Steve's BJJ Blog

I mentioned last week that I finally got a chance to watch the finished documentary film on MMA directed, filmed and edited by my friend, Matthew Hickney. I love all sorts of movies… even the occasional chick flick with my wife. Now, to be clear, I have some very talented friends, and I’m proud to be associated with them. Matt works very hard and takes the craft of filmmaking very seriously. But I will admit that asking to watch Matt’s first finished film is kind of like asking your friend in high school to read her book of poetry. Chances are, no matter how talented you believe her to be, the poems are going to be really bad… or at best, amateurish.

I’ve been following the creation of this film for a few years now. You can find trailers, information and extra footage on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/chokeproductions

And so it was that I anxiously popped the DVD into the player and settled back with my wife to watch Walking to the Cage. I was hoping to see a polished documentary film, but in the back of my mind, my expectations were on a more YouTubish level. Ultimately, I was blown away. Technically, Matt did a fantastic job. The filming was well done and the editing of the film was seamless. It didn’t take long at all before I completely forgot that I was watching a movie created by a friend and became engrossed in the story he was telling.

Walking to the Cage tells the story of three amateur fighters: Coby Parmenter, Jeff Bourgious and Josh Calvo. Jeff is the narrator for the film, for the most part, and Matt uses Jeff’s footage to move the story along. I particularly like the post-fight picture of Jeff with a black eye and bruises all over his face, and the biggest, goofiest grin you can imagine. Classic Jeff.

Ultimately, the film is about MMA and Matt is trying to present a different side to the sport. MMA is often thought of as two largely untrained thugs pounding on each other until one is unconscious. The bloodthirstiness of this perception is encouraged by the way that MMA is marketed by the UFC and other popular promotions. What really struck me about Walking to the Cage is that Matt doesn’t apologize for the violence in the sport of MMA. Rather, he attempts to bring the viewer into the world, to show them a side of MMA that they might not be aware of, and to help them appreciate it even if they don’t like or understand it. Early in the film, Matt is interviewing three teenagers going to see some fights. They go on and on about the blood and the violence and how cool it is to see people pounding each other’s faces in. Matt asks them, “So, do you train?” Their response was classic: “No way.” So, this is how the story begins and Jeff wraps up the message of the film nicely. Toward the end of the film, Jeff says (paraphrasing), “This is what we do and we work very hard at it. I don’t like ballet, but I can appreciate what they’re doing. I can appreciate the art.” Ultimately, that’s the message: MMA isn’t for everyone, but regardless of whether you like it or hate it, we can all appreciate that the guys who do it, do so because the love it. They train with passion and they strive to excel.

Of course, I know just about everyone in the film and like them all. I am also a fan of MMA and particularly of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. So, I’m sharing my DVD with my friends who don’t particularly like MMA to get their unbiased opinion. So far, the message I’m getting is that the film is accessible to non-MMA fans. My friend, Miranda, watched it with her husband. She said that it her husband thought it was a professionally distributed film and even asked when it aired on TV. Their feedback was very positive.

Another friend, a guy who loves movies more than anyone I know, wrote the following email after watching it:

Steve, I am very impressed. I just finished watching the movie (haven’t seen the extras yet). It more than held my interest throughout, and moved deftly between the three main stories. Most importantly it said to the viewer “this is what you probably think MMA is (I think of Kimbo Slice), and here’s the real story (Jeff, Coby, Josh).

I wasn’t a fan of MMA before the film and I’m not now, but you don’t have to be to like the movie. I think it helps if you like sports though, and love movies like I do. The director did an awesome job of editing, especially with the concluding fight scenes, like with the fade to black and white, and the music for Jeff’s fight.

This movie certainly deserves distribution, and is as good as any of the ESPN or FOX Sports documentaries I’ve seen. Well done!

Matt has been going up and down the West Coast from Seattle to LA over the last few years, and he’s moving to LA permanently this week to be closer to the film industry. He’ll also be training with Eddie Bravo over at 10th Planet. You have a gift for story telling, and I am sure you’ll do well. Good luck, Matt.