As way of background (for readers unfamiliar with the martial arts world and the MMA circles), contemporary mixed martial arts competitions had their origins in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held in the United States in the 90s. In the beginning there were NO RULES (just a couple of restrictions) in the sense that the figthers could use ANY kind of unarmed martial arts technique for winning the fight.
Under these conditions, Royce Gracie was the undisputed winner of 3 of the first 5 tournaments (in one of them Royce won his first fight but couldn't continue due to deshydratation and hypoglicemia; and in the other one, Royce didn't fight in the tournament, just in a special fight).
Everybody agrees that, in UFC 1, the most serious rival for Royce was Ken Shamrock, an expert in strinking techniques and a master of submission holds (specially of leg locks) and a body of a bodybuilder. In fact, Shamrock won his first fight in the UFC 1 very easily, with a ankle lock.
Shamrock was a seasoned figther and wrestler in Pancrase (a kind of Japanese precursor of the UFC). I was familiar with Shamrock skills since 1990, and even watched him live a couple of times in wrestling matches in Japan.
Like everybody else, I was convinced that Shamrock, due to his mastery of submissions holds, would be the most serious opponent for Royce in the UFC 1 (in fact, I personally thought, obviously mistakenly, that Shamrock would win that tournament and kick Royce's butt in the process).
For surprise of all (except perhaps of the Gracie family), Shamrock was defeated by Royce in 51 seconds! And via a choke.
From that moment, Shamrock began to spread the idea that he lost because Royce used his gi (kimono) to choke him (this technique is known as a lapel choke in judo/jiu-jitsu circles). Currently, Shamrock still claims that Royce used his gi to choke him, as you can see in this recent interview with Shamrock.
Watching carefully the fight, the trained observer can see that Royce used a rear naked choke (a choke which uses only the arms, not the gi), so Shamrock's excuse is false. However, it is true that when you watch the fight, the angle of the camera cannot allow us to see the choke clearly and only the most competent, martial trained eye could discern the kind of choke being used by Royce. Watch the fight for yourself:
Note that the angle of the camera doesn't allow us to see clearly the kind of choke being used by Royce, because from that angle a rear naked choke and a lapel gi choke look very similar. (Again, the trained observer could discern the difference despite of such misleading angle).
Fortunately, I've found a pic of the choke from a perfect angle which leaves no doubt at all about the kind of choked being applied by Royce:
Royce is using the standard rear nake choke, using the right arm to squeeze both carotid arteries and the left hand to push the back of the head in order to clinch the choke (this choke is known in japanese martial arts as Hadaka-jime):
This choke is one of the most effective holds in martial arts. It could produce unconscious in a matter of seconds (between 5-15 seconds from the moment of the application), and even death if the pressure continues being applied after the person has been put unconscious (obviously, trained martial artists know when to release the pressure in order to prevent death or serious brain damage to the opponent. This is why in judo/jiu-jitsu competitions and in MMA fights, we never see deaths by chokes or any other submission hold. This kind of hold can be trained in very safe ways, without risks of injuries).
Just for the record: I'm a fan of Ken Shamrock, but I'm more a fan and lover of the TRUTH. That Shamrock and his fans have spread the false view that Royce used a lapel choke instead a rear naked choke is something which has always bothered me.
Shamrock lost via a rear naked choked simply because he understimated Royce's grappling skills, and thought that he could beat him with a leg lock (Shamrock's speciality). As you can watch in the video, after taking Royce's leg, Shamrock seems obsessed with holding Royce's leg (even after Royce got the mount position!), trying to apply a leg lock, as you can see also in this picture:
Meanwhile, Royce was astutely searching for Shamrock's neck and he got it!.
Meanwhile, Royce was astutely searching for Shamrock's neck and he got it!.
That's it.
The proper defense for Shamrock should have been to forget Royce's leg (in the moment in which Royce got the mount position) and defend his own neck to prevent the choke. This is basic self-defense and grappling on the ground.
Shamrock knows all of this, because he's a seasoned grappler and martial artist. But he simply cannot accept that he made a amazingly silly mistake (from a technical point of view) which put him literally in Royce's hands.
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