The practice of martial arts has birthed G.O.A.T.S. - the Greatest of All Time. Boxing has Muhammad Ali, among other luminaries. Judo has Masahiko Kimura, among other lunimaries. For MMA, it’s complex. However, it’s relatively easy, by division:
•The heavyweight G.O.A.T., Fedor Emelianenko;
•The light heavyweight G.O.A.T., Jon Jones;
•The middleweight G.O.A.T., Anderson Silva;
•The welterweight G.O.A.T., George St-Pierre;
•The lightweight G.O.A.T., Khabib Nurmagomedov;
•The featherweight G.O.A.T., Jose Aldo;
•The bantamweight G.O.A.T., Dominick Cruz;
•The flyweight G.O.A.T., Demetrious Johnson;
•The women’s flyweight G.O.A.T., Valentina Shevchenko;
•The women’s bantamweight G.O.A.T., Amanda Nunes; and,
•The women’s featherweight G.O.A.T., Cris Cyborg.
But what about their opposite? What about the Goofiest of All Time? The gentleman below is a strong candidate. This charlatan from Vietnam is Grandmaster Huỳnh Tuấn Kiệt, and everything he teaches is bizarre, at best.
The ludicrous “martial art” he teaches is called Nam Huynh Dao. Its highest level, Tiger, is taught in a secret room. Even the less secret techniques, the ones for public viewing, make Aikido look eminently eminently practical in comparison.
If the art was devoted to swimming fast, it would be simply be comical, as the worst thing that happens is that adherents swim really, really slowly. But this is martial arts, and students believe themselves to possess self-defense ability. If they ever need to call on it, the results could be tragic.
That is why martial arts need consumer advocacy. Perhaps the best way to address this inadvertent comedy is to be lighthearted, to nominate Goofiest of All Time. Huỳnh Tuấn Kiệt’s Nam Huynh Dao is a great place to start, as you can see:
Perhaps the most unfathomable aspect of this art is the students. Through what process does this malarky become plausible? If you have any idea, or any other candidates for G.O.A.T., share your thoughts on The StreetGround Forum.