P
Pugilistic
Guest
I was watching a documentary titled Champs, which focuses on Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and Bernard Hopkins as they talk about their upbringing, their career, and how the business of boxing fucks up fighters. I haven’t finished watching it (2 thirds done) but it is pretty damn good and I highly recommend watching it. Well-made, good-production, interesting. It was cool to hear about how Evander saw Tyson well before they ever met in the ring, and how they seemed destined to collide. It also injects some commentary on the American prison system but that’s another topic.
Anyway, the most interesting parts of the documentary for me were the motivational factors for why some of these guys get into boxing/fighting. The documentary mostly points to financial motivations since these guys grew up really poor but also as an ironic way of getting out of violent environments. Hopkins says he was motivated to train and fight by his desire to never go back to prison. While I agree a great many fighters come from very poor backgrounds (usually a mixture of violence and poverty) as the documentary states, I don’t think that’s the only reason. I do however, think there is some kind of catalyst or something has happened in one’s life that made getting punched in the face as an attractive pursuit. Not all of us grew up poor as fuck, but here we are, volunteering for physical punishment and getting joy out of it.
I wonder why did you get into fighting? Were you bullied? Grew up in a rough area? It was family tradition?
I was always into martial arts and fighting like most boys but I was always too timid and scared to actually train or fight. I got picked on, occasionally beat up, and often felt helpless and weak. It didn’t help that I was fat and I hated working out. I felt more comfortable playing video games. My family wasn’t poor, but my parents were abusive. My mom was also ironically overprotective at the same time; would beat my ass but flip her shit if I did anything remotely harmful to myself. My dad would beat my ass for being a pussy but never taught me how to fight. I was a kid during Tyson’s reign and wished I had that kind of power myself. I wanted to be like a kung-fu master from watching martial arts movies as well so I could kick everybody’s ass. I realized I could join a boxing gym when I was 13 but my mother was worried about my safety so didn’t let me. Kendo seemed like a safer alternative but adults around me made up this ridiculous argument that it would prevent me from getting taller since I would be getting smacked on top of the head. My school then started a judo team which I jumped on. Once again, adults said it would prevent my growth (some bullshit about how hormones for making you taller would be allocated to muscle development instead. I was also discouraged from lifting weights for the same reason) but I did it anyway and loved it.
I moved to the states to a school that had no combat sports program, not even wrestling. And the area was extremely rural so there was no other gym in the area. I learned about MMA during this time and got into it because it was the first time I saw grappling being used effectively in a “real fight.” During college I really wanted to train MMA but there were no MMA gyms so I took up BJJ and boxing separately. I also dabbled a bit in fencing, hapkido, TKD and Muay Thai as well because I wanted to learn as many different martial arts as possible. I enjoyed all of them but I realized I loved boxing the most and found myself losing interest in MMA. It was like I found my one true love after dating multiple chicks. I can’t say exactly what it is about boxing in particular I love but I just do, even though it’s possible I’m more naturally built for something like BJJ. Getting my ass kicked, pushing myself physically was definitely an escape from the more mundane aspects of life. I felt lost in school so learning how to fight gave me a goal. I found myself wishing I started earlier so I could have had a career in the sport. There definitely was a feeling of not feeling like a pussy anymore which fed my male ego.
Now I’m an adult with a steady job living in a fairly safe area with nobody to bully me so a lot of those psychological factors are not as present. While I can’t with 100% certainty say that some of experiences of feeling emasculated and weak during my childhood don’t feed into my desire to train at all, but now when I train, it isn’t really an escape anymore. I simply enjoy the craft of learning the little nuances of the game along with the passion the sport brings. My desire to be the baddest motherfucker is gone (realized it’s hard to do being 5’5” and 150lbs) along with wanting to learn every fighting style there is. I realized I could train boxing for a lifetime and still have little nuances of the game I don’t know. People around me think it’s a bit deal when I say I boxed for nearly 7 years now but I realized it’s nothing. I’m barely scratching the surface and I have so much to learn.
Anyway, the most interesting parts of the documentary for me were the motivational factors for why some of these guys get into boxing/fighting. The documentary mostly points to financial motivations since these guys grew up really poor but also as an ironic way of getting out of violent environments. Hopkins says he was motivated to train and fight by his desire to never go back to prison. While I agree a great many fighters come from very poor backgrounds (usually a mixture of violence and poverty) as the documentary states, I don’t think that’s the only reason. I do however, think there is some kind of catalyst or something has happened in one’s life that made getting punched in the face as an attractive pursuit. Not all of us grew up poor as fuck, but here we are, volunteering for physical punishment and getting joy out of it.
I wonder why did you get into fighting? Were you bullied? Grew up in a rough area? It was family tradition?
I was always into martial arts and fighting like most boys but I was always too timid and scared to actually train or fight. I got picked on, occasionally beat up, and often felt helpless and weak. It didn’t help that I was fat and I hated working out. I felt more comfortable playing video games. My family wasn’t poor, but my parents were abusive. My mom was also ironically overprotective at the same time; would beat my ass but flip her shit if I did anything remotely harmful to myself. My dad would beat my ass for being a pussy but never taught me how to fight. I was a kid during Tyson’s reign and wished I had that kind of power myself. I wanted to be like a kung-fu master from watching martial arts movies as well so I could kick everybody’s ass. I realized I could join a boxing gym when I was 13 but my mother was worried about my safety so didn’t let me. Kendo seemed like a safer alternative but adults around me made up this ridiculous argument that it would prevent me from getting taller since I would be getting smacked on top of the head. My school then started a judo team which I jumped on. Once again, adults said it would prevent my growth (some bullshit about how hormones for making you taller would be allocated to muscle development instead. I was also discouraged from lifting weights for the same reason) but I did it anyway and loved it.
I moved to the states to a school that had no combat sports program, not even wrestling. And the area was extremely rural so there was no other gym in the area. I learned about MMA during this time and got into it because it was the first time I saw grappling being used effectively in a “real fight.” During college I really wanted to train MMA but there were no MMA gyms so I took up BJJ and boxing separately. I also dabbled a bit in fencing, hapkido, TKD and Muay Thai as well because I wanted to learn as many different martial arts as possible. I enjoyed all of them but I realized I loved boxing the most and found myself losing interest in MMA. It was like I found my one true love after dating multiple chicks. I can’t say exactly what it is about boxing in particular I love but I just do, even though it’s possible I’m more naturally built for something like BJJ. Getting my ass kicked, pushing myself physically was definitely an escape from the more mundane aspects of life. I felt lost in school so learning how to fight gave me a goal. I found myself wishing I started earlier so I could have had a career in the sport. There definitely was a feeling of not feeling like a pussy anymore which fed my male ego.
Now I’m an adult with a steady job living in a fairly safe area with nobody to bully me so a lot of those psychological factors are not as present. While I can’t with 100% certainty say that some of experiences of feeling emasculated and weak during my childhood don’t feed into my desire to train at all, but now when I train, it isn’t really an escape anymore. I simply enjoy the craft of learning the little nuances of the game along with the passion the sport brings. My desire to be the baddest motherfucker is gone (realized it’s hard to do being 5’5” and 150lbs) along with wanting to learn every fighting style there is. I realized I could train boxing for a lifetime and still have little nuances of the game I don’t know. People around me think it’s a bit deal when I say I boxed for nearly 7 years now but I realized it’s nothing. I’m barely scratching the surface and I have so much to learn.
