Chapter 23
Wally and Johnny were standing outside the sliding door to the pub when Pat got back. Wally was dressed in full lycra; white, orange and lime. A racing bike with a matching colour scheme leaned against the brickwork beside him.
“You look like a fucking radioactive boiled egg,” said Pat.
“Gee, Pat, tell us what you really think. Don’t hold back now.”
Saturn Devouring his Son - Fransico Goya
1.
I knew Marie was finishing late tonight, so I ate an early dinner at the pub. I had a couple of pots with a counter meal and was feeling good when I stepped out into the crisp, dry, mid-winter evening. I was crossing the parking lot when I saw something I didn’t like.
This guy, his wife and two little kids were milling about a late-model Ford station wagon. The streetlight above flickered on and the circumferent spill of yellow light illuminated their car. The wife was bent over in the rear passenger door, baby on her hip, struggling with the baby capsule. The little girl played nearby. The little boy was spinning around, arms out, singing to himself.
Chapter Forty One
The Calder Freeway passed within 200 meters of my parent’s house. Technically, I was breaking the conditions of the restraining order, but eight months’ ago seemed like a different time. I was a different person.
I waited for Phil to hit me, thinking it would help me get past the taboo of sparring with my friend – that is, someone I didn’t really have a reason to punch. He threw out a jab. I caught it, but when he threw the next, he doubled it and the second punch sailed over my mitt. I got a face-full of cold and wet.
Phil’s glove was almost dripping with Clay’s blood. Clay’s blood was now smeared across my skin and over my eyes and mouth. ‘Revolting!’ I thought. ‘Hepatitis! AIDS!’ Then I saw Phil’s eyes above the shining leather of his gloves and everything was reduced to survival.
“Cowardice… is something a man does. What passes through his mind is his own affair.”
-Lord Moran
Nikos Kazantzakis’ novel, The Last Temptation, remains wildly controversial. Black-listed by the Vatican shortly after publication in 1960, Kazantzakis took a number of significant liberties with the ‘official’ story of Christ, as told in the gospels. Judas is a very close friend; the only disciple with the strength of character to betray a Jesus who instructs him to do it. Agonising death on the cross has been revealed to Christ through a premonition as the will of God.
While we all know the story of the crucifixion, the raw facts have been obscured by accretions of sentimentality and tradition. The fundamental fact is that Christ was tortured to death.
Errol Zimmerman showing Bjorn Bregy who's boss at the K1 Europe GP in 2008
May 2008
Australian Heavyweight Jarrod Boyle lives in Breda, Holland, where he trains out of the world-renowned Golden Glory Gym, home to such champions as Semmy Schilt and Stefan Leko. In the following story, Jarrod takes us inside a typical Dutch ‘A Class’ training session.
A gym like Golden Glory is always educational, even in the change rooms. The other day, Valentijn Overeem made the following comment over borrowed deodorant;
‘It’s great to train at a gym where they really understand heavyweight fighters.’
‘How so?’ I asked.
‘Training for lightweights, middleweights, it’s a totally different thing,’ he said. ‘Smaller fighters, it’s a lot more conditioning. Heavyweights have to concentrate more on their power. They don’t hit each other as much, but everything is hard.’
Me and Chalid 'Die Faust' Arrab, shortly after he almost punched my head off.
International Kickboxer Magazine, Volume 16, Number 2
March 2008
Melbourne Heavyweight Jarrod Boyle jumped on a plane at the end of February and headed to Breda, Holland for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – to train at the Golden Glory Gym of K1 stars Semmy Schilt, Stefan Leko and Chalid ‘Die Faust’ Arrab under the auspices of legendary trainers Cor Hemmers and Ramon Dekkers. Here he talks to MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO about life in the cauldron of one of the world’s most successful and toughest gyms.
I called the editor of Inside Sport Magazine, Graem Sims, to pitch him a story about a famous Australian kickboxer a month or so ago. I felt that being published in Inside Sport would be a real coup; the magazine features some of the highest-quality writing you can buy on a newsstand. It also sets a benchmark for what Australians view as quality sport. I rang his Sydney office and left a message, and to my considerable surprise, he promptly rang me back.
Powerplay Promotions, October 17.
My next fight is slated for October 17, three days before I turn 35. I think my opponent is TBC, but I will be fighting on the undercard for John Wayne Parr vs. Yodsanklai, very possibly the best fighter in the world at his weight.
I am about nine weeks’ out, so I am currently focused on general conditioning and brute strength. I sparred yesterday with my mate, Gul Pohatu; we did 3X2 minute rounds and I came out of it feeling okay about my performance.
My general strength and fitness benchmarks require:
1. 170kg deadlift
2. 170kg squat
3. 100kgX10 bench press over three sets, and
4. Running one kilometer in 4 minutes. I’d like to get this down to 5km in twenty minutes, but I’m currently shambling around at 110kilograms. Which, for me, is very heavy!
I’m also working on conditioning my shins; at present, I know that I’m kicking properly because I feel as if my shin is going to snap when I make solid contact with Gul’s leg.
I’ll keep you posted as to the progress of my training and the change in activities as I taper down to the fateful date.
Jarrod Boyle 