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The two jawed back and forth before, believe it or not, Owens got out of the pool and went to get his sneakers on in order to get traction to throw some blows. 😡
When he came back, with shoes on, Owens and Douglas started swinging. Douglas said both sides only threw a couple punches and none landed. 😳
|Several players, most getting treatment, tried to separate the pair, but Owens started throwing those players off of him to get at Douglas again. Owens shed his teammates and kept going after Douglas before L.J. Smith got Douglas into another area. One swing by Owens was described as a shot that would have done major damage had it landed. 👿
Two big strong football pros -workout all the time, muscles galore but no experience in fighting- makes you wonder. ❓
Psychologically you’d naturally be more worried about fighting a big strong looking guy rather than someone less formidible looking. I brought it up since I thought it was funny that they \”traded\” blows but none landed. In any event what someone looks like affects the way we feel threatened or show fear when sometimes it is unwarranted.
You have to be careful. I see alot of martial artists take this cocky attitude that they somehow have this \”movie-like\” ability to defeat the big strong opponent with superior skills.
Take the Owens/Douglas fight. Here are two world class athletes with tremendous strength, speed, and ability to take physical punishment.
So why wasn’t there more damage? I’m sure that the punches were wild big looping hooks, probably more slappish than quality punches, as well as some flicking open handed jabs. Overall, more probably more posturing than actual intent to damage. These are millionare athletes who understand that they need to utilize some control to protect their most valuable asset- their bodies.Now if one of them really wanted to hurt the other I would venture that they would do what they are best at. Tackle the opponent. Don’t assume that because you know 360 defense or can throw a knee, that a 6’4\” 250 lb football player with 4.5 speed who makes a living throwing his body at others of similar size, strength , and power, is going to plow right through anything you can throw and smash your body into the hard ground.
I’m not downplaying what we do, but there is a reason why a lion in the African Savannah wouldn’t dare tempt it’s fate by fighting with an elephant or hippo.
I second that. In more recent years, you hear more and more about the advantage of the forward drive in martial arts. Thats all a football player does. Saying that a football player couldn’t fight is similar to the mentality that grapplers are easilly defeated because you can knee them in the face on the entry, or negate the superior ground positions by attacking the groin or eyes. This wasn’t the case.
But obviously a skilled grappler and a football player, although they close in and take down the opponent, are entirely different fighters. Remember when they had sumo wrestlers like Emmanuel Yarborough (600lbs), Koji Kitao (390 lbs), Teila Tuli (415 lbs)? All beaten by realtively light strikers- Mark Hall, Keith Hackney, Gerrard Gordeau. And then Royce Gracie vs Akebono. Being really big doesn’t mean you’re a good fighter, or that you can beat a small, skiled fighter. The sumo wrestler is trained to shove someone back and that’s about it- kind of like some football players.Rules when thinking about fighting big guys
1)Most big guys canít fight because they never have really been challenged.
2)Big guys expect any altercation to end after the posturing because they are so big.
3)Big guys usually realize or overestimate their own strengthÖand are somewhat worried about hurting other people (this is ingrained from day oneÖbe careful because you might hurt little JonnyÖremember you are bigger than most boys and donít know your own strength)
4)Big guys that pursue fights are usually the bullying type and lose their will to fight after they take a good punch.
5)THE MOST IMPORTANT RULEÖforget rules 1-4 because if the Big Guy knows how to fight you are going to be in a word of trouble.Just a little humorÖbut also a little true. The funny thing for me has been that when I spar with someone my own size (I am 6í5íí and about 265) I am always surprised by how hard that person hits, and just how much of a shock their reach can be.
I gt surprised at the length and reach I have when I throw a kick or a jab. I’m 6’4\” and 250.
Its kinda easy to keep someone away from you with some well placed kicks.
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