osakarob's blog

Do you spend much time reading through match recommendations on prospective opponent profiles?

If you read through enough of them, you might be excused for thinking that nearly every match brokered through MF results in wonderful man-to-man combat that culminates in pleasant memories and newfound friendships.

For obvious reasons, right? Nobody is going to take the time to write a recommendation for an opponent with whom they had an unpleasant experience. Yet, talk to enough guys on here about match histories that don't show up in their Past Opponents and you'll hear about plenty of disappointments as well.

I personally haven't racked up scores of opponents. Mostly, I stick with a lot of "repeat performances" with guys I've grown to like and trust. Thankfully, over the years, the negative experiences have been few and far between. However, the few opponents I've had who - in hindsight - I'd describe as hard "Hell, no. Never again" experiences are difficult to forget. And they certainly don't show up on my past opponents list.

All combat sports are inherently somewhat dangerous. And it's always best to set expectations and limits up front. But for me personally, the reasons I'd never meet some of my former regretted opponents again fall into 3 distinct categories:

1. I suffered an injury because he didn't use appropriate caution or skill in a particular hold. (Ex. "Don't lift an opponent off the ground if you don't have the physical strength to ensure they are gonna land safely").

2. Some agreed upon boundary was crossed. (Ex. "Kindly remove your finger from there because I'm certain we agreed this match wasn't going to include that....")

3. There was a previously unspoken kink that you chose to not tell me about until we were on the mats and you wanted to "go there".
(Ex. "No I will not pretend to be a bound and gagged WWII American G.I. and allow you to spit on me during this match.")

What are your "Hell no. Never again" reasons for not wanting a repeat match with an opponent?

The night before a match with a new opponent.....My mind waivers between:

"Will this be the hottest match in years?" and "Will this guy even show up?"

Quite a contradiction! Where does your mind take you before an exciting new battle?

Here in the U.S., the unofficial start of summer began this past weekend. We are enjoying strong vaccination rates and many aspects of life have returned to normal.

And that means a deluge of pent-up, pandemic weary, travelers all hitting the airports and roads just get the hell out of the house.
Probably a number of us on this site will be traveling looking for matches.

I was listening to a business news radio program earlier this week. They explained that historically, most travelers book their reservations in this order: airplane tickets first, hotel second, rental car third.

This year, we are warned to take the EXACT OPPOSITE approach. Verify your rental car first. You might be shocked to see how expensive it's going to be. In some popular metro areas, the cost of your rental car could be more than that of your airline tickets.

I wondered about this, but confirmed it! I was gonna take a quick getaway to Minneapolis for a few days around the Independence Day holiday. A Hertz rental will be $786/wk. The flight there - even a business class ticket - is less than that! And the prices didn't appear to decline for dates later in the summer.

So, vaccinated Americans....travel. Enjoy yourselves. Set up matches. But recognize that depending on where you are going - it might cost you!

Nearly everyone on the planet has a high-def video camera in their pocket. Your iPhone or Android are truly miraculous technologies.
While meeting with a new opponent this week, I reflected on how wonderful it is to be able to record matches so easily.

Less than a decade ago, this would have required clumsy tripods and an actual video camera. But these days, with the help of one of those flexible mini phone tripods, I could place the iPhone just about anywhere. And the quality of the recordings were great.

Although I don't have a ton of matches these days anymore, it's wonderful to be able to record the ones I do. And I tip my hat to the Meetfighters guys who share their match videos so freely here. That's awesome.

But I will admit that despite the ease of technology, the greatest roadblock may still be the human element. Perhaps it's because of my age, but I still feel a bit shy asking an opponent "Can I record our match?" (Having grown up in an era where privacy existed and we didn't share literally everything online, it still sometimes feels awkward to ask.)

How comfortable are you with having your matches recorded?

A hypothetical situation based on real events:

My hometown is located in a state that is 2,000 miles away from the location in which I now live.
However, I fly back to my home state about twice a year to visit relatives.

Naturally, before traveling back home, I check out profiles to see whether some matches might be possible.

I've sent messages to several potential opponents that caught my eye there. I included a brief but polite message that ended with something like "....let me know if we might be a potential fit for a match."

If I receive no response back, I certainly realize that there is no interest on their part. And that's fine.
I'm not owed a match with someone just because I want one. I respect that I probably don't meet their preferred criteria.
And I never message anyone who clearly indicates age, weight or body type criteria that I don't have.

But I'm forgetful. I don't always remember the profiles I've looked at and have sent messages to.
After months and months have passed and I begin planning another trip, I'm probably clicking on the same profile pages again and again.
And I'm sure those guys probably find that irritating.

So, would it be better etiquette to block those to whom I've not received responses? What do you think?