Back in the 1970's, when I began kickboxing, I had to explain to people what that sport was. They couldn't grasp the concept of boxing which included kicks. I remember my father's friend telling me, "You can't kick in a boxing match! They are going to disqualify you." Chuck Norris was being hailed as an […]
When I was a young boxer in the United States, the most I ever made for a fight was US$150 (HK$1,170). And I only got that much because the promoter let the fighters have half the money from the tickets we sold. I have a big family and they all bought tickets. For that paltry […]
In a country with no NASCAR racing and tight gun control laws, how do men bond? The answer is simple. They get together every Wednesday night and pound the daylights out of each other. While training in Taiwan, I attended the inauguration of Fight Club Kaohsiung, which is sponsored by Mindful Phoenix Arts Group. The […]
"We can fight standing up." Explained San Kim Sean, Grand Master of Khmer Bokator. At more than sixty years old, he looked as if he was in his forties, but moved like a man much younger. He throws a kick at me, similar to the round house, used in Khmer Boxing. The kick missed, and […]
Along the dusty road, you pass ancient two-wheeled carts, pulled by large cows. Half wild herds of buffalo make their lazy way through lush dense jungle, driven by barefoot boys wearing krama. Rice farmers squat in their flooded fields, their heads protected from the intense Cambodian sun by pointed wide-brimmed straw hats. Children play, casing […]
My goal was to live in every country in Asia, learn their language and study their martial arts. So far, my plan had worked well in China, Taiwan, and Thailand. But when I got to Cambodia I discovered that the ancient Khmer Kung Fu had nearly been lost. In fact, other than a single Khmer […]
Antonio's training and pro-boxing in Thailand are some of the adventures featured in his new book, Bikes, Boats, and Boxing Gloves: Adventure Writer in the Kingdom of Siam. On the night that I heard about Thailand's last Muay Thai Temple, The Golden Horse Monastery (Wat Acha Tong), near Chiangrai, I was pre-occupied with packing. In […]
Copyright Antonio Graceffo 2004 Each martial art has a certain, unique rhythm, which derives from the style and the rules of competition. A boxing match sounds like pity-pat, pity-pat, pity-pat, as the fighters circle, and throw jabs, feeling each other out. A Tae Kwan Do match would sound more like a machine gun, rata-tat-tat, rata-tat-tat, […]
The Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Kung Fu and modern Chinese Buddhism, is the oldest and most mysterious kung fu school in the world. It is an exotic and mythical destination of daydreams to millions of people. In the history of the temple, very few foreigners have ever had a chance to study there. Foreigners […]