Here’s new way to deal with your inner Hulk. MOHSEN OLIVER MICHAEL puts on his gloves and finds out the truth

PHOTOS BY: Alexis Lee & Airell Ang

Anger.

We all have our own ways to deal with it. Some meditate, some take deep breaths and count slowly to 10, while a few others will resort to squeezing stress balls. But will you follow the path of some and join the Society of Martial Arts Research and Science (SMARS) – a club similar to the one found in the 1999 Hollywood movie Fight Club?

According to Julian Tan Joo Lien, the organiser of SMARS, there’s a stereotype he feels true – fight clubs are for angry people. SMARS is the first legalised fight club where fighters of different styles can compete in a supervised environment. As Julian says, “It’s a gentleman’s fight club for martial artists to gather and share techniques and ideas and correct.”

THE ISSUE
The issue of fight clubs in Singapore isn’t a new one and was first brought to public attention on Sep 26 in 2006 in the Electric New Paper article “Was it a Fight Club?”. According to it, a group of Anglo-Chinese Junior College students were seen fighting in a carpark, while 20 to 30 students looked on.

As a secondary school teacher, Julian discourages students from participating in fight clubs as “it can and will propagate into something far worse”.

According to him, there are a few main reasons why youths participate in fight clubs (including peer pressure and ego).
“When their friends are part of such gatherings, it’s hard to dissociate themselves from such activities without being ostracised by their schoolmates,” writes Mr Tan in an email interview.

He also adds that ego might be a factor why youths fight. “They may join these clubs to provide a venue for them to build a level of superiority over their peers,” says Julian.

He also mentions frustration, not anger, being another driving force, which pushes youths to join fight clubs.

“Fight clubs provide a venue where individuals who share a mutual understanding of how pain and adrenaline rush can provide them a temporary relief from their stress,” shares Julian.

Dyal Olagnathan, a counsellor, feels that fighting in fight clubs will inadvertently lead to disasters for the participants.

“First of all, at any given moment when you’re angry and lashing out physically, you’re acting on the emotion. But behind the emotion, there’s a thought as well as a belief system. So when you’re angry, you’ll also believe that violence is acceptable” says Dyal.

“It’s a cycle – anger causes fighting and fighting causes anger. That’s where the danger lies. People believe if you’re angry and you hit out, your anger subsides. But you’re actually associating a particular emotion with an action and pairing them up very closely. So it becomes an impulsive action -every time you get angry, you are likely to lash out violently,” he adds.

Dyal Olagnathan, a counsellor, feels that fighting in fight clubs will inadvertently lead to disasters for the participants.

“First of all, at any given moment when you’re angry and lashing out physically, you’re acting on the emotion. But behind the emotion, there’s a thought as well as a belief system. So when you’re angry, you’ll also believe that violence is acceptable” says Dyal.

“It’s a cycle – anger causes fighting and fighting causes anger. That’s where the danger lies. People believe if you’re angry and you hit out, your anger subsides. But you’re actually associating a particular emotion with an action and pairing them up very closely. So it becomes an impulsive action -every time you get angry, you are likely to lash out violently,” he adds.

Dyal, who used to be a martial artist practising boxing and Taekwondo when he’s younger, points out at one possible saving grace related to fight clubs – martial arts training.

A GENTLEMAN’S SPORT
“If you take these kind of impulsive youths and put them through martial arts training, be it boxing, muay thai, karate or Taekwondo, the first thing they learn in a martial arts is rules and discipline and self-control. It’s the self-control that is helpful, not the fighting,” explains Dyal.

Some youths go to SMARS for another reason, one that nearly all participants give for joining the legalised fight club.

“I think [SMARS] off ers a controlled environment where youths can go there and learn,” says the newcomer and reigning world super middle- weight pencak silat champion Muhammad Razif bin Moklas.

Indeed, in between and even during bouts, fighters stop fighting for short durations, sometimes even the entire bout, to discuss tactics and techniques that can be found in the arsenal of different styles. It’s also a routine for fighters to discuss the level of contact before each bout.

“The most fundamental rule of SMARS: you decide the rules,” says Julian, who’s still healing a two-month-old black eye from a previous session of fighting.

Initially, four martial arts expatriates – Chris Dewet, Daniel Romeike, Palmer OwYoung and Krzysztof Kryszczuk – formed SMARS as Singapore Martial Arts Research Society in 2001. It was disbanded late last year when Krzysztof left the country.

When no one continued the activities, Julian took it upon himself to “pick up the torch”, continue Club activities and most importantly, register the club under the Registry of Societies, as he feels that SMARS provided the perfect opportunity for people of different styles to learn and spar with one another.

“The second thing that drove me was that I hated this perception among locals and overseas that Singaporeans can’t fight. I want everybody to say, ‘Yeah, Singaporeans are good in martial arts’ when they think of Singapore,” says Julian.

Since his reboot on Apr 12, SMARS has grown.

“Yes, some people go in there and fight to release their anger. And as a martial artist, it’s up to them to find the self-discipline and humility (to control it),” says Julian.

Article written by Oliver Michael.