Not bad enough to be a bully, not smart enough to be a nerd, not brave enough to come out from behind my computer...I am Geezer, hear me grumble! OK now that that's done, here's the deal: I was just over on FMA Talk (a great forum--check it out if you haven't already) and I was reading some romanticised reflections about so-called "death matches" in the Philippines back in the 50's. These were full contact challenge bouts between famous fighters and masters, which often resulted in a serious injury or fatality. Practitioners and fans of the FMAs still debate the outcome of these fights, but nobody seems to condemn them. Instead, as seen through the rosy lense of history, they are viewed as part of the martial culture of those times, and as proof of the combat worthiness of these arts. Similar stories are told and retold in the Chinese, Okinawan, Japanese, and Korean Arts, as well as in the Western martial traditions. Remember when Jack Man Wong fought Bruce Lee? However, when these challenges happen in our own times, we cringe with embarrasment. Remember the whole Boztepe-Cheung debacle. In that case, even Boztepe now admits regret. Still, without re-visiting that incident, please isn't it a bit hypocritical to idolize the brawlers of our past and condemn those of the present. Aren't these fights the real laboratory that test's our arts?