“Dedicated warriors of the Jihad always say what they mean and mean what they say. Ones INTENTIONS are actually more vital than ones actions. Actions are sometimes unavoidable, INTENTIONS that rise from our core are not. INTENTIONS are the essence of ones true spirit.” - Prophet Mohamed (c. 570 Mecca - June 8, 632 Medina)
ABOUT THIS WARRIOR:
Abu l-Qasim Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (Arabic: أبو القاسم محمّد) (ca. 570 Mecca – June 8, 632 Medina), is the central human figure of the world religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the last messenger and prophet of God (Arabic: الله Allāh). Muslims consider him the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Abraham and others. They see him as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets of Islam. Muhammad is also regarded as a manifestation of God by the Bahá’í Faith. He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, general, reformer and according to the Muslim belief as an agent of divine action.
Warrior Quote To Live By: "Dedicated warriors of the Jihad always say what they mean and mean what they say. Ones INTENTIONS are actually more vital than ones actions. Actions are sometimes unavoidable, INTENTIONS that rise from our core are not. INTENTIONS are the essence of ones true spirit." - Prophet Mohamed (c. 570 Mecca - June 8, 632 Medina)
“WISDOM, Backed by courage is what makes true warriors immortal, because immortal they immortalize… Each warrior is as great as his mind and to the individual who knows, everything is possible. A coward without knowledge, a world in darkness. Understanding, and will, they are the eyes and the hands; with out courage the mind is dead.” - Baltazar Gracian (January 8, 1601 - December 6, 1658)
ABOUT THIS WARRIOR:
Baltasar Gracián y Morales (January 8, 1601 – December 6, 1658) was a Spanish Baroque prose writer. He was born in Belmonte, near Calatayud (Aragon).
The son of a doctor, in his childhood Gracián lived with his uncle, who was a priest. He studied at a Jesuit school in Zaragoza from 1616 to 1619 and at the age of 18 became a novice. He studied philosophy at the College of Calatayud in 1621 and 1623 and theology in Zaragoza. He was ordained in 1627 and took his final vows in 1635.
He assumed the vows of the Jesuits in 1633 and dedicated himself to teaching in various Jesuit schools. He spent time in Huesca, where he befriended the local scholar Vincencio Juan de Lastanosa, who helped him achieve an important milestone in his intellectual upbringing. He acquired fame as a preacher, although some of his oratorical displays, such as reading a letter sent from Hell from the pulpit, were frowned upon by his superiors. He was named Rector of the Jesuit college of Tarragona and wrote works proposing models for courtly conduct such as El héroe (The Hero), El político (The Politician), and El discreto (The Discreet One). During the Spanish war with Catalonia and France, he was chaplain of the army that liberated Lleida in 1646.
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Warrior Quote To Live By: "WISDOM, Backed by courage is what makes true warriors immortal, because immortal they immortalize... Each warrior is as great as his mind and to the individual who knows, everthing is possable. A coward without knowledge, a world in darkness. Understanding, and will, they are the eyes and the hands; with out courage the mind is dead." - Baltazar Gracian (January 8, 1601 - December 6, 1658)
Miko has extensive martial arts experience and is a certified master in Tiger Claw Kung Fu, Kung Fu San Soo, MuayThai and the prison based 52 hand blocks. In this series of posts we explore the details of each fighting style he has mastered.
Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) is what the Thai people call their own martial art. The art of Muay Thai has been the country’s most popular spectator sport for hundreds of years. It is unique among other kinds of fighting disciplines in its approach to close quarters fighting. Fighters are able to more effectively use their elbows, knees, feet and fists than in other martial arts.
A video of SuperLeague Muay Thai
Muay Thai is also known as “The Art of the Eight Limbs”, as the hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art. A master practitioner of Muay Thai thus has the ability to execute strikes using eight “points of contact,” as opposed to “two points” (fists) in Western boxing and “four points” (fists, feet) used in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts.
Muay Thai uses the body to mimic the weapons of war. The hands become the sword and dagger; the shins and forearms were hardened in training to act as armor against blows, and the elbow to fell opponents like a heavy mace or hammer; the legs and knees became the axe and staff. The body operated as one unit. The knees and elbows constantly searching and testing for an opening while grappling and trying to spin an enemy to the ground for the kill.
KON MUAYTHAI
“Kon Muay” are the movements or styles of Muay Thai, the art of Fighting for attack or defense, named by their use. For example, Kon Muay JuJom means an attack. A defense or counter is called Kon Muay-Kae; a Kon Muay-Kae using fists is called Kon Muay-Kae Mad. A Kon Muay-Kae Tao means to defend or counter using the feet. To use the knees it is called Kon Muay-Kae Kao, and the elbows,
Muay Thai has become the de facto martial art of choice for competitive stand-up fighters. As a result, it has evolved and incorporated much more powerful hand striking techniques used in western style boxing. Almost all techniques in Muay Thai use the entire body movement, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, and block. The rotation of the hips in Muay Thai techniques, and intensive focus on “core muscles” (such as abdominal muscles and surrounding muscles) is very distinctive and is what sets Muay Thai apart from other styles of martial arts.
Defense against attacks
Defenses in Muay Thai are categorized in 6 groups:
Blocking - defender’s hard blocks to stop a strike in its path so preventing it reaching its target, (eg the Shin Block described in more detail below)
Redirection - defender’s soft parries to change the direction of a strike (eg a downwards tap to a jab) so that it misses the target
Avoidance - moving a body part out of the way or range of a strike so the defender remains in range for a counter-strike, eg defender moving the front leg backwards from the attacker’s low kick: then immediately counter-attacking with an angle kick: or defender laying the head back from the attacker’s high angle kick: then immediately counter-attacking with a side kick from the front leg:
Evasion - moving the body out of the way or range of a strike so the defender has to move close again to counter-attack, eg defender jumping back from attacker’s kicks
Disruption - Pre-empting an attack. eg with defender using disruptive techniques like jab, teep or low angle kick (to the inside of the attacker’s front leg) as the attacker attempts to close distance
Anticipation - Defender catching a strike (eg catching an angle kick to the body) or countering it before it lands (eg defender’s low kick to the supporting leg below as the attacker iniates a high angle kick).
Defense against attacks - punches and kicks
Defensively, the concept of “wall of defense” is used, in which shoulders, arms and legs are used to hinder the attacker from successfully executing techniques.
Blocking is a critical element in Muay Thai and compounds the level of conditioning a successful practitioner must possess.
Low and mid body roundhouse kicks are normally blocked with the upper portion of a raised shin.
High body strikes are blocked with the forearm/glove, elbow/shin. Mid section roundhouse kicks can also be caught/trapped, allowing for a sweep or counter attack to the remaining leg of the opponent.
Punches are blocked with an ordinary boxing guard and techniques similar, if not identical, to basic boxing technique.
More advanced Muay Thai blocks are usually counters, used to damage the opponent to prevent another attack being made.
Ritual Dance of Homage
Wai Khru Muay Thai is a tradition which goes back to ancient times, it is not an optional ritual or reserved for special occasions: the official Muay Thai regulations specify that both fighters must perform the Wai Khru Ram Muay before each and every bout. It’s a tradition in which fighters pay respect to their teachers, parents and things they hold sacred and pray for their safety and victory. The ritual has been developed in different ways. The style of the dance is unique to each boxing bureau. Boxers who danced the same style wouldn’t box each other since they realize that they have the same master.
Sometimes the Wai Kru are brief and basic, but other times they may be eloquent performances that draw praise and applause from the crowd. It is said that those who see well can determine who will win the fight by watching two fighters perform their Wai Kru.
The Wai Khru is graceful and aesthetic ritual, both practical and spiritual. In a practical sense, it functions as a final pre-fight warm-up and gives the fighter some time alone before the fight to collect his thoughts.The rules
The Rules of Muay Thai
Muay Thai is practiced in many different countries. There are different rules depending on what country the fight is in and under what organization the fight is arranged. These rules, however, are gathered from the rules section of the World Muay Thai Council’s web site. This is not the complete rulebook, but it contains a selection of the most important or most interesting rules.Early Muay Thai Style Training Methods
Historical Muay Thai training methods
Before there was Muay Thai heavy bags, agility balls, long banana bags, and other modern training equipment, Muay Thai fighters relied on what was available to help them become better fighters. In the tropical environment of Thailand, there is an abundance of banana and coconut trees, rivers and streams, and plenty of hard manual labor. One of the most popular training techniques of “old-style” Muay Thai fighters was kicking banana trees. The soft and porous nature of the banana tree was good for practicing leg kicks. The Muay Thai fighters would find a banana tree of an appropriate size, usually 18-24 inches in diameter, and would practice striking the banana tree with low-medium-high kicks slowly wearing down the soft skin of the tree until it fell over. The banana tree was a perfect specimen because it was soft enough not to hurt the fighters leg, but hard enough that the Muay Thai fighter could strike the tree many times with powerful kicks and knee strikes before the tree would fall over.
Hard shins and tough skin were an important part of being a good Muay Thai fighter. Often, fighters would take small logs r bags of sand and roll the log or strike their shins and legs with the sand in order to toughen the skin and build calluses on the skin which would help provide extra protection during a Muay thai fight.
The coconut tree also proved to be quite useful as a training tool. Thai fighters would often climb coconut trees to strengthen their legs. Using only the strength of their legs, Thai warriors would climb the tree slowly pushing with their feet and thigh muscles. The rough bark of the coconut tree helped harden the feet and strengthen the legs. The fruit of the tree, the coconut was also a useful tool. Half of a broken coconut shell filled with sand became a tool to work on elbow strikes. Placing the half coconut shell on the ground and partially filled with sand, the Thai fighter would repeatedly strike his elbow into the shell and sand. The constant abrasion and striking a small object like the coconut helped practice aiming and striking a small target for accuracy, and the sand would toughen the elbow and harden it for battle in Muay Thai arena.
For practicing accuracy on a moving target Thai warriors would often attach a Coconut or Orange to a small string or vine and practice striking with punches, kicks, elbows, and knees the small swaying object to become more accurate at hitting a moving target such as their opponent in the Muay Thai ring.
Another popular method for strength training was digging a small pit from knee to waist deep. The Muay Thai fighter would then practice jumping in and out of the pit using only the strength of his legs to propel him upwards and land on his feet. Thai fighters would also practice walking in fast moving streams against the flow of water and walking through knee deep muddy rice fields that would help for strong calf and thigh muscles.
Thai fighters would also use the water in rivers and streams to practice not blinking their eyes when getting struck in the face. By slapping the water and forcing their eyes to stay open, the Muay Thai fighters would be able to get used to not blinking, covering, or closing their eyes when getting struck in the face in a May Thai fight.
One of the most popular Muay thai training techniques is called the Muay thai circle. Thai fighters would gather in a circle with one person in the middle. The fighter in the middle would then practice and train with each member for a designated period of time and then move on to the next fighter. The Muay Thai fighter in the middle would often face 5-6 opponents in-a-row for 10 minuets of more practicing clinch and other skills helping to build endurance and stamina. If a fighter can train for 10 minutes without stopping, then fighting a 3-mintue round in the ring in a Muay thai fight becomes much easier. The Muay Thai circle of training is still used today and is a common training technique.
Warrior Quote To Live By: "True warriors have strength of spirit, Many cowards have been rich in mind and money. but because they were poor in this strength of spirit, they lived as the dead and died for what they lacked." - Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 - June 21, 1527)
“True warriors have strength of spirit, Many cowards have been rich in mind and money. but because they were poor in this strength of spirit, they lived as the dead and died for what they lacked.” - Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527)
ABOUT THIS WARRIOR:
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was an Italian diplomat, political philosopher, musician, poet, and playwright. He is a figure of the Italian Renaissance and a central figure of its political component, most widely known for his treatises on realist political theory (The Prince) on the one hand and republicanism (Discourses on Livy) on the other.
Machiavelli was born in Florence, the second son of Bernardo di Niccolo Machiavelli, a lawyer, and of Bartolommea di Stefano Nelli. His family were believed to be descendants of the old marquesses of Tuscany, and to have included Florence 13 gonfaloniers of justice.
Machiavelli, trained as a humanist, entered governmental service as a clerk and ambassador in 1494; that same year, Florence had restored the republic and expelled the Medici family; rulers of the city for nearly sixty years. Machiavelli was placed as a member of a Council responsible for diplomatic negotiations and military matters. Between 1499 and 1512, he undertook a number of diplomatic missions to the court of Louis XII in France, Ferdinand II of Aragón, and the Papacy in Rome. From 1502 to 1503, he was a witness to the effective statebuilding methods of the soldier/churchman Cesare Borgia, who was at that time enlarging his territories in central Italy through a mixture of audacity, prudence, self-reliance, firmness and, not infrequently, cruelty.
Warrior Quote To Live By: "The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible." - Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955)
Here are 5 MORE new photos from
Miko’s TKO of Big Bruno on March 16, 2008.
The FIRE Show Slide Animation HAS Been Updated
To Include The Additional New Images
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for a FULL SIZE image
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Warrior Quote To Live By: "Real men and women that truly possess the warrior spirit are not made for safe havens. With these types of extraordinary individuals the fullness of life is best experienced in the hazards of life" - Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 - June 21, 1527)
A question often asked about Miko Murk is “What is a Spiritual Warrior?” The concept is simple. It is based on the logic that a man should adapt his beliefs and philosophies in a changing world. The greatest warriors and military tacticians in the course of world history have been highly spiritual in both belief and practice.
A fairly simple explanation of the philosophies of a Spiritual Warrior is:
Civilization begins when the strong realize they have a duty to protect the weak. That duty is the foundation of civilization, the bedrock on which every thing else rests.
The warrior protects and defends because he realizes the value of others.
A Warrior understands that OTHERS (especially the weak) are essential to society and, in his gift of service, recognizes and values theirs. For example, a modern Spiritual Warrior takes that extra moment in a dark parking lot, to make sure that a woman gets into her car safely before leaving himself.
A Spiritual Warrior realises that daily involvement in acts such as these are as much a part of training as time spent in the dojo, and indeed should be the reason for that time spent training.
A true Spiritual Warrior learns that when a woman or child are in a situation in which they are vulnerable, there are two types of men:
Those who offer protection and aid
Those who would prey upon them.
And in modern society, there is another detestable type who would totally ignore their plight!
To be a true Spiritual Warrior, you must be strong in body, mind, and spirit; you must know when to observe, when to take action, and most importantly when to seek counsel; and you must have the courage to be silent, so you can hear the whispers of the gods guiding you.
Warrior Quote To Live By: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds!" - Prophet Mohamed (c. 570 Mecca - June 8, 632 Medina)
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds!” - Prophet Mohamed (c. 570 Mecca - June 8, 632 Medina)
ABOUT THIS WARRIOR:
Abu l-Qasim Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (Arabic: أبو القاسم محمّد) (ca. 570 Mecca – June 8, 632 Medina), is the central human figure of the world religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the last messenger and prophet of God (Arabic: الله Allāh). Muslims consider him the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Abraham and others. They see him as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets of Islam. Muhammad is also regarded as a manifestation of God by the Bahá’í Faith. He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, general, reformer and according to the Muslim belief as an agent of divine action.
Here are 5 MORE new photos from
Miko’s TKO of Big Bruno on March 16, 2008.
Click on Each Photo BELOW
for a FULL SIZE image
in a New Window
Warrior Quote To Live By: "The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible." - Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955)
"Dedicated warriors of the Jihad always say what they mean and mean what they say. Ones INTENTIONS are actually more vital than ones actions. Actions are sometimes unavoidable, INTENTIONS that rise from our core are not. INTENTIONS are the essence of ones true spirit." - Prophet Mohamed (c. 570 Mecca - June 8, 632 Medina)
Muay Thai uses the body to mimic the weapons of war. The hands become the sword and dagger; the shins and forearms were hardened in training to act as armor against blows, and the elbow to fell opponents like a heavy mace or hammer; the legs and knees became the axe and staff. The body operated as one unit. The knees and elbows constantly searching and testing for an opening while grappling and trying to spin an enemy to the ground for the kill.
Muay Thai has become the de facto martial art of choice for competitive stand-up fighters. As a result, it has evolved and incorporated much more powerful hand striking techniques used in western style boxing. Almost all techniques in Muay Thai use the entire body movement, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, and block. The rotation of the hips in Muay Thai techniques, and intensive focus on “core muscles” (such as abdominal muscles and surrounding muscles) is very distinctive and is what sets Muay Thai apart from other styles of martial arts.
Defensively, the concept of “wall of defense” is used, in which shoulders, arms and legs are used to hinder the attacker from successfully executing techniques.
Wai Khru Muay Thai is a tradition which goes back to ancient times, it is not an optional ritual or reserved for special occasions: the official Muay Thai regulations specify that both fighters must perform the Wai Khru Ram Muay before each and every bout. It’s a tradition in which fighters pay respect to their teachers, parents and things they hold sacred and pray for their safety and victory. The ritual has been developed in different ways. The style of the dance is unique to each boxing bureau. Boxers who danced the same style wouldn’t box each other since they realize that they have the same master.
Before there was Muay Thai heavy bags, agility balls, long banana bags, and other modern training equipment, Muay Thai fighters relied on what was available to help them become better fighters. In the tropical environment of Thailand, there is an abundance of banana and coconut trees, rivers and streams, and plenty of hard manual labor. One of the most popular training techniques of “old-style” Muay Thai fighters was kicking banana trees. The soft and porous nature of the banana tree was good for practicing leg kicks. The Muay Thai fighters would find a banana tree of an appropriate size, usually 18-24 inches in diameter, and would practice striking the banana tree with low-medium-high kicks slowly wearing down the soft skin of the tree until it fell over. The banana tree was a perfect specimen because it was soft enough not to hurt the fighters leg, but hard enough that the Muay Thai fighter could strike the tree many times with powerful kicks and knee strikes before the tree would fall over.
The coconut tree also proved to be quite useful as a training tool. Thai fighters would often climb coconut trees to strengthen their legs. Using only the strength of their legs, Thai warriors would climb the tree slowly pushing with their feet and thigh muscles. The rough bark of the coconut tree helped harden the feet and strengthen the legs. The fruit of the tree, the coconut was also a useful tool. Half of a broken coconut shell filled with sand became a tool to work on elbow strikes. Placing the half coconut shell on the ground and partially filled with sand, the Thai fighter would repeatedly strike his elbow into the shell and sand. The constant abrasion and striking a small object like the coconut helped practice aiming and striking a small target for accuracy, and the sand would toughen the elbow and harden it for battle in Muay Thai arena.
