When the judge yells, “Go,” I use my 11 inch height advantage to sting
Gary with a left jab. Yes, that’s correct, 11 inches. The tale of the tape puts
Gary at 5 foot 2 and 180 pounds. I am 6 foot 1 and have a bit more than 100
pounds on him. But, he does have a very long beard.
I walk back to my line feeling a bit ashamed that I used my huge reach
advantage to score that point. Well, I thought it was a point until the judge
indicated he didn’t see my gloved fist pop Gary in the forehead - the score is
still tied at zero.
On our second clash, Gary kicks me in the groin (generally not legal nor encouraged) right before I punch
him in the ribs. The judges debate whether to give Gary one point or two
before deciding on one. 1-0 Gary.
I hesitate a bit on the next clash, not sure what I have to do to score
a point on Gary while at the same time protecting the family jewels. He uses
this opportunity to throw a short kick - I move out of the way and tag him with
a short jab to the jaw. 1-1.
On the next clash, I chase into the corner Gary, and he catches me with a kick as he is falling away from me. 3-1 Gary.
Gary kicks me in the groin again. As I am chasing him down, the judge
decides there should be a break, right as I am popping Gary with a short right
hand which sends him to the canvas. No point. Still 3-1 Gary.
On the next clash, I back Gary up with a thrust kick before my second
thrust kick sends him to the canvas. Point Gary. 4-1
Seemingly able to kick Gary at will, I tag Gary with an ugly combo
roundhouse kick. As Gary does not get within 3 feet of me, the judges decide I
may have earned these two points. 4-3 Gary.
Feeling confident, I attempt a spinning wheel kick which missed by a
few inches but leaves me in perfect position to drill Gary with a left jab,
knocking his helmet nearly completely off and sending him wobbling. No point.
On the next point, I decide to go back to the basics and just stick
Gary in the face with a left jab. Gary goes down hard and some piece of his
equipment falls off, which he angrily tosses aside. The judge tells me that because Gary chose to wear a
helmet without a facemask, I cannot hit him in the face. But, as I am wearing a
facemask, he can hit me in the face. No point, but that blow got Gary ticked off.
At this point, I was pretty perplexed about what move to attempt. As I
don’t have very good balance my kicking arsenal is limited, so my attack is
usually focused around left jabs to the face, which are now illegal. So, I go at Gary with a weak thrust kick - he blocks it and counters with a nice right hand toward my chest. I largely block
his punch so no point is given. I would have given Gary the point - it was a great counter attack.
On the final clash of the match, Gary stays aggressive and comes at me
with a low kick, which I block. As he loads up to throw a haymaker to the
outside of my shoulder, I swat him in the side of the helmet, carrying my blow
into his face. He wobbles away holding his eye. No point.
2 minutes is up and the match is over. Gary wins 4-3.
A couple hours later, I am catching some of the other action at the tournament and see Gary in the distance. I walk over to him and congratulate him on his victory. It turns out that he is
from Missouri. He has been whooping up on his competition down there, so he
joined some members from his gym on a 10 hour bus ride to Minnesota for this
tournament. I ask if he brought any family with him, and he shook his head,
saying he could not afford it. We shake hands again, snap a quick picture, and
then go our separate ways.
As I reflect back, I’m certainly not satisfied with
how the fight was judged. From an obviously biased perspective I felt like I
should have won somewhere between 7-3 and 11-3. However, I take two lessons away from the experience. First, I have a lot of improving to do when it comes to clean technique and striking. If my form was better, I probably would have received more points.
Also, I can’t help but be happy for Gary. I’ve had plenty of moments in the sun, but something tells me Gary has not. He can go home with his head held high and tell him family and friends how he whooped up on a big boy from Minnesota. So, good for you, Gary. I look forward to a rematch next year - any chance you could wear a helmet that has a facemask?
Also, I can’t help but be happy for Gary. I’ve had plenty of moments in the sun, but something tells me Gary has not. He can go home with his head held high and tell him family and friends how he whooped up on a big boy from Minnesota. So, good for you, Gary. I look forward to a rematch next year - any chance you could wear a helmet that has a facemask?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6NYEQDmChk&feature=youtu.be
