The legend of Alabama Joe – part 2: Now don't get me wrong – it was not pretty. Joe was not going to win any style points from the IBJJF for his performance. His tackle looked like zombie attack from the dawn of the dead, his guard pass to mount looked like a crippled dog pissing on a tree and his punches were about as explosive as a sackful of wet mice – the sleeper hold he employed was about the same level as Rick Flair – BUT IT WORKED!! Three more times in those four nights Alabama Joe stepped up to the plate and fought people that I would have bet would defeat him – and each time he won a messy, ugly, but complete and well deserved victory! It was fascinating to me that this man could more than hold his own with untrained adversaries JUST BY KNOWING WHAT GENERAL direction HE SHOULD BE GOING IN A FIGHT. Technique? As primitive and unrefined as could be. Outcome? Total victory four out of four times! Now don't get me wrong – if Joe had fought anyone with skills he would have come up short. But in mid 1990's NYC no one even knew what Jiu Jitsu WAS – forget about how to defend it. Just by watching early MMA and Jiu Jitsu he carved out a remarkable run of success in that context. Now, understand that Joe did have some advantages – he had been in a lot fights and so did not freeze or get adrenaline dumps etc and you could argue that his job – bouncing WAS his training. Still, it is clear that just some basic knowledge without any refined skills made a DEFINITE DIFFERENCE in his performance. I always wonder what became of that crazy cat but never forgot that lesson that in a world of ignorance a little sound knowledge can be a game changer – even without a training program
