Headbutt is really effective

[Akemi]

My solution is simple, direct, and effective: Shaolin soccer

That's a fabulous idea, Ray. Maybe we could start a team

The germans have created a job four years ago. An Analist and stragedist.

It seems like most sports these days are analyzed and broken down...everything scientifically dissected in order to gain every advantage. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching a good professional game. But every once in a while, it's more fabulous to watch a bunch of my guy friends duke it out in the local soccer league. No fancy uniforms or computers to analyze every player's move. Just good soccer.

[Luo Lang]

No fancy uniforms or computers to analyze every player's move. Just good soccer.

Dear Vanessa,
You are completely right I also enjoy good soccer. My brothers play it every now and then I watch them playing

Dear Ray:
Actually I found the movie quite funny

[Anthony S]

I guess I now know what Zidane would try to do if he encountered Darryl using the Monkey on him. LOL!

I always thought that Zidane was one of the best players I had ever seen but this reaction did diminish him in my eyes. I don't think my reaction is very different from what others feel. Not that his reaction wasn't understandable from most people's point of view but because as an elite player he should have been way ahead of his competitors in terms of falling for this ploy. It was late in a long game and Cup and he probably wore down physically and mentally. They are typically connected. Unfortunately for him, he resists seeing the error of his way and still defends it. That is ego.

If anyone wants to be inspired by the behavior of an athlete they can search the web for information on Jackie Robinson. He was the first African American man to play in Major League Baseball. He is a legend for the way he carried himself through relentless and despicable treatment and insults. On top of this he performed as one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

[Daniel]

Dear Anthony and all,

I have the same opinion, Zidane may be one of the best football players, but his action in the world cup final was unthinkable for an elite player. In fact, the fact that he´s trying to find excuses and still defenses his behaviour is dissapointing.

As it happens very often today, the victim would end being the "devil".

Gretings,

[drunken boxer]

controversial

As a football fan who despises FIFA for their attempts to turn the greatest game in the world into a non-contact sport, I found it hilarious to see Zidane and Materazzi ‘ruin’ their showcase event!

‘Ruin’ is in inverted commas because most real football fans enjoy the ‘aggro’ side of the game, the arguments, the off-the-ball incidents, the crunching tackles etc it is part of the game.

I was pleased to see the Italians win as they are arguably the masters of the above, the ‘yang’ side of football.

Its also funny to see the people who complain that “football is not a man’s game like rugby” (which is a joke) are the same people who accuse the likes of Zidane of disgracing the game!
(ps I am not talking about the people on this thread I mean TV commentators, journalists, my workmates etc!)

[Luo Lang]

Nevertheless, the roules are clear for all.

he´s trying to find excuses and still defenses his behaviour is dissapointing

I would like to apologise to all children and mothers, but I cannot apoligise for what I have done.

So for what is he apologising? I mean the watschers weren't hit

[Luo Lang]

Yesterday Swiss Tv had a discussion on about this case.

6 from 8 people said:
Well words are stronger than action, he was provocated in the name of his mother.

It may be true or not. If it's true it's a shame, we all know.

Actually they don't want to be aware that's a sports man's busyness. For what they are very well paid. More than all of us can imagine.

I would say very bad thoughts are stronger than any word.

So we come back to Lord Buddhas teaching's:
Right action
Right word
Right thought

Thoughts are more powerful than words and actions!

Respectfully,

Roland

[Maxime]

Dear Family,

when Zidane gave that headbutt I just thought to myself "the Italian must have said something bad about his family or mother".

Assuming now that this was the case:

I present my apologies to my Sifu for not having reach a sufficient stage of wisdom and compassion but... should someone provocate me in the name of my Mother, then he would certainly end up with a bleeding nose; I find Zidane's response quite compassionate, for from his social background (and I have the same) the headbutt could have been delivered to the nose or face, instead of the solar plexus. When I was younger, living in the same social background as Zidane and same cultural context, headbutts were applied to the nose with full intent of harming.

I can deeply feel and understand Zidane's behaviour and reaction in this particular case.

Should someone insult me, I would ask for apologies, or just let it pass without even replying (depending on many variables like the context, the persons involved, etc...).

But for an insult to my Mother, certainly not. Maybe some of you will find me old fashioned or lacking wisdom, but I must speak the truth, from my heart. I think the Italian player got what he deserved; besides he was not harmed, he just got the lesson he needed.

Like Roland Sihing highlighted, words are stronger than action. How many wars and disasters were born from a bad word? Past and present history shows us many examples.

Maybe my thoughts are stronger than action also.

Any comments will be appreciated, as usual.

Your brother Maxime

[cnholmes]

Like Roland Sihing highlighted, words are stronger than action.

So why not respond with words, rather than action

I can never understand why we expect footballers to be pinnacles of virtue, or intelligence, or anything other than 'good at football', which is the single reason they're chosen to be there.

Chris.

[Maxime]

Your Blood, your Chi, your Life

Dear Chris,

So why not respond with words, rather than action

I am not concerned about football players. My post was refering to a man whose mother had been insulted.

In my opinion, in my flesh, bones and soul, such insult is serious. Really serious. I don't think responding with words is enough to get justice done; furthermore, my personal experience has proven that responding with words will not prevent subsequent offence. Someone who already dares insult your mother will not be stopped with a few words; besides, those few words are a really too light 'punishement'.

Now, the bad talker will think twice before insulting Zidane's mother again. Should Zidane only respond with words, the insult would not have been erased and justice still undone.

Don't get me wrong though; I believe that most insults and provocations can be handled with words (or no words), a play of words, a nice talk, a joke or a peaceful attitude. In fact this is how I handle them in my daily life. And so far as this morning, when a co-worker started to shout at me for no good reasons, I just kept very gentle and diffused the situation. It has been years since the last time I took action for a minor offence.

But in a few cases (like someone insulting your Mother, the woman who gave you birth, who cherished you, who would give her life for you, whose blood and Chi flow inside you, who fed you, who raised you) words are irrelevant, action must be taken.

Obviously, my post is not objective, and I will understand that others disagree with me.

Nevertheless Chris, with sincerity, it saddens me that you did not get the feeling I was trying to convey. Maybe you should imagine your Mother being insulted. How does it feel?

Kind regards,

Maxime

[Adam Kryder]

But for an insult to my Mother, certainly not...

Any comments will be appreciated, as usual.

I guess I know what to say next time we start sparring

---------------------------------------------------------

The Principal of Petty Tyrants and a great story to go along with it can be found in the first three chapters of "The Fire From Within" By Carlos Castaneda.

Check it out, very interesting!

--------------------------------------------------------

Intent is action.


Your Brother from another Mother,


Adam

[cnholmes]

Maxime,

Perhaps my posting wasn't clear: I apologise.

I am not concerned about football players. My post was refering to a man whose mother had been insulted.

I agree that whether the person is a footballer does not alter the nature of the insult, which is very serious as you rightly point out. Neither does it alter the attack.

My comment on footballers was more of a general point. Why do we look to Zidane for an example of restraint? He wasn't selected based on his piety. And that is on topic for this thread

words are irrelevant, action must be taken.

...so action is stronger than words?

My point in that one was that those people said that the words used against them were so strong they they felt obliged to respond - with action. So if words are stronger and preferable, then why don't they use words? Please note that I am not saying which way round I think it is - I'm just pointing out that there's a lot of disparity in it.

My actual opinion is that there is a time for words and a time for action. Wish I could learn the difference

Chris

[LeeWeiJoo]

Dear brother Maxime,

Just two questions.

You say the the person who insulted your mother should be punished. Is this done because :

1. You do this out of hurt and anger that someone wronged your mother and thus deserves punishment.

2. You do this out of sincere concern for the insulter and thus wish to help him. Most likely the person did this out of anger and spite (discounting people who would use this as a tactic to rile you), but in this case the person that is actually hurt is the insulter, not you or your mother.

I know that my mother would be more concerned by the way I carry myself rather than the insults themselves, whatever they may be. Most of the time these things aren't worth my time. Insults are actually quite petty. I would actually hurt my mother myself if I were to appoint myself as the dispenser of justice and seek to punish the insulter personally because she would start to worry about many things, like whether I would get sent to jail for what I did, whether that person would come back and get revenge on me, etc. She would also feel bad because I got into trouble for defending her name, and she would blame herself for it.

In short, I would think about what my mother would do/feel if I were to go on the course of my actions.

Honor and name are very intangible things; they are hard to quantify. I can see the point in your actions also, but I believe they should be more balanced.

If someone were to insult my mother, I would feel initially rising anger. This is not good. I would think of my dan tian, assess the situation, laugh it off and walk away if the matter is trivial.

Or bring the person to see my mother and let him know how nice of a person she really is

With Shaolin Salute,
Lee Wei Joo

[Antonius]

Why do we look to Zidane for an example of restraint? He wasn't selected based on his piety.

I think it's because athletes are our modern heros, and we expect them to be heroic in every way.

Maxime, I recognize that some insults are serious, but still, does that justify violence? There are very few things that a person can say to me that will elicit a violent response. Even if someone insulted my mother, I would walk away rather than fight. This doesn't mean I am a door mat. It means I've got better things to do than hurt a school boy who likes to insult people's mothers.

[Michael Durkin]

I can never understand why we expect footballers to be pinnacles of virtue, or intelligence, or anything other than 'good at football', which is the single reason they're chosen to be there.

I agree, footballers are footballers and it should end there. But they shouldn't be kick boxers or anything else while they are on the pitch.

When I was younger, living in the same social background as Zidane and same cultural context, headbutts were applied to the nose with full intent of harming.

I can deeply feel and understand Zidane's behaviour and reaction in this particular case.

Should someone insult me, I would ask for apologies, or just let it pass without even replying (depending on many variables like the context, the persons involved, etc...).

But for an insult to my Mother, certainly not. Maybe some of you will find me old fashioned or lacking wisdom, but I must speak the truth, from my heart. I think the Italian player got what he deserved; besides he was not harmed, he just got the lesson he needed.

Thanks for explaining Maxime. It seems that there are different standards between cultures/societies/individuals for what is acceptable as a response. Obviously I don't see a one off incident of a verbal personal attack on a televised stage as justification for headbutting someone, mainly because of the effect it may have on others who may think they can go about head butting people. A more civilised example should be set.

The old saying of 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me' applies here. Not only that, a large part of society that sees violent behaviour happening will slowly get used to seeing it, which I feel will generally mean the violent behavior will get worse and more frequent in general society.



Code of conduct

Today's media and newspaper photographers are everywhere and take pictures of these football stars at any and every moment. This is too much pressure if you are a role model to try and be perfect all the time. Trying to be the best role model you can be when your on the pitch is enough in itself, but trying to be the best role model when your off the football pitch can be too much.

But what I personally feel, is that while they are on the pitch, they should be the best role model they can be. The personal attack on his mother was that, personal. The football game is professional. Here I feel the personal and professional issues shouldn't be mixed. Zidane should have resolved the personal issues after the match in private.

In a totally hypothetical situation, lets say in the middle of a football match, player A goes over to a video camera which is broadcasting its pictures live on television and then says or displays something about player B's mother. The referee should swiftly step in and player A should be sent off.

I feel player B has the right to then defend his personal life, because while both players are there in a "professional sense" (there for the football), player A has now crossed the line over into personal issues. But I only feel that player B should verbally say that player A is wrong. An appropriate time for player B to defend himself would be after the game, perhaps he could take the opportunity in a televised interview to defend his mother and ask for an apology.

This way shows a civilised response. Player A is named and shamed to society. Player B has the opportunity to show the viewers that this behaviour isn't acceptable. The rules and equality of the game are respected this way rather than an individual taking the law into his own hands.



Fair Play & Equality

Football is a game based upon rules and these rules are about equality for both teams. I also despise when players "dive", which is when they basically pretend they have been hit/knocked by the opposition then go about rolling on the floor acting in a lot of pain, when there is nothing wrong with them. This "diving" now seems to be a tactic employed to get opposition sent off, buy extra time, waste extra time, annoy players, annoy fans etc.

Football is a funny old game where some players just don't play by the rules. I guess I just don't like that because I feel in the instance of televised viewing and role models, parts of society adopt these bad behaviour traits of cheating, violence, bad language etc as being acceptable and something they can also get away with.


Besides all this, the person that Zidane headbutted was also in the wrong. I feel Zidane wouldn't have headbutted that player for no good reason, he must have said something pretty nasty. As I have said, this person insulted Zidane and crossed the line into personal territory, which was entirely inapropriate for the time and place. Its below the belt tactics that shouldn't be allowed in fair play.