We got everything except Dim Mak, let’s go.
It’s a hot summer for combat sports, and we’re moving from one heavy weekend to the next. But until the fisticuff festivities in MMA kick off, we’ve got this to quench your thirst.
So we’ll begin where we usually do, with our guy Jerry over at Fight Commentary Breakdowns. This time, a Wing Chun practitioner (channel favorite Qi La La) decides to test himself against a boxer. Any bets on how this went?
Well, this is actually kinda cool. There’s not the usual failure that we’re used to in situations like this. It’s a fine back and forth in sparring and while not overly impressive is nice to see. It’s the best thing possible, adapting the old to deal with the new, or at least using the building blocks to handle different challenges.
Next stop, Nigeria. It’s a rough one in a hard-fought battle between two competitors in a wrestling match. It’s not pretty, and it’s a grueling affair. But at least it’s got a satisfying ending.
We’ll keep it in Nigeira for another minute, as Dambé Warriors gives us this intense battle. Lots of shots here, and the finale comes almost out of nowhere.
It’s the way the one guy basically leans into the punch and gets dumped that gets to me. Man was temporarily stunned on his feet and was done a favor, somehow. No easy days on the field when it’s time for Dambé.
This might be my favorite find this week: a collection of Muay Thai and kickboxing knockouts, and they’re all jumpkicks. It gets serious in a hurry, and they’re all jaw-droppers. Or maybe jaw-breakers? No matter, it’s all intense action up and down the countdown.
This is easily my second favorite this week. Similar premise to the above, but it’s all elbows. Shout out to Esther Lin while we’re here. She’s extraordinary.
Anyway, enjoy this. It’s beautiful with the timing and precision.
Don’t feel like there’s enough grappling this week? I’ll throw you another bone here. We’ve got Shintaro Higashi teaching us one of the smoothest techniques in international Judo competition. And it’s a fun one. Whenever I inevitably get back go training, I can’t wait to flub this over and over while failing to ever nail it.
Finally, we leave you with another Kyokushin tribute to Lechi Kurbanov. This guy was just plain scary, full stop.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in cowabunga mode for the weekend and munching on roast duck with dumplings. And remember – you might think you can fight, but there are many guys like you all over the world.