Penn & Teller: BS Season 8 (1 Viewer)

[Jeremiah]

Originally Posted by Robert A. Willis Jr.





There are other factors beside weight to worry about. Too much fat will affect your cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.

My blood pressure was normal about a year ago, always curious what my cholesterol would be now at 35. Not close to same thing but when I was 18 my cholesterol was excellent, my dad thought it would be high because I ate so much bacon and fast food. Think that was the last time I had my cholestrol checked.

 

[Robert A. Willis Jr.]

Originally Posted by Jeremiah




My blood pressure was normal about a year ago, always curious what my cholesterol would be now at 35. Not close to same thing but when I was 18 my cholesterol was excellent, my dad thought it would be high because I ate so much bacon and fast food. Think that was the last time I had my cholestrol checked.

Great.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Jeremiah, I hate you even more.

 

[Ruz-El]

Originally Posted by mattCR

The Martial arts one pointed out everything I have always thought:


(1) Belts are BS, there is no standard.. except money to buy them


(2) It's unfortunate, but just as likely someone would use martial arts as an agressor rather then for defense.


(3) Breaking wood is BS


(4) Encouraging people to fight in a muggings etc. is stupid.


Liked it.


These are much more simpler, direct issues this year, but I tend to agree.

I agree, to a point. This was one of the few BS eps that I thought missed the mark, and mainly with point 4. The idea that every assault like a mugging can be avoided just by handing over the money is as crazy as thinking that you can beat the crap out of every mugger if you have martial arts training. However, in the case of a mugging where you hand over the cash, and then the mugger attacks you anyways, I can't help but think that a little martial arts training in defense might make the difference between getting away and a trip to the hospital.

I'm basing this on the 2 months of martial arts I once took, we learned all types of ways to free our hands from different grips. There was no illusions of catching a sword blade or anything, but I might be able to get away from someone or deflect if I'm grabbed. I quite the class because of point 1. The teacher wanted me to move up to green belt (the second belt) and I didn't feel like I was ready. Moving up would of meant the purchase of a new set of PJs for $110 since the freebies would not hold up to some of the throws. I called BS and quit ha ha.

 

[Greg.K]

Originally Posted by mattCR

The Martial arts one pointed out everything I have always thought:


(1) Belts are BS, there is no standard.. except money to buy them


(2) It's unfortunate, but just as likely someone would use martial arts as an agressor rather then for defense.


(3) Breaking wood is BS


(4) Encouraging people to fight in a muggings etc. is stupid.


Liked it.


These are much more simpler, direct issues this year, but I tend to agree.

I don't think it was really fair, to be honest. I've been taking Taekwondo for about 6 months now, mostly for fitness and flexibility. My kids have been taking it for a few years. At my age I'm not going to be keeping up with the young guys but that's ok, having fun with it. And I won't have a black belt in a year, that's for sure.


1) Belt standards are lax, in that schools can award belts based on what they want to - but if you want to compete in sanctioned tournaments, you'll need to know what the judges are looking for, and/or be able to spar with someone with your same rank. So most schools affiliated with national organizations award belt ranks based on the body's standards.

But, it's really all about pushing yourself as far as you want to. Belts are one of the ways the dojos/dojangs make money. They are a business, after all. The owner of dojang I attend runs it as a full time business, and unlike what is depicted on this show, pays the students he hires as instructors. It's expensive, especially for multiple family members, but the social aspect makes it more fun than going to the gym, IMO.


2) This is true, but I fail to see how this makes martial arts "b.s."


3) I want to see Teller do a spinning jump kick and breaking that stack of boards 6 feet off the ground with his foot. It's flashy stuff, and some of what Penn said is true (ie, putting spacers between boards makes it easier to break them, it's easier to break along the grain - duh). It's flashy, but it's also a decent way to show that you can land a punch or kick properly, where and how you want and with a sufficient amount of force. But yeah, Home Depot must love it.


4) Reputable martial arts instructors will tell you the exact same thing. Few will tell you to do something so foolish.

 

[mattCR]

Disrespecting Eldery People.. is Bullshit! Felt like cheering a few times tonight. I'm just in the middle in there, but when they were giving the "old people sex is just fine" I was ready to cheer. I used to meet with a group of WWII vets for a few years (this was about ten years ago) on weekends, and all subjects were on the table. I always felt pretty good that they enjoyed life as much as they did and had as much fun. Because, gosh dangit, some day that will be me, and I sure as hell hope I'm in those shoes

 

[mattCR]

Anti-Vaccination is BS! What a great ep. As a parent of an autistic kid (which we've discussed here) but also someone who remembers Measles outbreaks, let me say, this is some good stuff. The more people discuss bogus claims like "vaccination" the less funds and resources go into real research.

 

Loved the entire episode!

 

[PhilipG]

Certainly the strongest ep of the series so far, even if (again) they gloss over or shout down good points made by the people they don't like. As for the MMR vaccine, Penn talks like people here (in the UK) were opposed to it because it was a vaccine. What people here wanted was for their children to have individual vaccinations for measels, mumps and rubella. They wanted the choice, because the MMR combo-vaccine was new and relatively untested.