Editor Of An Online Blog Calls Bull On Putin's Martial Arts Skills And Challenges Him To Fight

The editor of a national security blog has challenged Russian President to a judo match in any location, where Vladimir Putin cannot have him arrested.

Reuters

Benjamin Wittes, the editor of Lawfare, has public called Putin, who claims to be a martial art¡¯s expert, a ¡°fraud¡± and ¡°phony¡± and wants to call out his bluff by calling him to a challenge.

Twitter

Wittes even wrote a blogpost titled, ¡°I'll Fight Putin Any Time, Any Place He Can't Have Me Arrested¡±, where he wrote, ¡°¡­for all his displays of the crudest forms of masculinity, Putin only fights people who are in his power, whom he can have arrested, whose lives he can ruin. And I think they¡¯re all taking falls for him. In fact, they¡¯re not really fighting him at all¡±.

Reuters

He also said that this conspicuous display of toughness is propaganda and sells him as a President who will remain tough in the face of weakness. But the ¡°dark side¡± of these displays, he said, is that they are also representative of his aggressive attitude towards his neighbours and dissidents at home, as well as, his ¡°grotesque treatment of the LGBT community at home¡±.

The 47-year-old editor, who has a black belt in taekwondo and aikido, remains completely serious about his offer and is waiting on a call from Kremlin.

Ok, folks. Time for taekwondo. Got to be ready for the day when the Kremlin finally calls.

¡ª Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) July 15, 2017