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Tommy Farr, Pit-Fighting Drills w/ Some Bowie Correlates by Mark Hatmaker


[A re-vamped version of a prior offering, with Drills now included for both empty-hand and Bowie knife work.]

 In 1986, John Hackleman launched his gym The Pit and fighters from this base were known as pit-fighters. The most renowned of these pit-fighters was former UFC-light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell.
Pit-fighting was in actuality a harder form of Hawaiian Kempo, which in itself was formerly known as Kajukenbo, yet another hybrid martial art originating in Hawaii in the late 1940s. 
The admittedly awkward word, Kajukenbo, was meant to do honor to the arts that constituted its whole: Karate, Judo, Jujitsu, Kenpo, and Boxing. 
Not a bad mix at all.
Kajukenbo still survives under that original name, with some branches calling itself Hawaiian Kenpo, and Coach Hackleman ballparking on Hawaiian Kempo [note the “m”] to emphasize the harder approach to training and application that he advocates.

I’m sure you noticed that, so far, the arts we have discussed are Eastern in origin. Exactly how do we get to our discussion to boxing and rough 'n' tumble?
Back to the phrase “pit-fighting.” We simply needed to distinguish between what is known in modern parlance as pit-fighting and the far far more brutal “game” of pit-fighting that entertained Welsh miners.
Our best look at Welsh “ymladd pwll” [pit-fighting from here on out] comes to us from the mighty rugged boxer Tommy Farr.
Farr, whose ringname confounds the ears, “the Tonypandy Terror,” is best known for his controversial fight with heavyweight champion Joe Louis on March 15, 1937.

Joe earned the 15-round decision but there are those who see otherwise.
Back to why we’re discussign Mr. Farr.
Tommy was born on March 12, 1913 in Wales, to be exact he was born in  Clydach Vale, Rhondda [you gotta love Welsh spellings.] As many did in his time and locale, he started young as a coal-miner. 
How young?
He was twelve-years old.
Tough Occupation + Tough Lads = Maturing into Tough Men.
Tommy was no exception.
He was underground during one of the not uncommon mine explosions and he carried scars from that till his dying day.
Now what exactly did Welsh colliers do for recreation during down time?
Well, it seems they indulged in a bit of pit-fighting, and we are not talking Kajukenbo or Hawaiian Kempo or Kenpo.
So what exactly is pit-fighting, Welsh style?
Tommy describes it thusly, two holes are dug waist deep approximately two feet apart.

A contestant enters each hole, they face and commence battering one another.
Unable to flee, or effectively duck, the “game” is one of blocking, and being the hardest hitting man willing to fling while waist deep in a hole.
You “win” by so incapacitating the other fellow in his hole that he can not fire back.
Keep in mind, being unable to fall when knocked out, one undoubtedly receives a bit more punishment than might be wise.
Ah, the grand ol’ days of good clean fun. 
Mr. Farr enjoyed a fine ring career and one cannot help but presume that pit-fighting aided and abetted his upper-body defensive game and bolstered the fighting spirit by the sheer grit of the endeavor.
Four Rounds of “Soft” Pit-fighting
Here are a few drill variations to shake up your game and grab a bit of Tommy Farr-ness without actually having to stand in a hole and take a shot to the mouth.
Shoe-Lace Drill-Tie your shoelaces together and work the heavybag, pads, and [very] light sparring. Strive to stay stock-still as you can.
Box Drill-Stand inside an 18” by 18” square and work the heavybag, pads, and, again, light sparring.
Paper Drill-Stand on two sheets of notebook paper, one foot on each sheet. Work heavybag, pads, and light sparring. Any lift of the foot from the paper will be read immediately.
The One-Handed Bowie Drill-There is a legend [apocryphal] that the notorious frontiersman, Jim Bowie, once conducted a knife duel where each participant held a knife in the lead hand and each held one end of a single length of rope or chain in the other. 
Here we will substitute a boxing glove for the knife, or use a sparring blade. You will have more mobility than in the previous drills but this “freedom” is more than made up for by the push-me/pull-you aspect of the “tug-of’war.”
Even if we cannot, or do not desire, to engage in a true pit-fight, these drills can go a long way to shaking up our game and provide a taste of what standing-in-a-hole-strictures were like.

 [January of 2020 will be begin a year-long exursion into frontier Bowie material in the RAW Curriculum.]
[For more Rough& Tumble history, Indigenous Ability hacks, and pragmatic applications of old school tactics historically accurate and viciously verified see our RAW Subscription Service.]
[For more Rough& Tumble history, Indigenous Ability hacks, and pragmatic applications of old school tactics historically accurate and viciously verified see our RAW Subscription Service.]
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