No Mercy

In 1984, AnnMaria Rousey, became the first American woman to win a World Judo Championship in Judo. She used to come up behind someone she was about to fight in a tournament, kick her in the leg, and say, "Yo, I'm gonna kill you!" During the 1984 world championship season, most of her matches were won using a submission arm lock; she dislocated the arms of six opponents.

Her daughter, Ronda Rousey, a 17-year-old U.S. champion in Judo at 139 pounds was expected to become the first U.S. Judo competitor, man or woman, to win an Olympic gold medal, possibly at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Like her mother, Rousey, has an expert in using the arm lock. Most of her wins are by arm locks, she injured over five arms in the first six months of 2004.

In August 2003, Ronda faced 22-year-old Telitha Ellis. When she got Ellis in an arm bar, Ellis tapped (surrendered) but the referee did not see it, so Rousey kept cranking the arm until it popped. Rousey was criticized for not showing any mercy.

In May 2004 at the U.S. Senior National Judo Championships, Rousey faced a healed Ellis again. She got Ellis in an arm bar again. Ellis tapped but the referee did not see it even when the people around the mat saw it and screamed at the referee. When the referee still did nothing, Rousey let Ellis out of the hold. Rousey later won the match with a throw but she was upbraided by her mom and other advisers for taking pity on a competitor by letting her out of a submission armlock before the referee ended the match.

Afterward, Rousey said she would now ignore the criticism and show no mercy. She says. "The other girls know it's a part of the sport, so they should live with it. I'm taking the same risks they are."

Mercy should be reserved for those who are not trying to harm you, not trying to take something from you that belongs to you, or who are not trying to keep you from something that you have a right to. When someone is doing one of these to you, they should stop; if not, then you should show no mercy in making them stop. If they want mercy, then all they have to do is stop their actions. You should not stop your actions.