Remember the violent BJJ challenge match we shared a few days ago? Trying to be completely fair about it, we did invite the instructor in the video to share his thoughts. Luckily for us, the academy where the “incident” occurred did so, supporting their instructor in full and providing much-needed details for a complete picture about what really happened. As it turns out, it wasn’t a BJJ dojo storm type of thing after all, but rather more of an NHB match, one agreed upon by both parties.
Sometimes things are not what they seem, and I guess we have one of those situations on our hands. Previously, we shared videos of an incident where a martial arts instructor brutally beats up a bodybuilder type of guy who looks like he has no idea what is going on. It seemed like one of the old Gracie challenges, but one that went horribly wrong. However, it was not a BJJ dojo storm challenge after all, and there is a different viewpoint to the entire incident now that the gym where everything happened shared the entire story.
Two Sides (or more) To Every Story
When we concluded in the original article depicting the BJJ challenge, we said that every story has two sides. Luckily, one of those sides has now spoken, and they do bring a lot of context to what happened in that gym. Obviously, there’s a lot more to the story than the videos (part1, part2) which were available.
Before we go into what actually happened, it is prudent to point out that the videos without context really seem disturbing and depict martial arts, and especially BJJ in a way that most people wouldn’t like associated with the art. However, from the comments made at the end by the instructor, there seemed to be a lot more to the story than met the eye. We’re glad that we got the side of the story of the instructor, but, just for the sake of being thorough, even though it’s probably a long shot, we wouldn’t mind hearing the big guy’s side of things as well.
The Original “BJJ Dojo Storm” Incident
What appeared to happen from the videos was that a big, bodybuilder type of guy went to a martial arts academy and challenged an instructor. Again. These types of things seem to happen from time to time, and we all know how they end. However, in this case, it seemed that the instructor was particularly enraged by the “challenger”, without an apparent reason.
In the two videos, we can see the bodybuilder stuck in side control before the instructor transitions to mount and gets the back. Classic BJJ. He then proceeds to go for a rear-naked choke, which the big guy taps to fairly quickly. What was unusual to see is that his instructor kept choking him, never putting him to sleep but bringing him close, despite the big guy pleading for the instructor to let him go and tapping over and over again.
After choking the guy for a while the instructor let go, leaving him lying face down. However, it doesn’t end there, and the instructor starts punching, hammer fisting, soccer kicking, and stomping the bodybuilder’s head. It seemed (and probably still does) as excessive, particularly when we had no context to the enter situation. The “BJJ Dojo storm challenge” ends with the bodybuilder walking out of the gym, disoriented and pretty beaten up.
The Reply
Shortly after we published the article, we talked to an academy where the incident took place and a reply came in. Chute Boxe really helped clarify that it wasn’t a BJJ dojo storm but rather an incident that started elsewhere and was then brought to be settled in the gym.
As it turns out, the incident began at a supermarket and was instigated by the bodybuilder who punched the martial arts instructor in the back of the head, claiming he thought it was someone else. He then kept insulting the instructor, though, claiming he was a professional MMA fighter and threatening to beat the instructor up. As per the statement made by the academy, the two people involved had never met each other before.
The instructor then said he was a professional fighter too and that he had a gym nearby where they could settle the challenge, instead of fighting in public. The angry bodybuilder accepted and they went to settle things in the gym where the video was made. As it appears the video only shows the final five or so minutes of the altercation. It turns out the fight started standing, and the two exchanged punches and kicks for 30 minutes before the grappling portion. The fight went to the ground only after the instructor suffered a cut on his face (can be seen in the video) and an injury to his leg. Using his Vale Tudo experience, as per the statement, he took the fight to the ground to avoid further damage.
We all know how the fight ended from there, and the context provided makes the entire story much clearer.
An explanation from a Chute Boxe academy where the incident took place:
“Thank you for giving us the opportunity to add context to this video.
To begin, this incident happened approximately four years ago and at no time was this an “Old School BJJ Challenge”, as suggested in your article. This was a conflict settled between two consenting adults in a non-public setting.
The incident began while the Jiu-Jitsu professor was leaving a nearby supermarket. Without warning the aggressor punched the Jiu-Jitsu
professor in the back of the head from behind. When the instructor confronted the assaultive individual by asking why he punched him, the individual stated that he had mistaken him for someone else. Then for no apparent reason, the individual started acting belligerent and shouting vulgarities in public. He then claimed that he was a
professional MMA fighter and began threatening the instructor, saying he was going to beat him up. It is very important to point out that the instructor had never met this individual prior to this encounter.
The Jiu-Jitsu professor informed the individual that he too was a
professional fighter and that he was an MMA instructor at a gym in town.
So as not to disturb the public, the instructor offered to settle this
the issue at the nearby gym and the angry individual accepted the
invitation.
The edited video that was posted on YouTube and shared via various social media platforms only shows the last five minutes of the fight. This altercation however lasted approximately 30 minutes as both professional fighters exchanged kicks and punches from both sides. Although not seen in the video, the individual who originally attacked the Jiu-Jitsu professor landed some hard strikes that injured the instructor, cutting his face and injuring his leg. As a response, the instructor took the fight to the ground and reverted back to his old training of Vale Tudo fighting with Chute Boxe Brazil.
Surely the viewers of this video will form their own opinion for good or bad as it relates to combative sports. Regardless of any indifference, the Jiu-Jitsu professor shown in the video is a very well-mannered, friendly, and respected practitioner who teaches respect and humility to his students. He is well-liked and continually serves his community in countless ways. This video was never intended for public distribution and was released without consent or permission. Chute Boxe maintains this video is personal property and is subject to copyright rules and regulations. It is with the respect that we rightfully request this video and all pertaining content be removed from your website.
With appreciation,
Chute Boxe Staff”
In Conclusion
The Chute Box Academy’s statement points that the instructor is a well-mannered, friendly and respected coach and practitioner, and, judging by how he acts towards the guy at the end of the video, we can’t disagree with that. Whether or not he went too far punishing the bodybuilder is down to personal opinion, but everything does make a bit more sense now that we have important pieces of the puzzle of what we thought was just another BJJ dojo storm incident.
