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THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24. 2007
ENTERTAINMENT
Brazilians welcome students to their KU jungle
The Brazilian Student Association has planned four days of activities to promote Brazilian culture. "Welcome to the Jungle" was chosen as the theme of the week.
Activities related to the theme include a symposium on the Amazon Jungle and a theme party Friday night.
Pedro Dos Santos, Rio de Janeiro graduate student and president of the Brazilian Student Association, said the week was intended to introduce and educate students about Brazil.
FULL STORY PAGE 10A
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FLOODS LEAD TO CANAL CLOSINGS
Heavy rains in drench city recovering from Hurricane Katrina
FULL AP STORY PAGE 6A
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© 2007 The University Daily Kansan
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FACE-SMASHING GOOD TIME
Local cage fighting enthusiasts get their dose of action
bjlones@kansan.com
BY BRIAN LEWIS-JONES
Jon Teel looks like a loser halfway through his debut cage fight, blood dripping from a gash near his left eye. His opponent, Bob Sweet, has elbowed the Stillwell sophomore's eye socket, hammered his face with punches and slammed his head into the mat, bruising his forehead and leaving it pocked with blood blisters.
A fan screams: "Hit him! Hit him!"
But Teel, a 19-year-old with a Mohawk hairado, salvaged victory at Lawrence's first-ever cage fight card when he used a wrestling move called a guillotine choke to lock both of his arms around Sweet's neck, threatening suffocation and forcing his opponent to "tap out," the cage fight equivalent of boxing's throwing in the towel.
Despite the pummeling he endured to win his fight, Teel remains among a growing number of enthusiasts of cage fighting, also known as mixed martial arts, a sport that borrows techniques from boxing and various martial arts from Muay Thai Kickboxing to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Popularized by pay-per-view fights on cable and satellite television, and banned in several states because of its brutality, cage fighting is legal in Kansas, where sanctioned fights are governed by Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. They prohibit head butting, eye gouging, "placing a finger in any opponent."
orifice," and "groin attacks of any kind."
As fans learned watching Teel's September fight, those liberal rules still allow fighters to kick opponents in the face, pick them up and slam their heads into the mat, repeatedly hit them after they are down, and place them in arm- and leg-locks that can actually break limbs or prevent breathing. Some doctors say cage fighting is a sport so violent that even watching it can be dangerous. Not so, say local combatants who say it improves discipline, heightens senses, and gives them confidence in their ability to defend themselves.
During the inaugural fight at Coyote's Night Club, Douglas County Fire and Medical kept an ambulance outside in case of emergency. The audience included an eclectic subculture of aging bikers, men with Mohawks and Fu Manchu moustaches, bearded men with Tie-die shirts and KU cage fighters and fans, some of whom recorded fights with cell phone cameras. A brightly illuminated cage with a red mat situated between two disco balls in the middle of the bar served as the battlefield. Armor for warriors like Teel consisted of a mouthpiece, a groin cup and lightly padded gloves that were the only barriers between fist and face.
TRAIN TO STAY ALIVE
Teel, whose cut eyebrow required five stitches, admitted he didn't look like a winner walking around campus after the fight. "People must have thought I was hit by a car," he said. His parents were especially unhappy to see his battered face, he said.
Unlike boxing, long dominated by working class inner-city blacks and immigrants with seldom more than a high school education, cage fighting is attracting fans and fighters who learned their sport in martial arts classes taught in suburban stall malls. Teel was one of three KU students who stepped into the
cage in Lawrence's first fight card.
After training for one year at Integrated Martial Science, his mixed martial arts school, Teel fought his first match in Lawrence. Originally, Teel's dad urged him to take
SEE FIGHT ON PAGE 4A
》 SPEAKER
Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
Adm. Michael Mullen addresses the media about the high morale of U.S. soldiers and the rising enlistment numbers.
Mullen spoke about the U.S. Airborne forces in the United States and then opened himself up to questions in a filled auditorium at Ft. Leavenworth Tuesday afternoon.
Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
Admiral visits Fort Leavenworth
The new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff came to Fort Leavenworth Tuesday to meet with soldiers and students at the Combined Arms Center.
Adm. Michael Mullen outlined several goals
he thought the military should work towards in the near future.
His talking points ranged from the current war in Iraq to the possibility of reinstating the draft.
FULL STORY PAGE 10B
ENTERTAINMENT
Mencia brings laughs to Kansas City venue
Fans of the popular television show "Mind of Mencia" who can't wait until next Spring's fourth season premier are in luck. Comedian and host of the show, Carlos Mencia, will perform at 7 p.m. tonight at the Music Hall in Kansas City, MO, located at 301 W. 13th St.
Fans who wish to purchase tickets still may do so at Ticketmaster.com or at the venue. Tickets cost $36 and $41 depending on desired seating.
"The hot dog vendors are great, the city is great—I love it," Menicia said.
Mencia said he loved coming to Kansas City and had been doing so for
several years.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
BOOKSTORES
Touchdown discounts
V
The University Book Shop and Jayhawk Bookstore have similar promotions to Touchdown Tuesdays held by bookstores on campus.
University Books Shop began participating in Touchdown Tuesdays and after
many people were coming into the store thinking they were the store sponsoring the discount.
Jayhawk Bookstore has Monday Madness. Each bookstore calculates discounts based on touchdowns.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
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