Video: The first rule of fight club is, you let ESPN film fight club
posted at 11:30 am on May 2, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Via TGT11. This clip is to masculinity what that “Republican Space Rangers” vid was to satire, an example so over the top that you’re left believing there simply must be an extra layer of irony somewhere. Beating on each other to gratify the caveman within? I guess I can buy it. Beating on each other with lead-filled purses and brass rods wrapped in Martha Stewart’s magazine? Smoking-gun proof that it’s a ruse, a sly Sokal-esque hoax concocted by geeks to see just how absurd they could make their exercise in emasculation paranoia before the media caught on.
Except it’s not. It’s real.
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The SFGate article is priceless. I’m sorry, but I need to post the takeaway quote.
BohicaTwentyTwo on May 2, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Cavemen, couch potatoes, technology wizards, normal guys, American heroes fighting emasculation. Loved every minute of it.
RushBaby on May 2, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Or could it be, they weren’t allowed to play tag and dodgeball during recess, Mithter Methner.
RushBaby on May 2, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Go ahead Allahpundit.
You know you want to, sitting there. Reading headlines. Typing all day, it does not satisfy the caveman within. You know him, you see him in the mirror. He’s the guy that confidently sips a drink chatting up KP. Don’t deny him his broken rib, his bloody knuckles, his cold steely glare. Love him embrace him, set him free.
Go ahead and get some.
Theworldisnotenough on May 2, 2008 at 11:54 AM
I can see that, they aren’t doing it out of anger, but out of expression, they are expressing what society demands men to give up.
Hi-tech is not hi-touch. You lose reality, you see it on these blogs. People say what they want without any consideration. Where if you were in a park, with no one around, you would never dare treat or talk to someone the way we post.
They are actually putting civilization back, not subtracting from.
Un-civilized is saying what you want with impunity, civilized is showing restraint.
These guys are reminding each other why we sit in a cubicle and do our job.
The same reason, but not as dramatic, that some belong on a couple of tennis teams or softball teams. It is a bonding of sport, competition that man craves…and women have such a hard time understanding.
right2bright on May 2, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Jordan doesn’t get it…
right2bright on May 2, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Adrenaline is a drug. These guys are just adrenaline junkies. I guess it’s cheaper than high-stakes sports gambling, but it’s the same rush.
RBMN on May 2, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Yes, society frowns on people beating the living crap out of complete strangers. How silly of them.
I don’t have any problem with two consenting adults fighting, but it seems to be more about venting than being “manly.”
Real men use their fists as a last resort (and then do it well). Venting, on the other hand, keeps people from going on a killing spree at McDonalds. Not necessarily mutually exclusive, but definitely not the same thing.
Tanya on May 2, 2008 at 12:12 PM
They fight like girls. What’s to be proud of here? Dust vacuums? Plungers? Cookie sheets?
lorien1973 on May 2, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Or perhaps from growing up with names like Shiyin Siou, Gints Klimanis, and Dinesh Prasad. I can’t believe these guys didn’t learn to fight earlier. Their elementary school playgrounds must have been a lot less brutal than mine.
Tanya on May 2, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Plus, you get to wear the bag over your head when you fight. That way, you’ll still be anonymous…
Rick on May 2, 2008 at 12:19 PM
I’m a software engineer. Last year I took up martial arts as a way to get back in shape. Back in high school, I ran 5-10 miles daily and was in great shape. After graduation, I basically sat on my backside for over a decade doing nothing but writing code. Sparring is a regular part of my training each week and it’s definitely my favorite part — not because I like getting hit but because I love the strategy and the challenge. The gratification is immediate and visceral. While what I do is quite different from what these guys are doing, I definitely understand why they’re doing it.
jasnell on May 2, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Yeah, zero technique and style. I noticed that at one point they were using rattan sticks, which can hurt like hell, but they were just randomly swinging them. Even with just the little bit of Modern Arnis training I’ve had I had to laugh at the complete lack of anything resembling decent form :-)
jasnell on May 2, 2008 at 12:22 PM
That’s the first thing I thought of while watching this.
They should consider using tazers at these fight clubs…bro.
Rick on May 2, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Not the face!
Not the face!
Mortis on May 2, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Sure, but did you see that right hook? Rocky Marciano himself would be proud.
madne0 on May 2, 2008 at 12:34 PM
Why don’t they just take Martial Arts? You get to beat the crap out of people but you actually “learn” how to defend yourself. They guys are idiots.
saltydogg14 on May 2, 2008 at 12:39 PM
First rule of Fight Club: Don’t blog about Fight Club.
Zorg on May 2, 2008 at 1:11 PM
Second rule of Fight Club: SWEEP THE LEG!
apollyonbob on May 2, 2008 at 1:18 PM
It’s all fun and games until you have to dispose of a body in the middle of the night because you broke their neck with a folding chair.
Seriously, just join a boxing club. There’s probably one at your local Y.
wilkeson on May 2, 2008 at 1:29 PM
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Doing this is just as emasculating as being in a cubicle all day I’d say, and most definitely a symptom.
They look like pansies.
Keljeck on May 2, 2008 at 1:32 PM
This illistrates perfectly why I don’t want to pay for anyones health insurance but my own. What a bunch of punks.
Wise Golden on May 2, 2008 at 1:36 PM
What I find amusing is that they are trying to make this out to be a sickness….
You do realize that men, across EVERY society have ALWAYS done this kind of thing in one form or another?
IMO its just part of the make up of males… which society should learn to channel, instead of making it out to be a sickness…
PS: Blacktigers.us … check it out… LOL… I’m one of those guys…
Romeo13 on May 2, 2008 at 1:38 PM
Revenge for getting beat up and their lunch money stolen everyday while they were growing up????
MillHouse Van Houtens of the World…UNITE!!!
BigWyo on May 2, 2008 at 1:58 PM
“Male rite of passage”
How about joining the military you twits?! Beating on another too smart by half loser does not prove anything..
The Opinionator on May 2, 2008 at 2:05 PM
Anyone have a point of contact? These guys are in my AO. ;)
fanderbiles on May 2, 2008 at 2:10 PM
Sure, if the fight is a serious one, but real men do play around and fight all the time.
I have two pairs of boxing gloves at my house. They were gifts to my husband from a friend he’s fought around with. They’ve hurt each other, but not out of anger or to settle anything.
I’ve even used them on my husband, only when he fights with me, he isn’t allowed to hit back, or if he does, he only hits the gloves.
It can be an incredible way to vent frustration.
Esthier on May 2, 2008 at 2:46 PM
Why is that more acceptable? Is it just the risk involved?
Esthier on May 2, 2008 at 2:48 PM
And that’s exactly what I said. Do they do it to vent (or for fun), or to be “manly”?
Also, boxing and martial arts are nothing like beating someone, bare-fisted, in somebody’s garage. As has been mentioned by others above.
Tanya on May 2, 2008 at 2:56 PM
jasnell on May 2, 2008 at 3:02 PM
Dang, the quote in that post got messed up. Sorry about that.
jasnell on May 2, 2008 at 3:02 PM
I saw that you wrote that, I just didn’t understand the connection between venting and real men only using their fists as a last result.
I was just stating that I believe real men can vent by fighting.
Esthier on May 2, 2008 at 3:07 PM
Right. I did say that the two weren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
But I don’t think that very many real men would consider themselves “manly” for doing it. They would just consider it necessary for venting. Whereas, non-real men would consider themselves very cool and macho.
Tanya on May 2, 2008 at 3:21 PM
And I’m not calling your husband a girlie man. ;o)
Just commenting back and forth with you for a few months, I don’t think you’d have much use for one of those.
Tanya on May 2, 2008 at 3:23 PM
OK, now I understand and certainly agree.
Thanks, and you’re completely right. I’m not fond of girlie men. I mean sure, I wish my husband would sometimes be a little more… I’m not sure what word I’m looking for, but if the trade off is a metrosexual, I’ll keep him the way he is.
Esthier on May 2, 2008 at 3:57 PM
But, but, those guys on WWE do it all the time, and nobody dies…
Rick on May 2, 2008 at 3:59 PM
I assume he doesn’t read HA?
Rick on May 2, 2008 at 4:01 PM
No. We kinda have opposite views when it comes to politics, which is a big change from when we first started dating and had opposite views on everything from philosophy to the existence of God (or any god for that matter).
Esthier on May 2, 2008 at 4:12 PM
I always laugh at women stating what real men do.
How about “Real women shouldn’t gossip”? Go shopping, gossip, do whatever.
I’m lucky because I’m in the military, I’m airborne, I shoot guns and blow stuff up. I also practice combatives all the time. You know what that is? A bunch of guys beating the crap out of each other on a mat, for “training”.
The difference is what?
I’m not on foot patrols in Iraq using my fists – the combatives are a great way to bond with your squad buddies. If I’m at the point where I’m trying to get Osama in a blood choke, things have gone downhill considerably.
These gents are IT guys slaved to a desk. If it makes them find themselves as men, and grow a pair, all the power to ‘em
spec_ops_mateo on May 2, 2008 at 4:12 PM
That’s telling us what we should do, not what we actually do.
I think it’s perfectly fair for a man to offer up his opinion on what real women do, with the understanding that it’s an opinion, as is the one offered here.
Though, I personally can’t state what “real women” do. Have babies? Eat chocolate? Carry purses?
I get that last one all the time from those who question my femininity, but I personally disagree. All I need to carry with me can fit in my pockets or my husband’s wallet.
Esthier on May 2, 2008 at 4:28 PM
The money quote:
Here’s an idea: get another job, dumbass. Or maybe you need a nice ergonomic keyboard. These guys are losers. It’s not a real fight if you get to yell “uncle” when the dustbuster smacks you in the nads. If the thrill was really GETTING hit, as they were saying, then just join an S&M club and let a hot chick whip you with a cat-o-nine-tails.
I repeat: LOSERS.
robblefarian on May 2, 2008 at 4:39 PM
!Salute! (USN Ret.)
One of the things I figured out awhile back is its IMPOSSIBLE for men and women to actualy understand each other. We are WIRED differently. We literaly have different physical brain characteristics.
Problem is that our society has become Girlyized to the point where some of men’s “wiring” and instinctual programing is deemed “evil” or a “sickness” by those who feel they run society.
These guys are NOT sick… they are trying to deal with the wiring and instincts that have been bred into them for 10’s of thousands of years. The same instincts that are suddenly celebrated when danger threatens, or a catastrophy happens…
Just a heads up… when you do get out, or retire, find youself another outlet for that aggresion. I didn’t and it took me a few years to figure out what was missing…
Reminds me… fencing practice tonight… LOL
Romeo13 on May 2, 2008 at 5:06 PM
These guys obviously aren’t good at fighting or people would be dieing.
Buford on May 2, 2008 at 5:22 PM
Buford wins this thread. LMAO!
The Apologist on May 2, 2008 at 6:39 PM
I train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is the ground element of ufc style fighting and Army combatives like spec ops mateo trains. I’ve torn some cartilage in my knee, gotten black eyes, been arm barred so bad I can’t straighten out my arm all the way among other injuries. I like the contact, and the challenge of learning technique (you can get injured while training, even in controlled conditions).
Also important is the element of danger. It would not be the same if the chance of injury wasn’t there.
These cats where just winging it. For a better example of fight clubs youtube “dog brothers”. Weapons are used but these guys have some technique.
BradnSA on May 2, 2008 at 11:25 PM
I’m with BradnSA.
I train in Krav Maga. With regard to aggression, getting smacked around, and that element of danger, I get everything I need (and then some) a couple times a week.
There are better ways to go about this than their Fight Club but since it’s all volunteer, let them have at it.
macummings on May 3, 2008 at 12:45 AM
Gotta say I stopped the video at ‘male bondage’
Seriously, wtf fellas.
Reaps on May 3, 2008 at 4:00 AM
Bwahaha, first time I’ve come across that phrase.
Nice idea, but the Y isn’t what it used to be.
Sounds good to me.
hatespam on May 3, 2008 at 12:35 PM
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