Glory 11 and Out of the shadow epilogue

Ringside view of Glory 11

Hello all, I have really enjoyed writing this blog and because of that learning more and more about myself as it pertains to martial arts of any kind. I have come to the realization lately that things are finally changing for the better at least in the world of kickboxing. I was blessed with tickets to Glory 11 in Chicago from my awesome fiance as you might have read in the previous blog. I was absolutely stoked for the fight card and couldn't believe I was going to there. My buddy Jorge and I talked it up everyday at the gym. We probably made everyone sick but we knew it was going to be a great show.

Hooked up with hoodies

       Now the funny thing about teaching, fighting, and just being around kickboxing everyday all day is that you forget that it's not hugely popular in the states. After seeing and experiencing what I did while in Chicago I know in my heart that that is about to change. First off let me say that we had no idea where the seats were until we arrived and realized that we are sitting front row behind the red corner and every fighter had to leave walking past us. Then I noticed that Joe Schilling, the winner of the Glory 10 tournament and one of my favorite fighters was sitting 2 seats over. I struck up a
conversation and he was nice enough to take a picture and shoot the shit.

Me and Joe Schilling

We were close enough to hear everything being said in the corners and hear every punch and kick land with thunderous thuds and slaps. After an early knockout, the winning fighter celebrated with us and his cornermen gave Jorge and I their sweatshirts. It was an electric night! The crowd was into it , the fighters were performing at the highest levels. There might have been 4 or 5 decisions out of 14 fights. Glory as well as Lion fights are waking up the masses to a sport that is as exciting as anything on television. And ultimately that is the key...Television. Glory 11 aired on Spike and Jorge and I were even receiving text messages that they saw us celebrating a knockout. It was absolutely incredible.

Cool ass Errol Zimmerman

       I have been fortunate enough to have gone to a lot of sporting events. NBA, MLB, NCAA(basketball and football),NHL, Boxing, Bellator...etc and this ranks as high as they come for an event. Even better were the fans, nobody screaming racial slurs or obscenities and no fights in the stands. Hopefully with the introduction into the mainstream that won't change. Anyway, the most awesome thing about the show was that all of the fighters were accessible. Errol Zimmerman chopped it up with us and even told us after Rico Verhoeven won the Heavyweight tournament that, "watch, i'm gonna knock him out again", referencing their last fight.  No big entourages keeping fans away, they were willing to sign autographs and have a conversation. They were down for their fans.
       I can only say that it was an absolute blast and that finally Muay Thai and Glory are getting their just reward for being so damn exciting. No worry about lay and pray fighters in a sport that allows you to get swept to the floor but then makes you stand back up and defend yourself. Btw, that's not an MMA diss, the last UFC card was sick and I absolutely miss Jiu Jitsu, but that's another story. For the record the trip and show was better than I could have possibly imagined and I can't wait to go again.

Out of the shadow: Epilogue

Lloyd Sr. and I

      Something else happened in Chicago, dinner with senior. It went amazingly well. He was humble and very cool. His fiance was awesome and we took steps to start a much needed dialogue. Since then we've been in touch and trying to stay on each others radar. This is a good beginning and I look forward to continuing this as we move into the future. Life has a way of  offering you different paths to follow and allowing you to make the decisions on which ones to take.Some times life offers the same path twice.

Out of the shadow of Senior

Hey guys, I am really happy to have all the support from my readers, students and friends, so thank you all. The last blog I wrote was my 100th post and as small as that might seem to some, for me it is awesome. I started writing the blog to just find another way to communicate my thoughts and reach out to others with similar interests and for some therapy. It turned out to be a pretty good idea and allowed me to give people insight into my personal life in a way that I don't normally. All that being said and in lieu of some recent happenings I think it's time to talk about my father and how martial arts taught me the lessons that he didn't, including how to accept him.
      I turned 41 years of age on September 14th of this year and on that day I received a message from my father saying that he apologized for our non-relationship etc.. I responded to that and it set the wheels in motion that has us meeting for dinner in Chicago when I go to watch the Glory 11 kickboxing event. I don't think I could possibly do justice to the rollercoaster ride that is my relationship with my father but I will try.

NCAA finals vs N.C. State

     My father whom from this point forward I'll call Senior. I am calling him Senior because we share a name and I was never fond of it because of our relationship and still feel uncomfortable with it at times. Senior was a basketball superstar in Chicago and had a very well known college career at Marquette University as well as playing the NBA.I would hear these legendary stories from people in Chicago in the neighborhood I grew up in as well as in Texas and in Miami from random people. Once I was working as a bag clerk at a grocery store in Texas and as the man whose groceries I was bagging saw my name tag he laughed and jokingly said, "You wouldn't be related to Lloyd Walton that played at Marquette University would you?.  I responded,"That's my father.". The man's mouth dropped as he went on to tell me how amazing he was and how he once held him to "35 points",  and that was as good job in his book.  I smiled as the man asked how he was doing and I gave him a generic answer because the truth was that I really didn't know. My father and I have always had a strained relationship. He was never married to my mother and was in and out of my life past the age of three or four. I never really knew when I would see him, but I would often hear stories of his greatness. The men in my family, my cousins, uncles, and grandfather had serious problems with substance abuse and Senior was no different. He had succumbed to his addiction and lost his NBA career along the way. I watched from a distance as my family structure crumbled and when I needed a male figure in my life there wasn't any available, but there was always martial arts. Even when my mom and I moved to Texas the lessons taught in Kung fu movies and Tae Kwon Do classes are the ones that stuck with me. Discipline, courage, hard work, and peace through connecting mind, body, and spirit. All of these lessons were fantastic however there was something missing. Not as a detriment or disrespect to my mother, aunt, grandmother, and other aunts and women in my life but there was no man around to teach me how to be a man. The women in my life worked tirelessly to teach me how to be a good person but I can honestly say that I am still a product of not having a father figure always around. I learned plenty about life while playing sports, and I have played plenty competitively growing up. However for a boy, nothing compares to having a male figure to look up to and emulate.

Milwaukee Bucks1979

       Where senior faulted, martial arts took over. From reading IRON FIST comic books, to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, to The Last Dragon, I was all in. I still am and always will be a martial artist, I devoted my time to it even if it was just reading about it and it carried me through every kind of pain you could imagine. It even carried me through the pain of having to let go of the idea of having Senior around. I suppose it sounds a little whiny, but I was constantly in the shadow of my father. He was considered a great ball player and he never was completely out of my life or the NBA. I would hear stories about him, see him on television, read stories in the newspaper, and for a time he was the director of the Jordan center in Chicago, a coach in the development league, he even ran for political office. He has always been in the spotlight and people would always ask about him and why I didn't play ball, and wasn't like him. It's damn hard to live up to a name you share but barely even know.

Me saying appropriately, "Finally".

      Over the years there have been chunks of time when senior and I didn't speak. five years here seven years there. Also, several times of reconciliation without serious commitment on either side to continue communications after. I always welcomed some sort of dialogue but it was never a consistent effort. As I began to fight and win I began to realize my true passion and create my own name. I have garnered the respect of my peers and no longer feel like I'm living in the shadow of Senior. Now when I have feelings of doubt, or depression, or uncertainty I train my arts, and they in turn help to calm my soul. So after all this time and finally reaching a place that I can accept myself, maybe I can also choose to accept him whether in my life or not. Time will tell.