If you saw the ultimate Fighting Championships on Spike TV for free on Saturday, September 8th, 2007, you should be happy that you didn’t pony up any money for a pay-per-view card. Yes, there were some good fights. Yes, the fighters are talented and entertaining. And yes, the fight game is far from being truthful and forthcoming. We need a scoreboard. I have been saying this for years. If there is some sort of legacy that I could leave to a sport that I have given my life to, it would be having a scoreboard posting the judge’s results after each round.
Matt Hamill was robbed. He beat Michael Bisbing like a bothersome little step-brother. It wasn’t even close. Hamill had better stand-up and ground skills. But because the fights were in the United Kingdom, the judges gave the fight to Bisbing, the local hero. It was a disgrace. What other sports allow for such a biased and intrusive outcome? Well, figure skating comes to mind. Remember the scandal at the Olympics with the pair from Canada?
Back in 1999, I had a fighter in the Light Heavyweight Division of The International Kickboxing Association. He was fighting for a title in California and the five scheduled rounds were a bloodbath. The guy’s name was Derek “The Tornado” Galanis and he was fighting Isiah “Cornrow” Savage. Although Savage was a really tough guy and had beaten Galanis by knockout in the first round earlier in the year, this particular fight belonged to Galanis. He had won all four rounds handily going into the fifth and final round.
In the corner I reminded Derek that he was winning and not to do anything foolish. I told him to play with Savage, keeping a nice jab in his face and continuing to use a push-kick to keep him at bay. There was no reason to go for a knockout or try to earn more points with fancy spinning moves like Derek favored with his spinning back heel kick. During the competition, with about a minute to go, Derek landed wrong on his left foot following a push-kick. He spent the remainder of the round hobbling around the ring while Isiah tried to knock him out.
Well, the judges thought that somehow Savage had hurt Galanis and they awarded the decision to him. I couldn’t believe it. We were jobbed in the worst way and wrote a letter of protest to the California Athletic Commission. The problem was that we were in the hometown of Savage, just like Hamill was in the hometown of Bisbing. Scoreboards tell the truth, judges don’t. Even if a judge is practicing some funny business, the fighter and the cornermen would know what to expect in the latter rounds after seeing a score posted previously.
It is wrong to job and rob a fighter of his effort and skill. A scoreboard posting following each round would let the competitor know what they had to do to overcome blind eyes of bad judges. Derek “The Tornado” Galanis remembers his being robbed daily, and I’m sure that Matt “The Hammer” Hamill does too.
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Mentality of a Fighter
As a former kickboxing practitioner who was lucky enough to win a heavyweight title belt, I have found a few things that successful fighters have in common. I now coach many men, women, and children, both amateurs and professionals, and although each may have a different style of fighting, they all have the same temperament if they are winners. I sat down with some fighters recently and discovered many similarities. This created an opportunity for me to write about something I love and to dispel some myths.
Of the five people that were involved in the discussion, four had college degrees and one was presently attending Loyola University. That cemented the fact that not all fighters are meathead dropouts for me. I’m not saying that college is for everyone, nor that one must attend school to be successful, but that perception prevails in America and most people think that fighters are a little dense from getting their brains rattled.
I also found the fighter’s other occupations interesting. One man was a teacher, another a children’s behavioral counselor, another a commodities broker, the woman in the group was a physical therapist, and the college student was majoring in dance choreography. Their interests were varied but their collective hearts were swollen with a love of competing in the ring.
Each of us in the discussion had trained earlier in the day. It is something that we need to feel alive. Anyone can stand in front of a mirror and look tough punching and kicking. Most anyone can run or hit a heavy bag. Most everyone should be able to do some push-ups or sit-ups. But when you talk to real fighters about their training regimens, the diversity and complexity is fascinating.
The first thing to understand is that a fighter is expected to perform at a high level for multiple rounds. This can range from a few rounds for an amateur to twice that many for a professional. So this involves an amazing capacity to endure punishment and a tremendous desire to win. Training involves a great deal of sparring. I have always said that you are only as good as your sparring partners. If you train with a bunch of chumps, chances are that you will fight like a chump.
Fighting is not for the light-hearted. You are going to get hit and it hurts. That was another common thread with the people that I talked with, the ability to withstand pain. I don’t mean in a masochistic way, but in a sense of trial by fire, enduring what one must to achieve their goal. It’s a sense of knowing that when you step up on the stage, you feel that you have trained harder, smarter, and are willing to give more than your opponent.
If you have never been punched, kicked, head-locked, etc. the best way that I describe the feeling is sprinting until your lungs feel like they want to burst and stopping suddenly to catch your breath. But when you are fighting there is no stopping. Every bit of contact takes something out of you and you have to will yourself forward with your conditioning and pride.
I can teach someone a jab or round kick or spinning back elbow or rear naked choke, but I can’t teach someone how to have a good chin. You either have one or you don’t. You will get hit, it will hurt, and whether or not you can hang in there is genetics or will. Fighting is not for everyone assuredly, but it is an art form and the athletes are not only in exceptional physical condition, moreover they are mentally tough. The best example I can think of is the upset of Mike Tyson by Buster Douglas. Tyson had a bunch of his friends in the corner that fateful night in Japan, not professional corner-men. If you have ever seen that fight, when his so-called “trainer” is talking to him, he kisses Tyson on the lips! I have worked hundreds of corners and you have a minute to administer water, advice, and solace, but there is no time for kissing a fighter when the other person is trying to knock them out.
A fighter fights because they can, and because they love to. And because it is the purest form of expression that they know.
Of the five people that were involved in the discussion, four had college degrees and one was presently attending Loyola University. That cemented the fact that not all fighters are meathead dropouts for me. I’m not saying that college is for everyone, nor that one must attend school to be successful, but that perception prevails in America and most people think that fighters are a little dense from getting their brains rattled.
I also found the fighter’s other occupations interesting. One man was a teacher, another a children’s behavioral counselor, another a commodities broker, the woman in the group was a physical therapist, and the college student was majoring in dance choreography. Their interests were varied but their collective hearts were swollen with a love of competing in the ring.
Each of us in the discussion had trained earlier in the day. It is something that we need to feel alive. Anyone can stand in front of a mirror and look tough punching and kicking. Most anyone can run or hit a heavy bag. Most everyone should be able to do some push-ups or sit-ups. But when you talk to real fighters about their training regimens, the diversity and complexity is fascinating.
The first thing to understand is that a fighter is expected to perform at a high level for multiple rounds. This can range from a few rounds for an amateur to twice that many for a professional. So this involves an amazing capacity to endure punishment and a tremendous desire to win. Training involves a great deal of sparring. I have always said that you are only as good as your sparring partners. If you train with a bunch of chumps, chances are that you will fight like a chump.
Fighting is not for the light-hearted. You are going to get hit and it hurts. That was another common thread with the people that I talked with, the ability to withstand pain. I don’t mean in a masochistic way, but in a sense of trial by fire, enduring what one must to achieve their goal. It’s a sense of knowing that when you step up on the stage, you feel that you have trained harder, smarter, and are willing to give more than your opponent.
If you have never been punched, kicked, head-locked, etc. the best way that I describe the feeling is sprinting until your lungs feel like they want to burst and stopping suddenly to catch your breath. But when you are fighting there is no stopping. Every bit of contact takes something out of you and you have to will yourself forward with your conditioning and pride.
I can teach someone a jab or round kick or spinning back elbow or rear naked choke, but I can’t teach someone how to have a good chin. You either have one or you don’t. You will get hit, it will hurt, and whether or not you can hang in there is genetics or will. Fighting is not for everyone assuredly, but it is an art form and the athletes are not only in exceptional physical condition, moreover they are mentally tough. The best example I can think of is the upset of Mike Tyson by Buster Douglas. Tyson had a bunch of his friends in the corner that fateful night in Japan, not professional corner-men. If you have ever seen that fight, when his so-called “trainer” is talking to him, he kisses Tyson on the lips! I have worked hundreds of corners and you have a minute to administer water, advice, and solace, but there is no time for kissing a fighter when the other person is trying to knock them out.
A fighter fights because they can, and because they love to. And because it is the purest form of expression that they know.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Another Opinion
Down Goes Michael Vick
It was inevitable. Dog fighting is not tolerated in a country that spends billions, yes, billions of dollars on their pets. (See, the Queen of Mean Leona Helmsley leaving ten million dollars to a dog in her will).
What does this say about our society? We tolerate horses being whipped to the finish line with cold hard steel in their mouths and a jockey kicking and screaming on their backs; and we call it the sport of kings.
We tolerate rodeos where every animal is kicked or strangled or slapped or punched and we televise it as humane.
We have whole television channels devoted to hunting and fishing. There are grown men hiding in the ground to blast geese out of the sky as they lure them with decoys and fake calls. There are grown men hiding in trees with deer urine lathering their bodies as they wait to shoot a big buck at two hundred yards. And we give Michael Vick grief because he fought dogs? Oh, or because he executed dogs with no lust for fighting?
Turn on your televisions again ye hypocrites. Watch those crashes in NASCAR. Watch those classic knockouts in boxing. See a guy get beaned on purpose in baseball. Laugh as a player gets knocked silly in football. Enjoy the hockey players dropping their gloves to make a statement. See a slap-fest on every possession in basketball.
Then tune in and enjoy all of those fishing shows. Yeah, sure, catch and release. How about I hook you in the mouth and drag you underwater and stay there talking while you gasp for oxygen? Please don’t kid me about what is humane in our society.
I own two Pit Bulls. I don’t actively fight them, but I have seen them defend themselves and they know what they are doing. They have also defended my family and I appreciate that. I have no desire to roll them for money or to prove anything. But I do know that pound for pound that they are the best at what they do. I own them because they fear no dog.
As a much younger man I used to fight in the ring. Training required dark early morning runs in unsavory neighborhoods where I lived at the time. After being attacked by a Great Dane, I bought a Pit Bull, and will never own a different breed.
So yes, I have made an active choice to fight man on man in the ring. I have won and lost. We shook hands afterward and many times shared pitchers of beer. My eldest son plays hockey and I have seen him fight on the ice. My younger son plays football and practices MMA and I have seen him take a beating as well as administer one. My wife yells at me from spitting distance almost daily. The point is that we are a violent society. Nature is inherently violent.
To crucify Michael Vick might just be considered a hate crime. Don’t think for a moment that this might not be racially motivated. Whoopi Goldberg, Emmitt Smith, and Stephon Marbury have stood up for Vick. I guarantee you that if Brett Favre had been fighting dogs as a good old boy in the South, things would be different. I also guarantee that more white folk fight dogs than black folk do.
I don’t care that people fight dogs. If a dog has no try in him, he’ll lie down right away and the fight is over in my opinion. Yes, dog fighting is a felony in all but two states in the Union, Wyoming and Idaho, go figure. The fact remains that we are humans born of bloodlust. We crave competition, often to the death, even if we don’t admit it. I just think that it’s wrong that the hypocritical American public is crucifying Michael Vick.
It was inevitable. Dog fighting is not tolerated in a country that spends billions, yes, billions of dollars on their pets. (See, the Queen of Mean Leona Helmsley leaving ten million dollars to a dog in her will).
What does this say about our society? We tolerate horses being whipped to the finish line with cold hard steel in their mouths and a jockey kicking and screaming on their backs; and we call it the sport of kings.
We tolerate rodeos where every animal is kicked or strangled or slapped or punched and we televise it as humane.
We have whole television channels devoted to hunting and fishing. There are grown men hiding in the ground to blast geese out of the sky as they lure them with decoys and fake calls. There are grown men hiding in trees with deer urine lathering their bodies as they wait to shoot a big buck at two hundred yards. And we give Michael Vick grief because he fought dogs? Oh, or because he executed dogs with no lust for fighting?
Turn on your televisions again ye hypocrites. Watch those crashes in NASCAR. Watch those classic knockouts in boxing. See a guy get beaned on purpose in baseball. Laugh as a player gets knocked silly in football. Enjoy the hockey players dropping their gloves to make a statement. See a slap-fest on every possession in basketball.
Then tune in and enjoy all of those fishing shows. Yeah, sure, catch and release. How about I hook you in the mouth and drag you underwater and stay there talking while you gasp for oxygen? Please don’t kid me about what is humane in our society.
I own two Pit Bulls. I don’t actively fight them, but I have seen them defend themselves and they know what they are doing. They have also defended my family and I appreciate that. I have no desire to roll them for money or to prove anything. But I do know that pound for pound that they are the best at what they do. I own them because they fear no dog.
As a much younger man I used to fight in the ring. Training required dark early morning runs in unsavory neighborhoods where I lived at the time. After being attacked by a Great Dane, I bought a Pit Bull, and will never own a different breed.
So yes, I have made an active choice to fight man on man in the ring. I have won and lost. We shook hands afterward and many times shared pitchers of beer. My eldest son plays hockey and I have seen him fight on the ice. My younger son plays football and practices MMA and I have seen him take a beating as well as administer one. My wife yells at me from spitting distance almost daily. The point is that we are a violent society. Nature is inherently violent.
To crucify Michael Vick might just be considered a hate crime. Don’t think for a moment that this might not be racially motivated. Whoopi Goldberg, Emmitt Smith, and Stephon Marbury have stood up for Vick. I guarantee you that if Brett Favre had been fighting dogs as a good old boy in the South, things would be different. I also guarantee that more white folk fight dogs than black folk do.
I don’t care that people fight dogs. If a dog has no try in him, he’ll lie down right away and the fight is over in my opinion. Yes, dog fighting is a felony in all but two states in the Union, Wyoming and Idaho, go figure. The fact remains that we are humans born of bloodlust. We crave competition, often to the death, even if we don’t admit it. I just think that it’s wrong that the hypocritical American public is crucifying Michael Vick.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Sometimes....
I wonder what awaits one after their death. I have an opinion for myself, hence my profile for this blog. I believe that we are all carbon fodder in the energy continuum...(Copyright Hamil 2007)
I don't know your joy but I believe that I can understand your pain.
Pain is relative.
I don't know your joy but I believe that I can understand your pain.
Pain is relative.
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