On Fri, 5 Nov 1999, Michael Audette wrote:

> I've never seen a brawny HG.

Let's try to keep this in perspective.  You appear to have the
idea that martial arts training is somehow more "natural" than
progressive weight training.  Your reasons for this are (a)
you've never seen a chimp lifting weights; and (b) martial arts
moves mimic animal moves.  At least, these are the reasons you
gave.

I grant that weight training is unnatural, in the sense that you
probably wouldn't find paleo people, not to mention chimps, doing
it.

Weight training and martial arts are *both* artificial training
regimens; there is nothing "natural" about either one.  The
things that they prepare us for, however, include natural
activities.  Chimps fight, but they don't *train* to fight.
It's clear that humans have always been fighters, too.  But
mimicking the movements of cranes, etc., for weeks and months and
years is hardly an activity that corresponds to anything that you
would expect to find paleo people doing.  My point about lifting
is not that lifting dead weights for no reason other than to
build muscle is "natural"; it isn't.  But lifting and carrying
would have been as much a part of the paleo lifestyle as fighting
-- arguably moreso.  The idea of spending hours in the gym
training the body is about on a par with spending time doing
karate.  As someone who has done both, I'd say that karate is
more time-intensive, which is why I eventually gave it up.

Now to your comment about never having seen a brawny HG...
Personally, I don't know any HGs, but there are two lines of
evidence that suggest that a high level of muscular development
may not have been uncommon.  First, there is the fact that paleo
skeletons are of a size and bone density that suggest powerful
musculature.  Second, there are photos and drawings of
Amerindians, many of whom were HGs, having powerful physiques.

>>  When have you
>> seen a chimp executing a rising block or roundhouse kick?
> Chimps do fight and do have a fighting style of their own.

How does that answer the question that I asked?

>> For a human to imitate the fighting moves of other animals is
>> exactly as natural as it is for humans to imitate the eating
>> habits of other animals, such as cows.
> Your analogy reminds of this one guy, who when I tried to explain
> Neanderthin to him, said he could'ent live like that. He thought you had to
> live in a cave!

I'm not sure why it reminds you of that, but it definitely
doesn't *mean* that!

By all means practice karate, but don't indulge in the absure
paleo-vanity that what you are doing is somehow more "natural"
than someone else's weight training.

Incidentally, traditional Okinawan training methods included
progressive strength training.

Todd Moody
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