Techie Fight Clubs Springing Up 648
Browncoat writes "USAToday reports a new phenomenon hitting some of the cubicles of Silicon Valley. It seems that engineers and developers previously confined to sitting in front of their computers are getting their anger out the healthy way: by pummeling each other. From the article 'Inspired by the 1999 film Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt and Ed Norton, underground bare-knuckle brawling clubs have sprung up across the country as a way for desk jockeys and disgruntled youths to vent their frustrations and prove themselves. "This is as close as you can get to a real fight, even though I've never been in one," the soft-spoken Siou said.'"
Weenie Club (Score:5, Insightful)
Aside from which, I loved how they worked in this:
Earlier this month in Arlington, Texas, a high school student who didn't want to participate was beaten so badly that he suffered a brain hemorrhage and broken vertebrae. Six teenagers were arrested after DVDs of the fight appeared for sale online.
So exactly when did "getting your ass kicked by a bunch of jerks" turn into being "an unwilling Fight Club participant"? I suppose next we'll be hearing about how Ken Lay and company were actually just repeating what they learned by watching "Wall Street" at the executive team-building offsite? Or how the well-abused Zonk and ScuttleMonkey voodoo dolls on my desk are actually just a result of my having seen part of "The Craft" one time on HBO?
No weapons! (Score:5, Insightful)
Hitting someone with a frying pan? What fool would take that?
Using your fists on someone
But using a blunt object? If you're anything other than a spaz, you'll crush a few ribs the first time you connect. Then the fights over.
Re:No weapons! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:No weapons! (Score:5, Informative)
The experts know how to both hit and be hit (and are better at avoiding the hits); they take a lot less damage than novices, and unless they INTEND to deal damage, they deal less damage too.
On the flip side an expert INTENDING to deal damage will deal it a lot more effectively than a novice.
The same is generally true in most sports.
Re:No weapons! (Score:5, Funny)
On the flip side an expert INTENDING to deal damage will deal it a lot more effectively than a novice.
The same is generally true in most sports.
Yeah, I've noticed the same thing in golf. My father-in-law takes a whole lot less damage than my brother-in-law, in general.
They play full-contact, though, which I'm told is uncommon.
I'd say that picture was staged. (Score:4, Insightful)
If it was a straight in kick, his leg would be tangled up with his opponent's hand.
If it was a side kick, his leg would be connecting with his opponent's shoulder. Look how his kicking foot is outside of both their bodies.
Reading comprehension (Score:5, Insightful)
Extremists misinterpreting literature for ideology is hardly new, though. These people are hitting each other with heavy metal objects, they are probably addicted to the body's painkillers or the feeling their brain makes while it is being made retarded.
Re:I'd say that picture was staged. (Score:3, Funny)
Look at the position of his goolies with respect to the position of the blue-shirt guy's left fist... If blue-shirt is paying attention, red-shirt is going to be walking with a squint for a couple of days.
Re:I'd say that picture was staged. (Score:4, Funny)
Well, red-shirts get killed anyway...
Re:No weapons! (Score:3, Interesting)
Looking back, though, I think that if we had both been untrained it would have been uglier.
Still, I wonder why we're all assuming these people are untrained. The majority may be, but it only takes one or t
Re:No weapons! (Score:5, Funny)
That depends upon your class and level. I have five levels in the monk class with the shadow warrior prestige class, +3 brass knuckles of the whale, and 18/00 strength, so technically I would deal 3d6 + 3 hit points of damage and with my improved dodge feat you would not be fast enough to parry my attacks of opportunity.
Re:No weapons! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:No weapons! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:No weapons! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:No weapons! (Score:3, Insightful)
Martial arts insight here - Do not attack the human skull with a balled up fist. And whatever you do, don't ever attack a human skull with a fist with the intention of hitting anywhere near where the teeth are. Seriously. Look at the hand of a skeleton. Then look at a mandible. Then bite your knuckle and see how little force is required to make your hand hurt. It's a very bad idea. And this is coming from a Karate guy
Fist to skull ... (Score:5, Informative)
You are right that fist to skull contact is more likely to result in a broken hand. But orbital bones can certainly break under contact with elbow (as sometimes happens in basketball games).
The skull is NOT impenetrable. A properly swung baseball bat can easily penetrate it. More to the point, a properly swung staff or wooden sword can do the job as well. It can most certainly be accomplished with a hammer, but you'd have to be VERY skilled with a frying pan (though you could certainly kill with blunt force).
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/0
For the record, one punch can CERTAINLY kill if the person is hit in the correct way. The fact that you have not perished yet does not constitute evidence.
Re:No weapons! (Score:5, Insightful)
The same fool, I suppose, that would say "I'm bored, let's find some other techies and start beating the crap out of each other."
Or, I suppose, that would watch the fictional account of a character that went completely and destructively insane (but who may have, at the end of the story, "saved" himself by shooting himself in the head) and say "hey, let's imitate that."
Fight Club is a good movie. Imitating because your life is boring is, well, a sign that you need serious help.
Re:No weapons! (Score:5, Insightful)
But using a blunt object? If you're anything other than a spaz, you'll crush a few ribs the first time you connect. Then the fights over."
We live in a nation where 45% of eligible voters believe the world is 6000 years old and their kids think WWF wrestlers are quality role models to be emulated.... [google.com] It doesn't surprise me at all that people are smacking each other around with frying pans.
Re:No weapons! (Score:5, Insightful)
Supporting link [unl.edu], link [asa3.org], and right from the horse's mouth link [gallup.com].
Re:No weapons! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No weapons! (Score:3, Insightful)
Bubbles (Score:3, Interesting)
I always hated this. The idea of someone pawing and walloping me was never very appealing. Nonetheless, many, perhaps well meaning, individuals attempted to get me to "join in the fun". That's my bubble you're encroaching on, in a very i
Re:No weapons! (Score:3, Funny)
Thats just wrong. (Score:2)
Face Masks! Pool Cues! Knee Sniffing!
ugh.
Re:Weenie Club (Score:3, Insightful)
IIRC there was a rule in FC that said "if this is your first night, you have to fight"...
Re:Weenie Club (Score:2)
There was apparently plenty of willing participants in this particular instance (or at least "unwilling to press charges"). The video in question portrayed a number of "consensual" fights. It came into public view when an unwilling participant was seriously injured.
Re:Weenie Club (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Repetition Club (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Repetition Club (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Repetition Club (Score:3, Interesting)
This is new to you? When some of the books which contained fan-written stories which came out, it was said they were supposed to support this type of relationship - this would have been in the 70s - the same timeframe Spock Must Die! [1], etc. came out. (
I think this [amazon.com] (The New Voyages) - fan written short stories is the one which started the buzz. I'd have to do some box digging in the garage. I've got all of the loose books which appeared on the shelves at that time (ca. '77-'80).
I think the others
Re:Repetition Club (Score:3, Informative)
I think i know what the universal translator does now. Its just ROT13!!
Re:Dude FUCK YOU for that link (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Repetition Club (Score:5, Funny)
I am sick to death of Fight Club. People talking about it, [...]
I take it most people didn't pay attention when they were told the first and second rules.
Re:Repetition Club (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Repetition Club (Score:3)
ROTFLMAO
Y2k is not "years ago". It's not even "years ago" to my 8yo...
Nooo fool. He means "this was years ago now... 2000 years ago I believe". It's in the bible, look it up, book of Nerds 3:18.
Re:Repetition Club (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Repetition Club (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Repetition Club (Score:5, Funny)
I took your advice and began coding with my penis instead of my hands. Everyone in my office is avoiding my cubicle now. On the plus side, I finally got other people to stop using my keyboard.
Solomon
Sorry ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Sorry, "Fight Club" was about rebellion and self realization. Same thing with another movie of that time "American Beauty".
The protaginist (he has no name) is a bitch office worker who subconsciously develops an aggressive persona that manifests itself when he "sleeps". There was no homo-sexuality in the film. The only person who got fucked was Marla. The fact that men were hugging in a testicle cancer support group is meant to be farscicle.
Quit projecting.
I'm sorry, but... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I'm sorry, but... (Score:5, Funny)
It's geek fight club. There is no second rule; only a zeroth, first, and tenth rule.
Rule #0: You start counting from zero.
Rule #1: Do not talk about geek fight club.
Rule #10: Do not talk about geek fight club.
Rule #11: Only two bits to the rules.
Re:I'm sorry, but... (Score:2)
Re:I'm sorry, but... (Score:3, Informative)
Of COURSE there is ten in binary, it's just represented as 1010. The word "ten" refers to the concept of the number ten
Re:I'm sorry, but... (Score:5, Funny)
"what kind of two-bit fight club is this?"
Re:I'm sorry, but... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I'm sorry, but... (Score:2)
There's no need for RL violence (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:There's no need for RL violence (Score:4, Insightful)
These guys sound like dickless morons who watch way too much UFC. The guy in the photo looks like an idiot using those Kali sticks. When using them you don't get within knee strike range, and you definitely dont try to graple in the manner he is.
In my opinion these guys need to go to a real dojo, roll with some real experts, and learn that combat for the purpose of ego masturbation is fucking pointless.
Re:There's no need for RL violence (Score:5, Funny)
Depends on how big an asshole you are.
KFG
well now (Score:4, Funny)
The Third Rule of Fight Club (Score:2)
Re:The Third Rule of Fight Club (Score:2, Informative)
If someone says stop, goes limp, even if he's just faking it, the fight is over.
But later on it was dropped, and this was the new third rule
Only two guys to a fight.
Wikipedia talks about it too [wikipedia.org]
.Check it out on diggnation (Score:2)
Bring on that printer
*sticks on "still" by the geto boys*
Unsupport claims (Score:5, Insightful)
Is this fact, or just poor reporting?
Re:Unsupport claims (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Unsupport claims (Score:5, Insightful)
It is poor (though typical) reporting that these types of claims are reported simply as "so-and-so says", but it saves journalist from having to have any knowledge of or do any research in the field they are covering, they can simply find the nearest person with a degree or job in a superficially relevant field, and get a quote, and go home for the day. If they are particularly ambitious, they'll get two conflicting quotes from different experts, to show "balance".
Re:Unsupport claims (Score:4, Insightful)
The article said: Men involved in fight clubs often carry bottled-up violent impulses learned in childhood from video games, cartoons and movies, said Michael Messner, a University of Southern California sociology and gender studies professor.
DragonWriter said: It is poor (though typical) reporting that these types of claims are reported simply as "so-and-so says", but it saves journalist from having to have any knowledge of or do any research in the field they are covering, they can simply find the nearest person with a degree or job in a superficially relevant field, and get a quote, and go home for the day. If they are particularly ambitious, they'll get two conflicting quotes from different experts, to show "balance".
PCM2 said: I see. And so, in your opinion, not-poor reporting would presumably involve the reporter spending the next six years getting an advanced degree in psychiatry and then stating his own opinion?
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
I can't speak for DragonWriter, but I'd like to see evidence for a wild claim like that. Perhaps a reference to a peer-reviewed study. I don't have much respect for sociologists or gender studies professors. I can't think off-hand how to perform a well-controlled experiment that would determine if what this guy said is true, so I bet he couldn't either.
Re:Unsupport claims (Score:5, Interesting)
There was violence before TV and Games and Movies.
There were farm boys who grew up in peaceful farms that never heard a shot fired in anger or had a punch thrown whom grew up to be Soldiers. There were gun deaths that had nothing to do with Grand Theft Auto.
The reporter (or more likely editor) is a PC fool whom doesn't realize the simple basic truth. Violent Video games save us from wayyyyyy more random acts of violence then they do encourage them. Anyone whose actually played the things in a bad mood knows what I'm talking about. The simulation is a cathartic. The bad date or club cockteases have made plenty a man hate women, if only for a bit. Killing a whore in GTA lets you get the release and satisfaction without actually hurting a human being.
I guess too many of these folks are naive and really believe everything is sunshine and lollypops and don't understand the dark sides we all have. The side that comes out when we get cut off in traffic, the side that wants to slap everyone with a stupid answer. The part of us deep down that wants to be a Viking and Rape, Pillage and Burn. Or they might know they have such a side, but their own morality is such that they can not admit such a side exists.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Unsupport claims (Score:2)
Re:Unsupport claims (Score:5, Insightful)
Read:
Men involved in fight clubs often carry bottled-up violent impulses learned in childhood from jocks, jerks and bullies, said Michael Messner, a University of Southern California sociology and gender studies professor, who got the sh*t kicked out of him every day for wanting to be a gender studies professor.
Psh, that's nothing (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Psh, that's nothing (Score:2)
The first thing about dork club... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:The first thing about dork club... (Score:5, Funny)
I hate people (Score:5, Funny)
Dear Michael Messner,
Please accept this large steaming cup of shut the hell up.
Sincerely,
BigTanGringo
Rubber gloves...? (Score:5, Funny)
Anyway, my favorite part is the two professors eagerly spouting theories about "fight clubs" as though they'd ever heard of this before the USA Today reporter came calling.
No, my real favorite part is:
Fast forward to Marital Fight Club...Re:Rubber gloves...? (Score:3, Funny)
The guy wanted to find out what it would feel like to have his ass kicked. I suspect he's about it find out.
Re:Rubber gloves...? (Score:2)
Well, if you really want to fight, (Score:3, Insightful)
They should try a moshing. At least you get to beat people to music.
Utopian Nostalgia (Score:5, Insightful)
Hopefully we can someday return to the world where none of thoseexisted, and men never fought each other.
Re:Utopian Nostalgia (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Utopian Nostalgia (Score:3, Funny)
KFG
Shenanigans (Score:3, Insightful)
How many times in the past have we see some tech story get reported on and posted on slashdot only to find out that it was all trumped up - like "toothing" - people in UK using bluetooth phones to look for sex partners? I say "nerd fight club" is the same thing.
Everyone knows that real dorks adverse to physical fitness - I mean, hey why go outside when you can spend more time in front of the computer? I'll exercise next week after I rebuild my second desktop system and finish upgrading my asterisk pbx...
Oh, and nerd *fighting*? Nerds are the last people who are going to want to blow off steam by real, painful, physical fighting... Everyone knows that. Nerds would invite others for a frag-fest, whomp on their mmorpg character, hack their coworker's/nemesis' home server, and fill their cubicle with styrofoam... but fight... and risk getting hurt?
If we liked to fight, we probably wouldn't have followed the path that made us nerds in the first place.
Re:Shenanigans (Score:2)
Steps to success in fight club (Score:3, Interesting)
Um, most martial arts won't help much (Score:3, Insightful)
Look, they generally start as powerful self defence techniques which can be used when attacked by untrained attackers but the instant you start competitions, add rules they become methods of fencing for points. The training and
Obligatory. (Score:5, Funny)
His name is Linus Torvalds.
Re:Obligatory. (Score:2)
s/Funny/Overrated
Consumerism (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, buy things like the Fight Club DVD, you sheep. Some people, if worried about excessive consumerism, would stop buying shit.
Videogames. Always videogames. I'm surprised he hasn't blamed myspace.
They can beat themselves to pulp all they want (Score:2)
"The freedom to do what we want to do" (Score:5, Insightful)
And that is beating each other up? Idiots...
"Superhero for a night" (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:"The freedom to do what we want to do" (Score:2, Insightful)
why not just martial arts? (Score:2)
The first rule of Fight Club (Score:2)
(I know, I should use a static array of "first", "second", etc., but I left it out for brevity)
Until an eye gets poked out... (Score:2)
if elif fi (Score:5, Funny)
20 REM packetmon
30 FOR X=10 TO 1 STEP -1
40 PRINT X;"Oh yea";
50 IF X<>1 THEN PRINT "!";
60 PRINT "take that,";X;"jackass";
70 IF X<>1 THEN PRINT "!";
80 PRINT "give in!"
90 NEXT
Like Geeks haven't been doing this in SCA forever (Score:2)
That said I was really interested in the SCA until I actually learned how to fence, then the SCA wasn't interesting at all... Oh well, maybe I should have tried heavy weapons after all
I was going to jump in and mention the SCA (Score:2)
...but you beat me to it. A nice and fun way to get your crazies out without hurting anyone or getting hurt yourself.
And yeah, you shoulda done heavy. It's a freeking blast. Especially melee.
there are better ways (Score:2)
Who wrote this? (Score:2)
Confusing to say the least (Score:3, Insightful)
The reporter is making these folks out to sound like crazies.... They aren't. They are men frustrated by their daily lives. I can understand this desire to vent physical frustration in a very real way. I learned that I don't need to hit anyone in order to do that, just pratice the martial arts forms I have learned. That is either not something these guys have tried, or found to be satisfactory. That's fine, and as long as they all agree to what they are doing, have at.
He focuses on one guy at the end who is making... questionable choices, certainly from how they where presented. Married later in life (than social norms, mind, for all that's worth), choosing to go to this fight club instead of taking the time out to be with his wife, on their first anniversary, for a very important event in her life. Talking about how tough it makes him feel... sounds like he's got other issues to me. Sounds like the writer is trying to focus on that.
Oh, and the trying to link teen violence to this stuff, and childhood media exposure? That's just poor reporting, and poor taste.
I'm modding this story -3 troll.
IMHO... (Score:3, Interesting)
(The brain has no nerve endings, so I suspect you can suffer a lot of
Re:IMHO... (Score:4, Interesting)
As for techies being smarter than the majority? Not really. They are more capable of more focused, dedicated tasks. They are able to expend all their energies concentrating on a singular task. This makes them ideal for jobs where this is required. Coding is one of them. Design in general, really. You've got to be completely dedicated to truely get something right. Or even half right. That doesn't, inherantly, make someone smarter. I've met some brick stupid techies.
As far as the 'evil' bit? I agree. It's why I'm not involved in corporate americ (or any other nation's version of same) any longer, and why I personally find this rather needless, mindless, and sad. But I can't just step in and say 'that person is doing something stupid' without justification, because frankly, I tell people who do that to me off, and go on with my life. And I'm not really intrested in posting such justification on, ya know, slashdot. I mean, c'mon. Slashdot. The majority of the people reading this have already made up their minds anyway.
MAYBE the reason Fight Club is so copied... (Score:5, Interesting)
And talk about a way to find out - if it's either kick some tail or get yours kicked in for you, I think that almost everyone would go into a full on a$$ kicking mode. At that point, it's the better man that wins but either way you're gonna push yourself harder than posting comments on a web site.
For the office warrior who never got into a fight in his life, I can easily see this as thrilling beyond compare.
I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, and there should probably be some safeguards put into this as even the UFC has rounds and referees to stop fights when it's clear that 1 person is taking too much of a beating, but I get it.
Pictures from the fight (Score:5, Funny)
Exclusive pictures [jlarocco.net] from one of the fights.
The first rule of fight like a girl club is... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:But (Score:2)
Re:slashfark (Score:2)
Tag should be: 'dumbass'