I recently had the pleasure of asking Geoff Desmoulin, biomechanical engineer, martial artist, and co-host of Spike TV's Deadliest Warrior a few questions. Find out what Geoff had to say on martial arts, and how he utilizes his skills as a biomechanical engineer in his training, be sure to check out his show, Deadliest Warrior, Tuesdays on Spike.
First of all, I would just like to sincerely thank you for your time and say that I am a huge fan of Deadliest Warrior.
"Glad to hear it... it's got a phenomenal following of every one from typical Spike audience (MMA heads and the like), to geeks, women (which is new for spike), and professionals (also new for spike)... "What is your background in martial arts, and what lead to your interest in the martial arts?
"My background is in Isshin Ryu Karate. It's an Okinawan style that stems from short, quick and linear puches and kicks while moving in a 45deg angle towards and away from your opponent. Very useful, quick to learn and [you] can still use it when you get older since every kick is below the waist. However, I currently train in the Russian Martial Art called Systema.* "
How does your experience as a kinesiologist and biomechanical engineer impact your martial arts training?
"It doesn't make me better... BUT I understand much more what I'm doing... why I hit in certain regions of the body, and why I want to hit with the first two knuckles when I punch. Pressure = Force/contact area. So, if you reduce contact area you increase pressure which translates to more damage to your adversary."
In previous interviews, you've expressed interest in matching up Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali on Deadliest Warrior, what other martial artists or combat sports practitioners would you be most interested in finding out who is deadlier?
"Best from Systema vs Best from Karate vs Best from Tai Chi. As you can imagine there is A LOT of talk going into any martial art. So, I'd like to see the best vs the best of different styles so that we can once and for all put an end to the talk. I'd like to be there to take static and dynamic measurements from each fighter both from the strikes and from their body... then have them go at it... full contact... see who wins... that would be rad and scientific... like the show I guess. BUT I'd uber nerd core out collecting that data."You've had mixed martial artists Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans on Deadliest Warrior, what lead to their inclusion on the show and what was your experience with them like?
"When looking for guys to represent the warriors we look high and low, far and wide and seeing as UFC is similar to how the Gladiator's operated, we thought why not bring in Chuck Liddell on the show, who is really the face of the UFC, to help us test traditional Gladiator's weapons. As for Rashad, we wanted to mix it up. BUT believe it or not that current UFC rules are very similar to that of Pankration. Pankration is a fighting style that Alexander the Great trained in so why not bring in a guy that is world class at that particular art. It's using your resources really. Spike is connected so we utilize that. As for how the guys were and how they performed on and off camera. I'd have to give the edge to Rashad. BUT he's had a lot of training having gone through the Ultimate Fighter. Lots of camera time and that helps tons. BUT off camera both were very respectful and genuinely interested in the numbers we were pulling from them and the warriors they were representing. Plus I got their signatures on some Official UFC fight gloves... Woot!"*For more about the Russian Martial Art of Systema and Geoff's involvement in it, head here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlcCQCKo_h8
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