An Interview with Clarence Thatch, Living Legend of MMA

http://picasaweb.google.com/ColoradoFightEvents/ClarenceThatchInterviewPhotos 

Have any of you readers seen the recent Spike TV re-run of the August 26, 2006 UFC 62 fight between Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin? 

These competitors had been former contestants in the first season of The Ultimate Fighter—and at UFC62, they fought each other again.  At least three times during the match, one would smile at the other and extend an open palm in a high-five acknowledgement of a well delivered punch or kick. 

This was not in-your-face posturing—this match was a competition between highly skilled and disciplined athletes.

In the late 1990s, Senator John McCain referred to the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as akin to human cock-fighting.  In a 180 degree contradiction, my experience has been that MMA embraces both compassion and heart.
 
This is nowhere more evident than in the real life example of local living legend, coach and MMA “Zen-master” Clarence Thatch, who promotes the cosmic MMA paradigm:  “The ability to fight is the ability to get along.”

In preparing to meet Clarence at Barnes and Noble for our initial interview, I had spent several unsuccessful hours on the internet looking for a photograph of him.  Dan Magnie, President of ColoradoFightEvents.com and I went to the book store and then split up to look for a man built for boxing—which was about all I knew of Clarence’s background at the time. 

We ultimately had him paged, and another shopper came to find us because he wanted to meet the legendary Clarence Thatch.  Unbeknownst to us, Clarence was waiting for us at a table outside, so we never did connect for this first meeting.  When we set up our next appointment to meet at the outside café area, I asked Dan if he would please snap some photographs of Clarence so his next interviewer would be able to find his picture on the internet!
 
Ever since Dan and I interviewed promoter Sven Bean back in July of 2007, I had wanted to meet Clarence Thatch.  I had done background research on him and found testimonials from fighters who credited Clarence with not only their skills, but also with their individual confidence and strength.  He coaches them to athletic dominance, and also counsels them on what to eat and how to live their lives as more productive human beings. 

Clarence became Sven’s Sensei, and the two men still hold each other in the highest esteem.  Clarence says that without Sven, the fighters that Clarence trains would not be where they are today; that Sven is the “ladder” for the qualified fighter.
 

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