It's an interview with.... Me.

Roper

No seriously it is!

When I was promoting our show in December I got interviewed by a journo. Anyway, he was unable to get the interview published and he's sent it back to me today to do with it as I see fit. A lot of what I sent to him has been edited out. I think it was meant as a sidebar to a bigger article that he was writing on MMA but I'm not too sure. Anyway there's parts that are out of context a bit and thereare chunks edited out. Also most of those aren't the orginal questions he asked me! Anyway enough excuses! Here it is! Let me know what you think.

Most people’s experience of martial arts is from Jackie Chan or The Karate Kid! Tell us a bit about the type of martial arts you do
I train and coach Mixed Martial Arts. Essentially it’s a no limits style of unarmed combat where opponents are allowed to use anything they can to win the fight. They can box and kickbox, a range we call stand-up fighting, they can grab each other and wrestle which is what we call clinch, and if one of them takes the other down they can continue to fight on the ground. It’s a pretty far cry from the Karate Kid but I wish my coaching style was more like Mr. Miagi’s. At least my car would always be clean.

It sounds tough. People will be aware of it from the popular Ultimate Fighting television shows. Is your training like that?
If you mean the UFC fight shows, then yes, they’d be the professional athletes to our amateurs. Sort of the Premiership to our League of Ireland. If you mean the reality show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ then no, because we don’t lock our people up in a house with lots of alcohol. Although I think the gym would be a lot more popular if we did! There’s a sporting side and a non-competitive side to our gym. Some people compete and some people train to be fit, some for self defence and some just for fun. That’s the non-sport side.

It seems as though everyone now knows about this style of martial arts now, whereas a year ago nobody had heard of it.
Yeah it does, and to be honest it doesn’t seem like that long since there was only one club in the whole of Dublin that was training in it and anyone who wanted to do it had to go there. But lately yeah, there has been an explosion in the popularity.

Is that due to the UFC? Even some of my female friends seem to know the names of the fighters involved!
Just the handsome ones though right? I think yes, that is mostly to do with the way the UFC has marketed itself. It’s been pretty big in the states for quite a while and because of the TV channels over here catching onto that it’s become popular here too. My father in law who’s a pensioner watches it now!

The popularity must be a good thing?
Well, of course. It’s nice to see more and more people involved and there’s a much greater understanding of the sport in general. I used to just tell people I did kickboxing but now I can tell them I do MMA and they don’t need explanations. But like everything, popularity has its drawbacks.

Well that’s an answer that’s begging for another question! What do you think those drawbacks are?
Various things I suppose. I’ll probably come across as a grumpy old timer or something. I’m only 30 for the record! But I’m not the biggest fan of the way the sporting side is marketed. Now of course who am I to complain as some very intelligent people have made the thing go huge in a very short space of time but I have some problems with it.

What way would you market it?
Well I’m in the great position of being able to complain without having to come up with any ideas of my own of how to do it. But seriously I think the sport has much to recommend it and the raw grit and bravery, and yes the blood too I suppose, is a lot of that too. And having been on the other side of the promotions game recently I understand why people market certain things the way they do. It’s about bums on seats and on a greater scale, pay-per-views purchased. Whatever brings the crowd in I suppose and in the future maybe we’ll be able to advertise “gentlemanly sport fighting” but I won’t be holding my breath.

So you don’t enjoy the sporting side?
No I love it! I really do but the way I talk about it you’d swear I hated it! I didn’t start out doing MMA for the sport, that’s just been a great bonus. I started it because it was, for me, the ultimate expression of what I was doing, which was other types of martial arts. Everything else was limited but MMA had everything. The fact that it was a sport made me love it more.

What about the non-sport side as you call it?
Well, non-sport is probably a bad term, I meant non-competitive. That’s the bit that’s most people I think. I like the way you can do it, especially grappling (the wrestling part of mixed martial arts) without having to compete. About 90% of people who train will probably never compete although they’ll prove me wrong I’m sure. There are lots of levels to train at.

Have you ever had to use the skills you know outside of the gym?
Not right outside, I park my car there and I don’t want it dented. Seriously though I think that the best thing that doing this type of training and competition has ever taught me is the restraint and confidence to walk away from a confrontation. I’d say that goes for most people in my situation.

That’s not a no! Go on, any good stories?
Loads. But I’m saving them for my grandkids.

Thank you for your time Barry.
No problem!

Barry Oglesby Runs KO Martial Arts Gym in Glasnevin, Dublin. He is currently promoting The Fight Before Christmas, a Mixed Martial Arts fight night on December 12th. More information can be found at www.ko-martialarts.com

Clive

Have you ever had to use the skills you know outside of the gym?

Not right outside, I park my car there and I don’t want it dented.

Genius!

Roper

The lesson here is never do an interview via email, you give me time to think.

SuperWoody101

Thanks for posting the interview barry, good stuff.

mmaireland.com

Nicely handled Barry. Comes across really well.

Dragan

It's actually a real pitty that isn't going to get printed anywhere!

Roper

Thanks lads. The author seems to have washed his hands of it so I might send it on to somewhere, maybe the local rag!

The way it's edited makes me come out a little bitter but the guy was always trying to get more of the blood n' guts element out of me. After the initial few e-mails he rang back and was asking for more detail and trying, more or less to get me to say I hated myself for being involved in MMA . It actually looks quite fluffy compared to the questions I was being asked but I think that's cos I didn't bite at a lot of them.

It came out okay though I think. I'm a bit pissed though because he cut out at least 3 high quality jokes and I had a bet wth a mate that I would use the word inconceivable 3 times in it and not one of them made it to the edit.

Nothingcompares

was a freelancer? where was he hoping to publish?

Charlie3dan

Surely Irish Fighter would be only too delighted to print it?
Would break up all the seminar reports nicely

mmaireland.com

Certainly worth a shot. Although Rob has had an aversion toward "Q&A Interview" reports in the past. Not really sure why.

Roper

Nothingcompares wrote: »

was a freelancer? where was he hoping to publish?

Hey,
He was a junior freelancer working for some other journo who was doing a piece on MMA/UFC in Dublin for a Sunday's Mag, and I'm not sure what happened. Either the whole piece got pulled or it appeared but just without my bit I dunno. Then the other lad tried to get it published elsewhere but then because TFBC was over there wasn't any point.

If someone else wants to send it into Irish Fighter I'd be delighted but I couldn't be arsed and I'd be a bit embarrassed to see it in print. For some reason, the internet seems less real.

p to the e

was the uncut version full of racial slurs? on his part obviously!

Roper

p to the e wrote: »

was the uncut version full of racial slurs? on his part obviously!

Yeah but on my part. I had a right broadside at The Scotch for a start. In these politically correct times though you can't slag off those kilt wearing, haggis eating, cattle worriers.

p to the e

Roper wrote: »

Yeah but on my part. I had a right broadside at The Scotch for a start. In these politically correct times though you can't slag off those kilt wearing, haggis eating, cattle worriers.

dam. wish i had read it fully then. i hate scotch! bit of a vodka man myself:D

deepriver

Roper wrote: »

Yeah but on my part. I had a right broadside at The Scotch for a start. In these politically correct times though you can't slag off those kilt wearing, haggis eating, cattle worriers.

the scotts are to blame for so much of the worlds woes.. just look at willy in the simpsons with his greased up little yellow legs under that short kilt hanging around school toilets, dunno about anyone else but he just typifies sotsmen for me

nice interview by the way, glad to see people arent following Frank Mirr route of all the spiritual crap and then closing up an interview saying he wants to rip the arms of a serial killer