ONRA:August13th,2009

Grapplers rise above rivalries

By Roman Dela Cruz • For Pacific Daily News • August 13, 2009

This column is about mixed martial arts, and it will appear on a biweekly basis on Thursdays
Hafa Adai,

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  • How many of us know that Marianas mixed martial arts pioneer Tetsuji Kato fought a young Anderson Silva at 170 lbs. (before his career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship) to a third-round decision loss in professional shooto?

Kato! He’s our friend!

It was Guam and Saipan at a tie with five wins each in a very exciting Saipan vs. Guam card at Trench Warz 10: Collision at the Saipan World Resort.

Abroad, former Guam resident in Texas Tessa Simpson won her MMA bout July 25 but suffered her first loss Aug. 4. While Jesse “Spiderman” Taitano, our island’s closest world title contender, fought and lost a third-round decision in the main event of Shooto GIG Saitama 1 in Japan.

Hats are off and the glasses are raised for the coordinators of the Marianas Open with another well-organized event pitting a cast of Guam’s grappling and MMA notables among many in Brazilian jiu jitsu and submission grappling competition. Also at the Phoenix Center, the MACP tournament was finalized to decide who would represent Guam late this September in Georgia.

Witnessing the coaching and competition among the different academies of our island, it was refreshing to be reminded that, despite the gym rivalries that might be stirred up or exaggerated in hearsay and anticipated excitement, our island’s grappling has continued to develop and prosper not only as individual events but also as sharpening tools for international competition as Guam grappling looks to further horizons abroad.

Through a common love of the game the spirit of competition and the pursuit of performance in the grappling arts have made way for sportsmanship and camaraderie to take the front seat over the heat of confrontation.

What is apparent is that once in the shadows of MMA, Guam grappling and BJJ have cast their own light, and their own separate identity into the communities on- and off island. As impressive as it is that our fighters have become names in MMA events overseas, our achievements in the grappling arts further illustrate that the roads of training do not necessarily lead to MMA, nor does the definition of success and accomplishment in combatives need to be defined exclusively in MMA.

As talks of submission grappling as a future Olympic sport become more serious, as MMA spreads across the globe and as our world leaders in the sport take greater steps to bring light into their audience, the intoxication from so many things to applaud can continue to throttle us forward.

Interesting days are definitely ahead. Hopefully all that we’ve accomplished can pave the road to success not just for today but for many tomorrows as something future generations may build on.

To every academy, to all the men, women and children in sacrifice and training, from the tatami to the canvas, from the gi to the gloves, from the four corners of the ring to the eight sides of the cage, for all the hard efforts and for all the ambition, in victory or defeat: God bless.

Thanks for dropping by.