The Taboo Hand

Cultivating the Elite Warrior in You

Do you have a desire to be counted a dangerous man?

If you do not, then your reticence has consigned you to be counted as less than a man according to the martial ethos from which many of us are descended, if only through our great-grandmothers having been raped by the cruel conquerors by which much of our patrimony descends through the ages.

Listening to the edited and reposted interview with Cory “The Roaming Viking” Bracken I have finally decided that I should advocate boxing as character development tool for the neo-masculine leadership.  Boxing should definitely be part of your man-gearing training.

The idea of the taboo hand of the long-armed Indo-European deity [pictured on an Illyrian vase in the 600s BC], the sun god [Apollo Helios] being the patron god of boxing, the sacrificial nature of Hellenic boxing and the strict prohibition on causing the death of your opponent, it is plausible that these are all, to a certain extent, derived from the natural aversion of the human to accept probing contact around the eyes.  This natural aversion to being stricken in the face renders normal people almost helpless in face-to-face combat with the trained and experienced boxer.    

Illyrian Boxers, from a bronze engraving, early 5th Century
Joseph Bellofatto, The Gods of Boxing

At 15 minutes we begin discussing a style of one-glove boxing, I would reference the utility in modern criminal altercations of slapping with one hand and punching with the other; it may indicate that the one-gloved boxing I discuss depicted in ancient Thera was not sacrificial but rather a practical application.

Even if boxing only develops the ability to keep your eyes probing down range while under fire, it is of great utility.

We will cover the issues with eyes in a combat environment in another section.

(c) 2017 James LaFond