John Wayne Parr is one of the greatest farang nak muay in existence, and his words ring true as to why he fights, despite his age (and I think he just won another championship).  I took this anecdote from his facebook page, where he talked about his reasons to fight.

“…..I fight for me, I fight for my family, I fight for my legacy.

But people don’t understand the addiction of the applause, the standing ovation while trading toe to toe, the high fives back to the change room. After winning by knock out your adrenaline is so high your walking on a cloud and you can’t sleep for a week. For that split moment in time your in the magazines, on the tv, people nod at you on the street as a sign of appreciation.

But they also don’t understand the cold shoulder you receive after telling people of a loss, or the “I’m sure you did your best” sympathy comment. You plead your story to friends how it was a close fight, but your friends have already judged you after they hear the word loss. The strange looks you receive in the hospital room waiting to be stitched or X-rayed. With black eyes and a swollen face, people look down at you thinking:

“You are probably not educated enough to hold a real job”.

The highs of the sport are the ultimate rush, yet the lows are painful hospital visits, confidence(spelling?) crushing that you sometimes never recover from. 

I am fight sports, I am more addictive then heroin. Once you try me, you will never forget me. You will always want one more hit for the rest of your life to feel me in your veins.

In the end, people always have their rationale to fight.  It varies from person to person, but in the end, all that matters is that you put your own effort forward and start training.  No excuses.