Let’s talk “Scarface”
Al, Gangs of New York, dirty tactics boxing and wrestling, and the focused
“training of the bad element.”
First, a bit of info
passed along to me by more than one friend in the law enforcement profession.
[Names of officers and contemporary gangs will be excised from this tale.]
Beginning, oh, a
decade or so ago friends on this side of right have related to me that upon raiding
various and sundry biker hang-outs, gangbanger residences and like abodes that
in addition to what is considered contraband they often find fight training
material.
I was told this by the
few because some of my titles were there. I always inquired who else, and the
laundry list of squared away cadre always included a stable of straight-talking
sorts with an eye on reality.
Now myself, and these
other gents whose titles found their way wherever, offer our ministrations in
aid of self-defense on the right side of the line, self-edification, and, in my
case, a bit of historical recreational fun.
I mention this not to say,
“Yay! Biker Endorsement!” But for what philosopher Nassim Taleb would
call “The Graveyard of Invisible Evidence.”
I ask what other titles
are included not for ego props but to see what the enemy has an eye on.
It is never in-depth
kata material, internal kung fu, systema, and seldom is it sport oriented
beyond an MMA title or two.
Almost invariably the
consumption is rough-around-the-edges street-ready material.
This telling bit of Intel
lets us know that those in the trenches of perpetrating mayhem have little to
no use for theory and or bounded domains [sport applications.]
If [If] we proclaim ourselves
street/reality focused, we would be well advised to take heed of our enemies’
tastes.
I now draw your
attention to the fact that this phenomenon is nothing new.
Gangs, gangsters, motorcycle
clubs on the fringes, and all of the other pockets of less-than-savory value
hardmen, able scufflers, or as one Scottish lawman told me, “They value
bonny fechters.” [Good fighters.]
Possession
or Use
Now mere possession of
a training implement does not make one adept. We all know that.
We all have YouTube
tutorials available on every possible subject in our pockets and yet I see no corresponding
rise in actual ability. Mere possession of information is nada.
Let’s look to the
waters we law-abiding training ones swim in. There are faaaaaaaar more consumers
of the aforementioned YouTube fight tutorials than folks who ever swing a fist
at a bag.
There are copious
members/commentors of the “Squared Away, Fight All the Way!” league tapping
away at keys on social media forums.
How many of these do
you think put ass on mat? Hand in glove? If any time at all, how often? How
long is that training session?
You get my drift, and if
you’ve been alive and awake in these waters you are cognizant that on the right
side of the justice line there are more in the theory-laden and sportive end of
the pool than in the deep waters of “OK, this is real” and even fewer
who test that reality off of high-dive platforms.
Use and Utility
Over Mere Exposure or Possession of Information
The key
info to know when eyeing an enemy is what armament do they possess?
In today’s lesson we
are discussing the unarmed armament.
Question
#2…
How adept
are they at using that armament?
With adept we must
never forget the fact that often mere use of said armament, any use at all, is
often way more than the defender has ever had.
Gun shy, trigger-wincing,
“How will this go in the mix?” never goes away, but it is diminished by exposure.
With that said, who do
you think has been in tougher spots more often, the law-abiding reality-combat
student, or the on-the fringe-biker gang member?
Who do you think has
experienced more confrontations, the person who has read numerous essays on the
OODA Loop or the ambitious kid from South Central?
To Know
Wicked Tactics Look to the Wicked
I have discussed the
remarkable overlap between kosher tacticians and outlaw players of the
seemingly same game but with violently different adjustments many times. In mob
parlance, some of the able adjusters were called Street Dentists.
Men who were able
boxers, able wrestlers, able scufflers, but something a bit more than that.
From the early days of
rough and tumble to now, boxing+, all-in scuffling, boombattle, etc. are valued
knowledge, valued skills.
Concerted Deliberate
Practice
We would be on
somewhat level playing fields if our gangbangers who possessed instructional material
approached it in the same manner than many fight GIF swappers approach their
own training but…
My selfsame law enforcement
insiders tell me that the possession of the material is not the end. It is
utilized. It is honed.
To keep current names
out of the game, let us look at a few historical examples of outlaws honing
illegal tactics in a most decidedly organized manner as one would expect from
organized crime.
Let’s talk
Al “Scarface” Capone.
The short version of
the story is Capone came up brawling in the Five Points Gangs of New York. He
was noted for slinging hands, busting heads and his “boxer’s feet.”
This abridged version
of the tale leads us to believe that natural ability and simply engaging in
street-scufflin’ is all one needs for improving a skill-set.
Let’s dig a little
deeper.
Capone did indeed
engage in numerous street scuffles as a member of the early rough and rowdy
gangs of New York.
His actual gang was a
smaller outfit called the James Street Gang. This gang was headed by a young Johnny
Torrio, also of later mob notoriety.
If you’ve seen Martin Scorsese’s
film Gangs of New York you are likely familiar with the largely Irish gangs—the
Dead Rabbits, the Plug Uglies, and the Whyos.
Another large and
powerful gang was the Five Pointers which was predominantly Italian.
It was headed by one dapper
individual named Paul Kelly.
Not exactly an Italian
name there. Kelly’s actual name was Paolo Antonini Vaccarelli.
Kelly/Vaccarelli was
an experienced and successful bantamweight prizefighter. He used his winnings
to bootstrap and bolster his criminal enterprises.
Kelly was also idolized
by many young hoods, Johnny Torrio and Capone among them.
Kelly offered tips and
tactics of the legitimate fight game in which he was well skilled—a Bridgeport
Herald newspaper article of 1897 refers to him as one of the "fastest
and cleanest little boxers in the business."
He could fight clean
but…
Kelly also made
additions that made the game street-ready for the “thrash in the street”
that was commonplace to the gig of being in a gang. The Five-Pointers were
noted for their eye-gouging in the clinch tactics.
[Keep in mind, the
story I am telling is not isolated. The history of boxers, wrestlers, rough ‘n’
tumblers evolving and expanding the game in methodical ways to aid and abet the
less than savory are numerous. We are telling merely one tale in timeline today.]
Capone was part of this
eager-to-learn cadre of young hoods, he avidly participated in these lessons.
Capone would go on to
perfect his game working as a doorman, bouncer, security enforcer and labor slugger.
[There are many tales to tell here but…another day.]
Flash forward to
Capone becoming the biggest gangster in Chicago. Capone no longer had a need to
get his hands dirty, but he still did on occasion—the infamous Indian club incident
comes to mind. [The story has been altered to say Capone wielded a baseball
bat, as we see in the film The Untouchables. Those in the know say, “Nah,
it was an Indian club.”
A piece of exercise
gear. Why was that on hand?
Capone, like his idol
Paul Kelly, well, according to crime journalist Fred Pasley, at Capone’s
headquarters at the Metropole Hotel in Chicago, there were two rooms equipped
with punching bags, horizontal bars, trapezes, rowing machines and other such
devices that his staff was expected to get a regular work out within.
“They followed a
schedule of training as methodical as that of college football athletes...”
He goes on to say…
“Experience
had taught him [Capone] that their professional value, based on that quality
commonly described as nerve, was in direct ratio to their physical fitness. It
might be only the imperceptible tremor of a trigger-finger, or the slightest
moment in any of a score of unforeseen emergencies; yet the cost of the lapse
would have to be reckoned in lives and money.” Al Capone: The Biography of a Self-Made Man [1930]
There is a contingent within
the less than savory side of life that takes mayhem seriously. Both the training
and the education of this mayhem.
To confuse this
version of boxing, wrestling, and scuffling with the version we law-abiding squares
often mistake for “fighting dirty” is a grave error indeed.
For more on the crime/fight
connection see...
When You Want to Break the Rules Look to the Rule Breakers
Good Reasons, Real Reasons & Mob Hits
Leg-Breakers, Street-Dentists & Enforcers
For actual tips, tactics drills and applications from these perpetrators of mayhem see The Black Box Subscription Service.
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