hmmm...yeah...a matter of perspective, indeed...
1st of all, I know this is a controversial topic since many bums in the Heavies use it as an argument to discredit Moose and his legacy.
But...Decons Threads try to create debates and get objective assessments of skill sets´ evolution or technical sequences.
The mistake here is to
oversimplify the whole technical sequence,
focussin´ only on the final part,
which is
essentially the least important one.
Technically, Moose fell into a...
trap.
But the whole technical sequence
didnt start with him duckin´ and receivin´the blow.
Let´s...'deconstruct' this whole sequence...
Three moments here, essentially:
1/ Offensive Moose: [Moose closin´the distance]
Moose´s obvious gameplan was to
pressure Hall, but he did it somehow
'recklessly'.
Closin´the distance, he was
much too heavy on his lead leg, which put him within his opponent´s reach and thus limited his defensive options.
View attachment 548469 View attachment 548471 View attachment 548473
Moose actually
subestimated Hall´s explosiveness & quickness, he thought he could anticipate Hall´s spinnin´back shits while closin´the distance...
But, Hall was not:
> Against the fence.
> Backpedalin´.
He was atcually resettin´his offense.
To his credit, that was the very beginnin´of Rd 2, the 1st 5 sec., Moose was possibly slowly re-focussin´...
Now, check the
adjustments he made
in the 2nd fight :
View attachment 548479 View attachment 548481 View attachment 548483 View attachment 548485 View attachment 548487
His footwork is completely different, literally
bouncin´in & out, no longer heavy on the lead leg, still pressurin´ but much more cautious.
His defensive options are no longer limited, limitin´ the risks when closin´the distance (but Hall´s so quick that he could still catch him... Still, the damage was more limited, since Moose wasnt 'divin´' in his blow...jus´ like Jacaré was divin´in his guard when he got surprised by the upkick...)
The truth is...Moose duckin´ was not the cause for his loss in that technical sequence, but rather
the consequence.
His [deficient] footwork was the main cause.
2/ Defensive Moose : [Moose in the 'trap']
The narrative based on 'Moose losin´ because duckin´ fails to consider one pretty basic question:
Why did Moose duck?
Once Moose fell into the 'trap', he quickly understood
[consciously or instinctively] that he no longer had the momemtum, offensively speakin´.
A true professional, he probably studied his opponent´s tendencies & go-to-moves (Moose is such a crafty veteran that I cant really imagine him lookin´past Hall and takin´him lightly, tbh).
3 defensive options were on the table then, all related to Hall´s [potential] go-to-moves:
>
Spinnin´back kick to the body:
>
Spinnin´ back kick to the head
[see the 1st gif in the OP]
>
Wheel kick [to the head]
If ya have a deep look at Moose´s defensive stance, ya can see that he clearly opted to defend the head, his guard´s high, not really anticipatin´a body kick.
Consequently, what made Moose duck had lil to do with bad luck.
On the contrary, it was a rational choice: he ducked coz he was anticipatin´one of Hall´s probable go-2-moves.
Rememberin´here the definition provided by the other poster:
fluke as "the result of chance instead of skill or planning".
It´s hardly the case here, since
Moose clearly ducked because of Hall´s skill [set], since he was limited in his defensive options.
3/ Counter-offensive Hall:
Even if we pretend that the duckin´never happened, Moose had limited time to protect his body (pay attention to his guard & elbows), considerin´Hall´s explosiveness and quickness.
Even in the 2nd fight where he was much more focussed & better prepared, Hall still connected with a spinnin´back kick to the body, and barely missed one to the head [see gifs above]
Hence, if Moose hadnt ducked, he would have eaten the spinnin´kick in the body, and thus potentially received some legit damage [see SAKU vs Vitor Gracie, or...Hall himself in the followin´sparrin´session...]
Anyway, thanks for your inputs.
