Blood, Sweat & Tears
I honestly don't know why I dog on Jean-Claude Van Damme. As far as diversity goes, he's practically a Renaissance man. The man's Belgian, speaks fluent french, has studied both Shotokan Karate and Kickboxing & was a bodybuilder (who still looks remarkable at age 52). And if that wasn't enough, he studied ballet. Some might scoff at this, but as the man himself once said, "Ballet is an art, but it's also one of the most difficult sports. If you can survive a ballet workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport," (having seen virtually every episode of "So you think you can dance", which displayed more than its fair share of ballet, I'm inclined to believe the man).
For his entire career in action films, he only has 2 pieces of work that I haven't outgrown. The first being his contribution to the "Street Fighter" soundtrack, when he was in the video for the song "Straight to my feet" (by M.C. Hammer and Deion Sanders). Seriously, y'all need to watch it. Sure, it's nearly 2 decades old, but I'm still doing the dance moves to this day. But, the second piece of his was a film entitled "The Quest". Now, for the benefit of those who probably had something better to do than watch this movie, it was the story of a 1920's pickpocket who, through a series of circumstances, ends up in a Martial Arts tournament, involving delegates from all over the world, each representing different countries and styles.
For some reason, the concept has always held a deep seeded fascination with me. I suppose it was primarily because I had a burning question, what style was the best? Which martial art had the hardest punch, the quickest kick, the most acrobatic moves etc. And despite my countless hours of viewing these movies, I still couldn't come up with an answer.
Then one day, I made a discovery. While watching WWE, I came across a character who actually didn't use a gimmick (as was the norm), but rather stuck to his true life story, of being a UFC, champion. Hearing of this, I researched it and eventually discovered MMA.
Mixed Martial Arts has gained increasing popularity over the years, despite the perception it has had as a form of mindless violence, which I do disagree with. But we'll get to my personal feelings shortly. If one were to define what it is, the most apt description would be that it is virtually 4 Olympic-style activities combined in one. It possesses the punching of Boxing, the kicking of Tae Kwon Do, the grappling of Greco-Roman wrestling and the take-down technique of Judo. It is essentially two men, meeting in a ring or caged octagon, where they have several timed rounds to either knock out their opponent, force them to tap out or win by decision based on the judges ruling. But, of course, that's the textbook definition.
It is one of the most ancient activities that mankind has engaged in since the dawn of civilization. The test of strength, technique and whatever else we test. The earliest recorded form has been Pankration, a combat sport practiced by the Greeks (which would've been cool, had it not been for their "clothing-optional" policy). This would eventually evolve further down the path of history with certain mis-matches of individuals of different skill, competing in "one-time only" affairs. But, it began to take off with the emergence of Bruce Lee and his newly-formed style "Jeet Kune Do". As a philosopher, Lee understood that the best fighter was one who could adapt to any style, to be "formless", which is the basis for his own style.
Fast forward to present day. We have a huge world, a sub-culture, of men and women competing in these events, using their own unique styles and abilities. And the amazing thing about it is, like in "The Quest", the fighters come from far and wide to compete, each bringing their own bag of tricks.
The Europeans bring boxing, kickboxing and Savate (french kickboxing) to the mix. Russia contributed Sambo and Systema (which might sound weird, but are anything but), Asia has given us everything from Karate and Judo, to Tae Kwon Do and the infamously brutal Muay Thai. South America has provided us with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As for the U.S., they bring their own unique set of skills, which might lack in finesse, but makes up for it in pure, unadulterated force.
While every fighter has his own unique style and preference, they are always in agreement of one simple fact, you must be formless, as Bruce Lee said. To this effect, virtually every fighter in the game, while does what works for them, is always looking to "up" their game by bringing something new to it. A new style, a new move, a new workout, a new training regiment etc. All this, in the pursuit of being the best, being the top dog, being the champion.
I like MMA, because no one cares where you're from, what deity you pray to, what your skin color is, how much money you make in a year or whatever the hell else that separates and divides us. They only care if you got what it takes, if you can take a pounding, take a bad hold, a rough injury and come back smiling, asking for seconds. They don't care if you're black or white, rich or poor, sensitive to the plight of others or are a blood-thirsty, psychotic sadist (although that would probably work against you if the UFC actually has a screening processe involved). Ultimately, they couldn't care less about the person. All they care about is the fighter.
So, what did I learn from MMA. It's fun, it's basic, its brutal, its not for the weak. But mostly, I learned that the best style is only as good as the fighter who uses it. That a single style is impractical for EVERY situation that this world has to toss at us.
At the end, you gotta roll with the punches, cause when all is said and done, the world will knock you down. Whether you get back up is your choice. Personally, I can't imagine anybody who would want to stay down.
For his entire career in action films, he only has 2 pieces of work that I haven't outgrown. The first being his contribution to the "Street Fighter" soundtrack, when he was in the video for the song "Straight to my feet" (by M.C. Hammer and Deion Sanders). Seriously, y'all need to watch it. Sure, it's nearly 2 decades old, but I'm still doing the dance moves to this day. But, the second piece of his was a film entitled "The Quest". Now, for the benefit of those who probably had something better to do than watch this movie, it was the story of a 1920's pickpocket who, through a series of circumstances, ends up in a Martial Arts tournament, involving delegates from all over the world, each representing different countries and styles.
For some reason, the concept has always held a deep seeded fascination with me. I suppose it was primarily because I had a burning question, what style was the best? Which martial art had the hardest punch, the quickest kick, the most acrobatic moves etc. And despite my countless hours of viewing these movies, I still couldn't come up with an answer.
Then one day, I made a discovery. While watching WWE, I came across a character who actually didn't use a gimmick (as was the norm), but rather stuck to his true life story, of being a UFC, champion. Hearing of this, I researched it and eventually discovered MMA.
It is one of the most ancient activities that mankind has engaged in since the dawn of civilization. The test of strength, technique and whatever else we test. The earliest recorded form has been Pankration, a combat sport practiced by the Greeks (which would've been cool, had it not been for their "clothing-optional" policy). This would eventually evolve further down the path of history with certain mis-matches of individuals of different skill, competing in "one-time only" affairs. But, it began to take off with the emergence of Bruce Lee and his newly-formed style "Jeet Kune Do". As a philosopher, Lee understood that the best fighter was one who could adapt to any style, to be "formless", which is the basis for his own style.Fast forward to present day. We have a huge world, a sub-culture, of men and women competing in these events, using their own unique styles and abilities. And the amazing thing about it is, like in "The Quest", the fighters come from far and wide to compete, each bringing their own bag of tricks.
The Europeans bring boxing, kickboxing and Savate (french kickboxing) to the mix. Russia contributed Sambo and Systema (which might sound weird, but are anything but), Asia has given us everything from Karate and Judo, to Tae Kwon Do and the infamously brutal Muay Thai. South America has provided us with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As for the U.S., they bring their own unique set of skills, which might lack in finesse, but makes up for it in pure, unadulterated force.
While every fighter has his own unique style and preference, they are always in agreement of one simple fact, you must be formless, as Bruce Lee said. To this effect, virtually every fighter in the game, while does what works for them, is always looking to "up" their game by bringing something new to it. A new style, a new move, a new workout, a new training regiment etc. All this, in the pursuit of being the best, being the top dog, being the champion.
I like MMA, because no one cares where you're from, what deity you pray to, what your skin color is, how much money you make in a year or whatever the hell else that separates and divides us. They only care if you got what it takes, if you can take a pounding, take a bad hold, a rough injury and come back smiling, asking for seconds. They don't care if you're black or white, rich or poor, sensitive to the plight of others or are a blood-thirsty, psychotic sadist (although that would probably work against you if the UFC actually has a screening processe involved). Ultimately, they couldn't care less about the person. All they care about is the fighter.
So, what did I learn from MMA. It's fun, it's basic, its brutal, its not for the weak. But mostly, I learned that the best style is only as good as the fighter who uses it. That a single style is impractical for EVERY situation that this world has to toss at us.
At the end, you gotta roll with the punches, cause when all is said and done, the world will knock you down. Whether you get back up is your choice. Personally, I can't imagine anybody who would want to stay down.
Comments
Post a Comment