A Defining Day for Hulk's... Saturday, June 14

I saw boxers cry when they lost; I saw boxers cry when they won. 

I saw some female boxers fight like wild street cats and some male boxers fight like wild bears.

I saw mothers scream out of horror and fathers scream out with encouragement.

I saw coaches proud of their boxers who had won and coaches proud even of those who lost.

I saw a ref threaten to hit a boxer with his shoe when the fighter didn't listen and then another ref sit two fighters down in the ring during their fight to make them listen.

I saw super young boxers step into the ring and wow the crowd because of their age and then a 60 year old wow the crowd with his age too -- he took on a 20yr old and ended the fight with a draw!

I saw some former and current champion boxers in the crowd watching and some future potential champion boxers in the ring fighting.

I saw boxers overly eager to step into the ring and others super spooked to do so.

I saw a female boxer turn heads when she warmed up by repetitively punching the wall and a male boxer turned heads when he walked into a wall.

I saw boxers sleeping every where and any where as they waited the long day out and I too slept -- I fell alseep on a teadmill, surrounded by about 300 people.

I saw a lot of things today and it all made for an amazing day but the defining moments for me where the following:

ATTENDING THE COACHES MEETING

They started the tournament off with a special speech from the head organizers and then they asked all coaches to step into the ring for a meeting.  I went in and joined all the coaches.  It's hard to really describe what it felt like doing so because for starters it felt a bit odd stepping in as a coach and not as one of the boxers participating.  It was nerve-racking, heart-pounding but also a moment of complete pride for me.  Me stepping into the ring with all the coaches was greeted by many looks, both from the other coaches and from all those in the crowd.  When they asked us to pose all together for a picture, the head of the company organizing the tournament, Korean Beat, came and stood right beside me.  I felt proud to be standing there not because I was the only foreigner or only female but because I was one of the coaches.

HELPING A FIRST-TIMER OUT

The wife of one older boxer who recognized who we were and asked us to help corner coach her husband because he had no official coach. It was his first fight ever and his wife was so overly nervous.  When he won his fight both she and her husband must have thanked us a million zillion times and then asked us to pose for numerous pictures. They were so happy and their energy was so contagious, consequently you couldn't help but feel like it was all of our win.

KATO'S SHOW-STOPPING WINS

Kato winning his first fight -- TKO in the first round at 58 seconds. We knew he'd do amazing, after all his sparring partner is a Korean champion fighter (Snickers) and he trains intensely every day, but I think he set a record for the fastest ending fight today among the 300+ fighters.  I was so incredibly proud of him and so happy for all of his and Snickers commitment to his training.  This show-stopping win was definitely what Kato needed in terms of lifting his confidence as a boxer and resassuring him that when we said he should go pro we weren't just saying that to feed his confidence but because we believe in him. He has such amazing potential.

A FATHER AND SON PICTURE OF PRIDE

Kato posing for a picture with his father after his second win (2nd round TKO at 46 seconds). His father, our club's main sponsor, looked so proud of his son and so for me this was a very special moment.  WOW is quite close with Snickers, some may think they're family, so often I tell Snickers to step back and let Kako have his moment with WOW. With WOW being so successful in everything and anything he does both in his business and personal life, I often wonder what stress and pressure Kato must feel. Everyone loves WOW and I really hope everyone loves Kato too but that they also respect the fact that the two are so different.  Boxing is something that has brought this father and son closer but it has also brought Snickers closer as well.  Often Snickers is treated like another son by WOW but today it was his real son that stole the show and got all the attention.  Kato really is such a good kid, a good son to WOW, and so WOW's moment with his son before WOW asking people to take their picture was so sweet.  He just looked over the moon proud of his son.  It definitely was a Kodak moment before the actual cameras started snapping.

It was definitely a long day today, especially considering both Snickers and I were going on only 2.5hrs of sleep.  We had left the house shortly after 6am and returned at 10:30pm, sat through exactly 121 fights with 300+ other people, and had spent the entire day with WOW and Kato.  Some of our close friends, Sam-Sam and Mouse Doctor, came out to Suwon where the tournament was being held so that they could lend some support and cheer Kato on.  After Kato's second fight we then all left.  WOW treated us all to quite an expensive dinner out, to thank us for coaching and supporting his son but really it was us who wanted to treat him and Kato.  The two of them, father and son, have been with Hulk's since the very beginning of Hulk's and it was such a proud moment for us to see Kato step into the ring and win in the fashion that he did.  His two TKO wins were remarkable.  They shocked the crowd, they shocked him and, even though both Snickers and I anticipated him winning, his two TKO wins shocked us too.