Portrait of a Fighter
Dear Editor
As you are no doubt aware I have been involved in the Martial arts for quite a few years, because of that most people think I live and breath Martial Arts, well I am sorry to say I don’t. So when I came home late one Friday night the last thing I wanted to see was a Kung fu film or even worse some documentary on some thugs beating each other up in a ring, most of which has no bearing on the Martial Arts what so ever. Any way after flashing through the channels I had a choice of watching old films, porno youth culture programmes or something called a Portrait of a Fighter, so I decide to watch the latter the best of 3 evils so I thought.
Was I glad I had decided to watch this and how wrong was I to prejudge it such way. The programme was about Ian Freeman a Vale Tudo fighter, I am not a great lover of the Total fight game what I have seen on the TV has always been average Martial Arts fighter fighting another average Martial Arts fighter but this programme has radically changed my opinion. What the film done was to follow Ian’s exploits in the World of Total fighting. Ian is obviously an extremely hard man but he is also a competent Martial Artist, he came across as a true professional and some body who could look defeat in the eye, then return to make him stronger. Most real champions will know you have to take the losses to improve, the worst part of the programme was when he was beaten by the Russian Sombo Wrestler in Russia in a few seconds with a punch, the last thing you would expect from a grappler. Ian walked out of the cage a totally dejected fighter, he could not even talk properly to his wife on the phone, I thought my God I have been there when you suffer a loss like that you want the ground to swallow you up and the feeling takes weeks to go away, you feel you have let everyone down. His response was like all true fighters stop this self-pity, get back into training and beat the man next time round. This he did and what I thought was ironic he beat the Russian Sombo Wrestler on the ground a domain which should have been his. Ian jumped up punching the air, not only had beaten his opponent but he had beaten his own doubts. I am not one who believes in that type of demonstrative behaviour as I feel it be belittles your opponent but I remember in the 1978 All England Judo Championships throwing my main rival, somebody I had never beaten, for the perfect throw (Ippon) I ran round the mat three times acknowledging the audience cheers. Moments like that just take over the emotions.
The programme and Ian showed Vale Tudo and the Total Fight game in a totally different light and has shown me that it is more than just a brawl but a very powerful Combat Sport. To finalise the Dutch Coach was interviewed he was explaining some of the rules and at the end he said, “after all this is a sport not a street fight” what more can be said. Well done Ian hope to meet you some time.
Martin Clarke 8th Dan.
World Master’s Judo Champion, GrandMaster Sombo