Mr. MP and the UFC

Yesterday was Mr. P's 20th birthday and he started his special day with "combatives". I asked him what that was as I envision American Gladiator. He said "you watch UFC right?" With excitement, I respond "yes I do". He said "it's like the UFC". He gives me a little detail and then tells me he put a guy in a guillotine choke hold and the guy tapped out 45 seconds into the first round (they participate in 3-three minute rounds). OMG this is more exciting than his presidential detail! A guillotine choke? One of my favorite UFC moves to watch! He talked about how he was held in a "triangle" while the other guy was in "full mount" but he was able to contain him in his "guard" and shrimp his way out of the full mount. Shrimping is an Army description, he said, and it's acting like a shrimp and getting out of the hold. Then he went into various kinds of choke hold descriptions. This choke does something to the nerves and that choke cuts off blood flow from the carotid arteries and so on. That's TMI, so I change the subject.

"You don't punch each other, do you?". My gosh, I'm his mother. A guillotine choke is one thing, but punching each other? What about his repaired broken nose? What if he got seriously hurt? "No, that's level 2...that's when you use strike force" he said. He wouldn't want to participate in strike force, would he? "Well that doesn't seem like something you would want to do, right?" No need to guess what his response was. "Yeah - it'd be kinda fun". Of course!

I asked him if he has ever tapped out and he said no. I can hear it now. "Entering the Octagon is Mr. MP "Broken Nose P******" (his last name sort of rhymes with nose...sort of).

The conversation was absolutely fascinating, and I think to myself, what would the conversation have been like had I not gotten into watching UFC fights? Knowing my son, he would have become frustrated trying to explain positions and what it looks like and how its done and what the desired outcome is. And future conversations about his combative training probably would have fallen by the wayside.

I firmly believe there is no such thing as a coincidence and so it would seem, Fight Nights serve a greater purpose for me than family fun! It also serves as a teaching mechanism for me so that I can better understand the events my son undergoes in his physical training as an Army MP. And it helps make for one helluva conversation!!