Archive for the ‘In my honest opinion…’ Category

This morning, I was invited on Cork’s Red fm to some advice about self defense on the streets. Anyone who knows me will know that I jump at the opportunity to be on camera or on microphone so of course I agreed straight away. Here’s the clip from the show courtesy of Red fm. http://audioboo.fm/boos/441114-liam-og-on-redfm-s-victor-barry-show-self-defence-advice [...]

  Of all the injuries I’ve had, I think the last has had the biggest psychological affect on me. You’re probably sick of hearing or reading about my broken nose so I promise this is the last you’ll hear of it. So why such a big affect? I’ve been trying to figure that out for [...]

Today I visited the ENT ward at the South Infirmary Hospital in Cork to have my nose put back to where it was before boxing sparring last Tuesday evening. I still don’t know what it is about this injury but the thought of someone pulling my face around until it cracks just doesn’t sit well [...]

It wasn’t my first time sitting in the Emergency room of a hospital and most likely won’t be my last. However, I think this was the most self conscious I had felt in a long while. Fresh from a boxing sparring session at the gym, my nose was giving preferential treatment to one side of [...]

The world of Mixed Martial Arts striking is dominated by Boxers, Kickboxers and Muay Thai Fighters. The traditional arts such as Karate, Tae-Kwon-do and Kung Fu, to be truthful, don’t bring the correct level of experience to a fighter stepping into the cage. The modern sport forms are based on semi contact point sparring, which [...]

A Rising Tide lifts all boats equally – an old adage often applied to the economics of entire countries but on this occasion used by a Muay Thai instructor to describe the benefit of the “Cork Martial Arts Promotions” Marquee at the Cork Mid Summer Show in Ballincollig this year. Imagine a technology exhibition where [...]

Every sportsperson – whether a hobbyist or a serious athlete – has to deal with the dreaded injury. The very nature of sport includes a real element of danger, which inevitably leads at some point to a strain, a sprain, a tear, a break or a twinge. Very few train at 100% at any one [...]

My instructor can kick your instructor’s ass! Sound familiar? How many times have you heard somebody argue that karate is better than TaeKwonDo because sweeps are allowed in karate. Or TaeKwonDo is better than Karate because in TaeKwonDo kicks can be full contact to the head. Have you ever felt the need to defend your [...]

Name me a mainstream martial art and I’ll give you an action movie star who represents that art. Kickboxing – Jean Claude Van Damme, Aikido – Stephen Segal, Karate – Chuck Norris, Tae-kwon-do – Mike Chatarantabut, Muay Thai – Tony Jaa & Kung Fu – Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Jet Li [...]

  I’m not sure if any of you have seen a youtube video entitled the Kiai Master v’s MMA. Check it out if you haven’t. Here’s the story: there is a Martial Arts Master who developed a fighting system in which he used magical energy to subdue his opponents without ever touching them. He called [...]