Koscheck and Johnson Stopped By Basic Self Defense Moves
So as I watched UFC 106 the other night it was interesting to see the Koscheck/Johnson fight repeatedly stopped by the referee for “illegal” strikes on at least 3 occasions during the match. Now I absolutely agree that in a combat sport match the rules need to be adhered to so the fighters are allowed to pit their athleticism and skill in a controlled setting to see who can win.
Here is an excerpt from a report on the fight:
“The bizarre nature of the fight began in the first round. When Koscheck was down on both knees, Johnson threw a huge knee, sending Koscheck to the canvas. Johnson was immediately apologetic, as he knew that he had screwed up, but that didn’t help as Johnson was deducted a point. After quite a few minutes and a check by the fight doctor, Koscheck returned to the fight to immediately take over the first round, and win the round using wrestling.
The fight continued to get weird as Johnson, who was reported to be fighting at 200 lbs, was then on the receiving side of two unintentional eye pokes. Johnson is especially sensitive to eye pokes, as he was on the bad end of a terrible eye poke against Kevin Burns, and had to have surgery to correct eye problems.
When Johnson returned to fight, the two started the slugfest fans were expecting until Koscheck took Johnson down and started to ground and pound. He took Johnson’s back, and sunk in a rear naked choke with just seconds left in the second round….”
As I watched the match it was amazing to see how two highly conditioned MMA fighters could absorb numerous kicks and punches to the body yet as soon as they were injured they were helpless. For all 3 of the “illegal” strikes the referee had to intervene to protect the other fighter as he was unable to continue for a short time. On the street this would’ve been the time the other guy would finished the man.
All three of the “illegal” strikes are basic to any self defense program and none of the 3 strikes were thrown with real intent or follow through by either fighter yet still would’ve got the job done on the street. Nor does it take a lot of skill and ability to quick learn any of them.
So this should be a good template for any of you that think being bigger, faster, and stronger is the ultimate answer when it comes to surviving real violence. Learning to injure is the most direct path to shutting down another human.
Until next time,
Tim Larkin
TFT Group
PS: To get a complete library on “Illegal” moves that can save your life check out our Striking DVD program . It wont help you in the Octagon but it’s great for shutting down killers!
