Issue 027

July 2007

Believe it or not, fighters are sensitive souls. I know, that seems like an odd statement, considering that they compete in probably the toughest sport in the world, but it's true.

Most fighters hate criticism. Many years ago, at almost the beginning of a now very famous fighter's career, I wrote a report that criticised his striking style, even though he had won his fight. Barely days later, I received an email from him that questioned why I had picked apart his performance, especially considering he had gone on to win! I explained (politely) that it wasn't a personal dig, but it was my job to highlight these things as a journalist reporting on the sport.

He accepted my explanation and it was left there, but quite often less reserved fighters can be found on internet message boards and forums ripping into fans that dare to say anything negative about them. Fair enough, in the wastelands of internet forums it is all too easy for an anonymous tool to go and rip a fighter to bits for fun, but the usual response you see is when someone is told they are not allowed to have an opinion because they do not fight.

I have an issue with this. Just because someone doesn't fight does not make them incapable of commenting on the sport. Many observers I know, including some of the writers featured in this magazine, have never stepped onto a mat in their lives, but that doesn't stop them being the best team of writers around.

You don't have to partake in something to be able to offer an educated, insightful opinion. The best boxing writers in the last 50 or 60 years have almost all been firmly on the outside of the ropes. Football reporters may have never taken to a pitch in their lives. War reporters are not required to have been soldiers, and fashion reporters are usually the polar opposite of models!

I guess I'm a little different though. I may be the editor of the world's leading MMA magazine, but I still find time to hit the mat at least three or four times a week. For no good reason other than my own personal satisfaction, I've stepped into both cage and ring as a fighter, and I've partaken in judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission wrestling competitions. When I write about what goes on inside the cage, no one can claim I don't know what I'm talking about.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fighter and have never considered myself such. I enjoy training and occasionally competing and even do a little coaching, but for me it is all about fun. The upside to all the bruises, broken bones and torn muscles is that I have a deeper understanding of the combative arts compared to that of a casual observer, and I get to enjoy myself at the same time. Like I said, I get into the gym fairly often, and take to the mats every time I'm there. I see it as lab time; I'm doing my research into what makes the sport tick!

If you're going to grow though, you need to expose yourself to as much information as possible, and sometimes that involves jumping in a car, on a train or even a plane to go seek new training opportunities. Recently I had the pleasure of training with a fighter featured in this month's issue, Jess Liaudin, the evening before Seni 07.

Jess appeared on the recent event UFC 70 in Manchester, and it is rumoured we may see him in action again in September. A striker-grapple with many years of karate. kickboxing and submission grappling under his belt, Jess heads up the gym Pancrase London. A modestly sized facility in the East End, Pancrase London has a solid fight team with guys at all weights, each with their own individual style.

Getting on the mat in a new gym can sometimes be a daunting prospect – you never know if the guys you are training with will suddenly decide that they want to fight instead of spar, and things can sometimes get a little bit gnarly. Not so in Pancrase, where the training is tough, the sparring hard but the vibe as cool as you can get.

As fun as it was, and as cool as Jess and his guys are, I was still a little worried going to their gym. I racked my brain asking myself if I had criticised any of them in any of my articles, but thankfully no! There were no grudges and no bruised egos, just plenty of healthy training.

I had the pleasure of sparring with various members of Jess' fight team before even going a few rounds with the man himself. Jess' blend of slick striking skills with solid grappling makes him a tough opponent, even when he is going light on you! The marks on my head (courtesy of Mr Liaudin's left hook) got a few raised eyebrows at Seni, but it was worth it just for the chance to work a few rounds with a UFC athlete..

If any readers fancy going. down to Jess' gym in East London, check out pancraselondon.com.