Wednesday, March 5, 2008

No Video Games for Pre-Modern Men

Last May, Jake and his opponent were the main event in the Butte Brawl 5 mixed martial arts competition. Both competitors were heavy weights at 215 lbs. Jake is the taller one in the borrowed black shorts.




Like the sport of baseball, the beauty of mixed martial arts is often unappreciated by the untrained observer. For a second by second explanation of strategies and tactics of this bout, give me a call. I think I have all three minutes and 20 seconds memorized.

Heq

4 comments:

Maurika said...

Amazing Jake, and totally out of my league of expertise but amazing. Congratulations! (if I ever need a body guard will you help me out???)
xo, m

Anonymous said...

Yo Maurika,

He says he's in your corner when you need him.

Heq

Heq said...

Abe,

It's a little odd, neither competitor is what we think of as a bad ass. - no "attitude" or tough guy persona.

Jake and his opponent had met the night before the event at weigh-ins, visited, maybe had dinner together. No trash talk.

Jake's corner man told him to stop smiling and act like he hated the guy in the opposite corner. Which made it harder for Jake to not smile. The video got cut a little too short to show the the after match embrace.

Jake was elated to win, but felt so bad for his competitor who quietly left before he could be invited to go out with the group.

The respect they showed each other and dignity they both demonstrated before and after the fight doesn't seem consistent with the intensity in the ring.

If my memory is right, only one of the about 24 competitors had the tough guy personality. However, among the spectators, it was a little different. It looked scary until you remembered that the tough guys were in the ring.

The most common comment I heard, when going through the crowd for refreshments was some variation of "I've got to quit smoking (or drinking beer)so I can get out there (get in shape or whatever)".

Heq

Charity said...

Wow. I would not want to be the one going against Jake in that ring! Thats amazing.
By the way, who is HEQ?