http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/58846 Recent articles about Royce Gracie en-us The history and evolution of MMA to current date. Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:48:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289784 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289784 In May, I wrote a review of Licensed to Kill : Hired Guns in the War on Terror, an up close and personal look at the world of private security contractors, by Robert Young Pelton. Most security contractors are ex-Special Forces, Navy SEALs and the like, but there is the occasional "walk-on." The character that I personally found most memorable in the book was Shannon Campbell, a regular Joe who wanted to make a living in the industry and made it as a Blackwater contractor after hustling like crazy : In Shannon's case, hustling would be taking martial arts and weapons classes and scouring to make connections. So when I saw this video news report of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA legend Royce Gracie taking complimentary firearms training from Hartford Police, it brought me flashbacks of Shannon Campbell. The whole world is changing. To put it very bluntly, the world is going to be either about MMA or war in the future. That's where the money is, and that's how the world is naturally evolving. Living in the world today is extremely tough and stressful. There is too much information, too much white collar junk, and too many demands placed on the average person. Even if you aren't at war, you're going to go into primal rage. That need must be alleviated, and that's where MMA comes in. It's the primal stuff that people want to see to relieve their everyday pressures. Although I'm a big MMA enthusiast, it's far from God's gift in my opinion. It's a necessary evil, a reflection of the times we live in. Basically, to people who forever try to deny MMA as a sport, I have this to say : Get with the times! We're living in an extremely violent and stressful world. Sure, MMA is brutal and violent, but at least it's in a tightly controlled environment. Sure, some fans care only about the blood, and some fighters got a serious case of the roid rage, but feel fortunate that there's no reality show on TV that follows the day-to-day activities of warfighters shooting each other in the head from close range or fishing each others' guts with bayonets. Back to the convergence of MMA and warfare : Warfare is evolving. The world is urbanizing and compartmentalizing. At the same time, everything is magnified and scrutinized through the media. That means the reduction of big military maneuvers and more close combat, special operations, psychological operations and civil affairs. Sometimes you will have to engage in hand-to-hand (where MMA comes in), other times, you will have to subdue people without using without deadly force (where grappling comes in). Just like Juan Carlos Navarro going back to Spain to play Euro ball is the start of the decentralization of the NBA-oriented basketball business, Shannon Campbell and Royce Gracie are examples of the early stages of the MMA-military-law enforcement convergence. More MMA guys will be training law enforcement or military. Sooner or later, a guy here and there are going to have an interest in both, and more soldiers will become private operators. They will become in essence, elite soldiers without the traditional background - they will be getting their training in more relevant and specialized fashions, in the urban sprawls of the modern world. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:15:02 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284920 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284920