...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Maynard Sweeney, MMATorch Contributor This article is the tenth in a series of daily releases counting down the top thirty fights of 2008. We will release a new article each day starting from #30 all the way up until the end of the month.
Top 30 Fights of 2008: #20
Corey Hill vs. Dale Hartt
UFC – Fight For The Troops – 12/10/08
I omitted a fight that was previously on my list to take the chance to use this fight as a catalyst to acknowledge a very important truth of martial arts. If you don't know, Corey Hill severely broke his leg last night while checking a kick to the quadriceps from Dale Hartt. Hill caught the instep-ankle area of Hartt's leg on the lower part of his shin over his own ankle. For some bewildering, unexplainable reason, Hill's lower shin completely severed and disconnected into independent halves, moving freely of one another. As a result, Hill's leg literally and physically swung around Hartt's calf as if it were made of jelly.
Hill fell to the ground, either totally unknowing because of the rapidness of the injury, or in delirium from pain, and systematically pulled guard with his leg's lower shin and foot hanging from the rest of his leg. The clueless referee did not stop the fight, and Joe Rogan abandoned his commentating duties and began screaming "STOP THE FIGHT" into the cage; clearly aware that he ref had been oblivious to the horrific bone and marrow severing which had taken place.
This brutal compound fracture, while in no form entertaining, resurrects an important understanding of the origin of the sport of martial arts. These hybrid adaptations of older, sometimes classical, sometimes even ancient martial arts, while obviously effective combat systems, are still watered down versions of martial arts with a more primitive intention.
Like strands of DNA containing the genetic memory of your lineage, evolved and modern hybrid martial arts will continually have some of the small tools from the older systems of fighting. It can be both a highly convenient weapon for the user, and an inescapable burden on the rules dictating the match.
The intention of these older and ancient styles of martial arts, as I said earlier, is different than the ones of today's combat systems. Today we as humans practice martial arts for personal self defense and a sense of security, sport interests, recreation, the inflation of ego and fitness. All of these qualities are relevant in regard to the blurry current global perspective of general humanistic principles.
Older and ancient martial arts, on the other hand, maintain a different intention the above listed. They were primarily for war, and more specifically – killing. While sharing the goal of incapacitating your opponent still exists between the two, older and ancient martial arts either continue to kill the person beyond this point, or kill during the actual incapacitation. Either way illustrates that these war-purposed arts had a much higher (and intended) pension to destroy whatever the target may be. Heads, limbs, necks, backs, these are the areas to target when in melee combat of war.
Striking was very limited in these martial arts, as your opponent often wore some kind of body armor. Striking metal, leather, or clay with your fist will fast give you a set of broken knuckles. Therefore limb and joint destruction coupled with slams was the highest preferred method of unarmed combat in battle. This is how Jiu-Jitsu came to be. The Samurai incorporated wrist locks into the unarmed combat as it gave you control of the man's ability to swing his weapon.
Because of the length of time these combat mentalities were used, it will be a long, long time until they integrate themselves out of combat for a more principle sensitive approach to a modern world. This means that things like shin kicks to the legs, an offensive advancement put to use by the Mongolians to force their enemy's balance off center, and setting up for a slam or takedown of some sort, will be present in our martial arts today.
This is the same strike that wrecked Corey Hill's leg, a strike which will most likely end his career and ability to walk correctly ever again depending on the muscle and tendon damage.
Strikes like this, and many more; takedowns and slams included, still have the capacity for horrific amounts of destruction to the receiver's body. Last night's freak accident was, as I opened with, a perfect metaphor for a culturally deluded aspect of what these men and women our doing. Fans of combat sports become absorbed in the story lines and plots of weight classes, between fighters, and camps. Absorbed in the politics and management of fight business.
Because of these mainstream delusions of martial arts, it is not in mind that the techniques used are martially capable of causing life changing damage. This, in my opinion, doesn't speak against martial arts, but demands the respect of any person with any stance on the moral integrity of the sport.
This sport is allowing men to develop themselves as much as possible for combat on the most technical level. It's a true physical search of how your body works, and understanding of how to finely tune it to operate on an instinctively well oiled level. They pursue this constantly in the danger of being seriously hurt.
This is an honorable thing to do, it transcends the categorization of sport to more of a life path. It is by no means barbaric, as it is agreed upon and under terms. These men deserve at least our quiet toleration, if not our collective respect.
Corey Hill versus Dale Hartt is the archetypal metaphor for this. This fight gets bumped into #20 because of that. All the best to Corey Hill in his recovery, and Dale Hartt dealing with probably feeling horrible. Don't forget what this stuff is about.
Stay tuned for #19 of the MMATorch Top 30 Fights of 2008, which will be revealed with a full article tomorrow.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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