Understanding Modern Self Defence and the Sean Strickland Controversy
Several weeks ago, a video circulated within the martial arts community featured UFC fighter Sean Strickland in a sparring situation, allegedly taking out his partner with a head kick. This garnered a fair bit of controversy, with accusations being thrown around that such intensity was unacceptable in sparring and implied poor sportsmanship. Icy Mike from Hard2Hurt YouTube channel recently moved in to analyze this situation and put forth an interesting perspective. Let’s start with responding to the most glaring assumption: Was Strickland really going too hard? The answer could be debatable depending upon one’s understanding of fighting and martial arts. To the uninitiated, it might seem like overkill, but there’s more to the situation than what meets the eyes. First, a little context. Strickland was preparing for an important fight, so naturally, his practice intensity would reflect that. But here’s where things get interesting – although Strickland did indeed land a heavy blow, the real reason behind his sparring partner’s knockout, as Icy Mike explains, is that the latter was exhausted. During the heat of a spar or a real match, a winning fighter’s last blow often takes the spotlight and audience applause, but it is typically the culmination of a series of blows that leads to the knockout. Strickland’s ‘vicious’ head kick was, as per Icy Mike, barely stronger than what he typically delivers in actual fights. In this case, it was not necessarily the force behind Strickland’s kick, but rather, the accumulation of the opponent’s fatigue, augmented by his lowered defences, that led to the knockout. Building upon this idea, Icy Mike suggests that Strickland is particularly known for maintaining a relentless pace throughout fights. Because of this, the end of a round under Strickland’s onslaught can be devastating for opponents who are unable to withstand the intensity. This crucial aspect is often strategized and conditioned during training. Nonetheless, Strickland’s choice of this particular training methodology has been frowned upon by some who advocate for lighter, more playful sessions. One key aspect Icy Mike emphasized on is the concept of control in sparring sessions. Strickland, as shown in his other training videos, clearly demonstrates this mastery of control by modulating his intensity based on his training partner’s size and skill level. This suggests that despite being notorious for his unrelenting training intensity, Strickland is well aware of his footwork and force. In essence, Icy Mike proposed that while Strickland adopts a somewhat unorthodox and intense approach to training, it’s a product of an overall strategy for his fights. Accordingly, he vaunts a heavy, accurate, and relentless offense that wears down adversaries, leading to late-round victories. The intense sparring that we see, then, is a culmination of a carefully curated fighting style, a nexus of physical prowess, strategic timing, and undoubtedly, a touch of audacious bravura. So, what’s the point of all this? Strickland’s controversial sparring video has sparked debates around self-defence, training techniques, and ethics within the mixed martial arts community. It demonstrates that there are grey shades in this realm, which highlight the need to understand the context before jumping to quick judgements. Whether Strickland’s approach is deemed right or wrong will depend on personal beliefs about martial arts. However, one thing is certain: Strickland’s training methods provide a fresh, albeit contentious, perspective on modern self-defence, offering rich fodder for stimulating conversation and introspection within our martial arts community. As practitioners and enthusiasts, it is incumbent upon us to view these situations critically, using them as springboards for thought, discussion, and evolution of our beloved martial arts.Blablabla
The YouTube channel Hard2Hurt, run by the engaging Icy Mike, offers self-defense, fighting, and fitness advice. Icy Mike, a former law enforcement officer and current martial artist, combines practical knowledge with humor. He caters to all levels of experience, sharing his wisdom and entertaining viewers with his direct approach.
Self-Defence Block
Question for Viewers: Do you do any hard sparring? How often and how hard?
I definitely know what it means to be hard to hurt, there are so many instances where I should have died or been knocked out by either other humans or something else, I also have felt that I just threw a light tap at someone and they ended up in a coma, this is not to brag but to explain why I got into martial arts in the first place, to learn control of myself. I am the grandson of the US light heavyweight champion and Olympic representative in Paris, I think it was 1926, but I could be wrong about that date, anyway his name was George Edmond Mulholland, and was nicknamed the white tornado because his strategy in the ring was to keep his hands down and let the opponent hit him in the face, which apparently triggers a genetic trait known as a white berserker, or ulfthandar. It is a controlled response and when you are experiencing it you think that you are only tapping your opponent and that they are only tapping you, I think that Sean has this same genetic trait as I do and my grandfather had.
The two martial arts that I learned how to control this type of power were t’chi and qigong, which is one reason I never stepped into the the ring with anyone, because I do not intentionally want to hurt them, I only use it for self defense and for the defense of others.
I guess I can also explain my background, I have trained and been ranked (which I think doesn’t really matter) by professor Remy Presas, Wally Jay, Rick Ward, Norman Pedelahore, and many others, including my extensive training in in wrestling, etc etc, I love the things that I have learned from all of them and have always rejected the false knowledge and claims that are being monetized, that will continue to be my journey on this particular plane of existence.
That kick was not as light and flimsy as you are trying to lead us to believe. He didn't "sling" that kick lightly as a front kick. It was a switch kick roundhouse with the hip turning into it. It wasn't fully turned simply because his kicking technique is a bit sloppy. He's better with his hands.
Agreed. Nothing was crazy n this sparing . He done nothing wrong
time and a place, a top level martial artist shouldnt be koing anyone or hurting anyone in sparring.
Even after that many years he still doesn't have self control.
Horrible training partner.
Your channel is a joke, every single time. You seriously act like you know everything.
So when you get relaxed, you expect to get KOd?
You want Sean to KO you?
You bald wanna be.
You seriously blow my mind with this garbage.
Huh my partner can't defend himself.
Time to put him to sleep!
Idiot.
We get it you can't spar like Sean, but just because your a fanboy doesn't mean its OK for him to not control himself.
You're such a fanboy it hurts.
Great stuff Mike, always making us think 👏
Great stuff Mike, always making us think 👏
I dunno those hits look sorta like full speed strikes to me, like he was tired of that guy. But what do I know. You dont heave to put much muscle behind a headkick, its the speed of the kick that makes the heavy leg do the damage. You gotta respect people man or thats how you get ran over or stabbed or shot.
Instead of calling it hard sparring I call it little "clash matches" where full speed and power is allowed by both people but coach is allowed to stop the action. And there can be stipulations like only full power to the body and slaps to the face. But if the other guy isnt allowed to punch back then its extra extra disrespectful.
dude was mad his partner was giving up and KO'd his ass on purpose. dude has a bad temper.
Nah.. Stickland is just a capable bully. His sparring partners very often say he has bad etiquette which is why I love the Orlando video. He got in there with a coach that wasn't gonna let stickland hurt his fighters.
1st 3 seconds I realized the partner dropped his hands
Spar all he wants in whatever way he wants with whoever he wants. Style bender just on another level.
Thanks
I’m adhd actually
They spar hard on "Spar Wars" but I have never seen a head kick.
I think it’s great that he’s doing this. None of the sparring or fights I’ve seen him involved in give me negative vibes. Dude spars like it’s a real fight and maybe the opponent isn’t ready for that, but in a real world scenario you have to be ready for anything. If anything it’s teaching them resilience…don’t give up even when you’re in pain and think you can’t go on…even if the odds seem overwhelming or totally against you. The human mind is much stronger and the will must be broken down to be built back up again. Some people here sounds like pu$$ys
Cancel culture is a cancer and it’s way to professional fighting. 🙁
Yea. Good assessment. Those things happen. ‘SS doing SS things’ sums it up. And that’s a wide spectrum to fall under.
He's a shitbag no questions asked, he doesn't only trough that high kick with at least 70% power but also his punches were way too much for a sparring match. Typical dushbag putting a beating on a less experienced fighter that probably doesn't do this professionally as he does
IDK the context but in the scene with him beating on the turtle'd guy's sides, I'm guessing he's punishing him for leaving himself totally unprotected. It looks like when the guy was on his back at least attempting guard Strickland was throwing much lighter. Maybe this is a thing the guy does when he's tired that they're trying to train him out of? Again, just throwing out some alternate theories to 'Strickland is a sadist who likes to hurt his training partners.'
That head kick wasn't thrown with bad intentions. It just landed flush and that happens some time.
JUST F^%$IN STOP! Didn't really enjoy seeing a walking brain injury looking for a result. It could have been labelled "Bully Beating up weaker people" Seriously it wasn't that hard anyway because in Master Kens dojo we go 200% hard all the time, Strickland is soft, didn't kick his head when he was down and always forgot to re stomp the groin -pussy! Don't mind seeing gym wars just wondered why we never see the extensive medical care and rehab they require after and the full time carers required from punchy slurring fighters
All these bs breakdowns lmao man stfu people are just fighting and some are just crazy or acting crazy like that chicken sean. We’ll see how much he will talk when pereira knocks him in another universe. That tough guy act will disappear real fast.
"let's fucking go" times 20 means very repetitive, not much imagination, a limited vocabulary. That's my take.
If you're paying for a sparring partner and they show up unable to finish a round cause their cardio sucks….might get beat up while you're on the ground…
cool, but I wish you talked about the kick. You sounded like you were going to, but then forgot. Why was it a soft kick, did it have to do with that nerve thingy majig?
dagastani always go hard so please
We can agree to disagree. To me this is too hard
were not here to pattycake! Sean will come to your gym soon and find out what you are all about!
"Let me spar you harder than you want. It's for your own good."
Yeah, he's an ass.
Sean Strickland would eat you for lunch! He is just a tough dude, that is not afraid of anybody!
So, when are we going to see you spar with Sean 🙏🙏🙏
You can see the snap of the guys head when he takes that kick. Sean wanted a human punching bag cmon.
Your chatting shit bro
"End of the round Sean Strickland is the best Sean Strickland…" 3:47 meanwhile, end of round 1 at UFC 293
I kinda doubted you knew about fighting just on your appearance, but you seem like you do have some fighting experience. I used to box not spar twice a week at a gym I went to for years and your point of why the guy got knocked out was because he was tired is on point. I remember I did a hard workout before boxing a guy who said he was new so he didn't want to go hard said okay cool cuz I'm exhausted. Dude tried to murder me and punches that wouldn't phase me usually were giving me that tunnel vision you get when you get whacked hard.
Your doing someone a disservice by not sparing hard, unless they’re planning on fighting weaker people the rest of their life
The People’s Champ.