“To die with one’s sword still sheathed is most regrettable”
Wai Kru had 7 fighters last week at CFX’s Rumble in the Jungle.
Wai Kru had 7 victories last week at CFX’s Rumble in the Jungle.
The fight of the night was undoubtedly Wai Kru’s Ibrahim Tody against Jason Sarbacker. Ibrahim, whom I may have mentioned in earlier blogs, is a student from Chechnya. He is stoicly quiet, and sat silently, leaning against the wall before his fight. The week previous, I asked him who is opponent was, to which he replied “I don’t care.”
Sarbacker looked bigger and stronger than Ibrahim. I had seen both of them fight. Sarbacker had fought two times previous, knocking both of his opponents out, one in 17 seconds, the other in 30. Ibrahim is on my team, and I respect him deeply, but he was given the fight on short notice, and that can sometime spell disaster. Both came out cautiously, Ibrahim throwing a deep leg kick. Sarbacker landed a huge right hand to Ibrahim, and for a split second I thought it was over. Ibrahim was pushed back, but nowhere near beaten. The two swung leather, then the last minute of the first round, Ibrahim rested with Sarbacker in his guard. The beginning of the second, there were fireworks. Ibrahim landed a knee to Sarbacker, knocking him down, following up with a flying knee after backing away.
Ibrahim ended the fight by ground-and-pound (a tko.) At first the crowd was silent, then they erupted into cheers. Sarbacker fans protested that the fight was stopped early.
In the back room, Kru John said to me “Ibrahim had the bigger heart that night. He wanted it so badly, and he was a warrior. He fought one hell of a fight.”
The entire night, Chandler sat quietly, waiting for his fight to happen. He was the main event. Unlike many fighters (especially from other gmys), I could see Chandler’s qualities shine through. He was quiet and reserved, concentrated, but friendly and receptive to small talk. He was smiling and laughing, joking that he wouldn’t be fighting until 2am. He was close; he fought at 12:30.
Before the final event, the red corner’s room was all but empty. Chandler walked, paced, silent, hood up, waiting for his fight to happen. This friendly guy I had been chatting with an hour previous was now an animal, ready to be unleashed. The shift was staggering.
Chandler won his fight as well, looking stronger and faster than his opponent. Wai Kru went 7-0. A sweep.
I think that this speaks volumes about our gym and our trainers. Everyone fighting out of Wai Kru looked ready to battle, and they did. My respect for our trainers, Kru John, Kru Mark Nardone, and Alex Costa grows continuously.
On the drive home, I talked with Chris Coogan, who also won his fight that night, about fighting and how it changes us. I admitted to him that I would be nervous to take a fight in the near future. He said to me “I don’t see anything wrong with that. It’s a completely rational feeling, going in fighting someone. I guess theres just something that drives us to do what we do.” There must be with Coogan; he is undefeated.
Training and talking with these fighters has changed me in a very drastic way. It continues to make me see myself honestly in a mirror, both metaphorically and literally. I suppose that only time will tell what I do, but I do know this:
The difference between a fighter and a person is in their eyes before they know they are about to fight. I saw it in Chandler that night, and I continue to look into the mirror to catch a glimpse of it within myself.
