Fri 30 May 2008
Union Square’s Fight Club
Posted by TJ under Union Square
1 Comment
This is rich. A few steps from the 4/5/6/N/R etc. subways, in a broad stretch of pavement normally used for busking, dance crews, and sitting on the steps with friends and a cigarette, an urban Fight Club has taken root.
Bareknuckle pugilists of all skill levels (and in some cases, no skill levels) square off in one of the busiest spots in all of Gotham. They’re reportedly training with a shadowy dojo known as Union Square Spartans.
AndIAmNotLying.com has some great video and commentary from last Friday’s battles.
I was off the subway and taking the stairs two at once, faster than you can spell-check Palahniuk. Hundreds of people stood in a big ring right there by the Shoe Mania, cheering and chanting. All kinds of people: old people, moms with strollers, skateboarding teens, foreign tourists throwing Euros around.
They could have been watching some awesome breakdancing group or an unusually good street magician. But instead, two shirtless guys were flopping around on the ground, grunting and grating one another’s faces across the cobblestones.
[image: AndIAmNotLying.com]