Project Description

Trauma from the Ring

I fell in love with Muay Thai and fighting photography because the fights look breath-taking. Not anyone can step into the ring. Not everyone can train and push their bodies to the limit. If you’re not careful, you leave the ring with trauma. The trauma can be physical, mental, and all around terrifying.

Mario is the only fighter on Team Die Strong I hadn’t taken photos of, but watching him train is always a treat. He’s the type of fighter who doesn’t have to get ready because he’s always ready. One of my favorite photos of him that I took was him landing a flying knee after being stuck inside the house for six months in 2020.

A gym asked Mario to go and fight as a main event in Spokane in April. The gym, Hominidae Fitness, in Spokane was where the fight was located. Mario wasn’t the only one stepping into the ring, but also Javon and Josh. To me, that was good enough reason to go and it would be the first time in a hotel since COVID.

Mario sometimes mentions his injuries he’s gotten in the ring. A guy broke his eye socket. He showed me the black and white photo. The camera zoomed tightly onto his face as his right eye swells. Mario talks about is how a testicle ruptured in a fight as a warning to other fighters. I don’t know how he still steps into the ring.

Day of the Fight

Muay Thai gyms always look a bit sketchy. Muay Thai doesn’t bring in money and most gyms exclusively dedicate themselves to only Muay Thai end up screwing themselves over in the United States. Hominidae Gym looked like two warehouses glued together. The gym kept their garage doors open so people spilled out from the crowd and to welcome in the smells of cooking meat. It brought up fun memories of Kansas City.

Once Coach and the guys get in, I yank out the camera.

Photography comes in bursts of action one minute and sitting around waiting the next. I know the photos I need, want, and are most important. Javon ignores the camera. Josh goes into goofball mode. Mario stays focused. During the slower moments, we’d wonder into the crowd and watch other fighters like Preston. One day I might just do a whole photoshoot with him because his story is interesting, but that’s for another time.

The day feels quick, long, and fulfilling.

The team always says, “It’s time to go to war!” I got that feeling as Mario’s fight grew closer and closer. Mario wore this look of pure focus.

“Glad it’s not me,” I thought as I took photos of him. Mario is the first person that helped me spar. He knows how to control his power, but hell, I didn’t want to be in front of him when he’s using full power.

Right before Mario’s fight, I left the group to get onto the stage. Muay Thai usually has a square ring because fighters seal each corner. Mario mentioned to me in his fight where his eye socket shattered how the ring was a MMA cage. He believed that might’ve brought on some bad luck.

Fight Time

Traditional Thai musical starts and I see Coach walking through the crowd. Coach always wears a serious stern look when he walks through the crowd. I wonder if he’s bracing himself. Coach loves the team and Muay Thai is dangerous. People die in the ring.

Before he steps into the ring, Mario begins Ram Muay Wai Kru. A Ram Muay Wai Kru is a performance to seal the ring to keep evil out. Mario adds something from his Aztec culture to his Wai Kru and Corey stares hard at Mario. He doesn’t perform a Wai Kru and I find it weird. I’m spoiled though and Coach always emphasizes how important the culture that Muay Thai came from is.

80% of the photos I got from Mario’s fight came from his Wai Kru. The fight lasted about a minute. Corey looked a bit freaked out and the Ref got between them. Mario walks toward a corner and sat, waiting. Corey decides to fight and I don’t think it lasted more than thirty seconds when Corey calls it.

I’m used to people not lasting through all three/five rounds, but this had to be my second shortest fight I’ve seen. Mario went over to Corey and Corey cried. I snapped a photo and noticed how Mario looked to be whispering something to him. I’ve been on the other end of comforting speeches from Mario.

Mario later told us how Corey had a bad car accident seven years ago. It really screwed with his neck and he got scared after feeling how hard Mario’s punches landed.

Everyone carries trauma into the ring and out of the ring.