What happens in Huntington Beach, stays in Huntington Beach.
The U.S. Open of Surfing is entering its fourth day and how much of the Challenger Series stop number four have you watched thus far? Enough to see golden voice of surfing Joe Turpel transition seamlessly from describing high performance shortboarding to women’s longboarding? A searing Brodi Sale mush climb?
Very cool but even cooler to be there on the sand, rubbing shoulders with The People at the biggest surfing festival on earth. Huntington Beach, the U.S. Open of Surfing’s longtime home, has a hard-earned reputation as the “toughest town in the west,” regularly pairing competitive surfing with riots or port-a-potty tipping.
And Surf City, USA lived up to its billing, yesterday afternoon, as two adults engaged in what is being described “a provocative man fight.”
The action, captured to video, is picked up midway as the two thirty-somethings are speaking very close to each other. One is shirtless. The other is wearing a striped number that appears too small. After chatting for a moment the shirted man, also wearing a hat and glasses, headbutts his friend twice in the nose then socks him twice for good measure.
After tossing a small beach umbrella aside like a small beach umbrella, the two square off in a traditional boxing stance, hands low though and not very defensive. The man with the striped shirt goes for the body first, then a stiff left to the face followed by a right that drops his partner. As fighting happens these days, it appears the shirtless man has a Brazilian jiujitsu background. He staggers up, grips his friend’s neck and takes him down, landing in the power bottom position.
This is where it gets hazy for me. Bystanders move in to pry them apart while a lifeguard wanders around wanting nothing to do with it all. Eventually they do and it appears that the man who became headbutted twice and punched five times is the victor as he gets up and wanders around while the other man who only got pulled down on top is out for the count.
Now, I have fought professionally but am unclear as to the manner of voodoo employed.
Help?
Also, good job, Huntington Beach.
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