Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2017 August 30

= August 30 =

Was there any culture where punching and/or wrestling was uncommon?
Compared to the other kinds of unarmed fighting/sparring/fighting-like sport like karate chops, kicking, slapping, choking, poking, putting body parts in painful/injuring positions, arm wrestling.. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 14:05, 30 August 2017 (UTC)
 * I suggest you take a course in British History followed by a supplementary course in Bavarian. μηδείς (talk) 14:57, 30 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Do you think you could possibly answer the question in a straightforward manner, rather than burying it in so-called humour? --Viennese Waltz 06:44, 31 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Flap, flap, flap. Ca-caw!  Ca-caw! μηδείς (talk) 15:38, 31 August 2017 (UTC)
 * See Martial arts. Competitions have rules for sparring that can be divided into light-contact, medium-contact, and full-contact variants, reflecting the amount of force that should be used on an opponent. Blooteuth (talk) 12:11, 31 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Right but if the art has punching they still punch the guy, they just slow or stop before touching him if not full contact. Is there any culture where if you did a boxing-style punch in a street fight that would be unusual or weird? And their non-minor fighting sports had no punching? Is wrestling and punching a cultural universal? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 13:59, 31 August 2017 (UTC)
 * How are you defining "wrestling"? I would have thought that "putting body parts in painful/injuring positions" would count as that (as possibly would "choking"). Iapetus (talk) 14:35, 31 August 2017 (UTC)
 * I suppose some of those can be considered wrestling but taking a broad definition would make it harder to find a culture without wrestling. It seems like Olympic wrestlers might have a better chance than boxers/kickers to win/get ahead with the "opponent's fingers touching back of same hand position" but that's overkill if you just want to see who's stronger/smarter in a struggling context. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 16:24, 31 August 2017 (UTC)

Philomé Obin
Hi, my name is Philip Robert Obin. My grandpa is Philomé Obin, the famous haitian painter. My birth father, Robert Jovia Obin, died from cancer in March. I just want to know if I'm a true descendant to Philomé or not. I found out online in 2010 that I was related to him. Also, how many Obin family members are there in Haiti? Thanks for your help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.52.107.220 (talk) 20:54, 30 August 2017 (UTC)


 * I made the title into a link. Not that this will answer your Q's, though, but it's a good place to start. StuRat (talk) 21:19, 30 August 2017 (UTC)


 * Can you get your father's birth certificate, and yours ? Those should establish paternity and grand-paternity.  Of course, they aren't always accurate, but that would be the first step. StuRat (talk) 21:22, 30 August 2017 (UTC)