SexyFighters.com

[JohnnyPsycho]

A thought came over me recently, and I suppose now would be a good time to bring it up with so many new members starting to define their fursonas and getting closer to having their own avatars added to our ranks...

I've noticed a trend in many (mostly male) new members to have their characters be proficient in a fighting style, usually an Asian martial art. I've also noticed the severe lack in attention paid to European fighting styles and combat sports styles, notably Boxing and various forms of Wrestling.

I understand that, this day and age, learning a marital art from an Asian culture can be as easy as going to your local mall and signing up for classes at a small academy. Today, we take for granted how many everyday people we come in contact with who may know karate, taekwondo, judo, Wing Chun, krav maga, or even Brazilian Jiujitsu. But think about how little was known about such fighting styles in the Victorian Age outside of Asia...

This is not a crack on anyone who actually practices any martial art in real life (I myself studied taekwondo for a couple years). I'm just curious why Boxing and Wrestling, two combat sports that proliferated throughout Europe and the Americas during this time in history, are being ignored as likely training by our more "combat-oriented" members.
_________________
Johnny's Fanfics (including Sureshot! A Bon Bon Tale)

Johnny's backstory
Johnny, Mark II (Project Aten character)

[DesertWolf]

I've wondered this myself since some of the members are westerners and were not very welcome in most Asian countries in particular.Also keep in mind that at this time in history many countries had a ban on martial arts and anybody except those in the Army or other professions where their skills could be utilized were often beaten,tortured,executed,or had any number of disabling effects placed upon them such as removal of limbs,joints,fingers,and toes.

This also isn't meant as an insult to people who take martial arts in real life or want their avatar to learn an Asian martial art but I expect some sort of plausible explanation as to how you came about learning in an Asian country.
_________________
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

– Bruce Lee

[Tearlach]

There are some forgotten British martial arts.
Such as the Welsh form of self defence involving a leek called Yakki Da.
The Scottish Se-u-jimmi and most deadly of all the Yorkshire martial art of Ecky-Thump in which the adept is trained in a method of fighting using a black pudding and a flat cap.
As demostrated here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TJxGi8bizEg
_________________
Terminus: http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=239198#239198

We are grey. We stand between the star and the candle.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/brigwyn/

[Evan_Himmel]

I think that as far as hand to hand goes. Evan uses some boxing that he learned in the millitary accadomy. He was alright at it, not to good but not to bad at it. thou he perfered the rifel and gun range over the boxing ring eny day.

[Xebulon]

I had originally intented to have had Xeb go to colege on a wrestling scholarship, but that didn't quite seem to fit the rest of the character design. Still, as a bear, one would think he'd be able to aquit himself rather well as a wrestler. A sort of proto-luchador, maybe?
_________________
I like old jokes. With them I know when to laugh.

[Wallstreet]

I feel proud to have included Irish boxing and wrestling as one of my characters traits.
_________________
Ewan's Golden Glass
Fine Alcohol and Good Times

Who the hell is Ewan Bushmill?
A reference: http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7319

[Chaosengine]

Johnny gave a rather interesting description of bar room fisticuffs awhile back and I think that would best fit how Ernest tussles.

Nuthin' fancy, just bust a chair over their heads or pop 'em in the yap.
_________________
"One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster.
The bars are temples, but the pearls ain't free...
You'll find a god in every golden cloister,
And if you're lucky then the god's a she..."

[ShadowFox13]

[Caroline]

((As a side note, I hope no one has minded, but that is one of the reasons that Caroline has sometimes refered to Henk as "The Naga", Drodel as "The Owl", an Johnny as "Indian"... not to be mean, but I thought it would be more period... so, hopefully in the same vein that Johnny noted how a lot of members are kung-fu-ninjas, instead of scrappers, brawlers, boxers, wrestlers and the like. If it does bother you, please let me know, and I'll stop.

OH! That reminds me, 'Gentlemen's Sports Clubs' were big in the 1870s - 1900s in America and Europe. And, some of the fitness activities included stuff like: Fencing, Jousting, Gymnastics (like rings and horse) bowling, swimming, tennis, strong-man weight lifting, and golf. As a side note, most boxing done was still bare-nuckled... and I think the idea of rotating the elbows out was still just being phased in. Most boxers kinda looked the the Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo, i.e. elbows tucked in against your sides.

Anyway, for my thought, I gave Caroline the ability to fire a longrifle because I always kinda thought the idea of Anne Oakley was fun... and I thought it kinda would fit with her hanging out with her father who shot clay pidgeons and whatnot.))

[Evan_Himmel]

I do wonder what Caroline would reffer to Evan as?

[JohnnyPsycho]

I don't mind being called the "Indian", since that's pretty much what I am. Not only in a historical context, but in the sense that calling my people "Indians" makes about as much sense as "Native Americans", when you get right down to it... it wasn't called "America" when we first started living here, after all. But I digress...

One of the stories of Johnny's wild past that I'm working on involves him befriending a small community of Irish immigrants while wandering through the great American West, and being tutored in boxing by an Irish-born boxer. I'll admit that I only thought of an Irish boxer, since at during that time period most famous boxers of the day seemed to be either Irish or British. He's not a great boxer as a result of his short training experience, but he at least knows how not to throw a punch.

At the same time, though, I have a story involving a Chinese illegal immigrant crossing paths with Johnny, and which involved a fair amount of kung fu action. This would be more in the vein of the "Kung Fu" TV series or the movie "Shanghai Noon" (sorta my kinky furry erotic parody of it, anyway ). Of course, it wasn't my intention for Johnny to learn any kung fu as a result of the story... okay, he may pick up on a couple throwing or blocking techniques from the experience, but not much more than a novice would pick up in a few self-defense classes.

Basically, I never fully intended my fursona to be a "rough 'n tumble fighter" type of guy, just crafty and good with guns. Johnny wouldn't match most well trained fighters in hand to hand combat. Then again, he lives to Batman's motto: "When outmatched... cheat."
_________________
Johnny's Fanfics (including Sureshot! A Bon Bon Tale)

Johnny's backstory
Johnny, Mark II (Project Aten character)

[DesertWolf]

Not to be a complete ass about certain things but the term Kung-Fu loosely translates as "skill or achievement gained over time" in fact the correct term is wushu which translates as "martial art" but collectively from the breakdown of the characters means "to stop violence".Also note the term Kung-Fu did not enter the English language until the 60's and 70's with the advent of poorly translated movies from Hong Kong.

And to help you even further I use my first Sifu's teachings on this subject.

"If I tell you to go to a restaurant because the chef has good gung-fu(kung-fu),you go and eat because the food is good.If I tell you not to go to a restaurant because the chef has bad gung-fu(kung-fu),you don't go because the food is bad."

"Let me tell you that martial arts(by Chinese definition)means to bring harm to people,I teach you to stop that harm."

I hope this helps.
_________________
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

– Bruce Lee

[peter_wolf]

...my fursona was rounded around the fact that he comes form thailand(or Thai Siam at the time)) and he was in what they concederd a millitary at the time and was traind in Mui Thai.
_________________
you all saw it, the orphanage attacked me first.

[DesertWolf]

Both myself and Johnny(and Johnny feel free to tell me if I step out of line here)have noted that a lot of newer members and upcoming avatars are people from the west(America and Europe) who somehow know Asian martial arts rather than boxing and wrestling which they would've learned in one way or another before learning an Asian martial art.My next concern was that Westerners in Asia were not very well liked(I'm not being racist or is it speciesist about the matter)and secondly many countries banned martial arts which drove them to be learned in the most secret of ways.In your case I wouldn't have a problem save for the fact that Muay Thai wasn't used or really created until the 20's the correct martial art would've been Muay Boran.
_________________
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

– Bruce Lee

[ShadowFox13]

[Evan_Himmel]

If i remember, the French had a fighting style made by the sailors called Savate.

an example of an expadtion match: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2-giVlwiys

Example two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU1bTSpV5dk

[JohnnyPsycho]

Excellent catch, Evan, I was about to add a comment about that very style myself. In fact, it's the style that one of the "battle butlers" I developed for the "New Scent in Town" RP thread uses...

---

Now, of course, I'm not saying it's impossible for a "Westerner" to learn a martial art from the "Far East", but I at least expect someone to come up with a plausible explanation for it. Usually, if someone can tie in actual historical facts with their background, it seems to work better.

For instance, I don't remember if Henk mentioned this in his character description or not, but Japan had traded almost exlusively with the Netherlands for nearly 200 years prior to the 1850s. Add in the current Meiji government and their increased intrest in Western ideas and industry, and a Dutch person like Henk wandering around Japan to find a swordmaster doesn't sound too strange (or at least not as strange as it would have 50 years prior).

Of course, by this point in history the samurai caste had basically been erased in Japan, and the open carrying of katanas (outside of military personnel) was outlawed. Just finding a swordmaster would be hard enough. Add in the fact that not every citizen is going to be as open and welcome to Westerners as its government is, and finding a swordmaster willing to teach a gaijin would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Guess that just makes our Mr. Cobra extra special, or extra lucky.
_________________
Johnny's Fanfics (including Sureshot! A Bon Bon Tale)

Johnny's backstory
Johnny, Mark II (Project Aten character)

[Evan_Himmel]

To bad Krav Maga wouldnt be entirely made untell World War Two. By that time all charicters would dead unless ther early record holders of the longest lived.

[ShadowFox13]

[DesertWolf]

I posted some info on savate on my martial arts thread here:

http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6928

It's not a whole lot but it should help.Also it's on the first page you just have to scroll down a little bit.
_________________
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

– Bruce Lee

[kommy]

I actually find it quite sad that Europe's historic martial art styles are so ignored in favor of Asian ones. Europe was actually home to many different styles of fighting, the majority of them weapon based due to Europe having far more prolific distribution of weapons than the more tightly controlled Asian nations.

I mean, I don't think I've even seen a character here that knows fencing. Of any sort. There is a huge number of different swordsmanship styles, not to mention many more practical and common arts. I am sure a few characters here know how to use a rifle with a bayonet, a shockingly excellent melee weapon in the hands of a trained person.
_________________
"Doktor! Are you sure this will work?!" "HAHA! I HAVE NO IDEA!"

[DesertWolf]

[LabrnMystic]

Unfortunately for Teddy *holds a hand up at Xebulon* No, not you my friend, as in Mr. Roosevelt, if someone is going to box a kangaroo, it would seem a bit more in place here, what with us being furries and all.

There's also the great Irish kung-fu known as "Fuc-yu." Though, its mostly just headbutting and kicking people when they're on the ground.


*calms himself down* Okay, with jokes aside, I believe I voiced my adoration and self training in Florentine Kommy. I'd put my style right after the prince in Shanghai Knights. (Since Johnny brought up the first, I'll bring up the second). Even Jackie Chan's karate was no match for the relentless attacks and control that Lord Nelson Rathbone displayed with his skills. Heh, he even had the audacity to slap him with the flat of his sword in mid combat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP-OF3kYhgk (Battle starts 0:25)

"One more"
_________________
The suspense is killing me. I hope it will last.

[DesertWolf]

I know I'm probably be getting some serious hate for this but I can't help myself.


1)Jackie Chan is not a martial artist as defined by the Chinese government and as he often tells people he's an actor not a martial artist.

2)His character from the movies most likely studied some form/forms of Chinese wushu(martial art(s))not Karate.

3)Of course he would've been beaten as the Chinese were not formally trained using the western swords like the rapier.

4)The term "kung-fu" in Chinese relates to a person's skill(s)(not just martial arts) and the amount of time spent learning that/those skill(s).
_________________
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

– Bruce Lee

[Lord Nelson]

Yes. Serious hate. That just happened.

[DesertWolf]

I wanted to point out that during this time Westerners were calling Chinese martial arts "Boxing" and practitioners "Boxers" since as Johnny pointed out they had no info on the styles and the Western equivalent was boxing and as Caroline pointed out it would be closer to the period if the people called Asian martial arts as "Boxing" and practitioners as "Boxers".
_________________
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

– Bruce Lee

[DesertWolf]

[Lord Nelson]

Lord Nelson, needless to say, neither boxes nor wrestles -- he doesn't much enjoy close quarters with men, and it's a decidedly different sort of blow he pursues when women are involved -- , but has served as an officer in the Life Guards and was trained as a sabreur. He has also pursued fencing as a recreation, both with sabre and épée. He golfs quite well, of course, and pursues pistol marksmanship, but is only moderately skilled at the latter; he does hunt, but one doesn't use a pistol for hunting.

[Marx-Paragon]

[DesertWolf]

Well I can't speak for those members but people often misunderstand the meaning of martial arts and apply the term to any fighting style found throughout Asia as opposed to the real meaning which is any weapon or hand-hand styles practiced in the world.Don't be discouraged about not having an Asian martial art,what myself and Johnny are stating is you should at least have some knowledge of Western fighting arts and if you do have an Asian martial art you should add how you came about learning it considering the time line and the info provided in this thread and my thread on Asian martial arts.
_________________
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

– Bruce Lee