Combat sports have seen a change since the Karate Kid days.  To many people, it is the third space that occupies one’s need for community in between work and home. Multiple studies show a positive link between combat sports and reduced stress in day-to-day life, with the key difference being the ‘flow state’ achieved in the moment-to-moment action attributed to grappling or sparring.

Everything is getting darker and colder. For a lot of people the darkest time of the year carries more subtext than they would like to admit.

Loneliness and a lack of communal identity continues to be a plague on those all across the globe.

My subject is Philip Shapkin. He is both a close friend and an inspiration. Born a first generation immigrant, although we has totally different backgrounds, we grew up together. From partying in every place that wasn’t four walls and a roof to the gym in which we felt like we owned the place.

Things weren’t easy for either of us, we both had our own troubles in our own ways.

I left for London to escape, failing to realise I was running from myself, and Philip white-knuckled it and stood up to face his demons in the most literal sense of the word. He fought on behalf of BCF Martial Arts, a new club that started as a passion project from Sean Colgan, a martial arts practitioner of over 25 years.

“Muay Thai kind of found me because there was a time in which I just lost my lob working in a call centre, they didn’t rehire me for a second contract and I was pretty down in the dumps. I wasn’t sure what to do and my friends invited me train at this Muay Thai club, and you know me, I gave 1,000 excuses,” said Philip “I said I had no money which is partially true, I said I was busy which I wasn’t. I was just feeling sorry for myself. Eventually they dragged me out and they told me they’d pay for the first few lessons. As soon as I got in there and got a little comfortable and got a little comfortable I was just sucked in and it became a centrepiece of my life”

I recently attended Philip’s last fight with BCF. It was a bittersweet occasion as my best friend of just under a decade had landed a level 8 course doing physiotherapy at Groningen University. The friends he made in the club, myself included, were a thunderous din in a cacophony of cheers. He was a different man. This is by no means a statement of previous weakness, instead I saw a stronger man we had known existed but was previously unseen. A raw diamond, unpolished yet equally worthy. This is a long prelude to say, he won his fight. We always knew he had it in him. It was to himself he had to prove, for to us he had done so long ago.

I asked him to give me some closing remarks.

“I learned a lot through blood sweat and tears, I learned a lot through pain and I like to think I came out the other side a slightly better man. I had some of the highest highs and even though I had some tough times while fighting and while training, those around me in the club all offered support and wise words. I’ve never been part of such a strong community where the bond runs so deep. This journey and the last 10 fights have really pushed me to be mentally more resilient. My first few fights I was scared and my heart was pumping before the fight. Now it’s just not even 10% of that. If anything I’m excited and I wanna do my club proud when I’m in there. So yeah, that’s my journey so far.”