By Antonio Graceffo
Many of the best young fighters in our gym were bad kids who Jiao Lien (coach) collected off the streets, because they tried to rob him, or beat up their teachers, or got kicked out of school. Like Fagin, he collects bad boys, brings them to the Ultimate MMA Academy, and gives them a positive way to fight. At the same time, he teaches them respect, discipline, and manners. Many of these boys were headed to a jail cell, but have since gone on to good careers instead.
A couple of weeks ago, he brought a group of six boys who he said were the worst kids at the high school where he teaches. He gave them to me, and said they would be my students. I trained them that first day, and they really seemed to enjoy the training. We told them the first day was free, but next time, they would have to pay a discounted daily training fee. After the second training session, we asked for payment, but they made all sorts of excuses why they didn’t have money.
I said, “There’s only six of them. Let’s lock the door, and the two of us beat one of them, till the other five come up with the money.” Jiao Lien said, “No, we have to pity them. Many of these kids in Johor come from broken homes or the parents are away in Singapore. So, there is no one teach them wrong or right. They simply don’t know that it is wrong to accept services in the gym or internet café or even a restaurant and walkout without paying.”He gave the boys a stern talking to, explaining to them how important it was to be a good, honest man, and not to cheat people. He made them promise they would pay double when they came next time. As they were going down the stairs, I grabbed some heavy weights to drop on them, but Jiao Lien told me not to.
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