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the blue man

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  • #21
I don't fall into the trap of beliefs. I have ideas. Those can adapt....try it sometime ;)
You using middle school tactics because you're embarassed/upset that I tear your nonsensical/straw man arguments apart is getting old btw.
 
  • #22
US-style medicine is the best at bringing someone back from the brink, but that doesn't make it good health care. If you think of health as being a twisting road along the edge of a canyon, our medical system focuses on building expensive cranes that can lift cars back up from further and further over the edge. The cars of people who have good insurance, that is. What we need are guard rails. Traditional cures and practices look like guard rails to me.
 
  • #23
I don't think "natural" cures are completely ineffective.... mostly because the flip side of that is assuming that all "natural" supplements, etc. are safe because they're "ineffective". Nothing irritates me more than seeing a commercial toting an herbal/etc product that's "PERFECTLY SAFE because it's ALL NATURAL!!!" Know what else is "natural" and "plant-derived"? Ricin (castor beans), cyanide (found in small amounts in almonds and apple seeds), atropine (jimsonweed), digoxin (foxglove), etc etc, all of which will kill you in fairly small doses. Anybody who doubts the power of certain plant compounds need only look to the world of illegal drugs... where do you think cocaine comes from?

I do feel that because of their complexity, those herbs that are biologically active are not going to be as targeted as drugs that have been tweaked in the lab. For example, atropine has a lot of medical uses, but you don't see doctors going and feeding people jimsonweed tea because there are a whole lot of nasties that come along with that... plants don't often manufacture just one toxin. Dosage is also very hard to control, since the amount of a compound in a plant is dependent on growing conditions (as growers of a particular herb will be quick to inform you). BUT the natural world is an excellent place to look for these compounds... nature can produce some pretty wild molecules that either can't be re-created in a lab or would be extremely difficult to do so. Sometimes all modern medicine is, is old cures whose active properties have been ferreted out and distilled into a more effective form. The most famous of all? Aspirin, derived from salicylic acid, named for its source- Salix, or willow trees.

Still... because of a lack of research, there are a LOT of so-called "natural cures" that do a) nothing or b) more harm than good. Colloidal silver is a prime example of this... first off, anything toted as a cure-all like that is an obvious fake, because there's simply no such thing. Silver has its place- it's found in assorted topical creams and cauterization compounds for its mild antiseptic properties to the best of my knowledge- but INGESTING a heavy metal is never a good idea, because it's never eliminated from the body, hence the blue man. You wouldn't attempt colloidal mercury, no? Same family...
 
  • #24
If a woman collects the dew on a Lady's Mantle leaf in full moonlight, alone and drinks it, it will not preserve eternal youth, as was once believed. Sorry, ladies.

It won't?!?!?!?!?

DANG and here I've been drinking gallons of the stuff... All for nothing... <sigh>
 
  • #25
its health benefits include: Better digestion, lower blood pressure, better blood flow, flexibility, relaxation, better breathing.


no offense but these sound like the benefits of all exercise, not just tai chi.........to say tai chi is better because of these benefits is ignorant cause the same can besaid of all physical exercise, hell i reaped some of those benefits spending 2 8 hour days installing carpet this weekend.
 
  • #27
??? Atropine and digitoxin/digoxin are used today in western medicine. Especially the former. See what I mean about chemicals being chemicals regardless of whether they come from a plant or a lab? I think even cocaine is still used for opthalmologic surgery. I keep trying to tell you guys, if there is anything at all in homeopathic remedies, it's JUST natural drugs! Nothing special or mysterious or spiritual.
 
  • #28
Oh, and I insult lots of people's beliefs. If I think something is idiotic, I'll be the first to let someone know.

Because insulting someones beliefs is the fastest way to earn respect by others, so they are inclined to listen to you instead of skip over the post entierly?
 
  • #29
It is a martial art which is very effective in combat

Going to have to disagree with you here especially in light of our local news:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/01/08/emerson_0109.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

Long story short. He was 60+ and she was 24 and a black belt. They found her body last night, she had been missing since 1/1.

Do not believe the garbage you see in movies, someone who is armed has a distinct advantage over someone who is not.
 
  • #30
Going to have to disagree with you here especially in light of our local news:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/01/08/emerson_0109.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

Long story short. He was 60+ and she was 24 and a black belt. They found her body last night, she had been missing since 1/1.

Do not believe the garbage you see in movies, someone who is armed has a distinct advantage over someone who is not.

In all fairness he never said it was effective against weapons.
 
  • #31
  • #32
In all fairness he never said it was effective against weapons.


actually, esentially he did say that..
he said "It is a martial art which is very effective in combat "..
how many people engaged "in combat" are walking around without weapons??

Scot
 
  • #33
actually, esentially he did say that..
he said "It is a martial art which is very effective in combat "..
how many people engaged "in combat" are walking around without weapons??

Scot

From the cases / issues I have to work with on a yearly bases I'd have to say all the ones I've come across have been without weapons. Personal arguments mixed with alcohol is a great contributing factor to quickly getting a situation out of control. Or even just alcohol in general.

If there is something you can do to create a distraction or to defend yourself in order to get out of a situation, its defiantly worth the effort and training to do so. Even the skill of being able to keep your head cool during an incident is worth the effort as well.

-Nate
 
  • #34
how many people engaged "in combat" are walking around without weapons??

A better question is how many people you are likely to encounter out of combat are walking around with weapons. Armed combat aside (there is a reason guns replaced close quarter combat long ago) it is not useless unless you are expecting to get shot at every turn. Or you could not learn any physical defense skills, martial arts or otherwise, and get beaten to a pulp by fists, because who needs to know anything about punching when you have accuracy on the shooting range.

"I dont need to learn how to throw a punch (martial arts or in general) because If someone wants to shoot me i will likely get shot"
 
  • #35
A better question is how many people you are likely to encounter out of combat are walking around with weapons. Armed combat aside (there is a reason guns replaced close quarter combat long ago) it is not useless unless you are expecting to get shot at every turn. Or you could not learn any physical defense skills, martial arts or otherwise, and get beaten to a pulp by fists, because who needs to know anything about punching when you have accuracy on the shooting range.

"I dont need to learn how to throw a punch (martial arts or in general) because If someone wants to shoot me i will likely get shot"

Finch,
I dont quite understand what you are saying..

"A better question is how many people you are likely to encounter out of combat are walking around with weapons."

in a situation where you are going to be mugged or otherwise attacked,
the answer is "a lot"

I think you meant to imply the answer is "not a lot"..but I dont agree with that at all.

If you are walking around in an area where muggings are likely for example, probably about 99% would have a knife or gun..(probably 90% with a gun)
unless you are getting mugged in rural south dakota maybe..
but otherwise, in any city, if you find yourself in a "combat situation" where you need to defend yourself, the person you need to defend yourself from would virtually always have a gun..

maybe things are different elsewhere..but thats the situation in the 4 largest cities in New York State..(that would be NYC, Syracuse, Rochester & Buffalo..the cities I am very familiar with..)

I just avoid those certain areas! ;) which luckily for me is very easy to do..

Scot
 
  • #36
im not saying learning martial arts is a BAD thing!
I would like to learn some myself..self-defense skills are a great thing to have..
I just find the statement ""It is a martial art which is very effective in combat " to be laughable..

99% of the time it would be useless in any "combat situation"..regardless of how you define the word "combat"..

If im walking around certain neighboorhoods of Rochester at night (or even during the day) even being a black-belt would be virtually useless..
there are extremely few "unarmed" criminals out there..not in the cities anyway..even the petty thug teenagers have guns...

Scot
 
  • #37
When a form of martial arts is used in the same sentence as combat it is assumed that weapons are not involved. No one studies martial arts to combat someone with a gun...
 
  • #38
When a form of martial arts is used in the same sentence as combat it is assumed that weapons are not involved.

No, wrong, that is not assumed..not even remotely asumed.. :thumbdown:
if it was, there wouldnt be any discussion about it! ;)

"It is a martial art which is very effective in combat when no one has any weapons"

now its assumed! :-O

Scot
 
  • #39
I just want to remind folks that everyone here is entitled to their opinions. If you want to debate a point, you can do so without being derogatory or insulting to someone else. I've seen some comments in here that were poorly worded to say the least.

Continue the discussion but if I see any more comments that are condescending or insulting, I will be PMing you.

:nono:
 
  • #40
A better question is how many people you are likely to encounter out of combat are walking around with weapons."

in a situation where you are going to be mugged or otherwise attacked,
the answer is "a lot"

I think you meant to imply the answer is "not a lot"..but I dont agree with that at all.

If you are walking around in an area where muggings are likely for example, probably about 99% would have a knife or gun..(probably 90% with a gun)
unless you are getting mugged in rural south dakota maybe..
but otherwise, in any city, if you find yourself in a "combat situation" where you need to defend yourself, the person you need to defend yourself from would virtually always have a gun..

maybe things are different elsewhere..but thats the situation in the 4 largest cities in New York State..(that would be NYC, Syracuse, Rochester & Buffalo..the cities I am very familiar with..)

I just avoid those certain areas! which luckily for me is very easy to do..

I disagree, it is not dependent if they have a gun or not but if they are within arm's reach. Martial arts people are trained to knock knifes and guns out of hands and such, but if they are out of arm's reach that wont happen. If you are mugged at close range, you have a very good chance of defending yourself regardless even iif there is a gun, because a guns advantage is nullified at close range. The entire point of a gun was to kill without getting close enough to get hit back. Holding a gun to a blackbelts head is a bad idea... but at long range, not so much.

I just find the statement ""It is a martial art which is very effective in combat " to be laughable..

I agree with the general statement, but some martial art defense and attack stuff is also trained to our armed forces. If it was completely useless it would not be taught
 
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