'Heart'-ful Honors

There are many apparent ingredients to cultivating one's self as well as your own students in the art and sport of hand-to-hand combat. Skills are developed through repetitive drilling, sparring, and a diligent eye of a coach or professor. Discipline, is learned as one of many unsaid tenets of all martial arts. A strong work ethic is required to build the most durable and conditioned work-machines to ever walk the planet. Either to equate, or outlast the opposition. A supportive team is also crucial to a fighter's success. Providing perpetual knowledge, encouragement, and a facility for expending a rigorous regimen. And when one or more of these ingredients are lacking during the arduous preparations for a bout, the results can be detrimental. Both to the body and the spirit. But how does your body and mind respond when the pre-bout preparations are matched? Where lies the definitive edge when power and speed are too familiar to opposing corner? When skill is matched or even 'out'- matched?

While all these portions are critical to the success of any combat athlete, there are no developmental means to the un-pedagocical entity of having 'heart.' As everyone has an innate will to win, not all, have the desire to persevere through pain and overwhelming adversity. When speed and power are nullified, and your opponent is far from exhaustion just as you are, how is a 'W' received in your favor?

This past weekend marked an eventful bout where one of FSA's up and coming strikers displayed pure will and raw 'heart.' The War of the Heroes event, sponsored by Fairtex, congregated some the best local and even national talent in the Muay Thai circuit. There were beautiful ceremonies of the traditional, Wai Khru, which represented camps from their original home in Thailand. Where styles were abundant, yet choiceful outcomes were not. We cornered from the blue corner, as he trusted us as his outside eyes and ears. The fight was spectacular to say the least. Phil was obviously the heavy-handed powerhouse in this match, where his opponent was the technician in the clinch while keeping his distance from Phil's deadly right hand. Some of the exchanges were even. Spawning the crowd to great applause. Phil stumbled his adversary while the red corner's pride did the same. As Phil's opposition realized that it wasn't safe to bang with a 'banger' they became smart to close the distance and use height and knees to their advantage. Their plan worked at times where Phil was the unlucky recipient of some nasty knees to the midsection. Despite being over-worked in the clinch, Phil kept fighting. Even after being dropped a couple of times. We were able to regroup in between rounds. We told Phil to keep his arsenal simple. "Jab, jab, overhand right!" We all emphasized. "Fuck the clinch, Phil. Don't give him the clinch. Bodylock! Bodylock!" It may have took a few moments for him to figure out his gameplan, but before he even knew it, Phil was able to shut his opponent's clinch-game down. With every attempt to engage the neck, Phil would automatically clutter his opponent's attempt with a bear-hug-like lock. Phil kept fighting. Landing text book jab-overhand rights to a 'T'. Forcing 'red' to now keep Phil away with his rangy 'teep' kick and occasional powershots that intermittently slowed Phil down. But Phil kept fighting. Like a machine. Exhausted, with almost lifeless arms, he effectively continued his jab- overhand right combo until the very end of the fight. Most of which his adversary did not any want part of. But by the time Phil deciphered how to adapt to his opponent's style, it was slightly too late as he had fell short on the judge's scorecards. And although we did not get the 'W' that night, Phil did prove his warrior spirit. After being downed more than once during the electrifying three round battle, his heart showed that he would never give up, and 'fight til' death.' Similar as that of the ancient Spartans. A modern example of true Bushido spirit. An intangible characteristic that cannot be taught. With all skills aside, it's genuinely something that you are born with. Heart. You either have it, or you don't. It's as simple as that.