What initially began as a way in which to grow confidence and fight off bullies, has now become a career and passion.
Bev Mongiwethu Mpofu reflected on the perception of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting. He stated there is a difference between violence and MMA.
“MMA is controlled violence in a controlled space. You can knock someone out or make them tap out and the referee calls an end to it. Pure violence does not have an end to it. You can keep going until you kill a person,” he advised.
He added that MMA is also about learning to control your aggression and not about having the ability to pick fights as you please.
Mpofu started doing judo in primary school, not only because he found it interesting and different, but to be better prepared should he encounter bullies.
He said, “I was scared; I kept seeing these people with baseball bats and I had to do something about it.” As he practised judo he felt his confidence growing and eventually became so good, that by the time he was in Grade 8 he had already made the national judo team.
Mpofu switched from judo to jiu-jitsu and in a short space of time, he achieved his blue belt. He stated he plans to fight competitively soon and hopes to have his first fight early next year. The MMA fighter in training said,
“I’m working hard to get back into the ring and I’m working at getting sponsors and getting my body into the right physical condition.”
Having a history of self-control issues in the past, as he was once suspended from rugby after punching a referee during a match, MMA has helped Mpofu overcome this. He urges critics of the combat sports to have an open mind.
He said, “MMA teaches you how to be disciplined, it teaches you how to patient, it teaches you a lot of values that you can use daily in life. It is not as violent as people tend to believe.”
Besides his passion for fighting, Mpofu is a lover of the outdoors. He said he loves paintball shooting and adrenaline-inducing rock climbing. He said it removes him mentally and physically from the pressure that fighting gives him. He did admit that nothing comes close to the high that fighting gives him.
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