Written by Some sports are inherently more dangerous than others, but even though mixed martial arts (MMA) competitor Fau Vake faced danger each time he competed, it was outside the ring that he met his fate. Vake was allegedly attacked on a street in Auckland, New Zealand by four men and later died at Auckland City Hospital on May 23.
A 29-year-old has been charged with Mr Vake’s manslaughter, and a 32-year-old man has been charged with common assault. Another 29-year-old is charged with common assault and injuring with intent to injure, while a third 29-year-old is charged with two counts of assaulting with intent to injure.
A spokesman for the family, Mike Angove, said that Mr Vake was consistently a very giving man, and was always seen with a smile on his face.
“The focus has been that he was a promising MMA fighter, but there’s been a lack of focus on that he’s a father to a 3-year-old daughter.” Mr Angove said his loved ones “were very fortunate to have him in our lives”.
Newly appointed kickboxing champion in New Zealand, Dave Garnett suggests that this tragedy should serve as a reminder that people need to take their fighting instincts from the streets to the ring.
“There’s something primitive about a street fight. The rules of society have broken down. Survival of the fittest reigns.” – Thomas Hauser
“When you go into a boxing ring, it’s about winning or losing. A street fight is more than that. The other guy is trying to kill you, and you have to get him before he gets you. In the ring, you’re performing. On the street, you’re fighting for your life. In the ring, someone is there to stop it if things get out of hand. There’s no safety net in a street fight. If someone gets knocked down on the street, his head hits asphalt, not canvas.” – Chuck Wepner (Former Boxer)
During a street fight, there aren’t rules, no code to adhere to except the code of the streets. It’s purely wherever you can land a punch and avoid being punched. Broken noses, broken teeth, eye gouging, no holds barred. In the ring, there are rules, there is a code, no one is going to die, it’s just win or lose; sport. In the ring someone will step in to stop the fight if things get ugly; a safety net to keep the fighters safe. In the professional fight scenario, fighters have been matched in weight so that the fight is fair, and they are aware of the form of the other, they can prepare for the fight, they know what to expect. The professional fighter is also trained to meet a certain standard of conduct and therefore know how far they can go. Some professional fighters had sought the refuge of the ring after starting their lives battling for a position in the hierarchy of the street, others made a natural progression to it for fame and financial reward.
A culture is like a code, a set of written or unwritten rules to ‘live’ by. These rules guide the nature of activities and keep all stakeholders safe. The culture of an organization is a tacit agreement to uphold a level or standard of behavior; the health of the culture is the difference between fighting in the ring and fighting on the street.
Man charged after martial arts fighter fau vake dies in New Zealand (9news.com.au)
Street fights: Stories of violence outside the ring | Sporting News