"A bloody brawl gaining respect"
Blood splattered on the floor of the ring, and the audience roared in
delight. One screamed, "Yeah! Get him!" in between swallows of beer. The
women in the crowd seemed just as excited as the men; many clenched their
fists as they watched, while some threw their arms in the air as one of the
gladiators in the ring pounded the other.The taekwondo master, Kim Kyung-mo,
supposedly an expert in the spinning kick, had blood spewing from his nose
and mouth. Mr. Kim slowly approached his opponent, Kang Hyeon-gu, a
practitioner of several martial arts. The taekwondo expert dove at Mr.
Kang's lower body, but in a flash, Mr. Kim was on the floor, as his opponent
hit him without mercy. Audience members continued to eat their dinners,
while shouting out the occasional encouragement.
The restaurant, Gimme Five, which opened Feb. 28 next to the COEX Center in
Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, is the first in Korea to provide live mixed
martial arts competitions with an order of sushi or steak (whether you want
that bloody, too, is up to you).
The eatery's booming popularity highlights Koreans' increasing interest in
gyeoktugi. The word refers to hand-to-hand competition between two different
martial arts, including taekwondo, judo, kickboxing and Muay Thai. The rules
vary with each competition, but the goal is to knock out the other fighter.
"We have 700 customers every day," said Lee Sun-kyeong, a Gimme Five
spokeswoman. "We expect the number will double in the future."
Most Gimme Five customers are office workers in their 20s and 30s. "But
those in their 40s and older also like it," she said.
Women seem to enjoy the fights more, she said, even though combatants can
lose a tooth or two and blood flows freely during the matches. "Some even
complain when the game ends without a knockout," Ms. Lee said. She said many
have found the matches too gruesome at first, but that there's an
indescribable addiction in watching two men punching the lights out of each
other."It's my first time coming to Gimme Five, but I'm a huge fan of
gyeoktugi," said Shin Jeong-ah, 38, who was watching the fight with her
other girlfriends. Ms. Shin said that when she first saw a gyeoktugi match
on television, she was shocked and frightened by the gruesome brutality. Now
she watches it on cable whenever she can.
"My favorite fighter is Bob Sapp from K-1," Ms. Shin said excitedly.
Bob Sapp, also known as "The Beast," is a former National Football League
player who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later became a K-1
fighter. K-1 is a mixed martial arts competition founded by Seidokan karate
master
Kazuyoshi Ishii in 1993 that now has a huge international following."
The fights are real, and it really helps get rid of all the stress in me,"
Ms. Shin added.
Ms. Shin is thinking of joining a gyeoktugi club. She would have lots of
company. KBS Sky, which broadcasts "Pride FC," another major international
martial arts competition, said fans number more than 500,000 in Korea, with
20 to 30 percent of them women. In addition, the country's largest Internet
portal, Daum, has more than 500 communities dedicated to gyeoktugi. Some
communities have fewer than 400 registered members while one of the largest
has 257,000.
Influence of TV SBS Sports, another major cable company, began broadcasting
shows such as "Free Fighting," "Absolute Fighting," "Knockout" and "Cage
Fighting" last year. MBC-ESPN began airing "Great Fight Zone" and "K-1" last
year as well. According to TNS Media Korea, this month the gyeoktugi cable
programs have done well, with ratings ranging from 20 to 40 percent.
In Japan, the competitions have been drawing fans since the 1990s, but
Koreans have taken an interest only since last year.
"People really started to notice mixed martial arts after the Spirit MC was
held last year," said Choi Young-jae, president of KM Promotion, which
teaches kickboxing and Muay Thai. Spirit MC is a Korean mixed martial arts
competition, first held last April. Spirit MC is planning on hosting its
third major event, titled, "I'll Be Back," on April 10, at Jangchung Stadium
near Dongdaemun, central Seoul.
"In our first two major events, we had 6,000 to 7,000 at each," said Kim
Myeong of Spirit MC. "But then we gave out a lot of free tickets. We expect
more than 3,000 actual fans to turn up for our third tournament."
Jeong Gwang-su, who runs a Muay Thai and kickboxing dojo in Macheon-dong,
southeastern Seoul, credits television for changing the image of mixed
martial arts competition."I would say 50 percent of the change is due to
television shows," Mr. Jeong said.
Mr. Choi of KM Promotion said that since Spirit MC, gyeoktugi's public image
has improved.
"Just 12 years ago most of our dojo's students were either high school
graduates or late 20s," said Mr. Choi. "People looked at gyeoktugi as
fighting skills used by local gangsters and hoodlums."
People now see it as a legitimate sport, and that's why a wide range of
people, from elementary students to office ladies, are inquiring about
lessons," Mr. Choi said. He has seen the number of female applicants go up
30 percent. Not only is gyeoktugi a form of self-defense, it's useful in
losing weight, Mr. Jeong said.
Both Mr. Choi and Mr. Jeong said people enjoy mixed martial arts because
it's a good way to relieve stress, not only by participating but by
watching. Viewers live vicariously through the players.
"People like it because of the muscle, the masculinity and the power," Mr.
Jeong said. "That's the ultimate charm of gyeoktugi."
"Wrestling matches on television have 40 scriptwriters who are
pre-coordinating the games," said Ms. Lee of Gimme Five. "But this ...
gyeoktugi is real and unpredictable, and that's what really excites people."
How it may affect kids
Others are concerned that the popularity of gyeoktugi may be a bad influence
on children.
"We can divide it into two major negative influences," said Choi Won-ki at
the Korea Institute for Youth Development. "First, gyeoktugi aired on
television is generally provocative, and second, it obscures the difference
between good and evil.
"In society, there's definitely a law to follow and morality to uphold.
However, being exposed to too much gyeoktugi will only weaken this ability
to distinguish between good and bad. When they grow up, children will
respond to the law of the jungle, where only the strong survive," said
Mr. Choi.
"They will only follow those who are stronger than others," he said. In
addition, the graphic nature of the fighting will lead not only children but
adults to become violent, Mr. Choi said.
"Even reasonable adults will become more emotional, and later they will try
to solve problems with physical power like they have seen on gyeoktugi
shows," Mr. Choi said.
"Already young children have formed their own gyeoktugi clubs, but what
they are doing is not mastering the techniques as a martial art but using it
as a tool to win over others physically," he said. Choi Yang-soo, a media
professor at Yonsei University and a fan of gyeoktugi, disagreed.
"People watch the show not because of the violence and blood," the professor
said. "On the contrary, there's a lot of splendid techniques and watching
those techniques is fun.
"I believe it is because of the desire to return to nature as technology
advances," he said. "It's anti-technology sentiment that drives us to our
raw, natural instinct."
The professor said at first he too thought it was provocative and violent,
and asked his son, who enjoyed the sport, to learn taekwondo instead, where
the object isn't to splatter your opponent's head all over the mat.
"I really didn't understand gyeoktugi that well, but now, knowing how
martial arts have a long history and all, I watch it at night on cable
television once in awhile," he said.
Some fans find that watching isn't enough. Hwang Hae-jin, 31, is an office
worker who has been training at KM Promotion for almost a year. "I've worked
out at health clubs and tried other sports, but I really enjoy the sheer
thrill of gyeoktugi," said Ms. Hwang.
She said most of her girlfriends admire her because not many of them will
try it. "I feel light, and I get a boost to my confidence when I work out,"
said Ms. Hwang.
People like Ms. Hwang give Mr. Jeong, of the kickboxing center, a reason to
hope that gyeoktugi will become less of a sideshow and more of a discipline.
"I dream of the day when gyeoktugi becomes an everyday sport in this
country," Mr. Jeong said.
by Lee Ho-jeong < [link widoczny dla zalogowanych Użytkowników]
2004.03.26
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