Good lord!

[MikeK]

Holy smokes

[Bill Glasheen]

I've heard it hypothesized that homo sapiens sapiens and homo sapiens neanderthals quite possibly could have cross bred in the past. This 7 foot, sloped-forehead behemouth certainly makes you think that.

A major controversy

The debate over our origins looks set to run and run. Most DNA evidence supports the 'Out-of-Africa' theory. But some appears to support the 'multiregional' theory: for example, one study suggests that people living in Asia and Africa both originated from common ancestors living in Africa as long as 800,000 years ago. The most recent theories offer a compromise: maybe 'modern' human replaced 'ancient' humans in some parts of the world, including Europe, but interbred with them in others, particularly Asia.

Truth be told, he's essentially an ugly, hairy white Shaq.



We have more than a few people his size these days. But only in Russia would such a man consider boxing over other sports. And certainly it took a lot of work to convince people to spar and/or compete with him.

I found it interesting that his Russian coach essentially taught him inside hitting over distance strikes. The mechanics of such would take full advantage of his massive frame.

Let's see what happens when/if Don King can get him over here to fight someone who's a step above chump status.

- Bill

[Stryke]

Thats not uechi

[Glenn]

Here is a decent discussion of human height factors on a genetics forum:
http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/000325.html

In the last two centuries, every 1st world country saw a steady increase in height following on nutritional improvements from increased wealth, better ways of preserving food for the winter, and the agricultural revolution. (It wasn't just peasants that suffered malnutrition, either. Henry VIII was over six-foot and would have been welcome on any college football team, but his lesser nobles were often stunted, judging by the armor suits they left behind. Getting your pick of the harvest isn't that much help when most everything but dried grains has spoiled by March.) So clearly the common human geneotype includes the capability of restricting height in response to a restricted diet. Probably there is also a maximum height and a target body form set by genetics, and this can vary to adapt populations to extreme conditions. Tall skinny Masai and short round Inuit are adaptations to weather extremes. Pigmys adapted to chronic food shortages plus energy draining tropical diseases. Polynesians grow extra subcutaneous fat as insulation against cold sea water. Other cases are less clear - the Germans far overmatched the Romans in both height and girth, but this may have simply meant that their heavy use of dairy cattle kept their children better fed.

As for women preferring taller men - until quite recently, height was an indicator of good childhood nutrition and the socio-economic status that goes with it, plus freedom from disease. Taller men were better providers. To some extent, they still are - they get noticed more and promoted faster than short men with the same skills.

[Dana Sheets]

http://transhumanism.org/index.php/WTA/about/

What is the WTA?
The World Transhumanist Association is an international nonprofit membership organization which advocates the ethical use of technology to expand human capacities. We support the development of and access to new technologies that enable everyone to enjoy better minds, better bodies and better lives. In other words, we want people to be better than well.

http://www.extropy.org/faq.htm

What is extropy? Extropy is a metaphor referring to attitudes and values shared by those who want to overcome human limits through technology. These values and attitudes are explained in The Principles of Extropy. Extropy is defined as “the extent of a system's intelligence, information, energy, life, experience, diversity, opportunity, and growth. It is the collection of forces which oppose entropy”. However, as a metaphor, it not to be confused with the technical term "negentropy." The term was coined by T.0. Morrow in January 1988.

What is extropic? A way of thinking or an outlook that encompasses a balanced perspective, logic, and practical optimism.

What is a transhumanism and the transhuman?
A transhuman is a human in transition. We are transhuman to the extent that we seek to become posthuman and take action to prepare for a posthuman future. This involves learning about and making use of new technologies that can increase our capacities and life expectancy, questioning common assumptions, and transforming ourselves ready for the future, rising above outmoded human beliefs and behaviors.

The Italian verb "transumanare" or "transumanar" was used for the first time by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) in the Divine Comedy. It means "go outside the human condition and perception" and in English could be "to Transhumanate" or "to Transhumanize". T.S. Eliot wrote about the risks of the human journey in becoming illuminated as a "process by which the human is Transhumanised" in his play "The Cocktail Party" (The Complete Poems and Plays 1909 - 1950, published by Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., New York). The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedia Dictionary (1966) defines "transhuman" as meaning "surpassing; transcending; beyond". In the Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (1983), "transhuman" is defined as meaning "superhuman," and "transhumanize," meaning "to elevate or transform to something beyond what is human". Yet, these are not a complete and contemporary meanings. Today, we refer to transhuman as meaning an evolutionary transition from being biologically human toward our merger with technology as "a new kind of being crystallizing from the monumental breakthroughs of the late twentieth century. ... the earliest manifestations of a new evolutionary being." (FM-2030)

Ideas about humanity and evolution were explored by Julian Huxley in his writings on evolutionary humanism in the book Evolution: The Modern Synthesis (1942) and Teilhard de Chardin in The Future of Man (1959). In 1966, FM-2030 (f/k/a, F.M. Esfandiary) outlined an evolutionary transhuman future while teaching "New Concepts of the Human" at the New School for Social Research, New York City. Abraham Maslow referred to transhumans in Toward a Psychology of Being, (1968). The actual concept of transhuman as an evolutionary transition was expressed by FM-2030 in his contributing final chapter in Woman, Year 2000 (1972). Robert Ettinger also referred to transhumans in Man into Superman (1972), Natasha Vita-More (f/k/a Nancie Clark) authored the Transhumanist Arts Statement (Transhuman Art) (1982) and outlined the emerging transhuman culture, and by Damien Broderick, well-known science fiction author, in The Judas Mandala (1982).

Transhumanism has a slightly different beginning. Julian Huxley’s book written in 1956, New Bottles For New Wine, contains the essay "TRANSHUMANISM" which sets out to explain how humans must establish a better environment for themselves. He also alludes to a new species that the human might eventually become. Dr. Max More first published the term "transhumanism" as a philosophy in 1990 and authored its definition. The difference in Huxley’s transhumanism and More’s transhumanism is that Huxley states "man remaining man but transcending himself." Transhumanism as defined by More explains the overcoming of human limits and the transformation from being human to becoming posthuman. Although Huxley had a vision of a possible future for humanity, he single-tracked the future when he saw man remaining man.

We need to consider the environment of the time in which Dante lived, just as we do with today and Huxley's time. Huxley believed in a "New Divinity" while Dante believed in “philosophical wisdom.” What this meant to them may not be what it means to us by today’s standards and language. The bottom line is that both wanted something more than an ordinary human condition.

Dante: "He was one of the most learned Italian laymen of his day, intimately familiar with Aristotelian logic and natural philosophy, theology (he had a special affinity for the thought of Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas), and classical literature. His writings reflect this in its mingling of philosophical and theological language, invoking Aristotle and the neo-Platonists side by side with the poet of the psalms. Like Aquinas, Dante wished to summon his audience to the practice of philosophical wisdom, though by means of truths embedded in his own poetry, rather than mysteriously embodied in scripture." (Stanford University)

Let us not dismiss of the world and society of Dante and his ideas about the transhuman. Today we can harshly criticize those who have spiritual beliefs, but we leaned that it is not completely appropriate since spirituality also includes those who simply want peace of mind. Since the transhumanist community has grown to include several religious sectors, we cannot defame Dante or Huxley or any of us for our personal unconventional views. An afterlife in the far past could possibly equal an afterlife today, as we know it as technological immortality. In Dante's time, there were no such things as molecular engineering, cryonics, and the medical and scientific innovations that we are aware of today that could make our dreams of a longer life feasible. There are many steps in the direction of enlightenment, and some of the footprints belong to Dante." (Vita-More, 2004)

What is an extrope or extropian?
A transhumanist whose focus and approach to life embodies the values and attitudes that seek to improve the human condition through careful consideration of scientific, technological and ethical means. The dynamic optimism that comes with transhumanism's insight into the accelerating self-transforming power of technology is best expressed in the philosophy Extropy, and expressed by extropes/extropians. To date, mankind is the ultimate extropic system. Extropy points to new horizons in this process, ultimately horizons far beyond the reach of humans in their present form.

[Mary S]

Look at the mitts on that guy!!!

So, the big question - how are you going to stop him if he's intent on ripping you to shreds? Got a plan??????

[Van Canna]

Look at the mitts on that guy!!!

So, the big question - how are you going to stop him if he's intent on ripping you to shreds? Got a plan??????

This where reality sets in, Mary.

What plan, really_

This shows the importance of the 'force continuum' concept.

Even so, we know of cases where even a hail of .45 caliber bullets have failed to stop the momentum of 'some' _

On the other hand_ a good old 'pointy thingie' will do the job nicely_ No?

[f.Channell]

Seeing that guy makes me think the best way is to run him over with my SUV.

Short of that rabbit-ryu comes to mind.

F.

[Bill Glasheen]

So, the big question - how are you going to stop him if he's intent on ripping you to shreds? Got a plan??????

Indeed the force continuum is one plan, as Van mentioned.

Let us not forget that we big, strong Americans went over to Vietnam to set things straight. Sometimes we did. But now and then we were humbled by these "midgets." And just how did they manage it?

See the movie Apocalypse Now.

Just remember that the big, strong American GIs studied in the dojo of the diminutive Shinjo Seiyu. My 230-pound friend Marty Dow studied under the little guy. That little munchin was a warrior amongst warriors.

As I see it, Mary, the empty-handed answer - if I must - isn't in that boxing ring. If I have to go toe-to-toe with that guy where rules are involved, I'm not going to like my chances. And that's an understatement.

The answer is in two places. It's in my Uechi, and it's in my female students.

Where most macho instructors have turned their noses up at the fairer sex because they're looking for bigger knuckle draggers, I see in the smaller female the chance to put ideas to practice. If I want to learn how to handle the 7 foot freak, the only way I'm going to learn to do that is finding out how to teach my 5 foot 3 pocket rockets. What works for them against me will work for me against the Neanderthal.

First... NOBODY is invulnerable. If you can get close enough and you have nothing to lose, there's always something you can do. The real question is this - do you have the cahones (or the ovaries) to do what is necessary?

If I'm six foot and this guy is seven foot, am I going to be looking to hit him in the jaw? I think not - at least not while he's on his feet. Meanwhile, what IS hanging there right in front of my nose? And does my Uechi teach me what to do about that? The only question is whether or not I'm going to commit myself to getting inside and doing what needs to be done.

The other answer is knowing the reflex points. No matter how big and no matter how drugged, everyone has reflex points that can be struck which break the center or take the wind out of an assaulting limb. If you break the center, then you have control and you have options - if only to run away. If you buckle a grabbing or hitting arm, you've got a next move.

Mayamiya - an Okinawan sparring champion who also is a Uechi stylist - said it best when showing me one of these classic Uechi moves.

When I go up against Americans, they're always taller than me. So I grab them like this, kick them right there, and suddenly I have cut them down to size.

There are no guarantees in life. Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.

But at least it's a plan.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

And then I realized they were stronger than we. Because they could stand that these were not monsters. These were men... trained cadres. These men who fought with their hearts, who had families, who had children, who were filled with love... but they had the strength... the strength... to do that. If I had ten divisions of those men our troubles here would be over very quickly. You have to have men who are moral... and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling... without passion... without judgment... without judgment. Because it's judgment that defeats us.

These were the midgets that spooked the big, bad, giant American GIs.

- Bill

[Mary S]

The only question is whether or not I'm going to commit myself to getting inside and doing what needs to be done.

Bill I think you've touched on two things that came to my mind when I saw the picture.

1. committing - I know that I would have to go full tilt on this one. I can't box him, I can't hurt him with a punch so....that leaves....

2. getting inside - yes, inside his eyes, inside his throat, armpits, collar bone area, inside all the vulnerable areas. No qualms. I would want to stick to this guy like butter on popcorn.

There is no way I (and I ain't no 5' 3" female) can hit this guy and hurt him. So I'm going to rip him. And probably die trying - but it would be my kind of fight.

We talk about pointy things alot in Uechi. My personal favourite pointy thing is the elbow.



Van - could you please explain "force continuum"?

[mjanson]

I train with my 10 year old son who is half my size and weight <subject to chquote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When I go up against Americans, they're always taller than me. So I grab them like this, kick them right there, and suddenly I have cut them down to sizeange real soon of course>. I have learned that size and weight matter, but so does speed and technique. A side snap kick can bring a giant down.


mj

[David Talley]

So, the big question - how are you going to stop him if he's intent on ripping you to shreds? Got a plan??????

...Mary S



Move and shoot….shoot and move…. Reload….repeat as necessary



Make distance or make friends.

[RACastanet]

For Mary:

THE FORCE CONTINUUM

Assaults may begin at any point on the Force Continuum, and may predictably escalate from low forces to high forces, or jump to high force encounters without warning. The self-defender must be prepared to deal with assaults with the level of force appropriate to the situation, and recognize when the level of force required has changed. The prepared defender will have alternatives in place for low force, intermediate force, and high force encounters.

Lesser Force/Lowest Force

Loud Voice or Noise
Soft Hands
Striking -- Hands and Feet
Chemical Sprays
Striking – Tools, Blunt Objects, Weapons of Opportunity
Edged Weapons
Firearms
Explosives

Deadly Force/ Highest Force

Rich

[Glenn]

I had never heard the term "force continuum" before these forums, but I have had several teachers discuss and work with students on essentally the same concept: use the amount of force appropriate for the situation (and allowable by law) without escalating the situation.