From class, to the bus!

Bad Night In Bangkok? Back Alley Beat Down?

How about "Bus Driver Bonk"?

The video you are about to watch is absurd. It's absurd for a number of reasons and should tell you something about the world in which we live. Politics, Morality, and Theory aside, lets get down to the violence!

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9992247/CCTV-Nebraska-bus-drivers-vicious-assault-of-passenger.html?fb

This is about the most typical fight I think I have ever seen. Bar rooms, Jail Cells, Raves, The Hood, or the Trailer Park, this fight has happened just about everywhere.

Meet our players:

1. A bus driver who clearly has some issues. Probably on an authority trip, and has a shitty day (or shitty life?) and has decided he is going to go HAM.

2. A "Loud Mouth" (at least in the opinion of player #1) bus passenger.

The fight is simple:

Player 1 gets in Player 2's face. Player 2 doesn't realize he's already in a fight.

With one hand gripping the rail, the other hand down by his hip, Player 2 leaves himself open for the first cheap shot.

The first blow is dealt (shove) and Player 2 still holds onto the rail. The fight is going on, and his hand is in a nonthreatening position. His instincts give him enough sense to "bar the mark" with his other hand. He ALMOST starts a martial arts stance based on instinct.

Player 1 puts his hand where every asshole loves to put their hand: in your face. This is to prepare for another strike, and intimidate.

Player 2 makes another mistake. He removes his hand from the "Bar the Mark" position and takes his hand off the rail. This breaks his martial arts position completely and leaves him open for Player 1's cheap shot.

Once the second shot is dealt, the desired result is granted: Player 2 falls to his back/side and is easy for Player 1 to beat him down.

As blow after blow is dropped, you can see that Player 2 is trying to hook a leg. He clearly has never done any ground work and can only reposition Player 1.

Player 1 shows his expertise. We can assume that Player 2 is putting up some kind of defense with his hands. For an experienced Beat Down Practitioner, this is no big deal. He is constantly picking new targets, angles, and strikes. He cycles his hands and uses leverage to hold Player 2 in a bad position. Without knowing anything else, just ask: Who looks like they are in a martial position?

Player 1 demonstrates that he doesn't know Judo, but does know how to chuck a dude. This is a classic "rag" that can be seen in any county in America. This is done for 2 main reasons: 1. Throw the dude off balance and gain a better position. 2. Smash his head into shit via the Lynyrd Skynyrd rule.

From that point on, notice where Player 1 stays: behind Player 2. Even when dragging the guy, he's behind him. Sign of a veteran.

He finishes his beat down as any expert would: fleeing.

There's a lot you can learn from this video. Watch it a few times and look at it critically!

See you at class!

The Warrior Gene?

I found this video online the other day and wanted to share it with you all.

While I don't entirely believe in the concept of a "Warrior Gene", this video has a ton of good information on violence, temper, rage, martial arts, and how a violent person is different from a calm person.

Oh... and it has Henry Rollins in it...

Some things I want to point out:

1. Having the "Warrior Gene" doesn't mean you are a more effective fighter or a better fighter.
2. The warrior gene breaches social norms and stereotypes.
3. Does the "Warrior Gene" help someone fight better on the street and worse in a controlled environment?
4. The "Warrior Gene" can be channeled and controlled  Your genetic pattern doesn't predestine you for a life of crime, or violence.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35cOqZI067E

The Most Effective Move

The answer to the question, "What's the best move?" is of course, totally subjective. It all depends on who, what, where, etc.

But what about for us? Should we have a go-to move? While Jason might favor some grappling move, Mark might favor a strike. Chris might favor some crazy kick, Reed might favor a tackle. So is there a "best" move?

I have watched hundreds of hours of fighting footage in my life. Everything from Pride, to UFC, to Jr. High Wrestling clubs. If I had to pick a "most effective" move, it would have to be "The soccer kick".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diHYAa65Hzs

Why do I think this?

1. You are on your feet, the guy is down. As we always teach, this is how you want to be. Never go the ground with someone if you can stay on your feet.

2. You are using the most massive, powerful muscles in your body on the most sensitive target. Butt, thighs, calves, all team up to deliver the maximum amount of force.

3. Armor. In many tests, the knee strike has been considered to be the most powerful strike possible. However, there is one thing that I have never seen tested: A soccer kick from a armored foot. In all of the tests, they use a naked foot to a standing target. The leg loses a lot of power just getting up to the head, and the striking surface is fairly soft. If you were wearing a work boot or even a athletic shoe, I would imagine you could deliver a more powerful blow.

4. You can do it on the run. Rather than holding still and delivering some goofy kung fu strike, a soccer kick is easily done on the run. Don't believe me? Just turn on Univision and watch those athletes kick the ball at full stride. Amazing power, amazing mobility. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaR_NjxFVYI

Although you need SERIOUS justification to kick someone in the head, it's the most "go-to" move I can think of....

Bonus Lesson: Watch people who get kicked in the face on the MMA videos. Pay close attention to where their hips are, and what they are doing when they get kicked and when they evade the kick.

Outstanding Example of Position Control Video

Our training has returned to some well-needed ground work once again.  I found a video while looking at some other stuff that really stood out and I think is worth our review.  It particularly drives home a lessons which should be thoroughly understood.

Control and movement of your own hips is crucial in a fight, regardless of the range: striking, midrange, or grappling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slPCq_jq8Is

This video is of Rener Gracie grappling with his hands tied against a purple belt.  Although this is not a full on street fight, I cannot help but be impressed with Rener's master level skill at movement of his hips in response to his opponent's attempts at control and position.

Seeing what is possible at the top levels has always helped me improve, and hopefully it will do the same for you.

Incidentally, I came across this video after finding the Gracie method for dealing with multiple attackers.  Such a claim piqued my interest and I was dying to hear their answer to this problem.  I'll let you look that one up for yourself.  :-)

Road Rage Beatdown

Here is a segment containing a fight during a road rage incident.  The original video, minus the somewhat lengthy commentary, is age restricted (which can be a PIA to view) so here is the news piece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhmOzhPRxQs

While the commentary is long and only mildly interesting at best, there are a few pieces of information which are worth getting.  Mainly, the 'victim' has a documented history of road rage incidents.  This seems important to what happens first in the video.  In particular, he seems eager to escalate hostility.

So much so, he doesn't consider the fact that he is outnumbered by two cars and at least four guys - perhaps more, but we never get to see how many guys are in the car with the camera.

In the video, his opponent has two of his buddies standing right there which, it turns out, are more than needed to make his situation turn south.  Go ahead and study the details yourself, I'm sure by now you can identify the technical aspects and mistakes.  No need for a blow by blow analysis, but consider what this guy did not.

He chose to escalate a situation which he was outnumbered, and invite a duel.  It seemed more than just puffing and bravado, he really seemed to want to fight.  I say duel because he made clear signals he was wanted a gentlemanly fist fight to resolve the situation.  He probably didn't consider that once Bald Guy started losing, his buddies would jump in to help.  It didn't even take that long.  His buddy jumped in at the first opportunity to give his friend the upper hand.

While Red Shirt probably thought himself a capable fighter, he was poorly prepared to be dealing with two guys and didn't have any idea what to do from the ground.  Then it turns ugly.  He finally gets knocked out, and his two opponents repeatedly kick him in the head as he is passed out.

Given the viciousness of the street, the guy seems LUCKY to have survived fairly intact (i.e. no lasting brain injury, disfigurement, or worse).  You antagonize animals and get them worked into a frenzy, then hand them easy prey, you are a special kind of idiot and probably not long for this world.

Take note though of what the video doesn't show very well.  These two cars pursued Red Shirt and cornered him, so he wasn't going anywhere.  It's hard to say at that point whether it was a good move to get out of the car or not, but clearly Red Shirt made some bad choices which resulted in a beat down.

Kar-azy!

A great video that will amuse and entertain, in a big way!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PXQF9PJE3J8#!

I had to watch this three times just to purge the laughter.  The repo woman is just too funny.

After full appreciation of the hilarity of the whole thing, I could fully appreciate just how effective the ambush shin kick was for this guy.  Notice his shoes too, they were soft soled lounge shoes.  They were still able to have the big guy holding his leg in pain well after the kick landed.

Notice the leg sweep take down.  He went up the middle (not the best), but the small guy uprooted and dropped a guy probably twice his weight.

The shin kick followed by the head kick on the second guy was an impressive display of effective technique, although I would personally not choose that follow up.  He is younger and more athletic than I am, but look at the opening the shin kick gave him.  Impressive.

That said, the guy made some big mistakes.
1) Starting a fight in the first place.  Why go physical at all?  Not really the point of the discussion, but it is a mistake. Someone is repo-ing your car, work out that they have the wrong car or let them take it.  They have it hooked up and you are not going to get it back.
2) The display.  Dude is jumping all over the parking lot.  Why on earth would you make a dramatic display when you are outnumbered?  If you determine you have a job to do, just get it done.  No displays, taunting, or showboating.  Just get to it.
3) Don't count on the partner not coming to help.  Don't know if the guy thought that because she was a woman he wouldn't have to keep an eye on her.  He admired his handiwork far too long and didn't keep looking around.  She had a wrench and put a quick stop to his performance.

Kinda back to point #1.  Did he really expect to beat up these two repo partners and either get them to unhook his car and leave, or he would unhook his car himself and they would depart?

Still, hilarious video.  Loved the kar-azy quote!

Just Wow.

Wow.  There is so much in this video (on many topics) I don't even know where to start.  If I were to include my own observations on the many concepts too tasty not to comment on, this post would be longer than my leg.

http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/video-police-allow-mutual-combat-on-streets-of-seattle/

This video has it all: punks, trash-talking, cops, super heroes, and one of the most civilized street fights probably ever put to video.  Enjoy!