From Fight Fans to Combat Photographers
1992 with Rorion Gracie
June 1992 while I was officiating the Long Beach International Karate Championships I came across a booth that was filled with people climbing over one another trying to see what was playing on a tiny table top TV. It was apparently a video tape shot at the gymnasium of nearby El Camino College. On the film was a young Jui Jitsu practitioner named Rorion Gracie that was decisively beating into submission one after the other a long line of larger opponents. Each time ending the same way, on their backs and humiliated into tapping from the variety of excruciating holds they had never seen before. There were football players, college wrestlers and none could defend themselves against their noticeably smaller competition. Being a Shotokan black belt, this was far from the traditional method of combat i was familiar with. We sat and talked discussing our different philosophies on the fight game and I developed a deep respect for the art of Gracie Jui Jitsu that day. A little more than a year later on November 1993 in Denver, Colorado I witnessed first hand the deceptive power and practicality of the art as I watched Rorion's little brother compete and dominate in what was then called The Ultimate Fight Championship, better known today as UFC-1. Rorion's little brothers name - Royce Gracie.
That was it. I was hooked. Combat sports for me were never the same again and that’s when I went from being a practitioner to a fight fan. Watching the fights through the years and the evolution of the sport fueled a love for capturing the moments when man (and now woman) is pushed to the very limit of his or her ability to endure pain, exhaustion and fatigue and yet still find the will to finish the fight and in some cases dig even deeper to come out the victor. The winner isn’t always as important as the fight - and that’s why we are always there to capture those moments.
That was it. I was hooked. Combat sports for me were never the same again and that’s when I went from being a practitioner to a fight fan. Watching the fights through the years and the evolution of the sport fueled a love for capturing the moments when man (and now woman) is pushed to the very limit of his or her ability to endure pain, exhaustion and fatigue and yet still find the will to finish the fight and in some cases dig even deeper to come out the victor. The winner isn’t always as important as the fight - and that’s why we are always there to capture those moments.
Ring or Cage... We Bring the Fights To You.Action Fighter Media brings you coverage from your favorite fight networks as well as the best local bouts from cities across the country. We cover anything combat sports related. Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, BJJ. Although we cover some nationally televised events our main focus is in helping to showcase the very talented local fighters that lack the resources or opportunities to gain national exposure.
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