The following video is not for the faint of heart. My best friend had a bunny (r.i.p. Button) for a long time, and loved her very much. The knowledge that we can build such a close relationship with another animal, and then watching that animal killed is powerful. I’ve seen pigs and chickens killed many times before, but I’ve never seen an animal in the wild killed by choking them to death. Watch for a few minutes starting at the 42:00 minute mark:
The reason I’m writing this note on a grappling-focused blog is because I’ve also never seen (in real life or on video) any living creature killed by choke. This is the same choke that I apply and get caught in many times in a training session. When the choke is in, a tap follows, and we start over. But if I don’t release the choke for a minute, my training partner would be as dead as that bunny. The same goes for me if I was being choked.
I know this is kind of obvious, but for some reason the reality of it didn’t quite hit me until I watched a bunny choked to death. It doesn’t take much time at all. It’s gruesome, but perhaps it’s one of the best ways you can go (considering the alternatives in nature). In fact, I hope that the way I pass away will be competing in 2072 IBJJF Worlds when I’m 89 years old, and refusing to tap to a rear naked choke.
Sorry for the dark imagery, but in a way, watching that bunny die, while tragic, also made me feel a little more at peace with the cycle of life. We are all a tiny part of nature, no more than little rain droplets crashing down in the Amazon rainforest.
