Thursday 13 December 2012

Cage Warriors 50 - Landmine

I'm not running out of games.

I'll never run out of games.

This month's been a great one for gaming to be honest. Sony finally pulled their fingers out and put Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on the PSN and I won auctions on Sunset Riders, Parodius and Megaman X for my SNES.

It's good, it's always been good.

I've also ordered a few shirts from Meatbun.us as well. Insert Coin is cool in places but is quickly becoming a bit redundant somehow. That being said I rocked a Viva King shirt this past weekend.

This Saturday I worked my 11th Cage Warriors show this year and it began, as they all do, with a voyage.

Myself and Lethaby hopped on the 9:17 train from Stoke station and, after a quick change in Crewe, settled in for the 250 mile voyage with my Blackberry playbook and a boat load of mid 2000's mma to watch.

I had all kinds of Pride on there but it was Cage Rage that inevitably drew my attention somehow. It was cool looking back at that era where I was such a fan and seeing all the people I regularly chat to at shows now. I even saw a young looking Marc Goddard walking out with Ross Mason.

Dave's opening tack of "Hello Marc, I saw you on an old Cage Rage show on the trip here; you looked about half the size," didn't go as well as he thought it would in his head I imagine but that's another story.

The trip was really relaxing and a nice contrast to the usual marathon drives I've become so used to. I watched as the bustling countryside eventually became a snowy wilderness as we moved towards the highlands. As the train pulled into the final station before Glasgow I became more aware of the people outside, enthralled in the truly everyday.

For a brief few minutes I felt the most overwhelming sense of the Debord as I sat in the perfectly contained warmth and watched society tick over in front of my eyes. I couldn't have stopped anything from happening or purveyed my sense of attachment to these people running up and down and making decisions. It was empowering a funny kind of way. It's kind of romantic to watch the world go by from a safe place and, as much as I was aware of the way in which this spectacle mirrored most of our waking minutes, it filled me with many questions.

There's always many questions. Before I could ask any of them though, the train pulled into Glasgow Station and we went out for a wander before the show. On arriving in city centre, Dave and I grabbed an all you can eat Indian Buffet for 6 quid each, when in Rome and all that, and then made our way to the venue. It's nice to roll into a strange place and see familiar faces. Everything seems fine at that point. I was ready to judge some truly amazing scraps and I wasn't disappointed.

Take Care
Ben

Friday 30 November 2012

That night we'll never re-live


I think I need to stop writing these at work. You can't see what this office looks like but believe me it's hardly Club Tropicana.

Imagine the set of a terrible sitcom set in the 1970's featuring a load of belligerent and disgruntled factory workers and their out of touch boss. The walls are white woodchip and the shelves are full of nonsense.

I share it with a gentleman called Matt Spooner. He, like myself, is a cynical Samaritan.

We both want to help people but, in the modern workplace, that really isn't enough anymore. It's about ticking boxes and jumping through hoops to ensure that people I'll never meet make more money than I'll ever see in a lifetime.

I think that's the problem with teaching in this kind of training provider context.

Everything is done to make money, not to help people out. I'm pretty sure that my cynical side has flourished more in two years here than it did during six years teaching young offenders.

Anyhow what's the point of this one?

There isn't a point I don't think. Writing just stops me thinking. I think that's why I'm doing it. I've not got a point or a message but sometimes I wonder if there always has to be one.

When I first started writing I would ponder for hours over drafts of different text. I'm not saying I don't edit things now but I often find that when I switch off a little bit that the best stuff happens. It's hard to define best . I think I mean writing that's a more accurate reflection of where I currently am.

It's Friday and

As I was writing this my boss walked in and gave me something menial to do so I look busy. It's the inference that I'm somehow mutinous that I resent the most I think.

Anyhow I digress.

I hope you people have a great weekend.
Thanks for taking the time
Speak soon
Take Care
Ben








Tuesday 30 October 2012

Cage Warriors 49 - King of the Monsters


Sucks to be back at work again.

Everyone says that on these things right?

Well we can't all be wrong. Unless you are lucky enough to do something you love for a living.

Maybe even then it starts becoming like work somehow like it did when I was writing more for a living. I guess it's the human condition.

We just find it really sad, we thought being in a band would be so brilliant and yet it just becomes a routine like anything else. 

You know, whatever you choose to do in life, even if you love it, within a few months of doing it it's just the same thing every day but now it's just - wake up, travel, sound check, gig, wake up, travel, sound check, gig. 

When we first started that was brilliant and now it's just the same. There's something about human nature that just reduces life down to a routine.
Richey Edwards

This week's bundle of shiny violence came courtesy of Cage Warriors. I've been lucky enough to judge 10 of their events this year and every single one has been special in some way or another.

There's been no shortage of great fights, awesome company and phenomenal tea to be had throughout 2012 but I already knew that this show in Wales was going to be an amazing experience.

Cage Warriors 49 marked the organizational judging debut of my long time mma comrade Mr. David Lethaby who, after slogging away judging fights for years just like myself, got the call to head to Wales and make sense of it all.

The trips would include a flask of tea, S-Express, a long discussion about the Eastern front of the Second World War and some shortbread. Our hotel was out of the way but luckily enough we jumped in a cab with the usual suspects to get to the venue.

The evening was a cacophony of local heartache and close fought battles which I shall attempt to recount.
  • Welsh fans love a bit of a singalong don't they. Yes that's obvious but it's a true spectacle to behold when you look up into the crowd to see hundreds of Welsh types singing "You Jack Bastard" as anyone from Swansea walks in.
  • If you're sitting at a table with sweets that are yours and somebody says "What's that up there?", it's always a trap. Always. Damn you people.
  • Once again a quick shout out to the likely lads who made the after show event such a civilised do. There's something magical about that first cup of tea after an mma event. That's some of my favourite stuff right there.
KING OF THE MONSTERS

It's obvious ain't it?

I'm off to for the first walk home in the dark of 2012 so, if I make it home, I'll speak to you good people very soon.



Take Care
Love Always
Ben

Wednesday 10 October 2012

UCMMA 30 - Shinobi


This week I commandeered a teapot at work that was sitting in a drawer doing nothing.
I cleaned it up, disinfected it, washed it again and then went home to contemplate how righteous this all was.
This morning I walked to work and bought some sugar cubes and a small bottle of milk.
There's no way this decadence lasts forever but, while it does, it's truly glorious.

UCMMA you say?

Oh yeah I knew I'd started writing for a reason. I just got excited when I began to type and all I saw over the desk was my beloved teapot.

The event was full of the surreal excellence that I've come to expect from the Troxy on a Saturday night and as I strolled back to the hotel, I was amazed to think that I've been fortunate enough to commentate the show for the last two years. I can't tell you where all the time has gone.

These are the things I noticed from watching mixed martial arts this week:

SHINOBI

I've always loved the Shinobi games.

As a kid I used to pretend I was Joe Musashi and jump over things while dressed in an ill fitting headscarf that I found in a box full of linen. I didn't get injured either which is probably more of a miracle.

I think the thing I liked the most about Shinobi was the fact that he was faceless. In victory or defeat he adopted the same steel eyed determination to move forward and keep moving forward.

I like the fact that he just used to turn up, throw down and then leave.


Until next time
Speak soon
Take Care
Ben



Sunday 30 September 2012

Sometimes


You don't really need a lot of words when a picture holds a waterfall of memories.

If life is a treasure hunt then these pages are my map somehow.

I always said instruction manuals were for people who were scared of getting electrocuted.

Guess I was wrong.

Speak soon
Take Care
Ben


Saturday 8 September 2012

CWFN 7 - Killer Instinct

It's harder to find the words that don't make me sound like I'm taking this for granted every time I write something about yet another crazy Cage Warriors adventure.

I always end up sounding insincere in my head but on a very serious level every time I get details of the flights at work I can't focus.

Every time I see another fight announced I wonder how it'll pan out and if it'll be a tough one to judge and every time I get off a plane in a crazy country I can't wait to talk to a team of people who make the middle of nowhere seem like home somehow.

It's hard to put into words. It's like the way I wanted being in a band to feel like when I was 19. Anyhow this has got a bit misty eyed somehow. You good people want the scoop right? Here goes nothing:

  • Crowds are crazy in Jordan. Seriously amazing from bell to bell and got involved with every single fight that happened.
  • Business class is like another world. It felt like being part of a secret society that nobody else knows about. I drank so much Diet Coke I got a migraine. I don't even like it normally.
  • Running through the airport to see Alison was amazing. Like film amazing. I nearly fell over as well. It's my feet I think. I'm a bit unwieldy sometimes.
 WHY KILLER INSTINCT?
One of the best things about videogames is how they take you places straight away without you even realising it. One of the best feelings I get playing games is still that flick of ruby light when my SNES powers up and I steel myself for whatever challenge is upcoming.

It'd be easy for me to half heartedly link a game to this event but Killer Instinct was the first game I played after I finished my last GCSE. I got home from school and walked to the bus station before jumping on the 6A. I looked out the window at a gloriously sunny day before I got home and sat down on my bed and turned the SNES on.

For that split second it's like there was nothing else. My life stretched ahead of me in a way that I'd never felt before and every time I hear the start of that game I always remember what it was like to stare down that seemingly never ending road. Killer Instinct was special in the same kind of way that this event was special.

It's not every day that hotel in the Middle East feels like home but from the second I got there to the morning I left it just felt perfect. Everyone who talked to me, hung out with me, drank tea with me or chatted about anything made the whole experience perfect.

If this is what I'm meant to do with my life then it feels perfect.

If it isn't then when the right thing comes along; I can only imagine how era defining it will have to be to top what I feel right now.

Take care
Speak soon
Big stuff happening this month
Go buy Fighters Only for me as well

Ben



Friday 24 August 2012

UCMMA 29 - The King of Fighters

Hey ho,

It's a testament to just how busy I've been of late that I've only just had time to recollect my thoughts after one of the best card of fights I can remember for a long while at UCMMA 29.

It was the most entertaining night's mma I've ever commentated.

Ok there I said it. I legitimately mean it as well. Here's the deal with UCMMA that people just don't seem to get.

The white suit, the crazy one liners, the stupid facial hair and that unique Troxy atmosphere are EVERYTHING that makes that show more fun than I've got the words for. You've got to look at the big picture. It's entertaining for a million reasons. You've got to take a step down from which ever tall animal you're sitting on and take it for what it is. An amazingly fun mma experience.


Off to Jordan in a bit for some Cage Warriors goodness.
Speak soon times.
Ben


Friday 27 July 2012

Cage Warriors 48 - Parodius


Holy crap has it been busy this week.

My 9-5 has gone full SS and I'm now forced to railroad these unemployed brigands into a training course that they 1) Don't need 2) Don't want to do and 3) Won't attend.

That's another story for another day though. This week has all been about the countdown to my yearly pilgrimage to Llandudno with my lovely girlfriend. Before I depart though, I thought I'd bullet point you straight in the mouth without so much as a second thought.

  • Driving down a motorway to a soundtrack of Outrun, Super Hang On and Sega Rally is both dangerous and enjoyable. Take care kids.
  • Cage Warriors was, as I've come to expect, amazingly well organised and it was good to see the usual selection of suspects for chit chat and organised violence.
PARODIUS

Did you ever play Parodius?

It's proof, if proof were needed, that the the Japanese video gaming industry falls squarely on both sides of the line between genius and insanity. I can't begin to sum it up so here's a video.


Not got a show for a few weeks now so I'll be away from these fair pages for a while but, if you see me around, then please be sure to say hello. I may not have my now trademarked croquet hoop moustache at the minute due to another facial hair based project but I'm still every bit as approachable.

Take care
Ben


Monday 16 July 2012

Shock and Awe 11 - Outrun Europa

Big old drive eh?

406 miles return to be precise but my love of the ritual that is the Sunday all you can eat Chinese fuelled my workmanlike attitude to get to bed at 3am and up at 11am.

I ended up going to the Golden Orient in Stafford, upmarket I know, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Anyhow you're not reading this to hear about my tales of Duck and Hoi Sin pancakes and Black Bean Chicken I imagine. You good people are here for the bullet points right?
  •  It's been raining a bit ain't it? It's a bid unnerving arriving in a coastal town in a monsoon. 
  • Good standard of scraps on the semi pro protion of the card. I've come to expect it from Shock n Awe to be honest. 
  • Martin Avery vs. Damien Weeden was perhaps the most ridiculously entertaining K1 bout I've called in a very long time. Those guys threw down like it was going out of fashion. 
  • Good to see that guy who shouted at me from Silverback Submissions at Into the Cage not being so vocal. He wasn't happy with the call in the Harry Fox fight in Andover and he's clearly instilled a 'never leave it in the hands of the judges' ethos in his guys. They didn't. They both got finished.
  • Luke Killick's a unit. Yet another monster from Gym 01. I bet sparring with that guy's becoming more and more like hard work every day.
  • Karl Harrison's elbows from the top were brutal. I was impressed that I didn't get bled on though, considering how close I was to the incident. That cut was nasty btw. Looked like the eye of fucking Sauron.
  • Alexei Roberts flash KO'd his way to the title. Impressive. Very impressive. It was a walk off KO as well which is always so much cooler. I'll be the first to say I underestimated that guy. 7-2 and looking better all the time.
  • Davey Grant came into hostile territory and took the title against a big favourite in James Pennington. There's no doubt that both guys will go on to bigger and better things but Grant opened a lot of eyes with a performance like that on Pennington's turf.
  • Great hospitality and good to work with another commentator for the first time in CWFC's own John Gooden. Worked out very well but you're never quite ready for a man in a bow tie breaking out the term "spitting the lyrics." Good fun.
OUTRUN EUROPA
 

Ever play Outrun Europa?

Soundtrack was bad ass.

Most overlooked game in that franchise. Probably because US Gold did it and it didn't involve a girl or a Ferrarri for the most part. 

Anyhow, your mission is to track down some evil criminal types in a plethora of stolen vehicles. Here's the thing. There's no feeling I can relate in gaming like the sinking feeling I got when you get stopped by the police in Outrun Europa. If they stopped in front of you then you lost. It was heartbreaking if you were on an amazing time as well which always seemed to be the case.

I got the very same feeling driving home at 2am when pulled over by the fuzz. Luckily enough they were on the way to another gig and I got away with a telling off and nothing more.  Fucking Sat Nav. Lesson learned.

Cage Warriors this Saturday.
ONWARDS!!

See you soon
Ben

    Monday 2 July 2012

    Fight UK 7 - Dynamite Headdy


    I should have done this a while back as Fight UK 7 actually took place on June 23rd but a hectic schedule, my quest to complete Super Castlevania 4 on one credit and my growing addiction to French bread got in the way.

    Still we're here now and it's nice to be able to recount what was another cracking event put on by the Fight UK team. The welcome was warm as always and the fights, as I've come to expect, were well matched and very enjoyable.


    WHY DYNAMITE HEADDY?

    Did you ever play Dynamite Headdy?

    It was bad ass. 

    Shock and Awe next then Cage Warriors the week after.

    ONWARD!!!!!!!!

    Take Care
    Ben

    Wednesday 13 June 2012

    Into the Cage 6 - Thunderforce

    I'm already hardened to this lifestyle that combines road trips, violence and Rocket Queen. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't change it for the world but, like everything else, it quickly becomes about efficiency and routine.

    This past weekend I drove down to Andover to work at Into the Cage 6. As far as domestic shows go it's fairly standard but they're moving in the right direction with the matchmaking/presentation.

    The fights were entertaining but the drive home was arguably the part of my night that required the most focus. Dave was staying in Reading with his family so I drove home alone after the show and got to my door at around 3am.

    I drank a few cans of some sugar free energy drink that tasted like a cross between Vimto and Vinegar and crushed up some pro plus into them for good measure. It reminded me of the start of Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (1:53) somehow and, not wanting to make the experience seem artificial, I obliged by blasting out some late eighties hair metal to keep me awake.

    This epistle already feels less celebratory than my previous few. It's nothing intentional. I think it's because I'm reading so much about Richey Edwards at the minute. His whole situation, personna and vanishing is just so fascinating to me. I think that a big part of me never got past being 19 and going to Chicos dressed as Nicky Wire.

    One of the best things about the Internet is how quickly you can revisit things and the wealth of transcribed interviews and videos available. You can only imagine what Richey would have made of it. I regularly spend hours watching videos of people completing old arcade games on one credit, gigs from 20 years ago and the old protect and survive videos about how to deal with the threat of a nuclear assault. Something about the futility of those videos fascinates me.


    Why Thunderforce?


    There's something predictable about 16 bit games, not in a bad way, that means you can expect certain aspects but never be prepared for them. If you ever played the later Thunderforce games you'll realise just how this works. Those things are bathed in heavy metal synth done through the screaming Sega sound chip.

    Anyhow, the point was that when you heard that crazy music start you realised all manner of shit was about to go down. Big solo meant boss music and boss music meant it was time to die unless you knew the attack patterns.

    There was a scene in Andover, where I almost thought that something crazy may have happened. In my head, for a second, I almost heard the boss music start to prepare me for the incoming carnage.


    As it happens it didn't but I still got that rush of adrenaline that I always used to get when the level music faded out on Super Probotector and the haunting tones of the boss music started.


    Tuesday 5 June 2012

    Cage Warriors 47 - Sonic Blastman

    I'm not one to throw around the obvious and the cliche when they're not required but I feel justified by writing what I'm about to write.

    Cage Warriors 47 was the most intense show I have ever worked in my entire life.

    It was my seventh show for Cage Warriors and before I got there I was faced with arguably the shortest flight on record.

    The event took place in Dublin and as soon as I was afforded the opportunity on the plane, I put on my headphones and my Ipod picked me Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

    The song finished and as it did I saw a shape enter my peripheral vision. It was the stewardess telling me to take my headphones off as we were preparing to land. I've had good cups of tea that last longer than that flight but I'm certainly not complaining you understand. It made a nice change.

    We got to the hotel, which was nice in an understated kind of way, and found out we'd be staying in an adjacent house because there was a wedding this weekend at the hotel.

    It'd be Dean, Rich, Tony and myself which, as it happened, was a perfect cocktail for tea, trash talking, the occasional coffee for Dean and all kinds of merriment.

    The fight night came round fast and as soon as the first bout started I could sense something different. The crowd, although still growing, was gloriously vocal and I truly wasn't prepared for what was to come.

    Then this happened.

    Photo by Dolly Clew/Cage Warriors
    I've never ever seen a place erupt like that in a very short time before. I've seen many displays like that but not for a second was there a sense of danger in these proceedings; there was nothing but intense celebration from the Irish fans.

    This wouldn't be a weekend recap however, without a bullet point list and a niche videogame link so here's both for you good people.

    • The mental game is so overlooked by some people in mma but I'm fast realising that it's probably the most important part of the whole puzzle somehow. It's like having a 1000bhp engine but no clutch. You can't translate that power and ability into anything without it.
    • If you're all about The Young Ones metaphor in that house then I think I was Rick Mayall, Dean was Vivian, Tony was Neil and Rich was Mike.
    • Train rides are really underrated somehow. If they weren't so expensive I'd do more of them.
    • I started reading my dad's book last night briefly. I really hope I've got that in me somewhere.
    • UN Squadron with anyone apart from Greg Gates is unfeasibly hard.
    Why Sonic Blastman?

    As a kid growing up the noisiest machine in any arcade was the Sonic Blastman machine. You'd get crowds of would be tough guys surrounding it trying to hit that pad to get the biggest score, or headbutt it which I saw once, to impress whoever was watching. There was a special noise that surrounded that machine. It was crystal clear yet ear splittingly loud.

    There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.”- Jack Kerouac


    Monday 28 May 2012

    Mutant Fighter - CWFN6 & UCMMA 28

    This may very well be the most miles I've covered in a single weekend and that's saying something.

    Last week's crazy schedule went something like this.

    Mon: Work
    Tue: Work - Fly to Abu Dhabi
    Wed: Fly to Bahrain, Arrive 9am
    Thurs: Judge Cage Warriors
    Fri: Fly to Abu Dhabi
    Sat: Fly to Manchester, Arrive 7am, Drive to London, Call UCMMA 28.
    Sun: Drive to Star City. Win Teddy Bear on grabbing machine for Alison.

    The best part is that, this weekend, I get to go on another Cage Warriors adventure as I fly to Ireland to judge yet another stacked card but, without any further delay, lets bullet point this bitch.

    Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 - Bahrain - Thursday 24th May

    • Most obvious but yet endearing comment of the trip? "It's hot here isn't it." It's in a desert, in a heatwave at 1pm. Yeah it's hot. 
    • If you don't know who you're going to be rooming with. Always open up with an offer of a cup of tea. It's usually always plain sailing after that.
    • On that note a big shout out to Rich Mitchell who cracked me up throughout the trip. The dude's good people.
    UCMMA 28 - London - Saturday 28th May
    • Very exciting night of fights throughout. Great work from the UCMMA team who, as always, made Alison and myself very welcome.
    Why Mutant Fighter?

    Seriously watch UCMMA this Wednesday.

    I'm off to play some Super Hang On but I'll no doubt be in touch very soon.
    Take care
    Ben

    Also this:



    Wednesday 25 April 2012

    Wrestlefest - NOTG11 & Lockdown FC 3


    Another two shows this past weekend as 300 miles, a load of debates about Hendo's H Bomb, a tasty muffin and some great fights happened in a very short stretch.

    Night of the Gladiators 11 - Saturday 21st April - Hanley
    • Noisy fans were well behaved. Good stuff.
    • Ant Bailey does indeed look like a marginally more portly BJ Penn. 
    • It's nice finishing an mma show and walking home. Simple things :)
    Lockdown FC 3 - Sunday 22nd April - Hatfield
    • Good friends and good conversation make a long drive seem very short.
    • Mark Handley's leopard print thong LMFAO entrance was pretty sick. It was the way he had to walk down stairs to get to the cage that made it a bit surreal though. He looked like he'd just got out the bathroom.
    Why Wrestlefest?

    It's simply not because I'm trying to one-credit it at the minute it's simply the fact that this weekend reminded me that, at any level of the game, wrestling is so overpowered.

    A good Ryu will beat a good Guile or a good Zangief any day of the week.

    Also I bought some chinos and a cardigan today so I'm pretty sure I've turned into a bad guy from a 1980's martial arts film.

    On that note it's time to hit the hay
    Speak soon
    Take Care
    Ben

    Sunday 15 April 2012

    Double Dragon 2 - UCMMA 27 & CWFN 5


    Another double header this time as a break in this pretty crazy schedule affords me the time to record a hectic few weeks.

    The Cage Warriors trip home was suitably titanic as I got a coach, two planes, two trains and then walked a mile and a half to my front door. I slept for 13.5 hours on Friday night though so I think I'm over it now.

    April 7th - UCMMA 27

    Down to London for some UCMMA goodness a few Saturdays back and a card that wasn't rammed full of huge names ended up being one of the most exciting events I've seen for a long time.
    • Easy night for the judges huh? Some huge finishes and massive knockouts which is always good for the fans
    • Hotelling it was pretty sweet as well and driving down and driving home at a regular speed was both financially rewarding and quite relaxing.
    April 12th - Cage Warriors Fight Night 5
    Off to Amman, Jordan this week to judge for Cage Warriors as Fight Night 5 took to the airwaves on MMAJunkie.com with an immensely deep card. It was, once again, a pleasure and an honour to judge such amazing bouts.
    • I really could mooch in hotel receptions for a living. Every night I planned to go to bed at a reasonable hour and every night I ended up chilling out till 4 am drinking tea on those comfortable sofas and hanging out. Awesomes.
    • Business class on a small plane means a free cake and a cup of tea. This was immense.
    • That Fisherman's platter I had from TGI's in the mall nearly finished me off. Looked like the season finale of Deadliest Catch.
    That just about rounds it up for a little while anyhow. I'll be back in the saddle again next week as I do Night of the Gladiators on Saturday and Lockdown FC on Sunday so expect a similar update.
    I'd call it Double Dragon 3 but I recall that game being garbage.
    Anyhow till next time, take care of yourselves. I'm off to grab some lunch.
    Ben

    Sunday 25 March 2012

    BAMMA 9 - Slice and Dice

    Another weekend and another motorway trip, this time with Lethaby, as we went to the NIA, Birmingham (eventually) for BAMMA 9.

    Wifi was good, seats were comfortable, Aundre Jacobs tweeted his little heart out and Mick Bower was funny in a way that only Northern types can manage.

    The fights were good fun and thanks to everyone who tuned into MMAHQ for the live play by play which chronicles all the fights. Get reading if you've not seen the events yet.

    Here's what I noticed watching MMA this week:
    • Gaps between fights aren't as noticeable in a live event when it's warm.
    • I've been to a lot of fights with atmosphere but I've never heard anything like Marshman vs. Watson. Intense doesn't even begin to cover it.
    • More people should walk in to music that isn't metal or rap.

    Videogames and the Vision Quest

    I spend so much time embracing the past while continually trying to look to the future and this blog is a perfect illustration of said ethos.

    It's been around three years that I've been writing seriously and the opportunities and experiences that have come about as a result of it have been unreal to say the least.

    Anyone who reads this understands how much SNES I play but this week I wandered to WHSmith after a quick game of F-Zero. It was sunny, I had some big sunglasses on and all was well.

    I walked into the shop and picked up Fighters Only, in front of a tutting clerk, and opened it up. I've had quite a bit of magazine work published but this prospect was somehow different.

    This month's issue featured a column I put together about videogames and mma. You read it right. The second I wrote it I was reminded of the first times I read Gamesmaster magazine and I wondered what it would be like to write at all.

    I'm trying to not use the word epic anymore because this generation of kids seem set to do to epic what my generation did to awesome but that's the first word that came to mind.

    Please go and buy it.
    Then read it all.
    Then tell me what you think.
    Take Care
    Ben

    P.S I'm all about trying to full clear F-Zero this week. Mute City 2 is beast.

    Sunday 18 March 2012

    CWFN 4 - Tank Command

    It's time for yet another show wrap up written from the comfort of my surprisingly comfy floor.

    I was picked up early this morning from Manchester Airport by my lovely girlfriend after a through the night flight from Abu Dhabi.

    Cage Warriors Fight Night 4 in Dubai was a spectacular event with some truly insane finishes. There was just about everything you could wish for from a live show and chilling by the pool, catching some rays and listening to Copeland before the event was pure serenity.

    Amazing opportunity once again and, in true North Star fashion, it's time to relive the highlights via the medium of the bullet point.
    • Judging is amazing because there's nothing else but the fight. In an arena of screaming fans it's incredible how you hear none of them once the fight starts and the mental scoring calculations begin.
    • I knew this show was going to be sick when the hotel porter asked me if Bret Hart was wrestling on the card.
    • It's cheaper in Dubai than you'd think. It was only 80p for a Toblerone and 9 quid for a pair of Randy Savage looking sunglasses.
    • Watching a film about a bacterial disease epidemic on a crowded plane is one of the stupidest things I've done in a while.
    • I played a load of Sunset Riders on my DS emulated to a SNES. Loads harder than I remember.

    Speak soon
    Ben

    Wednesday 14 March 2012

    Shock and Awe 10 - Smash TV

    Sunday was, in every sense of the word, a day of pure win.

    I woke up nice and early and drove up to Active Fitness in Holmes Chapel to teach a circuit training class that was all kinds of fun.

    Drove home, went shopping, went for something to eat, walked home in the sun and then fell asleep under a Hello Kitty blanket.

    This sleepiness and general good feeling was bought on by another great mma show that it was my pleasure to work on the night before.

    Shock and Awe 10 was another great show by the south coast promotion and like last time, I was blown away with how many amazing fighters there were representing the lower weight categories and the professionalism and hospitality of the outfit.

    My official report of the evening is here but, in true North Star fashion, it's all about a bullet point breakdown of my unofficial take on the event.
    • Hospitality was, as always, fantastic and I was made to feel very welcome by the team down in Portsmouth in a great venue.
    • The drive was nice and it's a sign that Alison and I are getting good at the mma road trip as she'd prepared sandwiches and all kinds of goodness. I do however, need a travel cup. That was sadly overlooked in this trip.
    Also one of the funniest bits of commentary in a while came from my good friend Lloyd Clarkson.
    Ben: I'm impressed with this level of transitional grappling. Every submission attempt used to set up superior positions and techniques.
    Lloyd: Certainly at this level it's a lot like Chess but with tattoos, punches in the face, blood, submission holds, slams and ground and pound.
    Ben: So not at all like Chess then.
    Lloyd: No not really.


    Cage Warriors on Friday.
    Off to Dubai I go.
    ONWARD!!!!
    Take Care
    Ben

    Sunday 26 February 2012

    Body Blows - Fight UK 6

    Wow.

    What a crazy ass night of fights.

    FIGHT UK have always treated me nothing short of phenomenally and last night myself and Dave Lethaby took the hallowed mikes and Mark Milward and Jon Hand came along to judge as well.

    My lovely girlfriend Alison made the trip, she rates that show and there was a heavyweight fight on as well, and we were all set.

    Here's some brief highlights of a great night in Leicester.
    • FIGHT UK is, without a doubt, one of the best run shows around. It's run like clockwork and everyone knows what they have to do which makes everything so much easier.
    • Doing pieces to camera is getting easier than it used to be and I attribute last night's success to my use of the side parting.
    • That first round of hot buttered toast, after calling an MMA show, is worth the drive home alone.
    • I've had an insane February for sure and recollecting on it all on a quiet Sunday makes me realise how lucky I am.
    That just about wraps it up people.
    Next show, off the top of my head, is Shock N Awe I think in Portsmouth in a few weeks time then there's another trip with the Cage Warriors crew after that.
    I better do the dishes anyhow.
    Take care
    Ben

    Raid Over Moscow - CW46


    So Cage Warriors 46 happened this week in Kiev.

    Flew out Wednesday morning, got home Friday teatime.

    Here's a brief summary of the events of that crazy few days.

    • I ate a lot of croissants and drank quite a bit of tea. That's not unusual I know but it was nice to do it in a foreign country somehow.
    • It's cold over there. Very cold. I wore a hat a lot and spent a lot of time in my Christmas jumper.
    • If you don't have walk out music then it's state law that you walk out to The Scorpions. (This may not be true but it felt like it.)
    • Videogames are an essential part of how I stay balanced in life. If I get a little tired/stressed/hungry/homesick and I play Super Nintendo then everything seems fine.
    • Alison managed to find Sports biscuits while I was away. Best biscuits ever.
    • There were some great fights on the card and it was, once again, a real honour to be able to judge them and to be made to feel welcome by all the team at CW.
    This continues to get more fun and more insane as the days go by.

    If you want something enough, then make it happen.

    You're the only person stopping it.

    Take care
    Ben

    Sunday 19 February 2012

    Splatterhouse - CW45


    Another weekend and another great show this time it was down to Kentish Town, London for Cage Warriors 45.

    I was judging this one and my good friend David Lethaby was snapping the event for Sherdog so I drove us down, stopping for a Ginsters, and got there nice and early.

    It reminds me of the kind of venue I would have seen a niche band at a few years back. There was a real touch of the Coheed and Cambria about the place and, as I got into position to judge, I took in the atmosphere and got ready for the fights.

    Fights were very entertaining all in all with a lot of exciting finishes and the whole show was very enjoyable to work at.

    The journey home was better than the last time I made my way home from London, although there was a tiny bit of snow as I got home which freaked me out a bit, but I got into bed at around 2am and promptly fell asleep as my head hit the pillow.

    All in all another quality evening and this week I'm off to Kiev for Cage Warriors and have FIGHT UK and UCMMA Contenders after that.

    Stay tuned, this is going to get busy.
    Take Care
    Ben

    Tuesday 14 February 2012

    Double Dragon - UCMMA 26 & CWFC FN3


    To say it's been an insane few days would be an understatement but having a bit of time to think has given me some clarity.

    This year is likely to be yet another crazy one so I'm going to use this blog to record every show I go to this year. Last year I went to over 30 shows in a wide variety of places so I like the idea of using the blog for something like this.

    February 4th - UCMMA 26

    Crazy night in every way imaginable.

    It was snowing a bit on the way down but I, in typical English fashion, adopted the 'it'll be alright' mindset and got to London ok.

    The real drama, however, happened on the drive home.

    The show finished at 11:20ish and I set off with Alison huddled up in the passenger seat.

    We usually go m11,m25,m1 but this would proved costly.

    It took about an hourish to get out of London but that's nothing unusual. I managed to get to the m11 but it was crawling. It took about 40 minutes to do 5 miles but when I pulled onto the M25 I could tell something was wrong.

    There were abandoned cars on the motorway and, as I pulled up under a bridge, I was ready for a bit of a stop but this felt different.

    I pulled up at around 1am but I didn't move from that single spot for 4.5hours. Junction 25 was closed but, in that time, I shuffled close to the exit onto the A110.

    We got some petrol but there were so many A roads closed that we kept running into problems.

    In the end it was a 2006 AA Road Atlas that was my mums that saved the day as Alison navigated us to the A406 then up the M1/A50. The problem with technology is that, when it comes to the crunch, there's usually a reason why people used more traditional methods for hundreds of years.

    I'd set off from the Troxy in East London at 11:30 pm and I rolled into bed at 9:30 am.

    It was the closest thing to a horror film I've ever seen. People were wandering up and down the carriageway like zombies and there were abandoned cars everywhere.

    The problem with this bubble of society we surround ourselves with is that we're painfully ill equipped to deal with the simplest of asks from Mother Nature.

    It's like we share a sphere with an unreasonable landlady who, at any point, could turf us out and leave us with nothing.

    Cage Warriors Fight Night 3 - February 11th

    Judging this time and it was my first time working for Cage Warriors.

    I met the likely lads Dean Weir and Neil Hall at Manchester Airport on Thursday AM and we spent the bulk of the day flying, eating and generally chatting. The guys were really easy going and great to chat to so the hours soon flew by as we arrived in Lebanon.

    After a grilling at passport control we were picked up by a suited gentleman with a clipboard that read "Cage Fighters."

    We got to the hotel, although the neighborhood we drove through looked like Cabal, and I was shocked with just how luxury this place was.

    My room was big enough for at least four and the dressing gown made me look like the Cristo Redentor, and the view from the top of the hotel was like the start of Streets of Rage 2.

    Friday was a haze of naps, weigh ins, Rice Krispies, near death road crossings, more naps, tea, smoke, sunshine and naps. An enjoyable day.

    Saturday saw it all come together as the fights went out all over the world and I sat cageside with my trusty pen and kept score.

    I spent the bulk of Sunday travelling, chatting and preparing to see my lovely girlfriend Alison. It was like an 80's film somehow and driving home felt like an early date. All in all it was quite cute and the trip was a fantastic one.

    I'll be continuing in this fashion for the bulk of this year so I hope you'll join me as I try to take in a HUGE number of shows and spend great times with good friends watching awesome fights.

    Take Care
    Ben