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Newspaper Article "They got it wrong"
***We have received many e-mails requesting the name of the reporter - the name of the reporter is Jason Kosareff ***
For those of you who came to our website because of the newspaper article, we Thank You but we wanted you to know that what you read in the newspaper article is not what we discussed or believe. If the reporter has his own conclusions, we respect that but we would like our views written as we stated them.
Our goal here at TheFightGame.tv is to educate people on the misconceptions that people have about NHB/Martial Arts. In talking to the reporter, we believed he understood that after we got through talking to him. After reading his story, we realize he didn't hear a word we said.
Unfortunately, the reporter confused and got wrong several pieces of information.
First of all, in his opening statement, his reference to "...bone-crushing blows" is a more accurate description of Football or Hockey rather than NHB/Martial Arts. Fighter's do not want to intentionally inflict any serious damage on each other as any fighter knows it could be them on the opposite side of victory the next time around.
Moreover, most of these fighters know each other and have a great deal of respect for each other.
Next, in his fourth sentence where he states "...King of the Cage, Ultimate Fighting Championship" - they are two separate entities. The article makes it sound like they are one in the same. King of the Cage is a local event that is held at Soboba Indian Casino in San Jacinto, CA while the UFC , lately, has been held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Next, in his 11th sentence, in reference to Rick Lucero being "one the first Americans to win a vale tudo..." is incorrect. Rick was THE FIRST AMERICAN to win a Brazilian Vale Tudo. Not one of the first. He was also an eight time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion.
By the way, the correct definition for Vale Tudo is "everything goes" not "no rules." There is a difference.
Also, in the 12th sentence where it states that "His opponent rained several hundred bare-knuckle punches on Lucero, breaking both his nose and jaw in the 28 minute fight" is grossly misrepresented. Mr. Lucero was referring to the fact that he has sustained several hundred bare-knuckle punches over the course of his on-going career. NOT IN THE 28 MINUTE MATCH!
Next, in the 22nd sentence where he mentions that Steve Scarpias is "...undefeated in five King of the Cage fights" is inaccurate. Scarpias mentioned that he has been in five cage matches. Not five King of the Cage matches. Scarpias did, however, participate in the very first King of the Cage event.
Next, in reference to my quote in the 28th and 29th sentences - "For me, it's the ultimate sport" and "It's the ultimate chess game between two humans," I was explaining to the reporter the fact that there is a great deal of technique and skill involved in an NHB match. The first fighter that makes a mistake usually loses. The article makes it sound like I was talking about human cock-fighting. I was not!
Also, in the 43rd sentence, the reporter mentions that the fights look brutal. And the honest truth is that some have the potential to be. But the majority are not. They are like a chess game. Please read our commentary "Inside the Crystal Ball" to explore, in our view, what is and is not brutality.
Next, in sentence 50, the reporter makes it sound like Al has finished producing our show and TheFIghtGame.tv is no more. The truth is Al is the host of TheFightGame.tv show. We have not stopped videotaping our show. It will be streamed for the internet. And we will be back on TV soon.
Finally, in sentence 52, Al's quote that "Ninety percent of the time you could beat any other art" was in reference to the fact that if Al got into a fight and he knew nothing else, or a single Martial Art against a Jiu-Jitsu student, excluding those who cross-train, the Jiu-Jitsu fighter would win. Al is also a student of Jiu-Jitsu, not just Tae-Kwon-Do.
Aside from the article, we would like to state for the record that King of the Cage, PRIDE, UFC and Gladiator Challenge (to name a few) are not violent events and anyone who has seen or been to one knows this. We contend that Football, Hockey and NASCAR, to name a few, are more dangerous.
Furthermore, referring back to the article which mentioned the UFC, we believe that King of the Cage is the Premiere Martial Arts event in the United States right now. We also are lucky to have another event here in California known as the Gladiator Challenge which is not far behind King of the Cage.
If anyone is interested in reading the article we are referring to, please pick up (in California) the San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspaper - Monday's August 12, 2002 edition. The story is on the front page display. We here at TheFightGame.tv have great respect for the Tribune newspaper as it is one of the finest papers around. We are just highly disappointed with the inaccuracies made by the reporter, especially after the conversations that we had with him explaining our position and our thoughts on the sport.
We will continue with our daily updates and some exclusive NHB news on 8/14/02.
Thank You, Steve Nava TheFightGame.tv
(8/12/02)
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