Cabooze Combat Series: Round 1 - Kickboxing at The Cabooze, Minneapolis, MN and the Emergence of the
What a good feeling to get back in the win column! On August 26 I took on the undefeated, Vanyu Xiong, out of Spartan Martial Arts. I'd seen Van fight before, and knew I'd be in for a grinding battle. Sure enough, Vanyu came out in the first round looking to kill, and I opted to use my feet while I figured out how to go about dismantling his attacks. I took more hits in the first than I should have, but my coach did a great job of breaking down what adjustments I needed to make in the second to make sure the judges knew I was winning.
Round 2 was about slowing down the freight train, Van, and making him less likely to jump into my space. That's when I went to knees, and just started unleashing them at every opportunity. This was a good learning experience because I'd been tentative of throwing the knees after whiffing on a couple and hitting nothing. Chris made a note to tell me to keep throwing them even if they miss because it'll still keep him out of your space. This worked really well, and I learned that not every knee has to make contact in order to have an effect on the fight.
Another fun thing about this fight is that my boxing coach, Ray, was able to help corner me as well. He gives me so much of his time, and doesn't get to see me fight too often because I don't get the opportunity to take many boxing fights, so it was nice to have him up there in my corner. Going into the third, Chris deferred to Ray to offer some final instruction, and he gave me some top secret advice that helped me solidify the victory.
Vanyu was a tough, humble, respectful opponent and I wish him the best in future fights. Countless people told me afterward that we were fight of the night, and that we brought the excitement. That's what it's all about. No hate, just putting everything you've got into the competition.
This fight capped a long learning season. This was my 6th fight of the year and every opponent I faced this year had a winning record and/or was a multi-time champion of some kickboxing organization or promotion. I fought some really good fighters this year and hung with each one of them. I'm excited by my progress, and know that I'll continue to make it harder and harder for my competition to face me.
