grip with a standard knife in my left hand and swing-knife in my right hand works well with  some of the straight arm parries.    The reverse grip tends to naturally drag the knife edge across opponents forearm when certain parrie or push techniques are used.  Once I reach a higher level of coordination with my left hand,    espada y daga and other combos should mature and become much stronger. Garrot factor also comes into play with swing knife cord.    Hopefully one day I can put some of this stuff to the test at a Gathering of the pack !                         Dog Tom S.

WOOF!  C- Scotty Dog,  Glad to see you Dog's made it home safe.  I heard about the troubles at the airport in Glasgow and was relieved to see  your post saying you made it home OK.  It's a crazy world we live in today !   I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to fight each other.   I know you were looking forward to it as was I, still it was good to meet you guys and share a beer after the fights.  You dogs brought a good fight and a special flavor to this gathering and represented the Scotland Dog's with flying colors!  I hope you make it out here in the near future for another gathering.             Sticks Ahoy Mate!!!  Dog Tom

Congratulations to all !

Could we forget Kitty Linda Matsumi ?

She would be hard to forget! (great personality) Kitty Linda Matsumi showed great fighting spirit as did all the fighters. I regret not getting to speak with many of the fighters , especially all the female fighters because I find them to be so intriguing.(not in a weird way)  Thank you,  Dog Tom  (as of  6/24/07)

I took a brain science class about a year ago. The professor said that any concussive injury to the head causes irrepairable damage to the brain. Also, there was a visiting brain surgeon whose speciality is Parkinson's disease. He said that Parkinson's and Alzhiemer's are both common in aging contact athletes. He said that Muhammid Ali's Parkinson's was most likely caused by multiple concussions over a life of getting hit in the head.The fact that Parkinson's disease is not common among African Americans makes it a more reasonable assumption.

When I was younger and had dreams of becoming a boxer, an older guy who knew I wanted to be a boxer, took me to a charity dinner for an old Italian boxer. There were some famous retired champs there. I was about 16-17 years old. I remember thinking, "these guys are not the sharpest tacks in the bunch." It had a big impact on my career choice.

I would bet that as more research comes in, the quote, "higher consciousness through harder contact," might not withstand the test of time; although, I personally believe that non compliant sparring is necessary to understand movement and spatial relations in martal arts. I am not sure you can reach the higher levels of any martial arts without laying your brain on the line. I guess, the question is..... can a martial artist achieve higher consciousness without contact?
 

 
 

I think one may reach the higher levels of martial arts without extreme contact with propper guidance.  I also believe it would take  substantially less time to reach the same skill levels when adding harder contact to your training. It is a personnel choice one must make. One thing is for sure, there is no easy road and one way or the other the price must be payed. To me that is a big part of the beauty and honesty of martial art.

I may have a bull whip fight set up toward the end of the day so I will probably pass on staff fight this go round.   BTW, Dog Hig  and I are planning a double nunchaku vs double sticks!  Also thinking: Swing knife vs stick?  

Shock knifes are good as long as they stop the bulldozery of some of the fighters that like to clinch. Was looking forward to trying "swing knife" (maybe another time?)   It has been my experience that some people naturally go to a kicking defence/disarm when faced with a shock knife. The knowledge that a rubber shoe will spare them the discomfort of shock changes there game. Ye be warned!

I think Tom is right. The studio lights should provide good to moderate lighting for snap shots.                     P.S.  Note to lighting guy:  Don't be thrifty, turn on a 750 !! 

It would be reminiscent of a school yard fight! (except the pads and sticks) lol 

Hey Graeme, "SPORTS CHALET" sporting goods store is  5  minutes from fight location in the city of Burbank. Check map.  Locations:             http://maps.yahoo.com/dd_result.php?q1=2435+n+naomi+st+burbank+ca&q2=Burbank%2C+CA+91502&q3=&q4=&q5=  

   F.Y.I.    "Sports Chalet"  sporting goods store, carries "ASICS" brand wrestling style mat shoes for about $49.00

   The guy in Turkey fighting all those guys at once, had a series of lucky breaks along with some great moves on his part.  I thought at first, maybe these guys staged this thing until I saw "Crazy Legs" hit the ground.  Ouch! That Hurts.     TS

Good Point!

I also ran into the same problem my friend!   tbstil@hotmail.com  Thank's in advance. 

After some thought, maybe it makes better sence to not allow any type of camera devices, and phones be turned off to show respect for OP and their interests.   Tom

It would be nice to take pictures. Better yet, I remember years ago video's of the days fights were available to the fighters. It was nothing fancy(just a rough cut) I know it was difficult for Marc to make copies for the small #'s lnvolved plus time and cost to him. Still it was great to have a chronicle of such a special time in our lives that we all threw caution to the wind and ran with the pack of Dog Brothers!!  TS