Tuesday, 15 September 2015

Mr Dojo Rising ... Meet MMA's hardest Nutt

My latest piece in the South China Morning Post, on the full mental racket that is Full Metal Dojo, a potent cocktail of brutal cagefights, hot girls, hard rock, full beards and cold beer. Jon Nutt is the Dojo's high priest of hucksterism and hype. I meet him in 'the coolest city in the world' - Bangkok, says Nutt - to get the lowdown on throwdowns, takedowns, staredowns, and shakedowns, not to mention System of a Down.  Link to the SCMP story is here: http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1857244/mixed-martial-arts-and-rocknroll-hit-thailand


SWASH & TURNBUCKLES: JON NUTT, MODERN DAY
SAMURAI AND PIRATE OF PIZZAZ MEETS PT BARNUM AT THE NEW
 CIRCUS FOR MODERN GLADIATORS, FULL METAL DOJO
Jon Nutt has a reddish beard and a piratical air, although he professes no family connection to the 17th-century English pirate who cut a swathe through Newfoundland and Labrador before his capture in 1623.

The latter-day Nutt is content with cutting a swathe through the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) with his Full Metal Dojo show, which he somewhat breathlessly extols as the ‘fastest growing show on the planet, in the fastest growing sport on the planet, in the coolest city on the planet’ – his adopted home of Bangkok.

The most recent incarnation of Full Metal Dojo, two weeks ago, was held in the Sukhumvit Soi 12 club Insanity, formerly known as Insomnia, packing in a capacity crowd in excess of 600 people.
The first, although probably not the second, of the two conditions is almost certainly a boon in the world of MMA, a fighting style which sees two men or women of more or less equal weight (although often from wildly different fighting backgrounds) enter an octagonal cage and, with few rules and no holds barred, ‘get it on’ over three to five five-minute rounds.

The fighting discipline reached its global apotheosis with the show Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which the leading exponents must bring to the ring a mix of striking and grappling skills to have any chance of success.

Full Metal Dojo follows a similar model, although Nutt has made it his mission to spice up the showbiz pizzazz; his shows are a full metal racket that combines the bareknuckle fighting with hucksterism, live bands, DJs and copious quantities of food and booze. The Insanity show, Full Metal Dojo VI – For Those About to Rock, was the sixth outing in just over a year for the Full Metal Dojo machine – justification, in Nutt’s world, for his seemingly rather ambitious and exaggerated claim.

WAI A SWORD?  JON NUTT PERFORMS AN ARCANE RITUAL
 IN THE DOJO INVOKING THE WARRIOR SPIRIT OF THE SAMURAI,
BEFORE PERFORMING A SEK LOSO SONG, HIP HOP STYLE
Six weeks earlier, Full Metal Dojo V took place on Bangkok’s outskirts, at a venue called Live House, tucked away in a warren of local bars with bands, art-and-craft shops and independent fashion boutiques known as JJ Green, near the popular Chatuchak Weekend Markets.

I walked into Live House, after 60 minutes wandering in fruitless if entertaining circles trying to find the place, to see a fight start and end, with a brutal uppercut and a knee to the head, inside four seconds.


Nutt is on stage, red beard bristling, wild-eyed and spouting a Barnum-esque hype which is utterly bombastic and strangely compelling. The DJ throws on bursts of songs, veering from the traditional ‘luk thoong’ folk genre to grinding heavy metal and industrial noise to sugary pop, in between Nutt’s stream-of-cagefighter rants.

He doesn’t just talk the talk, however. Later in the evening, in a bout billed the ‘Battle of the Beards’, he will take on fellow American, Thammasat University lecturer, PHD student and MMA coach, and FMD umpire and friend, Dana Blouin, a squat bear of a man with a beard more Orthodox Jew than piratical bristle.

TIST UP: BAR OWNER AT JJ GREEN
GOES STRAIGHT FOR THE MARKETING JUGULAR
Blouin, when not getting down and dirty or keeping things clean in the dojo, conducts research in low power IPv6 wireless networks, Total Recall-style memory devices and the ‘Internet of Things’.
Blouin is a straight grappler, Nutt more of a striker, with kung fu, tae kwon do, karate and Muay Thai under his black belt, not to mention high school wrestling and latterly, the go-to-style of the successful cage-fighter, Brazilian Jujitsu, or ‘BJJ’.

I meet Nutt again in between Full Metal Dojos Five and Six, and he still seems amped on the lesson he handed Blouin … a knock out in just over a minute of round one. “My wrestling coach sent me a message, saying that was a classic ‘Sea Wolf’ move right there,” he enthuses. “I had him in north-souths, I sprawled, grabbed the head and swung around, this is the ‘battle of the beards’, right? I was going to go for the guillotine but I didn’t have it, he was holding my wrist, he had wrist control, I wasn’t going to grapple with him.

“I grapple and it’s all over. I mean I was doing so much at that event, production, announcing, refereeing, line production, singing – I do a mean Thai national anthem, and a hip hop version of (popular local singer) Sek Loso – so the most relaxed I was all night was actually getting taped up for the fight and waiting for the bell.

PICK AND MOVE: THE FULL METAL DOJO MOVES UPTOWN WITH A POST-DOJO 
POOL PARTY AT THE HIP NEW MOVENPICK BANGKOK SUKHUMVIT SOI 15  

“I knew that if I didn’t relax, the lactic acid builds up, so be calm, stick to the game plan, focus on your breathing, and from first strike of the match, me kicking him in the leg, and I knew I was going to throw two combos, low kick and a hook, at whichever side he was circling, so I hit him with left low kick and left hook, and he had come out like I did with high hands, I hit him with the kick and his hands dropped, you could see it shook him up, and then the hook. I backed up to put on a show and get my breathing going, he came in and shot (tried to take Nutt down), I hit him with a punch, he grabbed my leg. Then another strike, and I submitted him.”

PLEASED AS PUNCH: NUTT INTRODUCES TWO THAI
FIGHTERS ABOUT TO 'GET IT ON' IN THE DOJO.
The pair had a drink afterwards, and remain good friends, Nutt says. “I’m not an asshole, so I’d never hold it over his head.” His whole argument is that it’s a sport, not a brutal, barehanded fight, and that combatants should be best of chums afterwards.

“We want to break this into Thai market and have this considered a sport, not a fight. Thais haven’t jumped on it as Muay Thai is their national sport. It’s not because they don’t like MMA, but they don’t know how to gamble on it, and they’re not sure of the rules.”

Gambling is strictly forbidden in the Full Metal Dojo, and Nutt says Mixed Martial Arts have been backed all the way by the military junta still running the country and responsible for a period of mixed martial law.

“What can I say? They are very anti corruption, and I’m very anti corruption, and we’ve had military presence to help out at all of our shows in Bangkok, which I’m grateful for,” says Nutt.

He is a veteran of 11 years in Thailand, the first half of that stint dividing his time between Koh Phi Phi and Phuket, with flits back to his home in Los Angeles, although he hails from Boston originally. “What tipped me over to Thailand all the way, last time I was back in LA, my friends took me out to Koi or some fancy place like that, and the first girl I said hello to, the first thing out of her mouth was ‘What kind of car do you drive?’. “

Nutt says he’s a passionate advocate of combat sports over team sports in terms of lasting damage to the body. “Combat sports lead to bumps, bruises and broken noses, other sports lead to major life-altering injuries. American football has given me a shoulder that will never be the same, my L5, L1 and L6 are so jacked up it’s going to be a problem later in life.

“Oh and did I mention that it’s a thrill? When that bell goes off, and the other guy goes into action, you take a deep breath, and it’s a rush, man.”

METAL MACHINE MUSIC: NUTT FINDS
MOJO IN DOJO AT MOVENPICK BANGKOK
SUKHUMVIT SOI 15 PRESS CONFERENCE
 
His longer-term mission is to take the live buzz of his shows to television, and to have them shown on a respectable regional show, at least for starters. “I’ll take my Full Metal Dojo, and put it up against any other fighting show in the world, even Ultimate Fighting or King of the Cage, for sheer energy and entertainment value.

“We try to promote local bands and DJs. So at the last shows, I used a band called Silly Machine, Metallica, System of a Down songs, and the singer was nailing all the high notes.”

Part of Nutt’s mission, longer term, is to build on Thailand’s reputation as one of the world’s best places to come and train and fight in MMA. He is also planning a longer-term assault on the world of MMA, from the deep ranks of talent of Thailand’s Muay Thai fighters. “I’m certain of this – the future of the lower weight classes in MMA is the Thai fighters.

“I’m on a mission to find the best from the four regions of Thailand, and beyond, those in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, the Malay peninsula. This is where warriors live, true Nak Muay. Give me three to five years, and we’ll have Thai fighters dominating the lower weight divisions of the UFC.”


6 comments:

  1. Grateful on how DR James miraculously help me on my penis enlargement which i have suffered for so long and since then i have never witness any form of insult from my woman, before now she always says lot of bad words to me, that i am not a full man, but now she is after sex and it has gotten to a point when i am tired as we have sex from 12AM Till 5AM and still asked for more, but i am very happy that after i meant with DR James my life turned around, if you having issues of quick ejaculation, slow erection problem, and cumming on time. all you have to do is to contact DR James and have your issues resolved for ever and have a happy sex life, with your partner or spouse. because today i am a living testimony of DR James wonder cream action. waste no more time and write to him on his email: enlargementherbs@yahoo.com or his what app number:+2349055637784

    ReplyDelete
  2. I found this blog after a long time which is really helpful to let understand different approaches. I am going to adopt these new point to my career and thankful for this help.
    บ้าน โมเดิร์น

    ReplyDelete
  3. At last my happiness and joy has been restored as my husband who left me for another girl has finally come back good and still lovely to me , i want to use this time to give thanks to Dr Blessing who has use his love spell and prayers to bring back my ex lover and also share little about my rough story between me and my husband and the other girls , i got married to the man i loved Sanchez June 23 2013 and we have been together ever since and we have leaved happily we both have a daughter , but this year 2017 when has traveled to new York on a business things changed even when he was away he never called to say hi to me and my daughter and this was unlikely of him because he loves our daughter to sky , so i began to suspect something wasn't right, but i waited for he to return to me in Canada so i know what the problems was, only for Sanchez to come back asking for divorce at first i thought he was joking , but with time i saw he was so serious on this , i tried to plead with he but nothing changed , i called my mom telling her about the situation and she said to pray about it , i was depressed and devastated on this issues and was praying and looking for help to stop the divorce and save my marriage, i seek help with many persons non could help , i continue with the search of help because i knew and have the feelings my man was not on his right senses because i know the man i married can never ask me for a divorce, so i kept on looking for solutions i spent almost all my savings seeking solution , until the Juliana a working told me about Dr blessing of blessingspiritualtemple@gmail.com, i never wanted to email him because many has taken money from me without giving any good result, but when he gave her words about Dr Blessing i decided to give it a trial , contacted him and told him about myself , he told me that he will have me to make my husband stop the divorce and reunite us again , that he gave me three days after which everything will be back to it normal place for good , i did some few things he said i should do as instructed , and let he do his work i was at work on the 15th of July about 10 AM when i received letter from my husband that my husband has cancelled the divorce case and same day at about 12 noon my husband wrote me a sweet text , and this was how me and my husband came back and today we are better as one family , so i want to use this means to tell to you all here contact Dr Blessing to for any kind of relationship or married problems and i let he solve it for you just as he has done for me , his contacts
    Email; blessingspiritualtemple@gmail.com
    blessingspiritualtemple@yahoo.com
    Whats,App. +1(951) 409 0694

    ReplyDelete
  4. รับดำเนินการขอใบอนุญาตโฆษณา ฆอ. ด้วยประสบการณ์ของบริษัทฯ ยาวนานกว่า 8 ปี ยืนยันคุณภาพด้วยลูกค้าระดับประเทศมากมาย สบายที่สุดแล้ว เพราะคุณแทบไม่ต้องทำอะไรเลย
    ขออนุญาตโฆษณาอาหาร

    ReplyDelete
  5. DO YOU NEED FINANCIAL HELP? 5000$ to 100,000,000.00$
    No credit check
    Repaid over 1 year to maximum of 25 years at a low interest rate of 2%.
    Approval in 15-30 minutes
    Open 7 days a week from 24/7
    Service available nationwide
    Contact us on whatspp +447513195409
    housingfinance22@gmail.com
    WEBSITE: http://www.indbullsfin.com/index.pyc
    Regards,

    ReplyDelete
  6. hello everyone here i want to tell the whole world about DR AKIOYA herbal mixture product ...Dr AKIOYA penis enlargement herbal product in Africa.This is the only Male Penis Enlargement product has been used by men around the world like USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,BELGIUM,SWEDEN,GERMANY,UK,SINGAPORE,MALAYSIA AND SO MANY MORE supplement that has been PROVEN to-enlarge your penis – safely, quickly, and importantly – PERMANENTLY.Full DR AKIOYA Penis Enlargement product when used will Increase in penis length by 1-5 inches Increase in penis width by 20%helps in preventing Premature Ejaculation.Achieved longer, rock hard erections All gains in penis length and width are 100% permanent Full AKIOYA Penis Enlargement product is also:100% Herbal, 100% Safest with no side effect and its of two types I have the one for enlargement and for reduction and your advised to use it by message 100% Satisfaction and Money Back Guarantee. DR.AKIOYA, About my products i have herbal product and oil 100% Permanent Guaranteed resulting it on your body where you feel you want to reduce or enlarge which will help you to be strong and you get the desirable size you want-within 3-5 days and when you get your desirable size you are advised to stop using it and the results you gain will remain permanent We also do deliveries all over AFRICA, and worldwide so i would like to know first when do you need the product.for more information call or whatsapp Dr.AKIOYA +2348105257464 or call +2348105257464 email DrAkioya17spellhome@gmail.com
    note DR AKIOYA also have herbal medicines to problems like
    PENIS ENLARGEMENT
    ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
    DIABETES type 1 and type 2
    HERPES GENITAL WART
    LOW SPERM COUNT
    WEAK ERECTION
    BREAST ENLARGEMENT
    PROSTRATE CANCER
    HIV/AIDS
    SPELL OF ALL KINDS LIKE EX BACK,CANCEL DIVORCE,BREAK UP SPELL ,PREGNANCY SPELL,PROMOTION SPELL,JOB SPELL
    ALS
    HPV 123
    PILE
    ASTHMA
    HEART FAILURE
    PREMATURE EJACULATION
    HEPATITIS A,B,C AND MANY MORE
    THANKS

    ReplyDelete