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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

RALPH checks out the blood, sweat and jeers at the King of the Cage ultimate fighting tournament WA authorities tried to ban.

Beaten fighter Hussin Aridah grabs a fistful of ice from a bucket. His bloodied hand tints the water pink. As he crushes the ice against a swollen eye, I ask what went wrong. Hussin shrugs. “He caught me in a high kick, dropped me to the mat and it was all over.” He smashes his free fist in the air repeatedly to demonstrate. I ask if he had a plan before the bout. Hussin shakes his battered head. “There isn’t any f–king plan, mate. Once you’re in the cage, there’s just what happens when the fists and feet start firing.”

How to walk out of the cage a winner
Knockout
Means the same as in boxing – slugging your opponent so hard he forgets his own name. Trouble is MMA fighters wear super-thin, fingerless gloves, so your hand might break before his jaw does. Ditto for your bare feet. Hope for a lucky punch.

Tap out
THE aim of an MMA fight is to force your opponent to submit and signal a “tap out” by slapping the mat, you, or even himself. The drawback is that most MMA fighters are tough bastards who’d rather suffer serious pain than wuss out.

Chokeholds
MMA fighters often force a submission by blacking their opponents out with either an air choke (which asphyxiates him), or a blood choke (which starves his brain of blood). Try for a rear naked choke – hook one arm around your opponent’s neck and use the other to push his throat into the crook of your elbow.