Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Kick The *Shin* Out Of Him!



Since we have been on the subject of the lowly but effective shin kick lately, fellow Dojo Rat "Littlefair" of "Diary Of A Martial Artist" has sent us the link for this video.
Now, this is some fun stuff; a few pints of warm British beer, a bale of hay or straw, a few drunk Dojo Rats and you've got a great drinking game!
It does seem to me that a good Judo player might have a distinct advantage in this messy sport; a little knowledge of grip fighting, working the opponent's weighted or unweighted leg, placement of straw padding...

10 comments:

Patrick Parker said...

What a blast! I loved that video. I posted a response at...

http://www.mokurendojo.com/2009/01/blimey-at-shin-kicking-brits.html

Patrick Parker said...

BTW - the first thing I thought of when i saw your title for this post was the Japanese word, Shin, which means 'mind'

so, you could call this the art of mindless leg kicks :-)

Dan Prager said...

Instructions for successful shin-fighting:
1. Drink warm beer
2. Steal lab-coats from the local university.
3. More beer
4. Put on steel-capped boots
5. Pack trouser legs with straw
6. Kick shins
7. Collect very small trophy from local gentry
8. Interview
9. Celebratory beer

Notes:
1. There is no blocking and little evasion in shin-fighting.
2. Kicking above the belt is forbidden, but the occasional kick to the groin is fine!

Dojo Rat said...

Hey Daniel;
I was wondering about groin cups!

Ikigai said...

This is some wild stuff! Also - ouch.

Dan Prager said...

Hey Rat

Groin cups are for sissies.

Straw for the shins is all you need. It's traditional (and best)!

Dojo Rat said...

Yeah,
I've tried the straw groin cups, they're pretty uncomfortable...

Patrick Parker said...

you know what works WAY better than straw for both the shins and the groin?

Pink fiberglass sheet insulation! wrap a sheet of it around each leg then put the pants on over it! Works liek a charm.

Dojo Rat said...

Do we have to use the pink kind?
What about the yellow?
--What's that itch?....

SZRacer said...

I'm the guy with the beard being interviewed in the video of this (I've been the stickler, or judge for 4 years). Prior to that I took part in the shin-kicking championships as a competitor for three years. I can tell you:

1. Yes, there is some skill to it. It's not just brutal kicking. The winners over the last few years have all been keen Tae Kwon do or Judo participants as well.

2. Yes, it really, really, really hurts (despite the straw) - especially the following week!!

3. It's probably the most tiring sport I've ever taken part in (never having boxed) - Way more tiring than water polo or judo even.

4. The white coats are supposed to represent shepherds' smocks. Since you can't exactly buy shepherds' smock easily, and they don't last long, we use lab coats instead!

5. In 2012 we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Cotswold Olimpicks, of which this is part. This was the first modern olimpic games, and the 400th anniversary of this was used as part of London's 'pitch' for the 2012 games!

Hope this is of interest...!