Joe Daddy

Newcastle, January 2008

“And your winner is…”

Where’d you get those muscles?

“The name’s Jake, Jake Da Muss…”

Ever seen Once Were Warriors? There is a scene where a massive Maori walks into a bar and puts some earache music on the jukebox. Jake Da Muss, the principal character (all-round badass and bit of a mean fucker) saunters up to him. The conversation is short and sweet. It goes something like…

“Gee, where’d you get those muscles from, bro?” says Jake. “You’ve been lifting those weights, huh?”

Jake’s not small, but this guy is way bigger than him. When ‘Muscles’ tells Jake to fuck off, Jake kicks the shit out of him – he goes back to his mates and remarks, “Too much weights, not enough speed work. Useless prick”.

Over-sized muscles?  Check.  Uncontrollable flailing?  Check.

When are fighters going to learn – body building does not make you a better fighter?

Disco muscles are all well and good if all you are about is looking ‘good’. Getting buff comes with the hard training of being an MMA fighter anyway, so why do low level fighters still think that the size of their biceps directly contributes to their martial prowess?

Anyway, check out the scene in question here:

Drugs in MMA

People question whether there is a drug problem in MMA.

My answers is simple: I think the real drug problem in MMA is that fighters aren’t being tested for them.

Constant evolution

From the brilliant Gaping Void. Check out the awesome post on How To Be Creative.

“Fast-paced environment”. “Exciting industry”. “Ever-changing parameters”.

I’ve come to loathe descriptions like the above. They’re bullshit corporatespeak concepts that are meant to gloss over the fact that your job is stressful as fuck.

Working in publishing isn’t a job for clock-watchers. You can’t turn up, skive until home time and repeat week in, week out, for 30 years. There is no room for excess baggage. Dead weight gets booted out as soon as it starts holding up the progress of the juggernaut.

There are no minimum expectations in this job. You can never get away with doing an ‘OK’ piece of work. Everything has to be fresh, new, and original. That’s a tough proposition for anyone, and not everyone can hack it. To be continuously creative – to always look to develop, refine, hone and improve – it’s not just tough, it taxes your fucking soul.

One quote that I have imprinted into my mind is, “If your magazine isn’t reporting novelty, your magazine is dull”.

I am very critical of the product I help create. I always want it to be better than last time. I want people to read Fighters Only and say, ‘wow, that is one fucking cool magazine’. I get off on the fact that people dig the mag. I won’t lie – to know that people are genuinely appreciative of your work, something you created, something you put together – it’s hugely gratiftying.

I’ve had many, many jobs that I hated. In fact, I would go so far as to say that with maybe one exception (a 6-month period working in a Youth Hostel at the foot of Mount Snowdon) I haven’t enjoyed a single job I’ve had until this one, although I still don’t consider it a job – it’s my career, or sometimes just ‘work’).

I’ve come across the same story over and over in MMA. People have a job they hate, they find something they love, and they make a career for themselves out of it through no small amount of sacrifice, hard work and luck. UFC match maker Joe Silva was a manager of an arcade and self-confessed “martial arts geek” when he first contacted the pre-Zuffa promotion. Now he’s one of the most powerful men in the entire industry. I was working for a bank when I first got the chance to combine my love for MMA with a dalliance into the realm of journalism. A few years later and I’m at the helm of an extremely successful entity, and believe me, I look back with no sense of loss whatsoever.

The constant evolution of not only the industry we cover, but the landscape in which we operate, the skills we need to be able to produce a quality magazine and the challenges presented by competitors and newcomers, is one hell of a ride.

Still, like I said before, it beats working in a McJob.

I’m becoming nocturnal

The week before deadline, it’s like everything in my life gets flipped upside down. Dirty dishes start piling up. I eat when I remember instead of when I should. I work through the night and sleep when I’ve finished what I’m working on, no matter what time that may be. I rarely go to sleep before the birds start singing.

My legs are sore from sitting down at my desk for such extended periods of time. I’ve drunk about forty-three cups of tea and coffee over the last two days and eaten two whole packs of biscuits. I’ve trained once all week.

Still, beats working in a McJob.

Cage Gladiators (reprise)

Ahead of their event this Saturday night in Liverpool, here is another from the Cage Gladiators archives – UFC fighter Terry Etim busting out a high kick back when he was still fighting on the domestic scene.

Terry’s a great guy with a bright future ahead of him, 22 years old and entering his fourth UFC fight in October, luckily for us, back here in the UK. For more on Terry check out next month’s issue of Fighters Only.

Hard at work

Cage Gladiators

Taken at a Cage Gladiators event in Liverpool. They’ve got another show coming up this weekend, check out the card here – It’s gonna be a good one. See you there.

Are you sure you’re supposed to be here?

Judging by some of the search engine terms that brought people to my site, I’m guessing some of them really weren’t planning on being here. Check out some of the terms people were searching for. Very bizarre.

• no one really likes leglock guys
• i hate bjj
• he who dies with the most toys wins
• “strong guys” bjj
• bjj bullshit
• fuckles
• i suck at bjj

Fuckles? Man, some people…