The Art of the Eight Limbs

While in VA my Dad took me to The King of the Ring not normally one for fighting and bloody battery I was skeptical about how much I would enjoy myself. But I must say I had a great time, even without out alcohol to fuel my blood-lust, it was really interesting and the fighting was brutal but for the most part skillful and intricate. The night was a mix of Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts. Muay Thai is a hard martial art (hard martial arts meets force with force as opposed to soft martial arts which uses the force and momentum of the aggressor against him/her (we even saw a girl fight.)) Muay Thai is Thailand's national sport and is called The Art of the Eight Limbs because one can strike with the arms, shins, elbows, and knees. In Muay Thai the fighters ideally stay on their feet (there are throws but the fighting doesn't continue if one fighter is on the mat) Mixed Martial Arts, on the other hand, takes the fighting to the mat. There is a series of strikes (like Mauy Thai) as well as grappling techniques such as clinch holds and submission holds, sweeps and take downs. At one point my Dad was chanting SUBMIT, SUBMIT!!! which tickled me to no end.

Guest photographer: My Mom

My Dad wasn't competing in this King of the Ring but these are pictures of him and his bling at the 2007 Florida Grappling Championship. All told he won 2 golds one silver and one bronze. I believe the 2 golds were for over 50 events and the others were for over 40. He has a very chivalrous story about how he accepted silver and let one of his gym-mates take gold.