What happens when you cross a Bad A** Thai Boxer with the Indian from the Village People? Here ya go (Warning don’t watch this if you dislike viewing full contact fighting): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3osOfd9ZFKA&search=rambaa
Loren
A bit of blow before the show never hurts either …
djm
I’ll just have to imagine it. I’m sure it’s laughable somehow.
Um, wow.
What languange is that song in? Is it Japanese?
Probably Thai.
This dude really reminds me of Ali. He certainly has a theatrical approach to kickboxing. I wonder if he writes poetry as well?
I really don’t think that’s kick-boxing Joseph. Kick-boxing is just a watered-down version of Muay-Thai. I think that’s the real deal right there.
BTW, didn’t watch the video yet. My computer has decided that it won’t play more than 3 seconds of a video-clip. It usually becomes a bit cranky when it’s been up for three days.
Will let it sleep tonight and watch the clip tomorrow.
In an idle moment, curiosity got the better of me and I had a look. I won’t pretend that I have the slightest understanding of the technical aspects of…whatever sport that is (as the learned gentlemen appear to be debating that point). I only wish to remark that I find it rather amazing that any male would engage in an activity that poses that high a risk of irreversible damage to the 'nads. Now back over to the manly-men.
I’ve never heard spoken Thai before, but I love their writing system. It’s so curly and pleasing to the eye:
The song is in English, and the words are pretty funny, considering the video clip.
Loren
No need to worry about the family jewels, wearing a STEEL cup is part of the “uniform” for Muay Thai (which is what this is.)
Loren
Hmm…I suppose my English isn’t too good, because I can’t understand a single word of it. 
I guess they are doing this voluntarily. I keep imagining myself getting hit like that. But I’ll never have to go in a ring with that guy because I just won’t volunteer to do it. Okay. It was interesting. I liked his style. 
Cranberry, I could understand a few words of the song. It sounded like she was saying “I want to be a hippie and I want to get stoned” and “I want to get high but I don’t know why” or something like that. I couldn’t really put the music together with the video.
Some people actually consider this a sport 
Mankind hasn’t come very far in 2000 years.
/MarcusR
Watched the video now. Feather-weight Muay Thai is always really entertaining.
The people who don’t understand this stuff will probably never understand, and so it’s useless to debate.
Unfortunately, a lot of people in Sweden share Marcus’ views on this and so they have reacently puched through a ban versus all pro Martial Arts, and this really pisses me off, because they ignore all the facts and just act on some silly, hard to define moral grounds.
At first, they acctually appointed a specialist group to investigate pro Martial Arts like K1, EVT (European Vale Tudo, similar to japanese Pride or american UFC) which have reasently began to organize tournaments in Sweden. They came to the conclution that they were all very professionally organized, had huge safety regulations, there were no signs of long term brain damage on the compeditors and normal injury statistics were significantly lower than for example horse riding, land hockey and football (soccer for you americans). Some of these sports had a lower injury frequenzy than table tennis.
So they worked out some kind of law proposition were these sports would be allowed to organize tournaments as long as they fullfilled all safety measurments and so on.
Apperantly that was not what our block-headed sports minister wanted to see, so he threw all that out the window and single handedly worked out a ban for all these sports without consulting any specialists. 
These sports are not to be compaired with pro boxing for example. There is no similarity. In boxing, 80% of all the blows are directed towards the head and the fights last for 12 rounds or something. These matches last for about 3 rounds and about 30% of all the blows are directed towards the head. Compeditors can protect themselves in a whole other way than in pro boxing.
Sorry about that. Totally OT, but I just had to get this off my chest.
The song is from 1995: http://www.lyricsvault.net/songs/1881.html
The ‘sport’ is K1 - fought by knuckleheads, taken seriously by knuckleheads.
Mukade
I told you I won’t be debating this, because you will never understand
These are just silly moral ideas from people who don’t understand, and don’t care to understand.
K1 is a sophisticated sport, the practitioners are athleets of the highest standard and they get injured a lot less than horse back riders for example.
A K1 fight in a ring with huge safety regulations where both compeditors are professionals that know exactly what they are doing makes a lot more sence to me than most other sports.
A lot of people sit and preach about stuff they don’t understand.
I try not to do that. I usually advice other people to do the same. It looks silly. Sort of like that Phelbs guy.
I think you missed the point Henke.
This has nothing to do with pro martial arts in the western world, this is not Stockholm, it’s Bangkok. Here in Sweden we do have safety regulations, even social security and health insurance.
This is about poverty and very poor young boys, often from northern Thailand, that see no other way out of their misery than to become a tai boxer, or even worse options. A very small percentage of the people that start of as young boxers in Thailand make it to the big games even less becomes stars and can make a living from it. Quite a few don’t even make it to the games at all, they become nothing else than punch bags and sparring partners for others. After a few years they become permanent invalids with no means to support them selves.
All this for what?
Sadly it’s just gladiator entertainment for the tourists and the masses. Not far from prostitution in my eyes.
I had a friend who lived among prostitutes, transvestites and tai-boxers in Bangkok for over a year to gather material for her thesis. I and my wife visited with her for three weeks and that was enough to change my views of this so called sport in Bangkok.
Just for the record, I have nothing against martial arts. I have over ten years of experience of Ju Jutsu, four years of Taekwondo (competed nationally) and my oldest daughter (7y) goes to regular Capoeira practice.
To call a video of short clips of people getting hit, knocked out or what ever you want to name it, for “really entertaining” is just beyond me. It doesn’t even show any techniques, any skills or series of well preformed attacks. It was just a bunch of short flashes of people getting punched or kicked out. It’s like watching a collection of F1 crashes were people do get hurt and cheer along with a pint or two.
It has nothing to do with the spirit of Martial arts, its all about money and poverty.
The world is bigger than you can see from your livingroom!
/MarcusR
I am not coming from any moral point of view.
I see K-1 on the TV in Japan all the time. It is pro-wrestling with some real punches. It is a show.
As for the top athletes, most are past their prime in their original sports or they are simply not good enough. K1 performances pay well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0_svVIDORQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nj2RPyR0FQ
I don’t really care if people want to kick ten bells out of each other, but sport? No. K1 is just cheap entertainment.
Mukade
Ahh, O Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba. A legend and Philosopher to be sure.
Loren