What are the chances that one tiny highschool, population 500ish has two teachers that are professional figters? The school I teach at does. Thers' myself, obviously, and another fella named Ray. Ray and I wrestled at the same University (Lakehead Thunderwolves) and train together in MMA. Naturally, kids want to know who would win a fight or wrestling match. Instead of breaking their hearts with the truth that Ray would get twisted up like a pair of hand wraps in the washing machine (kids tend to like him for some reason) I usually just say that it would not be a fight anyone would enjoy. The poor guy is such a head case I don't think he could handle the truth. The only thing in worse shape than his body is his self esteem. That doesn't stop kids from asking though, and we often exchange in smack talk through mutual students. Getting a kid to deliver a well timed chirp to someone on the other side of the school can be very rewarding. We've developed quite a second hand rivalry and kids get more worked up about it than we do. That's why when news leaked out that Ray and I would scrap it out in a wrestling match in front of the school as the entertainment portion of our Intramural awards assembly there was a bit of a buzz aorund the school. Needless to say, people were not expecting us to come out in full sumo suits. I suppose some would say that Ray won the match, but it's only because he's fat.
**disclaimer** I'm now typing and posting from my tablet so I can't embed videos or make secondary titles. I will also blame any spelling or grammar mistakes on this. Any previous spelling mistakes are to be blamed on our education system, especially those dirt-bag English teachers.
Two Weeks Out From Fight Night
Friday was exactly two weeks until weigh in for my fight and I haven't cut weight since November so I decided to do a test weight cut to see how my body handles it. I didn't cut all the way but i felt okay. The full weight cut won't be fun, but it's definitely doable. Instead of going to a gym to do the weight cut I went out to Ray's house because he built a gym and a sauna in his barn (there's a reason his nickname is scrapyard). Check it out.
Traveling and Training
I'm currently on the road in southern Ontario coaching at the Canada Cup of Wrestling and then training at a few different places for my fight coming up. I'll probably post everyday while I'm on the road so hopefully I find my way to a real computer to load some of the vids.
Showing posts with label wrestling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wrestling. Show all posts
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Monday, June 14, 2010
Monsoon Season is here. It's Raining Fights.
It's Raining men Fights!
Saying "when it rains, it pours" is about as cliched as it gets, but sometimes the cliche fits. The actual monsoon season is approaching in Korea and along with it I've been flooded with fight opportunities. First I was offered a spot in the Sengoku Asian Bantamweight Grand Prix, but was pulled because I wasn't Korean. Then I was offered a very tough fight in DEEP at the end of August which I accepted. Last week I was offered another fight in DEEP: Grachan to fight on the same card as my friend and training partner Un Sik. I had to decline because of previous commitments that couldn't be changed. saturday I was offered a spot as a short notice opponent for Ikuo Usuda on the Sengoku 13 card. The event is this coming Sunday. Even though I initially jumped at the chance to fight in Sengoku the more I thought about this fight, the more I didn't like it. First of all it is a very big fight on very short notice and I have only been training hard again for a little over a month. As much as I'd like to think that my athleticism would carry me through I know that there are lots of things I need to iron out before I fight a high level fight. I fought once on a lot less preparation than I should have had and told myself I would never do it again. The next thing is that the fight is at 65 kg. This is the weight I have fought at before but I am much leaner right now and will be fighting at a lower weight in the future. After practice today I was 66.5 kg. Usuda on the other hand is coming down for his first fight at 65 kgs. after going 6-0 in Shooto and Sengoku as a 70 kg. fighter. He would be a huge 65 kg fighter and I would be pretty small for that weight. This is the kind of fight I am looking for in the future, but I don't think is a good decision for me right now. Coincidentally, Usuda's original opponent was suposed to be a guy I fought and beat at the East Asian Sambo Championships. On the plus side, it's good to know that I am finally on the radar of some of the bigger Asian promotions.
Some things never change.
Jim Liguori, who owns and coaches Ho Shin Sool MMA used to go crazy because I would leave my stuff all over the place. I would forget my shirt on the floor, leave my hand-wraps hanging on a doorknob, leave my mouthguard on the windowsill... you name it, I forgot it at the club. Well, Jim will be happy to know that it's just not him, I do it to the coach/owner at Daegu MMA too. Usually it's not a big deal because I can pick it up the next day, but about a month ago I lost my custom fit mouthguard that my dentist friend Riley made for me. I finally found it today and was super pumped; I never knew how much better a custom mouthguard was until I tried one. While I'm on the topic, it's great to have a friend as your dentist. How many times have you wanted to swear at your dentist? I can do it freely. When she says dentist-y things like "Hmmm, your gums are bleeding a little bit." I can say things like "No kidding, you just stabbed them with a sharp metal poker; I'm pretty sure I'd bleed anywhere if you did that."
Where Am I and How Did I Get Here?
After a few amateur MMA fights I decided it was time to step things up and fight as a pro. In two years I racked up a 4-1 record as a pro. I can honestly say that none of the opponents I fought were particular studs, even the one opponent I lost to. All of my wins came via TKO or submission stoppage, with none of my opponents making it past the 3rd minute of the first round. The lone loss on my record was disappointing but I don't think reflects on my skills as a fighter. It was a fight I took unprepared. I went into the fight in not great shape and without having put in the training time I should have. Even still, I was dominating my opponent for most of the fight. I picked him up and took him down with a slam and was delivering some ground and pound. As I was standing in his guard I got sloppy (overconfident?) and hung my head lazily, getting caught in a guillotine in the process. I got back on the winning track shortly after, but promised myself I would never fight unprepared like that again. Regardless of the results, I felt like it was time to step up the level of my competition. I had a tough time doing so, in large part because of the expense of getting me from Sault Ste. Marie to a place where big fights happen. Sault Ste. Marie is not exactly a travel hub and organizations weren't very willing to spend big money to fly me to their fights. That's why I decided to temporarily relocate to a place where bigger fights might come my way. Hence, Korea.
While some people might think I'm jumping into the deep end of the pool with my upcoming fight, that was exactly my goal in coming here. I always felt like I could compete at a much higher level than I was and now I'm getting the chance to prove it. I've always thought that testing your limits is an important part of life. How can you really know who you are if you don't know what you're capable of?
Picnic Time!
The Daegu MMA family often goes on weekend outings together and this weekend I was lucky enough to attend my first team/family outing. We drove a ways out of town and hiked up a mountain towards a stream and some mountain top pools. This place was amazing. There were dozens of pools of crystal clear cold mountain water and you could slide down the rocks into them. Here's some pics of the main pool that we spent most of our time at.
Saying "when it rains, it pours" is about as cliched as it gets, but sometimes the cliche fits. The actual monsoon season is approaching in Korea and along with it I've been flooded with fight opportunities. First I was offered a spot in the Sengoku Asian Bantamweight Grand Prix, but was pulled because I wasn't Korean. Then I was offered a very tough fight in DEEP at the end of August which I accepted. Last week I was offered another fight in DEEP: Grachan to fight on the same card as my friend and training partner Un Sik. I had to decline because of previous commitments that couldn't be changed. saturday I was offered a spot as a short notice opponent for Ikuo Usuda on the Sengoku 13 card. The event is this coming Sunday. Even though I initially jumped at the chance to fight in Sengoku the more I thought about this fight, the more I didn't like it. First of all it is a very big fight on very short notice and I have only been training hard again for a little over a month. As much as I'd like to think that my athleticism would carry me through I know that there are lots of things I need to iron out before I fight a high level fight. I fought once on a lot less preparation than I should have had and told myself I would never do it again. The next thing is that the fight is at 65 kg. This is the weight I have fought at before but I am much leaner right now and will be fighting at a lower weight in the future. After practice today I was 66.5 kg. Usuda on the other hand is coming down for his first fight at 65 kgs. after going 6-0 in Shooto and Sengoku as a 70 kg. fighter. He would be a huge 65 kg fighter and I would be pretty small for that weight. This is the kind of fight I am looking for in the future, but I don't think is a good decision for me right now. Coincidentally, Usuda's original opponent was suposed to be a guy I fought and beat at the East Asian Sambo Championships. On the plus side, it's good to know that I am finally on the radar of some of the bigger Asian promotions.
Some things never change.
Jim Liguori, who owns and coaches Ho Shin Sool MMA used to go crazy because I would leave my stuff all over the place. I would forget my shirt on the floor, leave my hand-wraps hanging on a doorknob, leave my mouthguard on the windowsill... you name it, I forgot it at the club. Well, Jim will be happy to know that it's just not him, I do it to the coach/owner at Daegu MMA too. Usually it's not a big deal because I can pick it up the next day, but about a month ago I lost my custom fit mouthguard that my dentist friend Riley made for me. I finally found it today and was super pumped; I never knew how much better a custom mouthguard was until I tried one. While I'm on the topic, it's great to have a friend as your dentist. How many times have you wanted to swear at your dentist? I can do it freely. When she says dentist-y things like "Hmmm, your gums are bleeding a little bit." I can say things like "No kidding, you just stabbed them with a sharp metal poker; I'm pretty sure I'd bleed anywhere if you did that."
Where Am I and How Did I Get Here?
After a few amateur MMA fights I decided it was time to step things up and fight as a pro. In two years I racked up a 4-1 record as a pro. I can honestly say that none of the opponents I fought were particular studs, even the one opponent I lost to. All of my wins came via TKO or submission stoppage, with none of my opponents making it past the 3rd minute of the first round. The lone loss on my record was disappointing but I don't think reflects on my skills as a fighter. It was a fight I took unprepared. I went into the fight in not great shape and without having put in the training time I should have. Even still, I was dominating my opponent for most of the fight. I picked him up and took him down with a slam and was delivering some ground and pound. As I was standing in his guard I got sloppy (overconfident?) and hung my head lazily, getting caught in a guillotine in the process. I got back on the winning track shortly after, but promised myself I would never fight unprepared like that again. Regardless of the results, I felt like it was time to step up the level of my competition. I had a tough time doing so, in large part because of the expense of getting me from Sault Ste. Marie to a place where big fights happen. Sault Ste. Marie is not exactly a travel hub and organizations weren't very willing to spend big money to fly me to their fights. That's why I decided to temporarily relocate to a place where bigger fights might come my way. Hence, Korea.
While some people might think I'm jumping into the deep end of the pool with my upcoming fight, that was exactly my goal in coming here. I always felt like I could compete at a much higher level than I was and now I'm getting the chance to prove it. I've always thought that testing your limits is an important part of life. How can you really know who you are if you don't know what you're capable of?
Picnic Time!
The Daegu MMA family often goes on weekend outings together and this weekend I was lucky enough to attend my first team/family outing. We drove a ways out of town and hiked up a mountain towards a stream and some mountain top pools. This place was amazing. There were dozens of pools of crystal clear cold mountain water and you could slide down the rocks into them. Here's some pics of the main pool that we spent most of our time at.
View from above the main pool.
Left to right: Po Kue, Jae Hoon and Me.
At one point Jae Hoon dove down to the bottom of the pool and came up saying "pink hat! pink hat!". I wasn't sure why he was so amazed about a hat at the bottom of a pool of water but he eventually said "I get it!" and dove down to retrieve the object in question. When he came back up he was holding a SEVERED PIG'S HEAD. No joke. "Pig head", not "pink hat". Then he threw it at someone.
After swimming we set up our grill and proceeded to eat ridiculous amounts of samguipsal and galbi. If we had twice as many people as were actually there we still would have had way too much food, but that's pretty typical of eating with Koreans.
Quick Question
Who doesn't have a story that starts with "So I'm juggling cans of paint in class..". I'll let you guess how that turned out.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
3... 2... 1... Go!
Today at 3:00 pm I got a call letting me know that I had to be at the airport at 4:00 am to leave for Korea. We knew we would be leaving on short notice, but man, this is a bit crazy. We didn't even have our Visas issued when they called. Luckily our Visa interviews went well and they were issued immediately afterwards. So that's it, we're off.
Toronto's been fun. I've been able to visit with lots of friends (Josh, Andrew, Andrew, Jess, Alex and Jo), take in a Blue Jays game, go to the Canadian National Exhibition, go to a few parties, visit with Lisa's family and get some solid training in. Training at Extreme Couture was great. Rolling and scrimmaging live with all of the guys there was fun. I got to have a good competitive session with the current National Champion which was great. The last day I was there I met up with Andrew Elliot, a former University wrestling teammate and all around bad-ass. Andrew is actually one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, he's just really good at causing people pain and discomfort and has translated that into success as a wrestler and fighter. He's a physical beast who happens to have some really good skills. Keep an eye on him, I think you may see him on some bigger shows before too long.
I was also able to m
eet up with Alex Jeffrey, another ex Lakehead Thunderwolves wrestler. Alex and I actually started off as rivals on the highschool and national wrestling scene when we were younger. We both ended up at Lakehead where we were teammates and training partners for 5 years and even roomates for 3 years. We've been through a lot together and have a lot of stories, some of which are even suitable to tell in public. Alex and his wife Joanne just opened Driven Athletics/Crossfit Huronia. Lisa and I stopped by for dinner and a workout. Their gym is awesome and they are both great coaches. If you are in the area (Midland, Huronia, Victoria Harbour) check them out. In addition to crossfit and personal training they offer wrestling, jiu-jitsu and MMA classes.
Early tomorrow (friday) morning Lisa and I will board a plane in Toronto. We'll have a stopover in San Francisco and then it will be on to Seoul. From Seoul we'll be taking a train into Daegu. Provided everything goes according to plan, which we all know is unlikely, we will arrive in Daegu sometime around 11:00 pm on Saturday. We will have ALL DAY Sunday to cure our jet lag, get situated in our new apartment and learn the Korean language before starting work on Monday. As the Koreans say "No probrem."
Toronto's been fun. I've been able to visit with lots of friends (Josh, Andrew, Andrew, Jess, Alex and Jo), take in a Blue Jays game, go to the Canadian National Exhibition, go to a few parties, visit with Lisa's family and get some solid training in. Training at Extreme Couture was great. Rolling and scrimmaging live with all of the guys there was fun. I got to have a good competitive session with the current National Champion which was great. The last day I was there I met up with Andrew Elliot, a former University wrestling teammate and all around bad-ass. Andrew is actually one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, he's just really good at causing people pain and discomfort and has translated that into success as a wrestler and fighter. He's a physical beast who happens to have some really good skills. Keep an eye on him, I think you may see him on some bigger shows before too long.
I was also able to m
eet up with Alex Jeffrey, another ex Lakehead Thunderwolves wrestler. Alex and I actually started off as rivals on the highschool and national wrestling scene when we were younger. We both ended up at Lakehead where we were teammates and training partners for 5 years and even roomates for 3 years. We've been through a lot together and have a lot of stories, some of which are even suitable to tell in public. Alex and his wife Joanne just opened Driven Athletics/Crossfit Huronia. Lisa and I stopped by for dinner and a workout. Their gym is awesome and they are both great coaches. If you are in the area (Midland, Huronia, Victoria Harbour) check them out. In addition to crossfit and personal training they offer wrestling, jiu-jitsu and MMA classes.Early tomorrow (friday) morning Lisa and I will board a plane in Toronto. We'll have a stopover in San Francisco and then it will be on to Seoul. From Seoul we'll be taking a train into Daegu. Provided everything goes according to plan, which we all know is unlikely, we will arrive in Daegu sometime around 11:00 pm on Saturday. We will have ALL DAY Sunday to cure our jet lag, get situated in our new apartment and learn the Korean language before starting work on Monday. As the Koreans say "No probrem."
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