The Castration of Boxing

[Crazed Rabbit]

Also, as a student of history, I cannot believe that people nowadays are even half as good as the ancients (or even just those 100 years ago!). Due to modern bodybuilding techniques they may have larger muscles, but that does not equate to strength, speed, or skill.

So you think accumulation of knowledge, vast improvements in nutrition, vast improvements in strength training, and improvements in coaching lead to worse athletes?



CR

[johnhughthom]

Not to mention healthcare.

[Vuk]

So you think accumulation of knowledge, vast improvements in nutrition, vast improvements in strength training, and improvements in coaching lead to worse athletes?



CR

No, and I also do not think that is really exactly what happened. We gained a lot of new knowledge and a better understanding of something, and lots knowledge and understanding of other things.
When things like H2H combat became much less important with the growing dominance of gunpowder on the battlefield, we lost much of the technique and training technique we had acquired over many hundreds of years.
As far as basic strength and speed goes, I believe living a hard life style full of intense work makes you much more balanced and better suited to deal with an enemy's force and apply your own than modern strength training ever could. Many people a few hundred years ago started the intense hardships since early childhood, and when they trained for fighting, the emphasis was on explosive speed, rather than increased muscle mass.

Modern sports medicine seems obsessed with the idea that a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. This often is not the case, as strength often times is determined more by how someone uses the muscle than how much of it they have. I have seen very skinny people out muscle very muscular people, so to say that the only way to increase strength (or the most important way) is to increase muscle mass is false. Many people can do a lot more with a lot less.
People now adays look at it in too medical of a way, rather than judging by the results.
Also, because people's abilities on average have declined, due to an easier lifestyle, modern sports medicine has set way underestimated our species in a lot of ways.

It wasn't that long ago that modern sports medicine was saying that time tested push-ups were bad for you. Now they are just beginning to understand what people have known for hundreds of years. (ei, that they work)

So many times modern medicine contradicts traditional wisdom based on medical research, only to find out that they were wrong and there was a reason for traditional wisdom. Modern medicine does not take results into account often times.

CR, a person who spends their time working out in a gym will get a lot more muscular than a kid who grows up doing hard labour, but the kid who grows up doing hard labour will be much stronger and better suited to fighting despite his smaller muscle size.

Don't be so size focused. There is so much more to strength than just the size of a muscle.

[Crazed Rabbit]

CR, a person who spends their time working out in a gym will get a lot more muscular than a kid who grows up doing hard labour, but the kid who grows up doing hard labour will be much stronger and better suited to fighting despite his smaller muscle size.

Don't be so size focused. There is so much more to strength than just the size of a muscle.

Sometimes I wonder if you read what others write at all;

So you think accumulation of knowledge, vast improvements in nutrition, vast improvements in strength training, and improvements in coaching lead to worse athletes?

Did I say bodybuilding? Did I say muscle size? No, I said strength training. Strength.

Also, fighters don't do farm labor to gain strength. They work out. In gyms. With weights and other things.

Eh, whatever.

CR

[Vuk]

Sometimes I wonder if you read what others write at all;


Did I say bodybuilding? Did I say muscle size? No, I said strength training. Strength.

Also, fighters don't do farm labor to gain strength. They work out. In gyms. With weights and other things.

Eh, whatever.

CR

Yes, I read what you wrote CR. My point is that unfortunately, modern athletes believe the best way to gain strength is by adding muscle mass or doing exercises that add muscle mass.
Also, yes, I know fighters don't do farm labor to gain strength. My point was that back when people did a lot more heavy labor from their childhood, they had a better base to build on when they became fighters.

[Strike For The South]

Yes, I read what you wrote CR. My point is that unfortunately, modern athletes believe the best way to gain strength is by adding muscle mass or doing exercises that add muscle mass.
Also, yes, I know fighters don't do farm labor to gain strength. My point was that back when people did a lot more heavy labor from their childhood, they had a better base to build on when they became fighters.

What do you think labor and farmwork build?

Holy balls

[Vuk]

What do you think labor and farmwork build?

Holy balls

Yes, your muscle mass will increase as you get stronger, but strength is a lot more complicated than just that. There are lots of skinny guys out there who can out muscle much bigger guys.

[Strike For The South]

Yes, your muscle mass will increase as you get stronger, but strength is a lot more complicated than just that. There are lots of skinny guys out there who can out muscle much bigger guys.

what does that even mean

[Crazed Rabbit]

As far as basic strength and speed goes, I believe living a hard life style full of intense work makes you much more balanced and better suited to deal with an enemy's force and apply your own than modern strength training ever could. Many people a few hundred years ago started the intense hardships since early childhood, and when they trained for fighting, the emphasis was on explosive speed, rather than increased muscle mass.

Kinda skimmed past this the first time, but - how do you know anything about this? Farmers trained for explosive speed? AND WHO SAYS MODERN STRENGTH TRAINING IS ONLY ABOUT INCREASED MUSCLE MASS? Besides you, of course. You're really saying we lost the precious secrets to strength training, and our huge knowledge of the science behind it cannot possibly compete with ye-olde-strengthe techniques from the ferocious farmers/pit fighters of old?

what does that even mean

Farming, apparently, builds special muscles that are way better than the muscles you can get in a gym.

CR