A couple of things. First, Jason said, "itÂ’s not that hard to sever a brain stem when someone shoots in on you.". It actually IS hard to fracture a brain stem when someone is shooting in on you. I do rehab for PM&R and ortho docs who get some of the gnarliest spine injuries you've ever seen, with significant brain and spinal cord damage. The brain stem proper is concealed in a vault of bone, and bone is...believe it or not...flexible in situ (in the body of a living person). Whack it really hard, and it will mostly bend. The skull has layers of diploe, which dent before breaking, in order to protect the central nervous system...the ONLY organ system completely encased in bone. The Gracies have been doing challenge matches since the 1920's againt people insisting they could knock them out on their way in, totalling -- between family members, cousins, friends of family, etc. -- thousands. No fractured brainstems yet.
Second, calling MMA NHB is a holdover from the original intent of the UFC. I was training at the Gracie academy in Torrance, CA, when all the Gracie brothers were still under one roof...Rorion, Rickson, Royler, Royce, (Relson was in Hawaii) and even remember when Rorion brought his cousins up to help with some UFAF seminars, the Machado's. The Gracie bros put out the Gracie challenge...come here, kick my a** with your acu-karate, and walk out of here with a check for $100,000.00. If you watch GJJ In Action 1 & 2, you'll see some videos of the early takers in Torrance...they were always taped, so a guy couldn't walk out and say, "I beat them but they don't wanna fess up". Rorion could simply plug in the tape and say, "this part where you're going to sleep...is that where you beat me?".
Rorion got involved with some of the hollywood crowd, and a producer put it to him basically like this: Why are you doing this for free, when you could be making a mint off pay-per-view? Bill it like WWF, but for real?" Rorion, being financially astute (and a little greedy), went for it. 1st decision: which brother to put in the ring? Rickson had already been a sports hero in Brazil, so opted out to make room for his brothers to up their rep. Royce got on board...haven't been to the academy for years, but they used to keep a video library of all the challenge matches, for view upon request. Some great footage in there of him brawling with a couple of scary hick wrestlers, regional champs each pushing 400 pounds. Could'nt get the choke around one guys neck (too big around), so flagged the wrist instead.
I digress. There were people in line to take the Gracie challenge...always someone bigger and badder waiting for the chance at easy 100K. My buddy, Mick, and I worked at a club in Huntington Beach called Club 5902, where the 2nd in command bouncer was a Hawaiian kid named Kimo who fancied himself unbeatable. Unfortunately, he was constantly shadowed by his self-proclaimed manager and trainer, Cho San. UFC fans should recognize these names. Mick and I would chide Kimo about taking the Gracie challenge...by the time he decided to, Davies had already gotten to Rorion, so Kimo had to wait for a shot through the UFC (see UFC II). I thought it would be fun to go in as American Eclectic, but they only wanted one rep of Brazilian Groundfighting, and I had already been a blue belt for awhile.
Public outcry --> PPV insisting there be more rules...more padding, etc. NHB had to tame down to be allowed to happen in most states. I remember the scrambles that went on finding venues, sometimes not having one until the absolute last minute, because states were legsilating the heck out of UFC as "prizefighting".
Meanwhile, Rickson sees there's purse to be made, and figures the amount the fighters are getting from sponsors in US = shyte. So, opts for the gladiatorial spirit of Japan...Pride. (had the pleasure of visiting with him after both of the 1st 2 Prides, getting color commentary from him about what went on in his head during each fight). Pride victories also led to some fun stuff locally. Japanese so furious that there top JJ and shooto guys were getting whooped by the foriegner, that they sent an enforcer-level shoot fighter to Santa Monica to beat up Rickson in front of a contingency of Japanese press. He let in one cameraman, and the fighter, then closed the door. If you ever get the chance to watch this tape, it's awesome. Rickson's in his pajamas, having been rousted out of bed by Louis. Shoot-boy kicks RG in the thigh a couple of times, and you can tell it's hard, and it stings. RG gets sick of it, shoots, takes the guy down, and they change positions very often, very fast. Rickson gets superior position, punches the guy into a pulp, then chokes him out. Lets the press in just as he's waking up, so Nippon can look into the cameras of the press as his righting reflex is kicking in to consciousness. Next day, japanese sports press has front page pictures of a bloody face looking up from under Rickson. It was true NHB, no gloves, no rules, just 2 guys and their skills until somebody is toast.
Most of the Gracie challenge matches were this way...bare-knuckle, with 1 rule: no eyes. Not because they thought it would stop them, but if, fight after fight, they have desperate putz' trying to scratch their eyes, then the Gracies have to spend the rest of their lives with scars on their cheeks. Watched Rickson take a challenge at a seminar where the guy insisted on eyes. Ricksons response? Sure, as long as I get to claw at yours after you've gone to sleep, and can't squint to defend them. He put the guy in a crucifix, instead.
Yes, Tank hits hard. I knew the kick-boxer who knocked his teeth out at Perq's in Huntington Beach (he trained with one of the guys from Benny Urquidez's championship team that toured the east in the mid seventies, taking all comers in whatever form they chose...bare-knuckle, muay thai, etc.). Tank is also a poor loser...spent the night looking for him with a shotgun. Punched a 12-year old girl in the face at Westminster Boxing gym; and he & some of his skinhead buddies jumped a black guy in an elevator after one of the UFC's where the colored guy did well, because he was talking a lot victory trash between bouts. I also know the Hawaiian bounty hunter who "reprimanded" tank for his behavior in the boxing gym, and taught him what he didn't know about boxing. I'd roll with Tank any day, but having seen him hit the bag and people, I wouldn't stand toe to toe for a boxing match...unless you've been boxing hard, and strength training on steroids, he'd knock yer head off.
Fight clubs still go on. Lots of white belts and blue belts with backgrounds in other arts that want to test themselves in realistic circumstances. Nope, not ususally as good as the pro's, but set to become one of them someday if they don't sustain too many injuries. (the guys from one South Orange County jits gym can't seem to keep their hands to themselves, and are even being investigated for RICO statute violations b/c of intimidation crap).
I stopped following the scene in the mid-to-late 90's, because work and school took priority and I couldn't make time to get on the mat between the two of them. Also, because there were so many different American BJJ guys starting to win these things, who I knew were no good (I'd rolled either with them, or with their instructor. Lots of purple belts left the GJJ academy to buy promotions from a Gracie Cousin in Newport Beach who lacked morals). But you need to trust me on this one: The Brazilian (and early American) GJJ/BJJ guys are as brutal, if not more, out of the ring than in. They honed their skills in literally hundreds of challenge matches before the pads or rules even existed.
Can they hit? Get under Rickson's or Renzo's mount, and you tell me. Rickson, to be nice, will *****-slap people to coach the response he wants in a challenge match. If they can't believe it really happened, and ask for a re-match, he "turns the screws a little tighter", and switch's to punching. Get the videotape from Manga of him training for Pride 2, and see what an athletic phenom he is. He can hit.
And one last note for Jason: I still believe boxers hit hard. Have trained in Chinese MA and learned the complexities of what you refer to as reeling silk. Have sparred with classmates hitting full contact with these blows, and even been injured by them. Have fought challenge matches with kung fools who believed their complex biomechanics and profound sense of timing would be sufficient against some dumb old kenpo-kickboxing-wrassler. Have been the uke for Ed Parker at demos, where I've been palm-heeled in the chest so hard, I spit up blood with little chunks of lung tissue on the ride home (and he was only coming at me with about 1/4 strength). Still here, brain stem in tact; no nasal bones knocked up into my skull by magic palm heel strikes, etc. Have also sparred with guys like Pete Cunnigham and Blinky Rodriguez, and trained in Kyokushinkai (bare-knuckle knock down karate from Mas Oyama) for hundreds of hours. Spar really hard with your silk reelers; then spar really hard with Blinky; then try to take Rickson (or Renzo, or Ralph...he's small, so he'll be easy to beat), and tell me who you think hits harder.
Just a thought.
Dr. Dave:fart:
and I know it might be hard at first for me to apply it to actual moving targets, learning just the simple basis and how things work will aid me when I start sparring and seeing how to apply it without thinking. Then it will be time to start competing.
