Issue 021
January 2007
Henning Svendsen is a Norweigan fighter who has appeared on events such as CageWarriors, European Vale Tudo and Angrrr Management. A tough lightweight, he is a heavy hitter and is known for his aggression and go-forward style. A part-time musician, he also plays with a number of Black Metal bands.
Q. Describe your fighting style in five words or less.
Aggressive until gassing.
What do you do when you’re not punching people in the face?
I am probably getting punched in the face. Well, seriously, I usually work out, try to write something on my master thesis in psychology, work or am just relaxing which usually means watching a movie or some MMA event, creating or listening to music, walking in the forest, reading, writing short stories, corresponding with or being with friends, trying to get some money from the record company who has signed us etc.
Where do you see yourself in 1 yr, 5 yrs and 10 yrs time?
In 1 year: Still fighting and training. Hopefully finished with my master in psychology and started writing on my master thesis in counselling.
5 years: Still training, most probably not fighting, moved from Trondheim to the south of Norway, more focus on making music and putting out cd’s. 10 years: I have no idea. Hopefully I am still training.
You just won the world championship title in your weight division- describe your ultimate after-party.
I always picture some kind of weird Valhalla thing, were we can fight and fall and be brought back to life the next day, and where we had every thought and sense satisfied – I think it has to look like some kind of Coliseum, where we fed our enemies to the lions, food and drinks to taste and smell, screams of our enemies for the ear, masseuses for somatosensory pleasures, and of course strippers, midgets and amputees for the sight. And of course being there with my crew, friends, loved ones, fellow fighters, fans and of course, everything covered exclusively by Fighters Only.
Pick a celebrity you would like to choke unconscious. Who would it be and why?
My more sleazy side would love to give Bianca Beauchamp her daily asphyxiation fix.
Of all the professional fighters you’ve met, who stands out the most?
Must be Jakob “Striking Viking” Løvstad. He’s my trainer and I also consider him a trusted friend. He has taught me most of what I know when it comes to fighting. But most fighters I have met usually seem like nice people and I have enjoyed talking to them.
Tell us a fact about yourself that no one else knows.
Once, I set my teacher’s car on fire. Well, quite a few people know this, but I guess the readers didn’t know.
Where is your favourite place in the world and why?
I do enjoy Nordmarka in Norway. To walk in those great, desolate woods searching for a good place to rest and eat, and later just close my eyes and listen to the lament of the trees and trying to imagine a more simple time. Let my mind fly away from this world and enter another.
What kind of music have you got on your Ipod / CD Player?
All kinds of different things. I like to use music as a tool to either strengthen or create certain moods. For instance Beastcraft, Urgehal, Vulture Lord, Bloodsworn, Orcustus, Gorgoroth, Dissection (RIP), Impaled Nazarene etc to create an aggressive state of mind, or certain songs by Ultima Thule, Danzig, Tiamat, Sisters of Mercy etc to create more of a melancholic state of consciousness. Though, I may add that I haven’t heard a cd which has just great songs in a while. So I usually listen to one song here and there from different bands and composers.
If you could choose anyone at all, living or dead, what celebrity or well-known person would you have a coffee / beer with?
Damn, I don’t drink either, but I guess for such a thing to come true I would gladly drink both. A lot of names come to mind. Philosophers like Schopenhauer, Linkola, Nietzsche, Manson, writers and poets like Ibsen, Dante, London, Goethe, Shakespeare, Gaiman, Frye, academics like Freud, Jung, or perhaps serial killers like Panzram, Bundy, Zodiac, GRK, Schaefer, charming men like Gein, A. Fish, occultists like Crowley, Blavatsky, Von List or Reich, musicians like Prokofiev, Danzig, Boyd Rice, Jon Nödtveidt, Euronymous, or more sinister souls like Pol Pot, Bathory, Vlad III etc.
Hard to choose, but if I had to I would like to speak to the late Dr. Anton LaVey. When I read a few books by him back in 1988 it felt like coming home. Though I would like to stress that I do not agree with everything he says, he strikes me as a knowledgeable person that I think it would be great to spend some time with.
How do you want to be remembered?
Like a loyal friend amongst friends. Loved by those I love, respected and feared among my enemies.
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