In a recent episode of the JAXXON podcast, MMA legend Ken Shamrock made an appearance…
And shared insights about a tragic death into the MMA’s early days – in particular, during Pancrase training.
Before the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) catapulted mixed martial arts into the limelight, Pancrase in Japan was setting the groundwork with its notoriously rigorous, and at times, fatal training practices.
Ken Shamrock was among the first Americans to immerse himself in the brutal training environment of Pancrase.
He now offered a glimpse into the early, unforgiving days of no-holds-barred competition:
I took that training from Japan, even their tryouts.
Because they were so brutal in their tryouts…They’ve had a couple guys where they literally killed guys in tryouts in Japan.
He mentioned a specific incident that left Rampage Jackson in shock:
Suzuki kicked a kid in the head and killed him…
I kid you not.
When asked if Suzuki went to jail for that, Shamrock explained that wasn’t the case:
No, because in Japan it’s different
They’re in the dojo, they’re training, and it’s part of it, right?I mean you, get hit with a shot and you die.
I mean – who’s at fault, you’re there training.I don’t know all the ins and outs but nothing happened.
They gave the family a bunch of money and they had the funeral, and all that stuff, and it went on.
