At 18, John Kavanagh had a broken eye socket, chipped teeth and severe concussion and, in his words, he was “a nervous wreck”.
He’d copped a savage beating and would hunker down at home for six months, unable to look anyone in the eyes.
Then Kavanagh discovered mixed martial arts.
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At 45, the legendary MMA coach, best known as the man behind Conor McGregor‘s rise to becoming the first-ever two-division UFC champion, is taking his world-renowned training program to a new level in the hope of helping others conquer their fears.
Wimp to Warrior was launched by Englishman Richie Cranny in 2012, Kavanagh joined in 2016 and the business is on the verge of having 1000 gyms worldwide.
But it’s now called Alta and has the tagline ‘Wake your warrior’.
It’s a technological company that aims to give those unfamiliar with MMA a chance to see what the rapidly growing craze is all about.
Many tackle a 20-week training program that takes them from a beginner to an official MMA fight.
“We have half a billion fans worldwide and what we’re trying to do is get as many of them as possible to change from fandom, interest or curiosity and help them across that line to participation,” Kavanagh tells Wide World of Sports.
The master trainer is convinced the sport can transform a person’s life because of the impact it’s had on his, after he was bashed by five guys in the Dublin suburb of Rathmines.
“A really big crunch point for me was when I was 18. I was down town with my then girlfriend and I tried to break up a group fight and five guys turned on me. I got a really severe beating,” Kavanagh says.
“After that I went home and I stayed inside for six months. I didn’t want to leave the house, I didn’t want to do anything.
“And at some stage I said, ‘Well, look, that’s as bad as it gets. It’s not going to get worse than that. So, let’s see if we can learn something so I’ll be able to defend myself next time it happens’.
“I start looking around and I stumble across MMA.
“Now I look back as a 45-year-old man and I think, ‘What that kid wanted was not necessarily to learn how to fight; he wanted to get his confidence back’. I wanted to get self-belief back, I wanted to have confidence. I felt worthless.”
Kavanagh has towering praise for the training program launched by Cranny in 2012, which has evolved since.
But he disagrees with the original Wimp to Warrior name.
“I don’t like the concept of calling people wimps. I think anybody that’s brave enough and shows the courage to walk through the doors to do their first lesson – warrior as far as I’m concerned,” Kavanagh says.
“So, I like the tagline: ‘Wake your warrior’. I think everybody has a warrior inside them, and at Alta we just give you the tools to wake that warrior up.
“Through the vehicle of MMA, by the end of it, you learn a little bit about fighting – different techniques (like) kick-boxing, jiu jitsu, wrestling and so on – but I think the real benefit is you learn a little bit about yourself. You’re able to do something that at the start seemed very scary – the whole idea of a physical confrontation, a fight – and you get through.
“And through that, at the end of it – win, lose or draw – I hope … the skills learned from there transfer to other areas of your life. Something that may have seemed very difficult in the past – you can get through it.”
Kavanagh admits a massive challenge facing Alta is the widely held perception that MMA is thuggery.
McGregor’s most recent fight did nothing to shatter that perception. Doctors stopped the Irishman’s trilogy fight with American Dustin Poirier in July last year after he broke his left leg. The lower part of his leg crumbled under him and he hit the floor of the octagon. Poirier continued to belt McGregor’s head with punches as blood streamed from his rival’s face. Then the bout was ended and McGregor was stretchered away.
Animalistic, barbaric and inhumane are some of the words those in opposition to MMA like to spit out.
Kavanagh’s rebuttal?
“There’s actually technique to it, there’s learning, there’s a syllabus,” he says.
“It’s not just two people bashing each other.”
If MMA was a religion, Kavanagh would be the ultimate preacher.
“We know that combat-sports training is one of the best-kept secrets in the fitness world,” he says.
“Yes, there are a lot of other fitness programs out there, but for me, none of them come close to combat-sports training, for one very important reason: the mental-strength benefits from subjecting yourself to the uncomfortable aspect of mixed martial arts training are enormous.”
He baulks when asked if MMA can change a life.
“Forget about changing a life,” Kavanagh says.
“I believe it can make your life.”
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