The spinning backfist: a maneuver that put Matt Serra on highlight reels everywhere for what seemed like an eternity. This is a high risk/high reward maneuver that when landed can have a devastating effect however; if defended leaves the combatant open and vulnerable to counter strikes.

Below, we see a classic backyard mixed martial arts bout that pits a smaller man versus a larger man and the experience level is unknown. I would assume little to no training has been had by either one of these guys and we could call them amateur at best and probably the term of UFC enthusiasts/pay-per-view trained is more fitting.

The smaller guy seems to be more confident and I would venture to assume that has had more training than the larger man or, at the very least, has watched more UFC events than his opponent. The action does not last long as there are only two punches even thrown throughout the entire fight. First we have the big man, hands up and moving forward, looking to initiate the action.

Upon approaching his foe, he throws a stiff jab which the smaller man avoids using decent head movement. Although the smaller gentleman’s hands are low, it is evident by his demeanor as well as footwork that there is a bit of experience there. He expertly slips the jab and sets up for a devastating spinning backfist. The counter strike lands and sends the big man plummeting to the ground. Realizing that his work there is done, the smaller man looks one last time at his handiwork work before walking away. This video goes to show the effectiveness of a high risk/high reward technique when properly executed.

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Jacob C. Stevens is a lifelong athlete and cerebral martial arts enthusiast who is also skilled in the art of linguistic manipulation, his published work, Afterthoughts and Handgrenades, can be found here.