Butuan Adventure was one of the insanely cool road trips that I had. We were going to an mma event in Butuan. The funny thing about it is that I dont have any fighters who are going to compete. We just went there to support mma fighters from Davao. there were five of them and I only knew one and he is a veteran competitor. It was indeed a long trip, travelling to a long and winding road. At one time we approached two backhoes along the road.OMG.... A few meters of road was fixed and on both sides are these huge machines...Well after what happened in Maguindanao these huge heavy equipments have a negative effect on us...Naaahhh..Too much of that thing gives you nightmares and paranoia.. Nontheless, we pushed thru with the trip. Kay ngano man dili? :)
We arrived early and the first thing that we looked for was....FOOD. Indeed everyone was darn starving. I could even hear each others stomach growl, I guess louder than the words that we utter. Afterwhich we proceeded to the VEnue. From the outside it looks small however, inside it is fairly a nice size of a place to handle such event.
The dug out was way more different, it looks like a "bodega" a storage room..filled with fighters. The way I see it, others are so eager to fight that they want it to get over and done with, and others are there sitting on one corner, I guess they are having the first time jitters, meditating or just plainly being silent.
Well, we saw our local team fighters and the first thing we did was to help them wrap their hands...Unfortunately we ran out of tape. The organizers were not prepared for that. Hence, it is really prudent for fighters to bring their own stuff and not rely soley on the event people.
We watched the competition from the begining till the end. We were there to corner for the fighters and assist in coaching them. HOwever, this poses a big dilemma for the fighters and the one coaching..the fighters does not have the communication link between the corner people. WHY?...because they were not really our fighters, they were not the fighters that we trained. Basta, ang goal was to help them out and assist them to win the game. Walang coach-fighter relationship ala Roach-Paqcuiao tandem. Therefore, there was a big coaching problem. And this predicament manifested on the debut fighters..."SIT-UP" we shouted..and he answered "ANO?" he might be even thinking that we are telling him to set it up. "Ground and Pound" we yelled and the player responded "lagi" (alright), "head and body shots" and the fighter did a hammer fist on the body and the head (hhmmm, what an awkward manuever or maybe I am not just used to that kind of move). For the two veteran fighters we did not struggle. They won convincingly and impressively. The result turned out well, 4 fighters won and only one lost via TKO. Not bad.
Postfight was the best portion of the event. They had a good band who played non stop for almost 2 or 3 hours. They were able to jam the songs that we like. The best part is all teams from different places partied and had a blast. Others think that this might be odd, (they just fought awhile ago and afterwards they are partying)but this is the spirit of the sport. Its all about sportsmanship, fighters dont take it personaly (because after the fight I dont see whats next to settle the score, play chess? ahahaha). After the fight, the opponents become buddies, FB friends, txt mates...
Went home around 2 or 3am I really cannot remember, and they woke us up around 7 in the morning, Who are we referring to? they? the Organizers... for an early breakfast...WHAT???? BREAKFAST??? yup ...7AM....yeah....Eyes are still red...my head was very light......and we did not have time to take a bath..Crrrrrrrazzzzzzy.
Whats crazier, mental, berserk than this....is this guy brushing his teeth in front of the hotel..ahahah. Sobrang madali.
But we had to..off we go to the local carenderia and had our breakfast. We had a hot fish soup (it was more of 99% soup and 1% fish, I had to dive deep on the recesses of the bowl before I can scoop out a piece of fish), a ton of scrambled egg coupled with a bottle of COKE for breakfast. One thing I noticed with the owner of this establishment, he was also a fighter who particpated in the event and won. But that was not the real score, I noticed him drinking Tanduay rum early in the morning. uhhhh i dont think i can do that but yes he was drinking some, as if he was drinking gatorade after a heavy work out.
Going home was fun, in a way, as we would tell jokes and pick on each other. And in the middle of the travel again...the fighters were looking for food. After a couple of hours ride..I guess everyone should be hungry. The group almost ate up all the food that the eatery had and I think the carenderia ran out of rice.
Having this kind of activity is fun and exciting especially if everyone has the same mind set and share a common interest. For this, it was the love for the MMA sport. I hope for the winners, their head wont swell and be filled with ego. I hope they stay humble and be humble. For the defeated warrior, this will be a learning experience and a chance for him to strive hard more and standup after the fall. Sa mga gusto mag compete just train for the next event, for now ibog lang sa. And for us who did not fight...Support lang kami and we enjoyed what we are doing. This sport is a test of character and a test of attitude. Well, good things never last.
As what a famous warrior said:
"The Way of a Warrior is based on humanity, love, and sincerity; the heart of martial valor is true bravery, wisdom, love, and friendship. Emphasis on the physical aspects of warriorship is futile, for the power of the body is always limited."-
Ueshiba Morihei, The Art Of Peace
I guess thats it for now, nothing much to say anymore. Till next time!!
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