Fightville

Fightville

This is a film about the guys in Louisiana fight scene. The people of the film are Gil Guillory, fight promoter, Dustin Poirier, fighter, Albert Stainbeck, fighter, Tim Credeur, fighter and gym owner, Josh Artigue, trainer, and a multitude of other people from the area.

I was fortunate enough to be part of this process and will let you in on how this got started. Several years ago one of the fighters from the gym, Scott Sonnier, had an MMA match against Mike Goss. Mike was the subject of the acclaimed documentary, How to Fold a Flag.

Scott beat Mike in the match.

Mike then returned to Louisiana for another match and asked Scott if he could help him out. Scott offered to let Mike stay at his house and cornered him for his fight which was being filmed for the Flag documentary.

While screening the documentary the film maker, Micheal Tucker, explained this situation to the production company. They were so impressed by this that they told Micheal to go get the rest of the story about these crazy people in Louisiana. This is how the film was born.

Tucker came down to film an event with USA-MMA, a fight company owned by Gil Guillory. Dustin and Albert were fighting in the event. Tucker then asked to come to the gym to do some filming. This is where he got hooked on the idea. While filming he became exposed to the cast of characters that is Gladiators Academy Lafayette.

Over the course of a year Tucker would come down and film the gym and the events we were participating. We had a great time and Tucker loved every minute he was down here. Tucker used a very non-intrusive style of filming. He just hung out in the background and would scuttle about making sure to stay out of the way. He once described the filming process as being allowed to live with a pride of lions.

The film is a glimpse into the world of MMA fighting at the beginning level up to the big leagues. It shows how guys live, train, and fight.

Perfection

The UFC this weekend gave us a display of martial arts perfection with the Anderson Silva KO of Vitor Belfort via a front kick to the face.

Silva has won 13 fights in the UFC more than anyone ever in the UFC. He has beaten the best possible fighters in his weight division in Franklin, Henderson and Sonnen, no offense to my buddy Tim. In the meantime he has to entertain himself and he does it by trying to perfect his martial arts effectiveness. Instead of going out there and throwing 1000 techniques he found a single technique to do the job. This is the pinnacle of martial arts and people forget this because they want to be entertained.

Can just anyone do this? No. He can though. He is going to go down as the greatest fighter in MMA. So he looked to do a one hitter quitter in Belfort. He accomplished a feat rarely seen in fighting. So instead of marveling at the accomplishment people are berating him for it and having Steven Segal hanging around.

Here is the best MMA fighter in the world hanging out with an aged movie star THAT WE ALL IDOLIZED. So he has the means and fame to hang out with Segal who cares. Segal was able to open a dojo in Japan that stayed open. He was a white man in an Asian country teaching martial arts. Now he goes hang out with the best MMA fighter and people are talking shit. Norris trains with the Machados and uses them on his TV show is there a difference?

Teaching middle school drives you to the brink of insanity

Teachers are a special breed of people. We work for little pay and get little respect. We are subject to this statement "those who can't do teach" , which infuriates me to no end. Middle school on the other hand is another animal, quite frankly I hate my job. To further make matters worst it's in a place that I friend described as ghetto country.

Well as I walk in the halls I listen to the other teachers and can hear the despair in their voices. They began talking and then it just derails into almost nonsense as they lose a coherent train of thought. Even as they talk to each other this happens. The people that have been here for awhile are feedup with the environment at the school. Personally I am waiting for something very bad to happen here.

Teaching takes a special person teaching middle school takes a "special" person. I am not that kind of special.

Nostalgia

The History Channel runs a series of superhero technology. They get the comic creators to explain the fantasy and then scientist will say if it's plausible for me it is like a childhood conversation with other comic fans. My favorite part is when the creator talks about his character. Stan Lee being the best. His voice is so iconic and brings back memories of Saturday morning watching cartoons. He always talks about his characters with such conviction. He treats them just like his children.

I find it funny that when I was a kid we were looked down upon for reading comics. Now comics characters are the most popular movie genre. Much like the people who made fun of us for reading comics these same ass hats flock to the movie theater to watch them come to life on the screen because of their want to fit in with the masses. Since they only know the picture and have no idea about the history of the character we are made to sit and watch some bastardized version of our favorite characters. Tim Burton being the worst culprit of them all. I will bash his ass in a minute.

Comics were a great escape for me when I was younger. I learned a lot from them vocabulary, history, culture, and morals. I still love them today and one of my resolutions is to start collecting them again. Mind you not in the fervor I did as a kid but with the responsibility of an adult(I reread this and found it funny). I still have a great comic collection that I have stashed away in the closet boarded and bagged. Every year I think of selling them then I remember how much fun it was to read them and I don't.

Batman is my favorite comic character. Quite possibly the greatest character concept ever. He is just a man with the will of a titan. I have been reading him for years. I wear a Batman rash guard when I do martial arts. Honestly I wanted to be an FBI agent because of him but changed my career when I found out I was going to have a child. He strives to be a better man and works to improve things around him. The lore and legend surrounding him makes for so much fun when reading.

This is why Tim Burton should have been beaten with a baseball bat hit with a semi truck then dropped off the Empire State building. The Adam West version was fun to watch as a kid and was made for children. Burton tried to make a version for the masses with Micheal Keaton. Keaton while being an extraordinary actor was not meant to be Batman or more importantly Bruce Wayne. Glasses, a turtle neck, and curly hair I mean come on really that's a millionaire playboy with separation issues. I don't even want to get into the Joe Chill being the Joker. Actually everyone involved in that movie needed a good beating. The rest of that series I am not going to mention because it makes me so mad and I want to bash my computer.

I wish more people would have put more time in reading and knowing a little of the history of the figures that are being blasted on the movie screen. This way we could at least have the right version of the character being presented.

Excelsior

Being a dad

I am sitting at Applebees waiting for food and I was looking at my kids in my photos. I got all emotional because I do not have them here with me. I love my children to the point I would kill someone for hurting them. I am not joking I would hunt you down like a dog and inflict the worst pain you ever felt if you messed with my children.

As I am looking at the pics I realize just how ill-equipped I am as a father. I never had a good role model for a dad. I had 5 step fathers so trust me when I say I had enough bad examples. My current step dad is a nice guy but I meet him when I was 17 and left home at 18. He is a great guy and I am happy my kids call him Papa by he wasn't an influence growing up.

My biggest influence was my high school electronics teacher, Mr Wayne Fruge. I spent more time with him in 4 years than anyone else. He was the main reason I went into teaching and still I hope to be as good of a teacher as him.

My son is 17 now and I think I did an ok job raising him. He is turning into a fine young man and I am proud of him. I just wish I could do more for him. Unfortunately I decided to be a school teacher.

Well my food is here and I just hope that the most important job I have been taxed with I do not fail.

Effort

In an effort to make some things better I am going to begin writing a blog and see how it goes. I do not know how this will go or how it will turn out but I think that it is best to start chronically things to help make some sense of it.

I guess I can start with the gym. I am a martial arts instructor. While this is not my full time job I associate myself as such more so than as a school teacher which I do as my main job. The teaching job we can talk about later and I will more than likely rant about it many times. I am currently a Judo BB and BJJ purple belt. I enjoy the title of instructor at Gladiators Academy of Lafayette under Tim Creduer. I get to train all aspects of people in martial arts from the accountants to professional fighters. I really enjoy this part of my day.

I think there is something about putting on the judogi and tying my belt that gets me in the right mindset. I know not many people can understand this but I have a great affinity for role as an instructor. The responsibility that comes with teaching people is something I cherish. I feel great satisfaction when I see one of my students perform a move that I taught them. The process of putting on my judogi is the start of it for me. Its a uniform and I think that from my time in the Marines the wearing of a uniform held an important significance.

In the Marines we were expected to be a textbook version of a Marine when in uniform. Everything had to be in a certain place and wore in a certain manner. A judogi can not be pressed and ironed but it still can be presentable. I make sure that the judogi I wear is clean and not foul smelling. I take great care when tying my belt to ensure both ends are the same length and my name and the judo kanji are facing outward. My BB has become worn and is starting to fade. I think of all the time it has been around my waist and the amount of work that has gone into earning and keeping that belt and it makes me smile to think I can still wear it.

The next best feeling is when my feet hit the mat. That cushioned vinyl surface absorbs all of life problems and makes me feel at home. Aches, pains, worries and concerns are all just gone once I feel it under my feet. Its the best therapy.

I will finish with a story.

I was in Japan at the Kodokan on a visit to see my wife's family. If you ever get the chance to go to Japan please do so. As I was going up the stairs to the main training hall I passed a couple of older judoka in thier 60s with canes making their way up to the dojo. They could barely make it up the steps. After we bow in the older guys began randori, sparring. No warm up no stretching they just grabbed each other and began to move.

They started off foot sweeping each other over and over. It was beautiful technique. They would throw each other with umph to it. After each throw the would laugh get up and sweep the other one to the mat. Then they began to throw each other in hip tosses and seoi nages. I could hear them hit the mat from halfway across the room. I would look over thinking someone just got KTFO and it was those 2 old men. They would laugh and get right back at it. They keep it up for about 20 minutes then sat down. I am thinking that they were done for the day. Nope. They then started with the younger guys and would foot sweep, toss them and most impressively completely stop the younger guys technique with a simple hip check or just embarrassingly counter them.

I am sitting there in between rounds of randori marveling at these 2 old men who could barely make it up the steps and were using canes to get around get on the tatami and destroy people. I am glad to have witnessed it that day and hope that one day I will be fortunate enough to be one of those men.