Review: Dog Brothers The Bolo Game
Higher consciousness through harder contact.
Cognitive science has revealed a doctrine which was long been transmitted secretly between warriors and shaman: “The tools of self transformation are experiences, not thoughts.” Actually, we’ve allways been shouting this at whoever will listen, but shaman and fighters just aren’t the kind of people who get listened to.
The Dog Brothers organization and it’s media products are a great illustration of both principles stated above. Their search for enlightenment through full contact stick fighting is extremely compelling, and yet their “sport”, or whatever it is you want to call it, will never reach the popularity of Arm Wrestling. The is why I like the Dog Brothers (DB) , the laughable implausibility of them “selling out for the money” has kept them pure.
The Dog Brothers have released a variety of instructionals over the years, as far as I can tell this started out with VHS tapes in the early 2000’s and has continued in some form up to the present day. I didn’t grow up watching these recordings because DB was founded and run by the aptly named Marc “Crafty Dog” Denny who used a combination of dire warnings and selective distribution to make these materials extremely hard to pirate. It is only now that I have reached “Man’s Estate” and actually started paying for things, that I am able to sample this content. In doing so, I discovered three things:
- The content is very dense and very technical. Every bit as high quality as a modern BJJ instructionals. (excepting the lack of HD resolution.)
- 2) I can’t really use the content since I’m not a full contact stick fighter.
- 3) Watching these videos makes me happy because it takes me back to a simpler time, when martial arts could be highly effective without being corporatized.
This review deals mainly with the DB Bolo instructional but it applies to most DB content.
The Bolo Game is is a meta-game or style of play, that emphasizes drawing an opponent’s initial strike and countering with a looping upward strike that flows naturally from an efficient parry. The idea is to disrupt the opponent with the looping “Bolo” strike and then enter into an offensive sequence. Even though the tactic relies on an initial counter, the purpose of the Bolo game is to seize the initiative. This is similar to pulling guard in BJJ hoping to counter with a submission or sweep.
Early in the lesson, Denny points out that the Bolo has the advantage of confusing the opponent because it comes from an unorthodox upward trajectory and moves the threat of a groin strike to the front of the opponents mind. I’m glad Denny mentioned that point because it reminded me that DB sparring sessions permit groin strikes, which put the rest of the footage into perspective.
The lesson takes basic knowledge of stick fighting for-granted but does provide useful insights into the effect of distance and angling in the countering and followup process. The primary target of the counter is determined by the opponent’s initial choice of distance. The optimal follow up is a determined by the opponent’s choice of attacking or retreating footwork after the initial strike.
Potential follow up sequences make up the bulk of the instruction time along with drills for making the potential sequences seem natural. Denny demonstrates various footwork techniques for expanding and contracting the distance,and incorporates punching, kicking, throwing, and even ground fighting.
One of the things that stands out in the DVD is Denny’s proficiency with the kind of quick trips and throws that striking arts use to put an opponent on the ground with no intention of following him there. The timing and balance of these throws is very different from wrestling, and they only work in a situation where an opponent is also engaged with strikes. It was fun to see these since I was once proficient in these “non grappling take-downs” when I was involved in Chinese kickboxing, but set them aside since the current fashion is to train grappling and striking separately. In my current training, there’s no real advantage to briefly putting an opponent down without maintaining control. In the world of DB stick fighting there is great incentive to take an opponent down because it allows us to rain down blows on his groin. It’s a refreshing perspective on martial arts.
Vanilla martial artists like mye will be astonished by the bizarre acts of violence, weapons make possible. Holding a stick takes you through a mirror into a world where hard tissue is more vulnerable than soft tissue. Moreover, the extra leverage and speed the stick provides minimizes the amount of body-weight a technique must incorporate to be effective. Many of Denny’s kill shot’s remind me of those tennis highlights where the guy hits the ball from behind his back or between his legs.
As far as I can tell, the DB organization is still going strong. There’s no sign of millennials being interested in this stuff at a lower rate than their predecessors, and the internet is a wonderful tool for bringing like minded people together. However, I can’t help worrying about the long term fate of these skills and the mindset that they make possible.
Joe Rogan points out that banning a psychedelic drug, means banning a state of mind. There are forms of consciousness that can only be achieved by specific means and when the means disappear, the states of mind they brought are lost with them. Full contact stick fighting is psychedelic too, although blows to the head are not always nootropic. Denny once said that “When another man is swinging a stick at your head as hard as he can, everything else disappears. You’re all alone and only you are responsible for you.” I can think my way through that statement and understand what it means, but it’s deeper meaning is only accessible to those who get to “feel” it. I hope the Dog Brothers way will survive the fact that it’s a little bit “too real” for most people and that people who feel the call will always be able to seek out “Higher Consciousness” through harder contact.”
