The Fight Capital of Asia will come alive on Friday for ONE Fighting Championship: Rise to Power at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Some 20,000 fight fans are expected to watch the fights headlined by a title defense by ONE FC Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario against Japan’s Koji Oishi.
We talked to Leo, a Filipino fight enthusiast since 2004 who trains in Manila and Bangkok, for some tips for first-timers to the world of mixed martial arts.
What to Wear
Leo says you should preferably wear “something nice for a fight night”. We’re not talking fur coats and spats because this is Manila and fur fashion is cruel, but do try to dress up a little. Badass MMA shirts are okay if you want to show your support for the fighters, but wearing them just to look tough at fight night might not go over well with your seatmates.
“It’s a little cheesy,” he says. Besides, it’s a big event and most of not all of Manila’s serious fighters will be there. They don’t need shirts to let each other know who they are and what they’re about.
Basic Decorum
Don’t be an asshole. You are not watching the fights at a pay-per-view pizza party with your buddies. Some things to avoid: “Too much inebriation, picking a fight with your seatmate, checking out your seatmate’s girlfriend.” Avoid talking too loudly about the technical details of the fight since you might ruin it for others who are watching.
“It’s the show, elevated levels of testosterone are expected,” he says.
It’s About More Than Just Two Guys Hurting Each Other
While a fight is on, Leo adviseskeeping quiet and trying to understand the technique being displayed. “Try not to boo,” he says, sharing Japanese audiences are known for being quiet during fights out of respect for the skills that both fighters are showing.
Filipino crowds are somewhere in between Japanese and American audiences, who tend to be “super loud”, he says.
Keep in mind, too, that for some fighters, it’s more than just a fight. It’s about “glory, honor, cash, representing the nation, or proving a point.” Being a professional fighter is a tough job that demands determination and discipline. “Some just enjoy warfare,” Leo adds.
Appreciate the Fighter, not the Nationality
We’ll all (probably) be rooting for our home-grown heroes, but it really boils down to individual fighters testing their skills against each other. Win or lose, every fighter who walks into the ring deserves respect no matter what flag they’re fighting under.
Going up against another warrior is hard enough, doing it in front of his hometown crowd is even tougher. Everyone will be doing everyone else a favor by not letting the crowd turn ugly. “I witnessed that, back in the day– 2006 or 2007–it was 0-4 against China and everyone went home sad,” Leo says.
In many ways, the fighters in the ring have more in common with each other than with us who just happened to be born in the same ocuntry.
Don’t Second-Guess the Fighters
In “Snow Crash”, writer Neal Stephenson says that “until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances, he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world.” This is normal, and you have a right to feel that you can fight better than the guys in the ring. You probably can’t, though. Not in real life.
Get in the Ring
It’s normal, when watching something awesome, to think, “I can do that.” And maybe you can. It’ll take a lot of training, though. If you’re serious, Leo offers this advice: Find out your base style first. “Boxing , Muay Thai, Wrestling or Jiu Jitsu, then branch out from there. Try to understand each and every art, learn the basics.”
“For instance, I came from a wrestling basehen I learned jiu jitsu and competed in tournaments. Then, I learned boxing, and started sparring, boxing. Then, I learned Muay Thai finally in Thailand,” Leo, who has been training for nine years, says.
