Thursday, August 9, 2007

A New Low


Warning: Violence And Harsh Language

Well, once again I have surfed the primordial ooze of the Internet, and emerged with the fetid stink of a video that just won't wash off.
Why post this crap? Good question. I almost didn't. But just as the droppings of the Indonesian Civet Cat are made into the most expensive coffee in the world, we may find a simple truth in the garbage heap that is this fight. At least the fight between Ray and Jorge in the pervious post was run respectfully by the Kimbo Slice crew. This one has a title that says it all- "Felony Fights".
This is a shining example of what UFC has done to the martial arts. In it's exemplary brilliance it clearly shows how contemporary fighting systems have lost their dignity, composure and sense of righteousness. Young people watching and emulating this behavior today aquire martial skills while circumventing the aspects of self-development, cooperation and structure. Rather than peaceful Asian tones associated with meditation, these video's always use out-of-control head-banger anger music. Watching this video is experiancing the self-disgust of fascination with a car wreck. The UFC has brought about a sea change of martial innovation, much of it is simply for the worse.

12 comments:

Charles James said...

In my efforts to bring some positive spin to issues I read I can say that the big guy with the "tapout" tatoo acted with some civility.

He expressed concern for serious injury to his opponent. He even decided to end it even tho the ego of the opponent along with pride would not let him concede the fight.

The audience was a group of thugs.

Reeling said...

Hi guys,
first off, I have only found your blog recently DR and really like it, especially enjoyed the vids.

I have to disagree with Charles though (although maybe I need to watch the vid again to be fair) but I thought that they were all thugs Charles, the winner included. I thought that the guy that won and said something along the lines od " they usually give up, unless their friends are watching and they want to impress..." (as I said I may need to watch again)was being a big head.

With regaurds to the previous vid, I have just watched jorge in action again www.sublimedirectory.com bottom right of the page, where I think that he shows not only superior conditioning but also superior fighting skills.

Oh by the way, Pok3rmunkey will take you to my poker blog (suprise suprise) www.reelingsilk.wordpress.com will take you to my martial arts blog, all comments welcome :-)

Dojo Rat said...

Thanks Charles, You're one man I can always count on for civility.
--Kenny at Silk Reeling: I am glad to see your blog and learn about Joanna's training methods. I may not agree with her on everything but I have a great respect for her experiance, writing and aspects of training. You are fortunate to have her for an instructor. You should put your blog on toplist.com and show it to more viewers!
--D.R.
D.R.

Steve said...

I don't think you should paint with such a broad stroke. This is a fringe element posting to YouTube. There are many within the MMA community who aren't thugs, although loud music and tattoos are common, so is respect and a lot of humility. In every group there are bad elements.

It seems to me that the more "peaceful Asian tones" give rise to an equally undesirable fringe group of faux martial artists who never pressure test their skills and live more in a state of delusion than any martial skill, structured or not. I saw a video of some kind of toad style kung fu. I wouldn't look at that and presume that it's indicative of kung fu in general.

Point being that with youtube, it's easy to view the videos of these fringe elements and attribute them to the larger group.

Steve said...

Toad Style Kung Fu

This is ridiculous. :)

Reeling said...

Hi DR, thanks for the advice about toplist, I will check it out today.

As for being a student of Joanna, I consider myself very fortunate, I waited 20 years for someone like her that could teach tai chi as a martial art.

Reeling said...

Hi again DR,

seems that toplist is no more :-( but if you know of anywhere else please do let me know. Thanks

JoseFreitas said...

Hi DR: I would agree with Steve. This looks like a very fringe element, maybe like the Count Dantes of yore! In my (limited) experience with MMA gyms I've generally found them to be reasonably courteous, if perhaps fostering a too competitive (for me) style.

Jorge had awesome evasion skills in the previous videos, not too mention really fast hands. It's funny, because it looked like his strikes didn't hurt much, but they obviously did. I liked the fight between him and Ray, it was a pretty OK deal. Also, note how the more pro elements don't have a problem with quitting while they're still not hurting too much. They exercise cautious intelligence.

Dojo Rat said...

I see your point Steve, but I trust you know what I mean by kids emulating this and circumventing the structure of organized, safe and socially responsable training. The comment about Asian music to martial arts is just because the head-banger stuff is do damned angry. And I agree with you about untested phoney masters. Tai Chi is full of them, but that is changing.

Silk reeling: go to "ontoplist.com", you'll find it there and it will help promote your Blog--- D.R.

Martial Development said...

I really don't see how this fight is worse than any other.

ReelingSilk said...

I got it now, Thanks DR

Kicksboxes Rick said...

Wow D.R., I hardly know where to begin...

I want to agree with Charles about the "tapout" guy; He did offer his opponent the chance to 'give' several times and expressed concern for injury. However, that only makes him more of an idiot.

Why on earth would someone with his skill (he can fight), choose to fight, for no money, near some abandoned warehouse, (or whatever), on concrete,for a bunch of booze-drinking fools, with no medical assistance anywhere in sight?

Even if he only fought in sanctioned amature fights (which are promoted everywhere), he would at least be able to demonstrate his skills in front of a crowd (and chicks! if it's all about ego.)

Instead, he chooses to fight without glory or cash, in a contest in which he might very easily harm or kill his opponent. (again, on CONCRETE!)

The idiot even starts banging the poor guys head against the ground. He's very lucky that he did not cause a serious concusion or brain swelling. 1st Degree Manslaughter, Wrongful Death, or even Murder charges would really make this Felon Fighting.

And what's up with the looser? Instead of standing around bragging about how he "wasn't knocked out," he should put down his bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade (or whatever) and have someone get him to the hospital.

Someone WILl die in these fights, and luckily it will all be video for the jury to see. Stupid.

Kicksboxes