17Mar

March 17, 2024

Is the Steven Seagal – Gene LeBell Dookie Pants Story True?

Steven Seagal is a musician, philanthropist, environmentalist, animal rights activist, producer, writer, reserve deputy sheriff, 7th-Dan in Aikido, Father of the Front Kick, father to sons Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, and somewhat boyishly handsome action film star, with, admittedly, an odd gait. Among his elite UFC fighter brethren from Brazil, he is said to be known as “Fritão”.

Hearing this may come as a terrible shock, but some say that O’Sensei Seagal is also a creep, and worse. As fight coordinator and former PRIDE commentator Stephen Quadros related, “I had heard all the horror stories about how he would hurt actors and stunt performers, dislocated shoulders, kick guys in the nuts to see if they were wearing cups, etc. I had heard about Gene LeBell.” The Gene LeBell story – “Skidmarked For Death” – is legendary, and has been retold for a generation. But is it true?

In 1991, the now-deceased LeBell was working as a stunt coordinator on the award-winning Aikido documentary Out for Justice. From there, stories diverge. It’s alleged that at some point, Seagal claimed he was immune to chokes due to his extensive martial arts training. According to this telling, when the then 58-year-old LeBell heard about the claim, he gave Fritão the opportunity to test his choke immunity.

As the story goes, LeBell set the choke up, Seagal said “Go”, and promptly went unconscious. And then went #1 and #2, in his trousers. Ever since, either because of a rumored legal gag order (see below Masato Toys action figure for confirmation), or because in the stunt business what happens on the set stays on the set, LeBell has never definitively confirmed or denied the story.

However, the story has been repeated as fact countless times, privately and publicly, by the likes of Joe Rogan (watch here), Ronda Rousey (watch here), and just about everyone else in the space.

‘Judo’ Gene LeBell Speaks

Over a decade ago, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani asked LeBell to confirm or deny the alleged Steven Seagal evacuating episode.

“Did you in fact choke out Sensei Seagal, and is it true that he did in the process soil himself?” asked Helwani.

LeBell replied with a significant degree of ambiguity.

“Well, if a guy soils himself, you can’t criticize him. Because if he just had a nice big dinner an hour before, you might have a tendency to do that,” said LeBell. “Steven Seagal is a very outstanding martial artist. I’ve got nothing against Steven. … Personally, myself, I don’t think he’s taught these mixed martial artists how to win a match. … He’s done a lot for martial arts. But I know where he’s insulted Randy Couture. Well, Randy Couture if he ever got mad would have him for lunch. … And that isn’t to put down Steven, but ‘closed mouth don’t catch any foot.'”

Helwani pressed on.

“So, did that happen?” Helwani again asked. LeBell again spoke elliptically.

“You can’t be braggadocious if you’ve done something,” he cautioned. “Everybody has their individual things that have happened. I personally don’t think you should put down, as many people do with Steven, because he’s trying to do his best.”

The journalist tried one final time.

“So does that mean, Gene, that you will not confirm this actually took place?” he asked.

“Well, if 30 people are watching, let them talk about it,” replied LeBell. “You interview a boxer or a wrestler and it’s ‘I, I, I’ and ‘me, me, me.’ What do I know? Gene LeBell knows Gene LeBell. And if I tell ya the stories … everybody that tells you a story is the hero of their own story.”

To date, this conversation is the closest LeBell ever came publicly to saying the story was true, and it’s not close.

Steven Seagal Speaks

Seagal has repeatedly and very pointedly denied the legend. He was beyond adamant during an interview with Helwani that took place not long after the exchange above with LeBell.

“Gene LeBell is a pathological liar,” said a clearly upset Seagal. “My children are the most sacred thing in my life. I swear on my children that we never ever had a fight at all. If someone doesn’t believe me , you can ask the stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano. Conrad Palmisano is a Vietnam veteran. He’s a man of honor. He would never lie to anybody. You can ask him. There was never a fight. If LeBell said there was a fight, then he’s a pathological, scumbag liar.”

This is not a He Said She Said, it’s more a He Denied, He Declined to Deny. So what actually happened?

So is The Seagal Dookie Drawers Story True?

While it’s a compelling narrative, no one who was there has ever confirmed it. Stuntman, martial artist, and celebrity bodyguard (including for Seagal) Ron Balicki said emphatically and at length that he knew from witnesses that it did not happen.

“Another stuntman by the name of Steve Lambert was also an eyewitness to Gene’s and Steven’s brief interaction,” said Balicki.

Recently, the aforementioned famed stuntman Steven Lambert – a direct eyewitness – explained at length what actually happened, during an appearance on the Striking Samurai podcast.

“There was two bodyguards which were Steven Seagal’s, there was Steven Seagal, there was Gene LeBell, there was Lincoln Simonds who is stunt guy, and myself,” said Lambert. “There was six people there. … Nobody else was there, nobody else experienced it, nobody else saw. … Seagal didn’t piss in his pants, he didn’t go into convulsions.

“But there was a confrontation, it was a difficult physical confrontation … I happened to open the door and I saw Seagal and LeBell, and the two bodyguards talking in front of LeBell’s trailer. We were probably a good 30, 35 feet away and I said, ‘Hey Lincoln, LeBell’s talking to Seagal, let’s go see if we can join in,’ you know just innocently. So I jump down and I start walking over and Lincoln is about ten feet back of me, jumps down, and we start walking over we get there and they’re just having a simple conversation in front of each other.

“It’s Seagal and the two bodyguards are on each side of them … and they’re talking about moves and introducing themselves, being casual and entertaining and everything’s light. They start talking about different techniques, and they’re talking about a chokehold, and Seagal starts the conversation. He goes I see the way you do your choke holds, and he was disagreeing on the way that LeBell would do it, and LeBell said, ‘Well let me explain to you how I do it.’

“When you work with somebody, a master, a black belt, you know even somebody that is a white belt … it’s an automatic, known-fact rule, that you go slow. You’re having a conversation, you’re teaching, you’re showing, you’re expressing your movement, and that’s just what LeBell was doing, in slow motion.

“He walks around Seagal and he’s in back of him, facing his back, and Seagal’s kind of looking over. We see the two bodyguards looking, and Lincoln and I are kind of we’re in back of one side. and back of LeBell, watching, very innocent. LeBell starts to put his hands around [Seagal] and very slow, just as I’m moving right, and the minute his hands go around Seagal’s neck, before he even touched them, grazed them, Seagal just side steps full blast, and forearms down right in [LeBell’s] crotch.

“That’s crazy. I mean like if I told you if I spread my legs and I said hit me in a crotch with your forearm as hard as you can, that’s what Seagal did. And LeBell jumped up like three feet in the air, and I see LeBell’s face and it’s literally three feet in the air.

“The moment [LeBell’s] toes touched the ground, he just sidestepped and spun his hand around the front of Seagal’s neck, and took his leg and put it in back of Seagal’s feet and just threw his arm back and threw his leg forward, LeBell that is, and Seagal went flying about four feet high and landed right on his butt and back hard. Ouch. The bodyguards looked at LeBell, and I looked at Seagal, and I looked at Lincoln, and everything is in slow motion, and Lincoln’s mouth was open, and my mouth was open.

“I was shocked because that was full blast until then. The bodyguards they looked at Seagal, they looked at LeBell, and I’m watching this happen – a matter of a split second – and I’m thinking ‘Oh my God here comes a huge fight.’ Because I’m thinking the bodyguards are looking at LeBell, and the bodyguards look back at Seagal, and I look back at Seagal, and Seagal shakes his head like a no. The minute Seagal did that with his head, the bodyguards stood down, because they were like almost in reaction mode, confrontation reaction mode. Like I said, this happened in a matter of moments.

“The minute LeBell felt everything was easing up, he stuck out his hand and said, ‘But if I did that let me show you what you could do,’ and helped him up. I was scared that something else was going to go on, so I ran to get the stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano. He was busy with sending camera, so I’m back at him, and he had producers, directors, the DP, everybody listening to him. So I’m in back, and I’m waiting for the right moment, because you can’t just barge in – you don’t want people to know, you don’t want to make a big thing out of this right? So I go in back of him waiting for the right moment and I kind of leaned to his ear and I said, ‘Conrad, there’s a confrontation with Seagal and LeBell at base camp, you better get over here and break it up.’

“Well he didn’t understand what I was saying, so he ignored me, and I’m just looking and he’s continuing with his camera work. So I walk away kind of hesitant, five, ten feet away, and all of a sudden he pops up and he realizes what’s going on, and he runs over there and he yells to LeBell before he even gets over there. He’s like 40 feet away – ‘LeBell, get back to your trailer.’ LeBell looks at him and goes right back to his trailer and that was the end of that. That’s what happened.

“Now who told, who got it out, who spread it out, I know I didn’t. I know Lincoln didn’t, at least I believe Lincoln. I don’t know if the bodyguards did it. I don’t know if Seagal did it, leaked it out. I don’t know if Gene LeBell leaked it out. Gene LeBell, I love him; you see how close Gene LeBell and I are in the movie? But Gene LeBell is a showman, right? I don’t think he would tell a lie.

“I think that lie, that rumor. that part of it pissing in his pants, and going convulsions, I think it was spread by somebody else, somebody who was writing the story, you know, somebody to somebody to somebody. But I believe LeBell would never say what was said to the magazines, and all that, if I had to guess. Also, let me say I feel horrible for Steven Seagal – he deserved it, what he got, because he started it. But the after-occurrence all these years later was brutal.

“I’ve seen Gene LeBell many times, he’s read my story; he says that’s exactly what happened. If you put Gene LeBell and I together on an interview, and I look at him and I say, ‘Gene isn’t that exactly what happened?’ He’ll tell you that’s exactly what happened. … We’ve discussed this already, I’ve teased him, he tells me that he didn’t say that, somebody else said that. He can’t figure out [who] but he’ll play with you if you interview him. He’ll play with you because Gene is a showman.

“It’s [Seagal’s] fault. I feel bad for him. It’s brutal because it’s carried on this long. But if he would have admitted it in a playful way with respect, at the beginning, or in the middle, or even now, it would go away. A couple of people have called me and asked, ‘What do you think would happen if we got them together?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m sure Gene would come.’

“Seagal’s got to get off his high horse, and the trick is is to make it funny, make it funny when they meet, because I’m sure LeBell would make it funny – ‘Come here Steven, you know your ball shot made me fly in the sky, how’d you like me putting you on your back?’ ‘You know LeBell, you’re one of the few that has ever put me on my back, I congratulate you for that.’ It could be humorous and it would all go away – that’d be great if that played out.

“I’ve suggested that to a few interviewers that have called me up privately and Seagal refuses to do that. So I think our interview is basically the only one with one of the witnesses that’s going to be out there. You did interviews with Palmisano and Balicki and Seagal, where you were telling the story, but it sounded like they wanted to like bad mouth Gene LeBell, and kind of turn it into that.

“The only thing I will say on this video is that Seagal did not pee in his pants, and he did not go into convulsions. That’s all I’m here to say, because Conrad Palmisano asked me, a friend of mine, and that’s all I’m gonna say. My name is Steve Lambert. I’m here to say that in the Seagal-LeBell confrontation, Seagal did not piss in his pants or go into convulsions. End the story.”

“I can’t reiterate this more – anybody who says otherwise about this story are liars. It’s that simple because they weren’t there, the producers. the directors, whoever, only the six were there, nobody else saw.”

So, finally, from an eyewitness, comes what’s apparently the truth – Seagal did not dump in his drawers, but did got dumped on his back (sounds like by Osoto Gari). Lambert’s delivery is compelling, but clinching the argument, the story could not have come from Seagal’s direction, as it contradicts O’Sensei’s version, and makes him look like a fool. So the truth is cool, but not as cool as the myth. That’s the way it always is.

Gene LeBell passed away on August 9, 2022, a legend in the grappling world. Steven Seagal has lived in Russia since 2016, when he was granted Russian citizenship by his friend President Vladimir Putin.

10Mar

March 10, 2024

The Greatest Throw in Wrestling History

If you wrestled in the 70s, you know this poster:

It happened at the 1972 Munich Olympics, in Greco-Roman wrestling. The guy on top is the USA’s Chris Taylor, age 22. He weighed around 444 pounds, maybe less, sometimes more. He’s the heaviest athlete in Olympic history,

The little fella on bottom is West Germany’s Wilfred Dietrich, 38, who weighed in at 287. Both he and Taylor were representing their nations at super heavyweight, each in both Freestyle and Greco.

Beginning in 1956, often competing in both FS and Greco, Deitrich medaled in five Olympics and five world championships, taking Olympic gold in 1960, and the world championship in 1961. During a seven-year run from 1955 to 1972, he never lost in Freestyle.

Taylor beat Dietrich in FS by decision at the 72 Olympics, and went on to win Bronze, after losing a controversial decision to Russia’s Aleksander Medved. But a few days later, in Greco, although he did not go on to medal, Wilfred Dietrich hit what many people call the greatest throw in wrestling history.

It was set up by a surreptitious, seemingly friendly hug (rather than the customary handshake), so Dietrich could see if he could reach his arms around Taylor.

“I was about four feet away when it happened,” said Jim Peckham, assistant coach of the freestyle team. “It was about five to ten minutes before their match and Dietrich came up to Chris and said ‘Chris, it’s so good to see you.’ Instead of a handshake, he gave him a big hug. I tried to step in to stop it but was too late. I think he was doing it to see if he could get his arms around Chris to attempt a throw. Keep in mind, the match was in Germany and this was Dietrich’s home mat, so he was trying to gain every advantage possible.”

The greatest throw in wrestling history was not without controversy.

THE CONTROVERSY

“I can tell you exactly what happened because I was four feet from it,” said Alan Rice, 1972 Olympic Greco-Roman head coach. “Dietrich has this throw but he couldn’t reach his arms all the way around Chris, but he got around there, and he went to his own back and that was the days of the touch fall. Dietrich went straight back and he was pinned, he pinned himself. Then he rolled Chris over and got Chris on his back and the referee called the fall. It was a great injustice because Dietrich did pin himself.

“[Dietrich] could not lock his hands around Chris. He could get his fingers touching but just barely, not enough to grip his fingers at all. He was very much well-known for that throw. I don’t think Chris was too worried about the throw because he knew if he went belly to belly that [Dietrich] would go to his back and pin himself. He did, but the referees flat out did not call it. He was on his back for no longer than one second, but they did have the touch fall rule in place so (Dietrich) was pinned.

Wayne Baughman, 198-pound member of the 1972 Olympic Greco-Roman team, also vividly recalled what happened.

“Dietrich was working for a double underhook the entire match,” said Baughman. “After the first period had ended I began yelling as hard as I can that he’s looking for the double underhook and he’s going to try and throw you. He looked directly at me and nodded yes.

“Chris went right out there in the second period and puts in the double overhooks and that’s when Dietrich hit a perfect front souplesse. When Dietrich hit the mat I couldn’t see him. He must have sunk about a foot into the mat. He was smashed flat in the mat. Dietrich did not hold a bridge but he did have enough momentum to carry him through to his right side and he stepped over onto Chris and got the fall.

“Five minutes later I went back to the locker room and Taylor was there by himself slouched over on a training table swinging his legs like a little kid. He looked up at me and shook his head and said, ‘I didn’t believe there was a human alive that could physically pick me off the mat and throw me, but I was wrong.’”

THE END

Dietrich still holds the record for most Olympic medals in wrestling, with five. He passed away from a heart attack on June 3, 1992, in Durbanville, South Africa. He was 58, and is buried in his hometown of Schifferstadt, Germany.

Chris Taylor went on to a career in professional wrestling under the tutelage of Billy Robinson and Verne Gagne, and even had an exhibition bout vs. Andre The Giant. However, as it had for so many of his opponents, Taylor’s size proved to be too much. Due to health issues, he was forced to retire from wrestling, and died in his sleep of cardiovascular complications, at home in Story City, Iowa, on June 30, 1979. He left behind his wife Lynne Lawrence and a daughter. He was just 29 years old.

“The only thing Chris was upset about is that he let the whole thing happen,” said Lynne. “He always used to joke that everyone could see his bald spot in the picture.”

H/T to BJJEE, FightingArts, and WIN-magazine.

5Mar

March 5, 2024

The World’s Highest Ranked Martial Artist

It was long believed that Italy, land of Julius Caesar, Marco Polo, Dante Alighieri, Cristoforo Colombo, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Galileo Galilei, had produced the world’s highest ranking martial artist. Shang-Men-Rem Prof. Gilberto Pauciullo holds 22 10th degree black belts, including five in Jiu-Jitsu alone, and one in mexed martial arts.

That’s Pauciullo in the middle, with the yellow jacket, paunch, and giant white belt.

Shang-Men-Rem Prof. Gilberto Pauciullo’s official certificates include:
11th Duan – Man Seer Kung Pai Kung Fu
10th Dan – Katory Yama Ryu Ju-Jutsu
10th Dan – Okonawa Go Ju Ryu
10th Dan – Street Rapid Defense System
10th Dan – WOSD/Kapap System
10th Dan – Self-Defense
10th Dan – Agni Kempo
10th Dan – I.F. Knife Fighting System
10th Dan – Ju-Boxing Full Contact
10th Dan – Shin KakutoJutsu Hanshi
10th Dan – Gung Chi Pai Gung Fu System
10th Dan – Ju-Hitsu AJJIF
10th Dan – Ju-Jitsu IJJF
10th Dan – Ju-Jitsu ACJJ
10th Dan – Ju-Jitsu UAJJ
10th Dan – Martial Arts Police Method
10th Dan – Makoto Ryu Ju-Jitsu
10th Dan – Bu-Jutsu Sigung
10th Dan – Mexed Martial Arts
10th Dan – SERCSU
10th Dan – DIM MAK
10th Dan – Nefusen Submission Ju-Jitsu
10th Dan – Vietnamese Combat Martial Arts
Grade A – Hanshi – Soubukai Karate-Do / Japan-Tokyo
Si Gung Wing Chun – In Yp Man Martial Arts Sifu Council
Si Gung Chi Kung
9th Dan – Ken Jitsu
9th Dan – Tatsu Seiki Kikou-Do
9th Dan – Kamishin Kai Ju-Jitsu
9th Dan – Karate-Do
9th Dan – Pinoy Eskrima S.Miguel de Abanico Ming Sune Do
9th Dan – Chinese Kempo
9th Dan – Kokusai Sin Jutsu Kempo Kai
Muk Yan Chong – Wing Chun Institute
Chi Sao – Wing Chun Institute
8th Dan – Judo
8th Dan – Kimuchino Aikido
7th Dan – A.O.S. Tai Chi System
7th Dan – Ashihara Bu-Do Kai
7th Dan – Ting Ho Dao
7th Duan – Shaolin Yang Sheng Fa
7th Dan – OSTCS
6th Dan – Seishinryoku Goju Kick Boxing
6th Dan – Kendo.
6th Dan – OSR Karate-Do
4th Dan – FULUNGJJ
2nd Dan – Sakibo
Master of MARMA ADI
Master of KALARIPAYT
Master of KAPAP – Level B – cert.n:704788
Master of Military – Police Special Force
Master of Special Commando Force – S.O.G.
Master Expert of Krav Maga
Master Expert of Close Combat System
Depositary Master of Italian Traditional Knife
Depositary Master of Italian Hand Weapons Combat System

Most of us had the same three reactions, in quick succession:
1. “Only a 4th dan in FULUNGJJ??!? Pull yourself together man, and put some real effort into Sakibo.”
2. Jiu-jitsu is pathetic for having no living 10th degrees, while this luminary alone holds 22.
3. Is Shang-Men-Rem Prof. Gilberto Pauciullo truly the world’s highest ranked martial artist?

It turns out, he’s not.

With 45 years documented study of the martial arts, India’s Supreme Grand Master (Guru/Dean) Dai Soke Prof/Dr. Jagdish Singh Khatri (Ph.D.) M.A. (IGF) has earned 43 10th degree black belts, and two 12th degree black belts. This rate of nearly one 10th degree per year shows he is REALLY good. Where Shang-Men-Rem Prof. Pauciullo has a mere five 10th degrees in jiu-jitsu, the Supreme Grand Master (Guru/Dean) Dai Soke Prof/Dr. holds twelve!

Dean Professor Dr. Khatri also lists a Cinturon Negro 10th Dan. This means he is a 10th-degree black belt in black belt! That’s pretty cool. He has a 10th-degree black belt in mixed martial arts too, and according to his bio, another 10th degree in mixed martial arts. Shang-Men-Rem Prof. Pauciullo only has one 10th degree in MMA, and he can’t even spell it right – he wrote mexed martial arts. What a goof Pauciullo is.

Supreme Grand Master (Guru/Dean) Dai Soke Prof/Dr. Jagdish Singh Khatri (Ph.D.) is also a COLONEL GRAND MASTER – India & Nepal Alians Bulgarian Commandos (ABC). He’s too modest to mention it, but he is in 17 Hall of Fames. And he has 12 PhDs. So in sum, the world’s highest ranked martial artist is not Shang-Men-Rem Prof. Gilberto Pauciullo, but is in fact Supreme Grand Master (Guru/Dean) Dai Soke Prof/Dr. Jagdish Singh Khatri (Ph.D.) M.A. (IGF).

Anyone doubting the Dean (Guru) Dai Soke Prof/Dr. probably doesn’t even have one 10th degree, and is jealous. So for the few doubters, here is the proof – his certificates have a Flickr account:

The moral of the story of these dual numpties is, to quote Royce Gracie, “The belt only covers two inches of your ass, you have to cover the rest.” Given the giant belts that Supreme Great Grand Masters wear, it’s a little more than two inches of ass that are covered, but then, these asses always have oversized asses.

And to close with the opening question, phrased properly – Who is the world’s most knowledgeable martial artists? The real answer is probably Dan Inosanto, a global treasure,.

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4Feb 1

February 4, 2024

The 5 Most Influential Martial Artists of The Last 100 Years

The Great Man Theory doesn’t remotely explain all of history, but it is at the least a source of lively discussion. In that spirit, who are the most influential figures in martial arts in the last 100 years?

The question is subjective to a significant degree, but a central factor considered is how many millions of people were influenced to take up the practice of the particular martial art. Further, notable weight is lent to those individuals who created a martial art with legs – one that maintained its integrity, and did not splinter into sometimes unrecognizable pieces. And lastly, as the title indicates the figures had to be legitimate martial artists in their own right, rather than figures who promoted the martial arts through political means, or the media.

Our list begins with ….

5. General Choi Hong Hi

Choi Hong Hi, founder of Taekwondo

Choi Hong Hi (9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) is the father of Taekwondo. As Taekwondo is reportedly the world’s most popular martial art, his inclusion on the list is obvious.

Choi is a figure of no small controversy, and his contributions are minimized in some quarters. That however is politics. Gen. Choi chose to spread the art he developed to North Korea, where much of his family remained after the war, and that did not sit well with the South Korean government, which set up the WTF to compete with Choi’s ITF. But that is politics, not reality.

And for the record, the general’s name is pronounced something like “chwe.” So if someone claims to be an authority and pronounces it Choi rhymes with joy, then you know they don’t know what they are talking about.

4. Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee, founder of Jeet Kune Do

Bruce Lee (27 November 1940 – 20 July 1973) is the father of Jeet Kune Do. His influence is extraordinary.

Lee essentially introduced Chinese martial arts to the world. He was responsible for the martial arts boom in the 1970s, the largest the world had ever seen, inspiring countless millions to take up the practice of martial arts of every imaginable sort. However, his greatest contribution may lie in his freeing martial arts from the classical mess.

Lee found martial arts as a collection of countless strictly organized and controlled contradictory sets of beliefs and practices, each of which believed itself to be clearly superior to the others. It was, truly, a field in which everyone was certain they were better than average.

He left a legacy that truth in unarmed combat lay outside of fixed systems. He showed the world a contest with fighters in fingered gloves, using strikes, takedowns, and tapping out to submissions on the ground.

In short, he left a world that was ready to embrace mixed martial arts.

When MMA came along, a new system was created for the refining of technique. It is as simple as wheels on luggage – to figure out if something works in a fight, just fight. If a technique doesn’t work for you, you’ll know, because you will get hit in the face. The name Bruce Lee gave to his approach – Jeet Kune Do, or The Way of the Intercepting Fist – captures that reality.

3. Rorion Gracie

Rorion Gracie, co-founder of the UFC

Royce Gracie is the world’s best-known exponent of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Royce’s brother Rickson was historically the best fighter in the family. And the art was refined by Royce’s father Helio. But the man who brought it to the world is Rorion Gracie (born 10 January 1952).

And the way he brought it to the world was by co-founding the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and putting his younger brother Royce in it to win it. The wheels-on-luggage simple idea was that you could test the efficacy of a martial art by actually fighting, rather than by blabbering about it in the barbershop or in the dojo. The result was the UFC, which in turn ushered in the fastest revolution in martial arts training in history.

So although he did not found an art, Rorion Gracie, is our third most influential martial artist in the last 100 years.

The other co-founders of the UFC deserve honorable mention: Campbell McLaren, Bob Meyrowitz, David Isaacs, and above all, Art Davie. Davie is the single individual most responsible for creating the UFC, but not being a martial artist himself, he’s not on this list.

2. Gichin Funakoshi

Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Karate

Gichin Funakoshi (November 10, 1868 – April 26, 1957) is the father of karate. He was one of the Okinawan karate masters who introduced the striking art to the Japanese mainland in 1922; but the word “karate” then had different meaning than it does today. Funakoshi founded Shotokan, which, along with Kyokushin, is one of the two best-known styles of karate in the world.

Kyokushin founder Masutatsu Oyama, who deserves an honorable mention, was in fact one of Funakoshi’s students. Funakoshi had changed the name of karate to mean “empty hand” instead of “China hand,” creating the word and meaning that spread more than any other martial art.

For better and for worse karate has splintered into countless directions. Karate can be two players wearing foam floaties bouncing up and down, or it can be the exclusive practice of kata, or it can be bare-knuckle knockdown style, or it can be Karate Combat, and the list goes on and on. However, Gichin Funakoshi is the figure who brought it to the world, and that is why he is the second most influential martial artist of the past 100 years.

1. Jigoro Kano

Jigoro Kano, founder of Judo

Kanō Jigorō (10 December 1860 – 4 May 1938) is the founder of judo. Judo was the first Japanese martial art to gain international recognition, and the first martial art to become an official Olympic sport. Kano’s innovations include the use of black and white belts, as well as dan rankings. He sent emissaries across the planet to proselytize, including Mitsuyo Maeda, who landed in Brazil, and taught techniques to the Gracie family. That led to the birth of Braziian Jiu-Jitsu, which in turn led directly to modern mixed martial arts. Another student, Vasili Oshchepkov, is the co-founder of Sambo.

While most martial arts have split off into widely varying directions, judo has remained judo for over 100 years. And while there have been innovations and evolution, it is so tremendous a martial art that there remains just one judo.

And that is why Jigoro Kano is and remains the most influential martial artist in the last 100 years.

29Jan 0

January 29, 2024

Who’s The Best Student to Ever Come Out of NESF?

Being knocked down in training is a signature moment in a fighter’s career or lack of one. Perhaps half the people quit not long after it happens, typically without realizing why. It’s a big deal, getting knocked down, and bigger still to stand up. That’s why the Japanese proverb “Nana korobi, ya oki” (“Fall down seven times, stand up eight”) holds so much meaning in mixed martial arts.

No fighter so well personifies the resilience, optimism, and self-belief contained in those words than does Roxanne Modafferi, who had her final fight at UFC 271 on February 12, 2022. It was her 50th bout, breaking the record for most fights by a female competitor in MMA history.

“The Happy Warrior” is the last active fighter from a time when female athletes in “cage fighting” were an oddity. The fact that her “Happy Warrior” nickname was a suggestion from a fan on MySpace gives some indication of how long she has been in the game.

Kirik was in her corner for her first fight, and her last, and many in between, in Los Angeles, Japan, and Asbury Park, New Jersey, among other locales. Below he offers a look back at her career.

Origin Story of “The Happy Warrior”

In 2001, Modafferi walked into my fight gym as a college freshman. She was not a gifted athlete and was kinder than a hippie. I didn’t bother to ask if she had aspirations to fight; I wasn’t even certain at the time if she could catch a frisbee. I’d be more inclined to believe a sighting of a yeti wearing a Pats jersey, than what was to follow.

However, Modafferi possessed a relentless curiosity, focus, and aptitude for the sport, unhampered by the ego that so typically gets in the way until it is beaten out. Despite a lack of natural athletic ability, she stood out from the beginning. The only time she cried in training was once, from frustration, when I wouldn’t hit her hard enough.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu at its most fundamental level is a method of reducing the opponent’s options from countless to just three: tap, nap, or snap. Before long, Modafferi was training at several gyms and adjusting the attitude of newcomer frat boys who went too hard, by reducing their choices to just two, or in practice just one. Without the fortitude to go to sleep, they always tapped.

Long enthralled by Japanese culture, she did a junior year abroad in Japan. Already so stalwart a submission wrestler that she was a “Competitor of the Year” for the then regional grappling organization NAGA, the transition to MMA was natural. Roxy went 3-0 in Japanese women’s events, under rules that prohibited face-punching on the ground.

When Roxy returned to the US for her senior year of college, women’s mixed martial arts was barely acknowledged, and when it was, the typical reaction was disparaging remarks about a fighter’s sexual orientation or sexual attractiveness. A normal person would not enter the sport. But she stood up.

Rise Through The Ranks in WMMA’s Dark Ages

The sterling exception to WMMA’s poor reception was perhaps the most underappreciated figure in the history of the sport, Jeff Osborne. His HOOK ‘n SHOOT promotion showcased WMMA to the world with admiration and polish. Jen Howe, the then most dominant female fighter on the planet, was 12-0 with eleven stoppages. When Howe’s opponent for a title fight dropped out, another pioneer, Tara LaRosa, who knew Roxanne from Northeast grappling events and recently lost to Howe under MMA rules, told Osborne that the utterly unheralded Modafferi would win.

Howe made the title offer, Modafferi asked me, I said no with a warm guffaw, and she flew to Evanstown, Indiana anyway, without my even knowing. And she won. It was impossible.

Then she entered a one-night, open-weight eight-woman tournament in Japan. In the first fight, Modafferi beat by decision a 200+ pound jiu-jitsu black belt from Brazil in Ana Carolina by decision. I sat in her corner, in awe. In the second fight, she lost by decision to Megumi Yabushita, who had just won her initial fight by breaking Shannon Hooper’s arm with a front roll. Yabushita would go on to win the event when the great Erin Toughill was disqualified for an illegal elbow, that audibly broke ribs.

Next up was a rematch with Howe, and Modafferi won that too. When we went back to the locker room, I threw my sweatshirt over a mirror, as she was pretty banged up. Roxy found the mirror, looked at her face, and smiled.

It took place in Utah, and at the airport the next day, everyone looked pissed off at me. After a few minutes, I realized an older guy standing next to a young woman with a black eye engendered some assumptions; the good men of Utah appeared ready to hang me.

I asked Roxy to take the championship belt out of its case and throw it over her shoulder. Never egotistical, she declined. Not wanting to learn that I can’t fly by being thrown off an airport balcony, I insisted, and she agreed. Thereafter it was all smiles and questions at SLC International. That was “The Happy Warrior’s” first great peak.

Less Happy Times For a Warrior

Then Roxanne went 1-3, losing to Laura D’August, LaRosa, and Shayna Baszler. The sole win was a rematch with Yabushita. Five years into the sport, with a 4-4 record under full MMA rules, on a two-fight losing streak, it would be a good time to retire and move on to other, more fruitful pursuits. But Modafferi stood up again. It was 2006.

Now graduated from college and living and training in Japan, she went 8-1, beating the likes of Vanessa Porto, the far larger Marloes Coenen, and winning a rematch with LaRosa.

In the Porto fight, which took place in Los Angeles, Modafferi’s French braids got loose. I had everything in my cut kit but a hair tie, so I dashed to a ring card girl and got one. At one point Roxy suffered a monster slam. I was concerned about whether her confidence might have been shaken to some degree after being slammed so hard. But I didn’t want to even hint at mental weakness, so in the corner, I asked how she felt about the slam. “When she lifted me high up and I was heading down, I was thinking ‘Wheeeee,’” replied Modafferi with a thoughtful smile.

That run earned her a shot at Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman. But Kaufman knocked out Roxy with a slam.

Modafferi was released by Strikeforce and lost the next four. A five-fight losing streak, after a decade in the sport, nearing 30, is the definition of when it’s time to leave the gloves in the cage. But she stood up once again.

Her legacy was such that she was asked to be a cast member in The Ultimate Fighter 17. Picked dead last, Modafferi won her first TUF fight versus Valerie Letourneau by submission. She lost her second fight to Jessica Rakoczy, but was given a UFC opportunity in the TUF Finale against Raquel Pennington, and lost that too. Modafferi was now on a 1-7 run, in her 30s. That’s a far, far fall. But she stood up.

Syndicate MMA & Evolution to UFC Title Shot

Modafferi loved the training in the US that she received during TUF and left her beloved Japan to move to Las Vegas to train with John Wood and his world-class team at Syndicate MMA. Then she signed with Invicta Fighting Championship. If Jeff Osborne’s HOOK ‘n SHOOT was the slender thread that supported WMMA in the early years, Shannon Knapp’s Invicta FC was by 2014 the deep roots it so desperately needed, and remains so today.

The grappling-based Modafferi developed much-improved striking at Syndicate, and went 4-1 in the premiere WMMA organization. The run was capped with a title shot versus then-flyweight champion Jennifer Maia. The winner would be the best 125 women’s MMA fighter on Earth, the UFC having only a 135 division at that point. “The Happy Warrior” lost a split decision.

Modafferi won two more after the Invicta title fight loss and entered TUF a second time. This time she was picked first. That season was capped with a bout against Nicco Montano for the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight championship. Roxy lost by decision, but it was the “Fight of the Night”, earning her a $50,000 bonus, plus an extra $30,000 in Reebok Money. That was in 2017, and Modafferi fought on.

The Last Run

For nearly five years, at the highest level of the sport, four times Roxanne alternated wins and losses. Then the pattern broke, and she lost two in a row.

At UFC 271, Roxanne lost her final fight, a controversial split decision to Casey O’Neill.

The secret to a long life is knowing when it’s time to go. As planned, Roxanne left her gloves in the Octagon.

Today

Today, Roxanne lives in Las Vegas and is happily married to an amazing man, and fellow fighter, Chris Roman. He proposed on national television immediately after winning a fight.

The wedding was magical.

If you want to learn more about the life of Roxanne Modafferi, check out:
Memoirs of a Happy Warrior
Memoirs of a Happy Warrior II: Challenges

And if you want to develop your own inner happy warrior, check out:
How to be Positive: Mental Training by the Happy Warrior

Legacy of The Happy Warrior

Roxanne Modafferi leaves a lasting legacy.

In the 1940s, much was made of the great heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis being a remarkable African American athlete. Jimmy Cannon set that straight when he famously reminded, “he is a credit to his race, the human race.” Modafferi is a pivotal figure in the history of WMMA, the final female fighter from the sport’s early days. But that misses the greater point. She is the nicest person I have ever met and destroys stereotypes about what women fighters are. But that too misses the point.

Modafferi’s message is larger than WMMA. It’s larger than MMA. It’s “Nana korobi, ya oki” – Fall down seven times, stand up eight. From her very first day, Roxanne Modafferi has lived it like no other.

29Jan 1

January 29, 2024

What Martial Arts Are Available in This Area?

For the past 50 years, Western Massachusetts has been blessed by the presence of some giants in the field, including Lorraine DiAnne, Wendi Dragonfire, Paul Gallagher, Kalaii Kano Griffin, Larry Kelley, Noriyasu Kudo, Melissa “Dr. Ruthless” Soalt & Mike Haynack, Paul Sylvain, Dr. Marion Taylor, and Kimo Wall, among others. Heck, Bruce Lee even demonstrated at the Big E! Their legacy continues through their students, and as well great new teachers have emerged.

Below are links to some of terrific schools of different martial arts in the area, with a few accompanying words.

Aikido
Developed by Morihei Ueshiba in Japan a century ago, the practice of Aikido centers on non-violence and spirituality. There are multiple excellent options in the area, including:
•Aikido of Amherst
•Valley Aikido (in Northampton)

Boxing
Boxing is strangely not considered a martial art in some quarters. Boxing very explicitly fosters character development, has proven to be the best means of defense against multiple opponents, and has a profoundly aesthetic side as well. So boxing is unequivocally one of the greatest martial arts. The Whitley brothers are lifelong martial artists, and share their profound, multi-generational knowledge of the sweet science, at their highly-regarded Holyoke gym.
•Whitley Brothers Boxing And Fitness

Capoeira
Created by enslaved Africans in the early 1500s in Brazil, Capoeira is the most beautiful martial art of all, and much more. It is an extraordinary cultural heritage, a tremendous form of exercise, and a powerful means of self-defense.
•Capoeira Gunga Do Vale (in Northampton)

Jiu-jitsu
If your interests lie with Brazilian jiu-jitsu as practiced in a gi, Team Link is an extraordinary option. Founder Marco Alvan came to the USA with little but a black belt, ambition, and love; today he inspirationally heads a chain of over a dozen academies, including a number in Brazil, and has put students into top MMA promotions like the UFC and Bellator MMA, and all the top jiu-jitsu competitions.
•Team Link Noho, run by a black belt couple, one of whom is a world champion
•Team Link Ludlow, run by the association founder Marco Alvan himself.
Another great option is Gabriel Gladiator Training Center in West Springfield, run by the eponymous pioneer of the sport.
West Springfield is also home to the great Alexandre “Vaca” Moreno’s Vaca BJJ & MMA.
And if no-gi jiu-jitsu is your passion, check out the local affiliate from the great and powerful Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet system.
•10th Planet (in Agawam)

Judo
Judo, the gentle way, is a not-always-gentle Olympic sport that centers on throwing an opponent wearing a jacket, as well as pins and submissions. It also offers a central ethical pedagogy. Modern mixed martial arts developed directly out of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which in turn formed after Judo founder Jigoro Kano sent experts across the globe. One of them, Mitsuyo Maeda, moved to Brazil, where he taught the Gracie family Judo, plus in all likelihood catch wrestling and techniques he developed through his own experience in no-rules contests. Kano is the most influential martial artist in the last 100 years, and his art is undeniably one of the greatest and most respected.
•Kuma Judo (in Florence)

Karate
While many of the aforementioned martial arts like Aikido, boxing, jiu-jitsu, and judo are relatively uniform from school to school, the term karate is applied to a wide variety of practices, which evolved from indigenous striking-based martial arts in the Ryukyu Islands, which in turn were influenced by interaction with China. Wendi Dragonfire, mentioned above, was a direct student of Robert Trias, the first person to open a karate school in the mainland USA. Excellent local karate schools include:
•Amherst Shotokan Karate Dojo
•Northampton Karate

Kung Fu
Kung fu is a general term used widely in English for Chinese martial arts, and the practices are even more varied than in karate. While kung fu has a reputation for not being as practical as some other approaches, its combat sports aspect, Sanda, is drawn almost exclusively from traditional Chinese martial arts, and it is likely the most underappreciated base in MMA. Reputable options in the area include:
•Shaolin Kung Fu Center of Hadley
•Chinese Kung Fu Wushu Academy (in Chicopee)

MMA
This writer has been licensed in the martial arts space in 15+ states, and has worked professionally in 30+ countries, and can say definitively that Jeremy Libiszewski is one of the best coaches in the entire sport. And he is a humble, life-long martial artist, who is amazing with world-class fighters, and equally fantastic with kids.
•Fighting Arts Academy (in Springfield)

Muay Thai
For over 20 years, Aaron Snow has trained internationally, plus refereed, judged, and coached in the national sport of Thailand, the science of 8 Limbs. He now runs a vibrant Muay Thai program in Leverett, Massachusetts.
•Sitmanpong

Self-Defense
Walt Lysak teaches a comprehensive self-defense system that begins where combat sports end – with eye gouges, biting, and worse. As UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock put it, “for the street, there’s nothing better.” In addition to his ferocious self-defense system, Lysak is also a 3rd-degree black belt in jiu-jitsu.
•Sento MMA Academy (in West Springfield)

Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean, striking-based martial art with an emphasis on kicks; it is reportedly the most popular on Earth. As expected for a martial art of this popularity, there are multiple excellent options in the area:
•Amherst Martial Arts
•Elite Taekwondo (in Hadley)
•Northampton Martial Arts
•Greenfield Taekwondo Center

Wrestling
This is the most vital part of mixed martial arts, as wrestling determines where the confrontation takes place – in the open, on the ground, or against a wall. Further, wrestling is an epic art and combat sport in its own right, arguably the greatest. And lastly, the indigenous form of wrestling in the USA, folkstyle, is even better a base for MMA than are the internationally practiced forms, freestle and Greco-Roman.
•Grit and Gratitude (a non-profit in Springfield, with programs for 5 year olds, through adults)

Yoga
Yoga is very much a martial art. However, unlike many dubious martial arts approaches, yoga has integrity, and does not falsely claim to directly impart self-defense skills. That said, in addition to peace of mind and spiritual elevation, the practice of Yoga imparts terrific conditioning, and as the “God of Wrestling” Karl Gotch famously explained, “the greatest hold is conditioning.” If you are a martial artist and want to improve your practice, try yoga.
•Shiva Shakti Power Vinyasa Yoga

If one of these martial arts is important to you, but you’ll have to drive a ways to make it, then drive, don’t settle. The practice of martial arts can be really important in our personal development, and going out of your way to find what you want, well, you’re worth it.

Please note, there are undoubtedly tremendous programs in the area that are not mentioned above. If a great local class is not mentioned, the oversight is not pointed, but is simply due to an unfortunate lack of knowledge. Please feel free to leave your suggestions below in the comments section.

Author: Kirik Jenness