Fighter Physique

[Pipefighter,PhD]

One of my wrestling coaches who had spent a number of years competing in Romania and Russia said, "the guys you need to watch out for have more muscle on their back shoulders than in their chest and arms."
Seems an experienced fighter/grappler can spot another one from the way he walks and where he has muscles.
We've all seen this one

[Pipefighter,PhD]

Gotta dig a little deeper for the good ones

[lazyboxer]

No bikini, but still a bit useful



Another super hottie

[pennsooner]

In the last picture of the OP it sort of looks like Dempsey is doing Beng Quan.

[Pipefighter,PhD]

those big guys are really... dangerous?

[Taste of Death]

I remember those cheers
They still ring in my ears
And for years they'll remain in my thoughts.
Cuz one night I took off my robe
And what'd I do?
I forgot to wear shorts.
I recall every fall, every hook, every jab;
The worst way a guy could get rid of his flab.
As you know, my life wasn't drab...
Though I'd rather hear you cheer,
When I delve into Shakespeare.
"A Horse, a Horse, my Kingdom for a Horse,"
I haven't had a winner in six months.
I know I'm no Olivier
But if he fought Sugar Ray,
He would say
That the thing ain't the ring,
It's the play.
So gimme a stage
Where this bull here can rage.
And though I can fight,
I'd much rather recite
That's entertainment!
That's entertainment..

[ashe]

i would tend to agree that dangerous people tend to have powerful legs and backs.

[RickMatz]

Thom Jone's critique of the Greek statue, The Pugilist at Rest.

[Andy_S]

Very good post, Rick.

Lazy:

Who is the chap with the tats and the moobs? His mug rings a very distant bell...that's not the late Gary Spiers, is it...?

[lazyboxer]

Indeed it is, Andy, taken around a year before his premature death.

(Though some who tasted his wrath may well say long overdue.)

[Andy_S]

Lazy:

When Terry O'Neill interviewed Spiers in that epic "Fighting Arts International" interview - the best series of articles I ever read in any MA magazine - O'Neill (who is in awesome shape, having trained with Schwarzenneger among others) made clear that Spiers was not "built for running."

However, IIRC, the only tactical reason Spiers had to run was to chase after various unwise blaggers who had
(1) Attacked him with various pieces of scaffolding; and
(2) Rolled up at one his clubs, fully tooled up with blades and baseball bats, and with evil plans to "do the place over" - until Spiers charged out, bellowing his war cry and wielding a katana which he had spent all day sharpening (he was a butcher by trade) and assaulted their vehicles before they could disembark. The would-be attackers, faced with this madman, lost their bottle and drove off on their hubs - Spiers having mangled all their tires.

A former director of UK special forces and a man who had fought in wars across the world once said to me, "Everyone runs at some point" but I never heard of Spiers fleeing an opponent/opponents.

But to return to physique.

On the one hand:
His, er, "heavy" frame did not prevent Spiers from being one of the most legendary street fighters in the UK
But on the other:
Perhaps (and I never knew him so this is mere supposition) he might have lived longer if he had done more aerobic conditioning and modified his diet

[Andy_S]

FYI, for those who have not seen it, here is the full interview with Spiers. Recommended reading.

Gawd bless t'interweb!
http://www.cqbservices.com/?page_id=38

[NoSword]

I recall reading that Spiers interview a few years back. It was awesome then, but the part on Steve Morris in particular has taken on a new significance for me, in light of Morris' recent activity and my own interaction with him. The more things change, it seems, the more they stay the same.

AK

[Lu da]

George foreman didn't look like that on his comeback and he was a heck of a fighter. He seemed really slow but his timing was incredible.

I don't think you can just take a picture and say this guy is a fighter because of his body type. You exclude factors such as diet that are key in muscle development. Too few calories and a good fighter will be skinny. Too many and a good fighter will be fat.

You then have to take in to account internal martial artists who spend a great deal of time training internal skills and consequently don't use as many calories per hour as say a tkd person.

[middleway]