Dirty Dan: The Story So Far
Brutish.
That was one way to describe the image of this man.
Walking through the jungles of rural India, the Texan called "Dirty Dan" searched for his prey.
A way to keep up his skills.
A way to alleviate his boredom.
Dan was a pathetic excuse for a human being.
A mythological buff, he was always enamored with stories of great fighters and beasts. Not much of a scrappy type growing up, he really came into his fighting interests as an adult when he took wrestling as a hobby, to keep in shape. He really started to enjoy it, and came up with an idea: what if he could become like the great fighters and beasts from his myths?
In his esoteric travels, he came across a lone master in the deep jungles of India. He was allowed to train under him, after days of begging, and he was ecstatic. Day and night, for years, he trained in a martial arts style his master referred to as "Divine Airavata".
"Become as Naga-malla."
"Churn the ocean of milk."
Dan had to admit; it was strange.
The movements were foreign to him, with his background in MMA wrestling conflicting with the bizarre stances needed. Emulating an elephant is not as easy as it sounds.
The power it granted him was even stranger.
Shockwaves, sturdiness, strength, and the ability to cause turbulent forces at just a touch...
There were some mystic medicinal aspects as well, especially about how it would change his body or something, but he never really paid attention. It just wasn't as exciting.
As he practiced the mystic arts more and more, he grew impatient.
These abilities were fantastic; how could you NOT want to use them to their full extent?
So, against his master's orders, Dan went and found his opponent.
A bull elephant in musth.
If anyone were to ask Dan about the day that changed his life forever, he would say the same thing.
"I s'pose I bit off more than I can chew."
Gored by the bull's tusks, if not for the timely intervention of his master, he would have bled out and died. What's worse, he was sure that from his few acupuncture lessons that he was given by his master, the behemoth had struck him in vital areas. He would never fight again.
Yet, he still does.
Waking up in bandages, Dan was shocked by his survival.
As his master nursed him back to health, and he healed his wounds, he healed perfectly.
And he felt more than alive.
Dan was a butcher's son.
That day against the bull, when he was gored, he felt like he was burning. Before he lost consciousness, memories of watching his family operate their business flashed through his mind. He swore his innards looked just like a pig's. And they burned.
Perhaps his new physical awareness from his training was the culprit; when he was injured before (although never as bad, of course), it never felt like every part of him was boiling.
And, strangely, it felt invigorating.
When he awoke, his master reprimanded him, with a strange sadness.
He made him promise to never push his boundaries again.
"I'm plumb sorry, master. It'll never happ'n again, I swear on my momma."
Dan lied to his master.
Deep within his mind, Dan replayed that day, over and over. It was all he ever thought about. Maybe it was bizarre trauma, but he wished to live through it again. And again.
Or make others live through it.
And so, with a faked heavy heart, Dan bid his master farewell and headed elsewhere.
Specifically, he headed to hone his skills on other opponents.
Heading to an underground arena in nearby China, he became known for his impossible grappling, sheer brutality, and seemingly incredibly healthcare.
Bones broken.
Blood spilled.
Flesh torn.
No matter what happened to him, or what he did to his opponents, he would come back to the arena for more.
Dirty trick after dirty trick, he perfected them.
Some were even "taught" to him when he upset the wrong people with his moves.
And so, he was ecstatic once again.
He discovered a whole new world for the fourth time in his life.
First the hobby.
Then his master.
Then the bull.
And then his tricks.
But nothing lasts forever.
The birth of Bull Butchering was the start of Dan's boredom.
He had become an EXPERT in his craft; and he realized something that shook him to his core.
It still didn't compare to that day.
Only the greatest fighters could, and he hadn't met them yet.
Or had he?
The day he returned to his master, he was completely humiliated.
His master, with a seemingly ashamed look of what has transpired, completely defeated Dan in under 48 seconds.
"My pupil... I have failed as your master. Please, do not go down this road. Pain will not fulfill you. It will only end in your misery."
Dan ignored those words.
And so, three years later, Dan was back in the jungles of India.
It was a rather shocking thought; and one he felt himself a fool for not thinking of before.
Why would he simply not challenge a bull in musth?
Rain poured down around him.
Dan knelt before a dead bull in musth.
As he looked down at his stomach, where he had once again been gored, it looked just the same as last time.
Yet, he did not boil.
Screaming into the rain, he dragged himself to his camp and nursed his own wounds for weeks.
And so, at his lowest point, Dan needed a break. After a call to a Yakuza boss he had come to fight for (and against) during his time in China, both foreigners becoming business partners, he organized a trip to Japan.
It was a classy hotel; Dan always fluctuated in living arrangements. The Yakuza boss came to visit him.
"Ah, Dirty Dan! Do you have some time to speak with me?"
"'Course. I always have time."
"I've heard of a tournament you may be interested in."