The History of Fighting

American kickboxer Rick Roufus vs. Muay Thai fighter Changpuek Kietsongrit in a non-title fight in Las Vegas in the late 1970s. Prior to this fight, muay thai was relatively unknown outside of Thailand, but when Changpuek beat the American, he put the sport on the international map. 

Source: muaythaipros.com

The lei tai is an elevated fighting arena without railings that dates back in its current form to the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279 CE) in Chinese history though older versions date back to the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BCE). Fighters would take part in matches that were presided over by a referee on the platform and judges on the sides in bouts that were fought bare knuckle or with deadly weapons. Some were to the death, though usually the winner would be determined when someone surrendered, was incapacitated or was thrown or removed from the stage. The victor would then be declared the ‘owner’ of the stage and would have to fight other challengers; the last man on the lei tai would be the champion.

Source: wikipedia.org

Samurai warriors (1870) wearing kusari katabira (chain armour jackets), kusari zunin (chain armour hoods) and hachi gane (forehead protectors) while holding naginata (pole weapon with blade attached).

Source: wikipedia.org

A breakdown of how horses and mules were used by the British army during World War One

By the end of World War One, around 50% of the British Army’s horses were in France with the rest being spread across the Balkans, Middle East, Egypt, Italy and the UK. The four main roles mules and horses played during the conflict were; 1. Supply horses and mules which were used to move ammunition, general supplies and ambulances. 2. Riding horses that were ridden by soldiers, sometimes on the front line itself. 3. Gun horses that pulled heavy artillery pieces. 4.Cavalry horses were still used in battle during the Great War.

Source: bbc.co.uk

These pictures were taken during Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s by Kenneth Jarecke in a bid to show the American general public the realities of war. In the top picture, Iraqi prisoners of war were photographed after being captured by the U.S. military on their way to Baghdad. The middle picture shows a burned-out Iraqi truck surrounded by corpses on the “Highway of Death.” When asked why he needs to take photographs of scenes like this by a military public relations officer, Jarecke told the officer that he he didn't want his mother to see his name next to photos of corpses. “but if I don’t take pictures like these, people like my mom will think war is what they see in movies.”

The bottom picture is a harrowing scene of an Iraqi soldier burned alive while trying to escape from his truck after it caught fire, When Jarecke photographed it he thought it would change the way people in the US viewed the Gulf War however to his bemusement, the media wouldn't run the picture. He believes this was because the image contradicted the popular myth of the Gulf War as a “video-game war”—a conflict made humane through precision bombing and night-vision equipment. 

Source: theatlantic.com

"You never need an argument against the use of violence, you need an argument for it".

~ Noam Chomsky ~

Tony Jaa

These images are from the book How to Develop a Powerful Grip by Edward Aston, a legendary strongman who was famous in the early twentieth century for performing feats of strength that involved his incredibly powerful grip. The first image on the left, Gripping an Open Door, is used to develop pinch grip strength and the second, Hanging from a Rope, is one of the best exercises there is for improving your grip, according to Aston.

Source: rosstraining.com