Eric Butterbean celebrating win in Japan / Publicity photo
Eric “Butterbean” Esch is a phenomenon. Be it for his part in “Jackass—the Movie”, be it for his kickin’ little bod—the 45-year-old American pugilist is all the rage on the internet, between MMA fans and the just-plain curious alike.
But whether his fights are freak shows or thrilling displays of skill is not the point here. The point in question here has to do with Jiu-Jitsu as self-defense, and so we’re asking our readers: what would you do if someone Butterbean’s size freaked out and tried making a meal of you?
Trying to talk him down and running are two good options. But there’s never a guarantee the situation will permit. So have you figured out what you’d do yet? Crying is a no-no—keep yourself together.
Helio Gracie practicing his double flying kick on Carlos Gracie / Photo: José Medeiros/GRACIEMAG.com archives
KICKING—YES IT’S A JIU-JITSU OPTION
We cheerfully relayed the question to Professor Guilherme Valente, an Helio Gracie student. The answer was on the tip of his tongue:
“Look, as unbelievable as it may seem, a little Japanese guy has already put it to practice against the very Butterbean—a strategy Helio Gracie would use when facing really big and heavy boxers,” said Valente. “He liked launching a double flying kick to the chest. At worst, you land playing guard already and can attack the foot, throat or even take back right away. Professor Helio Gracie worked on that double kick precisely for that. ‘You should never underestimate the strength of a good puncher,’ he’d teach.”
Truth is, there were two Japanese guys who came up spades using the technique: Genki Sudo and Ikuhisa Minowa. Check out how Sudo the Jiu-Jitsu black belt did it in his MMA fight with Butterbean back in 2003.
