Apologies
I think I accidentally deleted a thread today while making the recent changes to this forum. Aplogies all around.

Hello Grasshopper, I found the vid of the deleted post. It was originally posted by North. It is the match between the Shaolin Monk and the Tae Kwon Do expert. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkJ3eNslXTw Regards, MrE2Me2

Please note that I keep a duplicate of some of my posts. So I have my responses to this particular thread. Hello North, Actually, I have seen this one before on “youtube”. I notice that neither contestant lands an effective blow. Either one backs away from the attack or he is blocked. (Nice blocks on the part of the monk, by the way.) But it does illustrate my point about competition (on another thread). Competition is all about “winning” or being seen to win over someone else. Defense is all about keeping safe in the contest, in order to win . In my opinion, a martial sport is all about the winning (a goal achieved in offense). A martial art is all about defending oneself, against an unwarranted attack. The monk obviously doesn’t have that fire-in-the-belly desire to win. As good, bad or indifferent as the TKD guy may be, he is trying hard to win. On the other hand, the monk seems content to merely keep him at bay. (The monk uses only one combination, which is out of range.) I mean no disrespect here and I can fully relate to the monks position. It is precisely this attitude which stops me from competing. I just don’t want it bad enough. (And obviously, neither does the monk.) Regards, MrE2Me2 Hello North, You posted, “That would be a very buddhist approach to his situation.” I’ll have to take your word for it. But I do not think his attitude is an effective one for those who desire victory. (Maybe it’s an oxymoron to refer to a Buddhist Monk as “Victory Driven”.) You also posted, “If you watch it again look at the force in which the monk slaps (Chinese cross blocks) and look for evidence of it slowly wearing on the Korean man.” There is no doubt that the blocks are hard and effective. But there is also no doubt that the monk is there for reasons other than “victory”. Regards, MrE2Me2 Hello North, You posted, “Shaolin monks are essentually the "property" of the temple.” I did not know that. You also posted, “I am guessing that the monk in the clip didn't volunteer to be in that match but was more likely asked to do it in response to some political this-or-that that took place between two people who didn't fight but probibly should have.” Ah, it’s probably like that, is it? One of my teachers in the old Calgary studio had a similar match. This was in front of Olaf and an Oriental fellow. Regards, MrE2Me2