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The Influential & The Influence by Mark Hatmaker

 


A landmark of the 20th and 21st century martial community has completed his sojourn on the planet—Mr. Gene LeBell.

I will not pretend to the sadness that his family and close relations feel. To horn in on that grief strikes me as a bit solipsistic and disrespectful of those tighter bonds that will shed tangible and visible salt-laden tears for Mr. LeBell.

Their loss, their pain weighs far heavier than my distant appreciation and affection can compass.

Am I saying I am unaffected? Oh, Hell No.

I simply offer the perspective that to equate with the proximate ones is a bit short-sighted and blunts the external empathy gaze a bit.

My take is likely eccentric and idiosyncratic and of no value.

On to the Influence of Mr. LeBell.

To say that he was [is] influential is an understatement.

If one is involved in the world of grappling, then I will say nothing here of his history that you do not already know.

Instead, I will step into the shallow waters of my own experience and offer that yes, Mr. LeBell was influential, so I’d like to say how he was influential—not to the community at large but to the anecdote of one man—me.

The Influence of the Influential

I had already been scufflin’ via my Grandfather [George Washington Goins] and my cousins for years before I ever came across Mr. LeBell.

What struck me at first, was likely what struck many—the over-the-top presentation borne of pro-wrestling rings around the world.

I’ll admit, this portion held no influence on me, but…what did, was this.

Mr. LeBell was once described as “A man who’s forgotten more finishing holds than you’ll ever know.” At that moment, I thought, “Oh, hell yeah—that’s a worthy trove of knowledge to shoot for.”

Mr. LeBell embodies [to me] the mindset that frees one from a linear dogmatic path to knowledge—be it in the grappling domain, or hell, anywhere else.

“To forget more than most know” means that he did not confine himself to a system or to a single path. It meant that he looked at anything and everything he deemed pertinent to his passion.

Yes, of course, he offered us all “Here’s some slick tricks” but more importantly he offered an eyes and mind wide-open gimlet-eyed gaze that was always willing to garner more tactics and more importantly [to my eye, at least] reverse-engineer what is or was known inside-out and say, “Yeah, but if you construct it this way, this pain changes to THIS PAIN.”

He offered us all how to think. How to not to accept all on a platter.

Being a legend himself he was skeptical of legends.

The history/mythology surrounding his judgment of Bruce Lee, no matter how much truth may or may not be within, allows us to see a spirit of “Don’t face value it, dig in for the pith and see what’s what.”

Admittedly not all of his lessons seat with many. Some miss the point, or perhaps I am the mistaken one.

Some respect his encyclopedic knowledge and seek to replicate the copious arsenal.

And…there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I merely offer that this man’s powerful influence on my own thinking was not mere replication and duplication.

It goes deeper than that. It was and is a way to see each “finishing hold” as, yes, an entity unto itself, but also as part of a class of like mayhem, and even beyond that-- principles that concoct said mayhem to be pulled apart willy-nilly in an instruction-book free world where we understand how to create new mayhem.

To my mind, that influence has been monumental in my life, my thought, my world.

I am mighty grateful for that influence.

Mabitsiar’u Mr. LeBell

[To my mind, our recent piece Jugulations, Strangulations, Neck-Breakers, & Molar-Poppers, is reflective of this influence.]

[For more Rough& Tumble history, Indigenous Ability hacks, and for pragmatic applications of old school tactics historically accurate and viciously verified see our RAW/Black Box Subscription Service.]

Or our brand-spankin’ new podcast The Rough and Tumble Raconteur available on all platforms.

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