JOSE BACA ON RUPTURED SPACE

“CONTROLLED RUPTURE”

In combat sports, in boxing, MMA – which uses boxing techniques, jiujutsu, kickboxing, wrestling, even old-fashioned street fighting – one thinks of fists, knees, feet, face, nose, eyes, physical body parts, being ruptured.

But it’s really about Space being ruptured. It’s about how space is used to advantage, given it can be your best friend or your bitterest foe. Let’s see how it plays out in boxing, in the legendary fight between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito.

So, Cotto was staying on the outside while using his jab, the perfect way to set it all up. Margarito, on the other hand, likes to fight close, on the inside. During the first 7 rounds, Cotto was winning the fight flawlessly, using space to his advantage. As the fight wore on, Cotto started to tire. In the last four rounds or so, Margarito started to walk him down, cutting off the ring and closing the space that favored him. Margarito started swarming him, intimidating him, pushing him against the ropes. On the 11th round, Margarito completely closed off the space. Guess what happened. Cotto succumbed to the punishment and was forced down to take a knee. The referee wiped off the gloves, Cotto got up. Then, Margarito again began to close off the space as fast as possible, didn’t let him move. Cotto was ended up taking another knee, and his corner was forced to throw in the white towel.

Another way to use Space is to literally guard one’s personal space very, very closely. A classic case in point is Mohammad Ali’s “rope-a-dope” strategy, where he lay on the ropes while protecting his head and face with his fists. George Foreman, one of the top punchers of all time, began to throw blow after blow out on his body. But Ali just let him, all the while, defending his head. By the 5th round, Foreman got exhausted from all the punches he threw at Ali to no avail, because he couldn’t land punches to his head. As the fight wore on, Foreman got completely wiped out, and was eventually knocked out. In this case, Ali basically used his own personal space to counter-attack.

Contrary to how it’s viewed, the space within this arena is actually quite civilized. There’s an unspoken (if very strong) code of ethics, etiquette, respect. You have to respect that person, because they are about to take on as much punishment as you are. At the end of every fight, combatants actually hug each other, congratulate each other, and hang out as close buddies. It’s not about wreaking anger, it's not emotional. It’s about the sport, the art, the pure craft, the professionalism, the competition. It’s about bringing out all your childhood fantasies and turning them into a career – in a very mature, adult way.

Ultimately, it’s the individual’s choice, he decides how much of his space can be ruptured.

So if you think about it, it’s really it’s a space of “controlled rupture”.

[Jose Baca is an ardent fan of boxing and MMA; being a thinker and an avid boxer himself, he offers a first-hand insight into this world of ruptured space.]