There are very few people that can say they where fighting back in the day when Alfie Lewis was dominating the freestyle scene in the mid 80’s and can show a photo of themselves on the rostrum after winning bronze medal at the 2007 WAKO World Championships.

There are very few people that can say they where fighting back in the day when Alfie Lewis was dominating the freestyle scene in the mid 80’s and can show a photo of themselves on the rostrum after winning bronze medal at the 2007 WAKO World Championships. One of those special few is the ‘Gladiator’ himself Mark Brown. Mark has won much, fighting many of the greats including Pele Reid, Steve ‘Nasty’ Anderson, Peter Edwards, Billy Bryce and many, many more. He is still fighting fit to this date, a shining example of an athlete that loves his trade and whom refuses to accept age as an excuse to stop practising the sport he loves. His sheer persistence and dedication has graced him with law defying qualities that enables him to this day compete at the highest internationals levels consistently delivering for his country. He still commands an element of respect that can be compared to no other, of which was clearly visible at the recent Combat32 showcase.

Combat32: Thanks for taking the time out to speak to us Mark, I appreciate your extremely busy.

Mark Brown: No problem mate.

Combat32: You’re a fighter that has seen much over the years, from the days of the ‘Kumite’ battling the likes of Pele Reid to today against the superstar Michael Page in Combat32. How do you feel the talent as progressed throughout the years ?

Mark Brown: I think the talent as changed quite a lot but for a long time it has remained stagnant. Nobody seemed to be getting to a level to compete with the fighters abroad but with some of the young fighters coming through today, likes of Michael Page and Damon Sansum I think this is about to change now.

Combat32: Back to the ‘Kumite’ for a moment, was it true that you spent your entire winnings on a gold coat, gold glasses and a polish on your gold tooth ?

Mark Brown: Laughs …….I don’t know who was spreading them rumours, that is ridiculous. I won a £1000, what coat cost a £1000? What happened was that this was the fashion back in the times and everybody back home where wearing them kind of coats and with me being a follower of fashion I had one as well and it just coincided with me winning the ‘Kumite’, that’s all.

Combat32: Thanks for clearing that up.

Mark Brown: I always remember reading a particular phrase from an interview with yourself in the MAI after you won the 4^th ‘Kumite’ title. It asked you a question about your ambitions, search for stardom etc. and your response was ‘that you always felt there was something waiting for you just around the corner’ did you ever manage to find out what that was ?

Combat32: Do you remember that ?

Mark Brown: Remember it well, I still think there is definitely something around the corner, still searching for it and when it happens I will know. I still haven’t found it yet but I still think it’s there, something is going to happen, don’t know when but it will.

Combat32: Mark there is a rumour around on the sport martial arts circuit that you are one of the best fighters not to have won a world title, do you agree and if so is this about to change ?

Mark Brown: It is definitely one of my ambitions to win a world title, always has been. But on the other hand I feel that………… what I am trying to say is that some people dedicate their whole life to training and to semi-contact, but to me it’s not a sport that you can dedicate your whole life too. You know, I realised that at a very early age and that’s why I probably don’t give 100% when it comes to training and to the sport because I don’t think the sport is giving me back, so in that sense I am treating it like a hobby. On one hand it is going to be difficult for a fighter with this mentality to win a world title but I still believe I can win one. At this world championships I was unlucky, I lost to the World champion by a point. I have a WAKO silver medal, won the Europeans, basically I have won everything apart from a world championships.

Combat32: Personally Mark, I think you are one of the biggest characters we have in the sport today, how important is that do you feel ? and is talent alone, as a fighter, enough ?

Mark Brown: Again it depends on what you want from the sport, I think for me to get by I have to be this way, you know what I mean I have to have fun .. it’s a hobby. This is why I got into the sport, to have fun to socialise, I can’t take it serious because I am not getting paid for it, it is not my job, not my career. I feel when people watch me fight they are getting entertained they are getting value for money. This is why it kind of hurts me a bit, people don’t know this but I have been in the sport longer than most people, they will be surprised. My first competition was in 1981, I was winning medals in 1981, it is now 2007. I have seen fighters come and I have seen them go and the sport has not moved forward, people think it has. The price of a competition has gone up, fighters like myself are still paying entry fee, like everybody else, where not getting respect. To be honest with you the tournament scene is terrible and that’s why people don’t even see me on the tournament circuit.

Combat32: You have recently re-launched yourself as the Gladiator, can you give the reader a little more detail as to why ?

Mark Brown: It’s funny you know, ever since the whole Combat32 thing, I just thought that with the whole concept of it, with the battling, hitting as hard as you want embodied who I was. I just thought to myself that my most favourite film of all time is ‘The Gladiator’ and I wanted to live it. It’s funny that when I am on the mat and putting on my helmet, I just feel like I am going into battle, I just thought it would be great to come out and to do something different. I wanted to be an inspiration for the younger ones and to get the whole crowd excited and I think it worked.

Combat32: To sum up your fighting Mark, I would say you are extremely fast for a man of your weight, with tremendous skill but poor stamina, do you feel this is a fair assessment ?

Mark Brown: Yes, going back to what I said before about the training, I feel I am moving with the sport, the sport is moving slowly and I am moving with it, I am not getting ahead of myself. There are fighters out there that have won WAKO world titles, IASKA, WKA, Tae-Kwon-Do, but you know, who knows and who cares ? nobody. They still go to tournaments, just like me paying their money to get in to fight. They are not given the recognition for their abilities. My dad is an instructor, I was kind of born into the sport and been doing it all my life. You can say I have taken it for granted, I have been winning gold medals since 81, still winning gold medals in 2007, so if it isn’t broken why fix it?

Combat 32

Combat32: If there was one thing that you could turn back the clock on during your martial arts career what would it be and why ?

Mark Brown: Ahhhh! if I had a crystal ball and could look into the future, I definitely would of pushed myself a little more. Only for the simple fact that people like myself with my outgoing personality, have got the skill and ability to push the sport forward, in terms of increasing the interest. It’s kind of difficult to explain, take Kevin Brewerton for example when he was on the circuit. Kevin was known world wide, he got into movies, not many people get into movies from fighting, it’s more the Kata people. But from his personality and stuff he excelled the sport for a minute but then pulled out. I feel that if I had that kind of discipline, trained hard as well, so my fighting matched my personality that maybe I could of pushed the sport forward. We are at risk of loosing the future Kevin’s with the current condition of the sport, unless more of the same in the form of Combat32 can be produced.

Combat32: It’s no secret Mark that you are far from one of the youngest practitioners in the sport, how important do you feel age is as a martial arts competitor ?

Mark Brown: I use to think it was important, thinking the younger fighters had the advantage, but now I feel this is not the case. With my years of experience transitioning through differing Jon rues of fighting, competing in traditional to freestyle I feel this experience is invaluable. Many younger fighters only know a single fighting system and this is their downfall. I also feel that I am in good shape, I feel experienced and confident when on the mat, I don’t think age plays a big part now at all.

Combat32: Why have you never seriously considered teaching martial arts for a living, as the level of experience you have gained is priceless ?

Mark Brown: I think that with teaching you have to be dedicated to 100% and I know that I couldn’t assure this level of commitment to my students, especially when I know there are things that I want to achieve myself. If you’re an instructor/ Coach you need to be there for your students 24/7. I also feel that fighting and teaching do not go well with each other, this is my personal opinion.

	Combat 32: Series One - £19.99 32 of the UK’s premiere fighters £3200 prize money. One winner takes it all. This is Combat 32: Where fighters become legends. Feel every kick and every strike, the pain and the glory as 32 fighters battle it out to win freestyle martial arts

Combat32: I feel everyone should have a 5 year plan where they map out their aims and objectives for the next 5 years of their life, what are your plans for the future ?

Mark Brown: In terms of the sport, hopefully in 5 years time I would of finished fighting and if that was the case then I would probably open up a small club. I have been asked on numerous occasion about teaching but for me it would be more personal. I would not be in it for the money and would never make it my career. My aim would be to solely produce top class fighters. So, in the next five years I expect to be teaching and I would of hoped to have won a WAKO World title in the next world championships. I also want to expand a little, doing full contact, I might even want to try a kata, so if you see me twirling a bo-staff in the near future, don’t be surprised.

Combat32: Do you feel you have met some good friends within the martial arts ? or have you kept your close friendships outside the sport.

Mark Brown: Nah…I have met some of my best friends within martial arts without a doubt. I have been involved for way to long not to make close friends. I feel I have more friends inside martial arts than outside, and that is the truth. Friends that I feel I can depend on and trust. Like I said my whole life as been martial arts, so not to have made friends would of been impossible.

Combat32: Mark, there was some recent hype surrounding yourself and Lee Matthews during the Combat32 clash. It was said that you where a little over confident, of which was evident when ‘The Hammer’ rocked you with some heavy shots in the 2 round, eventually taking the bout. Would you accept a rematch to settle this feud once and for all?

Mark Brown: Listen, one thing you guys have got to know about me is that I do not back down from any fighter. I truly believe, that when I am training hard and on form, I swear to god I believe I can beat anybody, anybody in the world. Lee Matthews, that was his day, he got lucky, I got sloppy in the second round. In the first round I was outstanding, as far as I am concerned. I was hitting him with crisp shots, just buy the DVD and you will see. On the day I changed my fight to suit Combat32, I think if I had stuck to just normal point fighting, that maybe I might of scored more points but it was hard to know which way the referees where going to go. So I stuck to the rules as I interpreted them to be and I was connecting with hard shots. After the fight I was happy with the way I fought, I felt I did not give a bad performance, but he just beat me my a couple of points. That’s the main thing about me right now, at the world championships I lost but I was happy with my performance, I thought I fought really well. I received numerous compliments on my fighting, Nasty Anderson who is like a legend in this sport said that my fight was the best fight out of the whole competition and for me that is priceless.

	Combat 32 Combat 32 is an open style Martial Arts tournament displaying some of the best fighters currently around in Britain today. Lesley Jackson is hooked by the display of talent fighting in the competition and wonders when they will introduce a female division, so she can have a go herself!

Combat32: Are we to expect more of the Gladiator in Series II at Disney Land as part of the European Festival of Martial Arts or as he hung up his sword ?

Mark Brown: You are definitely gonna see the Gladiator next year in Disney Land and them Europeans had better watch out because I am gonna be coming out with a vengeance, seriously, it’s not going to be nice man.

Combat32: Well Mark, thanks for your time I appreciate it considering the circumstance and I hope the last few days will be soon forgotten.

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Check out my DVD in the Martial Edge store, Combat 32 Series 1

Also by Combat32:

• Combat 32 Squad Training Sessions
• Mark Brown and Combat 32
• Michael Page and Combat 32

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Keywords : Combat 32, Danny Harrison, Alfie Lewis, WAKO, World Championships, Freestyle martial arts, martial arts, Mark Brown, DisneyLand Paris

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