ALWAYS GO HARD, REGARDLESS!
On the day of this fight the person who was booked to fight me walked in the front door, ...looked at me, ...and ran out the back door. Lol!
I must say that I probably don't blame him. Back then we never knew who we were fighting, what the rules would be, if there were weight classes, if we would get paid the peanuts that we were promised, or where we were even sleeping that night after the fight. Heck, sometimes there wasn't even a doctor or trained ref there. We were true gangstas.
The person who stepped up to honorably replace my opponent for this fight weighed about 170 while I was weighing 183 on the dot. Not much of a difference but what would be considered below my weight class today.
It was nice of him to step in on such short notice plus he was also the little brother of one of my back then favorite fighters. So I decided to take it very easy on him and at least not to hurt him.
I pounded the little guy with leg kicks hoping that he would just sit down from the pain but he didn't. He took 'em like a rebellious child taking a spanking from a parent! He repeatedly shot in for the takedown gripping on like a damn Pitbull on a bloody leg, no matter how many times I Sprawled or peeled him away with Crossfaces! He had no plans of taking any of the easy ways out of this fight that I was offering.
It took me a while to realize that there was a possibility that this little stick of dynamite could beat me if I kept "trying not to hurt him". I then remembered that we were participating in the true warrior's game and that it was my DUTY by code to give my all for the Martial Arts, and not to satisfy my own ego by showing kindness on the battlefield against someone who was effectively attacking me. I was supposed to be serving the arts, not myself. So I cleared my mind and heart and did what I was sworn to do.
Sometimes our kindness can be our weakness. I learned this in this fight. Even though some may say, "Oh it's good that you wanted to be nice to your opponent", I say no it isn't. There were others to consider before my opponent ranging from my trainers, my dojo, my teammates, the fans, and most importantly, ...the TRUTH.
To hold back was a dishonest use of my skill in front of people who trusted me to be honest with my capabilities. Even the fans that I didn't know and had never met. I owed them my sincerity because they chose to honor me as a true fighter. A title that I chose to be.
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