So, I came across the video in this news article (don't know whether it's accessible to everyone here): Un homme passé à tabac et enlevé à Ixelles ce mardi: un témoin a filmé la scène
This gang of thugs were filmed while they were kidnapping a young man in the streets. They can be seen using knees and elbows to beat him up while they drag him to the car. They left him battered up in a park a few hours later.
What struck me (no pun intended) was the use of elbows (an unconventional weapon as opposed to fists) by two of the thugs in the video. One of them throws several in a row and also knees the victim while he's bent over. It's interesting to note that his bad technique on the knee strike and his tension on the elbow strikes may suggest that he's not been formally trained in those techniques. This reminded me of when I was a kid in Belgium: elbow strikes in street fights were very rare but had quite an infamous reputation. Lots of guys around me knew that elbows hurt and people who did "Thai boxing" (as it was known) were feared.
This video seems to support the argument that fighting is a cultural activity: in absence of training, people will fight according to their idea of what a fight should look like. With the mainstreaming of MMA, we may see an increased use of previously niche tactics such as double leg takedowns, elbows, knees, attempts at armbars, etc.
Another example of a tactic that's niche in some cultural contexts but common in others is the relatively widespread use of footsweeps in the streets of France and Belgium, which might be connected to its presence in savate:
All of this is just anecdotal evidence, but I found it interesting. Also, **** the guys in the video.
This gang of thugs were filmed while they were kidnapping a young man in the streets. They can be seen using knees and elbows to beat him up while they drag him to the car. They left him battered up in a park a few hours later.
What struck me (no pun intended) was the use of elbows (an unconventional weapon as opposed to fists) by two of the thugs in the video. One of them throws several in a row and also knees the victim while he's bent over. It's interesting to note that his bad technique on the knee strike and his tension on the elbow strikes may suggest that he's not been formally trained in those techniques. This reminded me of when I was a kid in Belgium: elbow strikes in street fights were very rare but had quite an infamous reputation. Lots of guys around me knew that elbows hurt and people who did "Thai boxing" (as it was known) were feared.
This video seems to support the argument that fighting is a cultural activity: in absence of training, people will fight according to their idea of what a fight should look like. With the mainstreaming of MMA, we may see an increased use of previously niche tactics such as double leg takedowns, elbows, knees, attempts at armbars, etc.
Another example of a tactic that's niche in some cultural contexts but common in others is the relatively widespread use of footsweeps in the streets of France and Belgium, which might be connected to its presence in savate:
All of this is just anecdotal evidence, but I found it interesting. Also, **** the guys in the video.
