An Interview given by Alan Wong for International Kickboxer Magazine Vol 19, No 6 issue (2011).

THE MEN BEHIND THE CHAMPIONS

IK: What’s your background and how did you get involved in Martial Arts?

My maternal Grandfather was a “famous” Chinese Kung Fu expert. Mum always talked about his feats and the idea of getting involved in MA just grew within me since a very young age. At the age of 8, I was set upon by 4 teenagers and was beaten up senseless. So without hesitation, my father made sure that will never happen again. He took me to a man everyone calls SIFU and asked him to train me. This man was Master Wu Tak-Ming, an expert in Shao-Lin Kung Fu. Through him I learnt discipline and the importance of hard training. We trained almost everyday and there were only 6 of us plus our Master. I must have been very dedicated at that age because to get to training I had to ride my push bike 10 kilometres each way after school. I spent 8 years doing that and along the way I met other martial artists of various discipline.

The state I lived in actually borders Thailand and as a consequence, there were quite a lot of Thai nationals living and working in my town. Through common interest of MA, I met a Thai (of Chinese descent) when I was about 15 years old. He wanted to learn Chinese Kung Fu so I started teaching him what I know. However I noticed that he moved well and there was something about him that I couldn’t work out. Eventually I pestered him enough that he finally told me that he used to compete in Muay Thai as a youngster (He was about 35 when I met him). In exchange I asked him to teach me some moves which he agreed. It fascinated me and one day he took me up to a border town in South Thailand to watch some Muay Thai fights at some local festivals. That was the first time I had seen Muay Thai in action and I was instantly hooked. When we got home, I told him I wanted to give fighting a go and with some reluctance he said yes. I wondered why he was reluctant until I had my first Muay Thai bout. It was the most painful experience of my MA career. To cut the long story short, my first Muay Thai trainer is Somchai Pitpatiyakul. 10 of my fights were held in the Northern Malaysian states of Kedah and Kelantan and I had about 5 fights in the Southern Provinces of Thailand.

Two years later I left Malaysia for Australia to further my education. Right from the beginning, I knew I was never going to be a great fighter. I started training in Muay Thai at 15 while my opponents started as soon as they could walk. That was why my trainer had some reservations when I asked him about training to fight. So I decided to pursue a career sitting at a desk instead of getting punched, elbowed, kicked and kneed for a living.

While studying in Adelaide, I felt like I was missing something and that something was training in MA. In 1980, I started a club at Flinders University teaching Shao-Lin Kung Fu. Muay Thai was not as well known then and with my limited knowledge of Muay Thai I decided that teaching Kung Fu was a better option.

IK: When and why did you decide to start training fighters?

On the same year I opened my club, I was approached by a guy who wanted to promote Kickboxing in Adelaide. He was looking for fighters to compete. I jumped at the opportunity and took a fight in his promotion. The promotion went well but I lost my fight with a dislocated shoulder. After that I decided that fighting is just not for me and concentrated on training people. I trained some students who competed successfully in Martial Arts competition. Kickboxing was gaining popularity in the eighties and by natural progression I began training my students to compete in kickboxing rather than traditional martial arts.

I knew that it was only a matter of time before Muay Thai will become popular so I took every opportunity I could to learn more by going to Thailand during the University breaks. I am glad I did that because it gave me a great start when Muay Thai started gaining popularity.

IK: What does it take to become a trainer?

I really can’t answer that question without wondering if I made myself look like an idiot. Each trainer has a different approach to training so I really cannot answer this in general. Maybe I can start by saying this (I stick by this to this day), “Never expect your students to do anything that you yourself had never done before”. I have always preached to my pad-holders that they have to lead by example. Don’t point your finger at a fighter who is late for training when you are late yourself. In my case, I always put the fighters first. I believe in being hard but fair (although if you are in the line of fire, you never think it is fair).

IK: If you weren’t a trainer, what would you be doing?

I think I would have tried harder to be more successful in my career as an Engineer. I would probably have gone chasing the dollars in that field probably through peer pressure rather than be a natural at it. If that was the case, I would be fat and rich but worried about my high blood pressure.

IK: How did you come to train one of Australia’s best?

Paul Slowinski is a step-son of one of my best mates at work. We met for the first time when my friend brought Paul, his mother and brother to visit me one weekend. Paul spoke very little English then and he was very interested in my trophies and photos of Ethan Shepp and Sam Harvey I had on my shelves. I showed him some fights on VHS and he said that he would like to train. I told my friend to bring him up to Flinders on our next session.

After a few sessions, I noticed that Paul had that stubbornness and determination in him. At that time Sam Harvey was at his prime and was training all the time which set a very good example for the 17 year old Paul. He wanted to train all the time too. I think there was that hint of competitiveness between those two. That was a good sign that Paul wanted something out of this sport so I started to give him more and more time to help him achieve what he wanted. I even picked him up to training and drop him home after training.

IK: What sort of relationship do you have with your champ?

Paul as most of us who had dealt with him knows that he can be a very stubborn individual. However Paul was never disrespectful to me even though I was on many occasions in his face for doing silly things in or outside of training. He would put his head down even though he hated it when I had to give him my two cents worth.

I have always been close to my fighters but with Paul, I have a soft spot for him. On numerous occasions I have been told by people that Paul look up to me like a father. And to be honest I do look at him as my own son. We have had a great relationship and like every father and son relationship, there were occasions when we disagreed. I have always put Paul’s training needs first while others wait their turn. When Paul decided to move to Europe, I was not entirely happy about it as I was losing a fighter and was also worried about people taking advantage of him but Paul needs to go find a way to take the next step.  However Paul (and so many others involved in Paul’s training) knows he can always depend on me in more ways than one.

IK: What sort of influence do you feel you have over your fighters?

I have been told by many that my reputation as a trainer is good but on a personal level I suck. I believe that to be untrue because most people meet me either at training or fights. On these occasion I am too focus on my job at hand that I will come across as unfriendly. Those that know me personally will know that I do have a private life and a “softer” side. My fighters know that training is a serious business and they know where I stand. However I also spend time with them outside of training. Because they know and understand me and that I will never ask them to do anything that I have not done, they will quite happily do whatever I ask them to do as far as training goes. Its not influence, it is call trust.

IK: How active are you in the process of accepting or declining opponents?

I don’t pick fights for my fighters to win. However I have to ensure that my fighter has an even chance of winning. What is the point of putting a novice against a highly experience fighter? All it does it destroy all the good work you have done for that fighter if he does lose badly. I believe in patience and climb the ladder one step at a time. I see a lot of trainers chasing titles, but sometimes trainers lose sight of the big picture which should include the fighter him/herself. Yes I am active in accepting or declining fights.

IK: How do you pick your fighter up from a run of losses?

I try and make sure I don’t put myself in that situation. Losing sucks and losing all the time sucks even more. Each fighter deals with losses their own way some will lose confidence while others see losses as part of the journey to a destination.  I deal with each case as it arises because I don’t believe that there is a specific formula available.

IK: In your opinion, what’s the worst thing a fighter can do in or out of the ring?

Confidence is a tool that all fighters should possess but too much of it can be seen as cockiness. An over confident fighter can come across as disrespectful. In and out of the ring a fighter should be humble. For someone like Paul Slowinski, he has a lot of young people looking up to him so he has to act accordingly.

IK: What makes a champ?

A champion has to possess many attributes like confidence, mental and physical strength, humbleness, natural abilities and so on.  However the most important attribute of all is the willingness to work hard. There are no shortcuts to success so no matter who or what you are, being hard working will take you a long, long way.

IK: What advice do you have for up and coming fighters?

To all young fighters, learn to enjoy your training. It is difficult to maintain the intensity of training day in day out. Enjoy that otherwise you will end up disliking the hard work involved. Build a good relationship with your trainers and training partners. They are the ones who cares and will help you achieve your goals. Set yourself some short term but realistic goals and when you get there, set yourself another. Train hard but always remember that chill out time is important as well. Most importantly……..ENJOY the moment.