From punk to humble fighter

From punk to humble fighter

SINGAPORE - Juan Wen Jie picked up muay thai and martial arts at the age of 23, when he was still serving National Service, after he and a few friends watched Ultimate Fighting Championship matches online.

Five of them joined a gym together. Five months later, he was the only one still at it.

"I think everyone else realised that fight sport isn't that easy... You have to dedicate most of your time to training," he told The New Paper.

He has never had a problem choosing between family, friends and fighting - fighting has almost always won.

But that's probably because there's an inner fighter in him anyway.

Juan admitted that he used to be "pretty rebellious".

It could have something to do with the fact that at the age of 13, he and a group of secondary school mates were beaten up by eight gangster types at Tiong Bahru Plaza's underground car park.

"They punched me, hit my face, kicked me, and someone held a knife in front of me to make sure I didn't struggle," he said.

"Eventually, they extorted money from us and took my ez-link card, so I had to walk home."

It was then that he made a promise to himself. He said: "I told myself never to be pushed around again and to fight for my rights."

His urge to ward off bullies extends to others as well. "I have a bit of an itchy backside. I just don't feel comfortable when I see bullying happening, so I would go up to the bullies and start doing things to offend them," he said.

He admitted though, that he sometimes went looking for trouble unprovoked.

After he was scouted by a modelling agent at the age of 17, the good life he was living - earning a salary while still a student at Catholic Junior College - caused him to be a bit of a "punk".

"I had the parties, the alcohol, the girls, the works," he said. "I thought I was the man and that I was top of the world."

He dressed like a punk, sporting multiple piercings on his lips and one on the bridge of his nose, as well as earlobe plugs the size of a 50-cent coin.

It was during this time that he also got a tattoo of a skull with tentacles on his upper left arm.

That led to some other skirmishes and street fights, but learning to fight as a sport quickly "humbled" him.

"After joining the gym, I sparred with a guy who was a nine-to-five white-collar worker and he was kicking ass, plus he was a really nice guy, too," said Juan, who went on to get a degree in business from SIM University.

Fighting over modelling

But the freelance model, who has done runway shows for sports and street brands like Nike, Levi's and Stussy, has too many fight opportunities available to worry about catwalks and clothes.

He's also rejected quite a number of modelling gigs - not just to concentrate on training, but because it "pays better" to teach.

"I've been on a break from modelling for about a year now because the fights have been coming one after another, but I wouldn't mind getting back to it," he said.

"For now, I think the fight scene is pretty big so I'm just taking every opportunity I can get."

FYI
WHAT: ONE Fighting Championship – Total Domination
WHEN: Oct 18, 7pm
WHERE: Singapore Indoor Stadium
TICKETS: $38, $58, $148 and $348 (VIP seats) from Sistic
(www.sistic.com.sg or 6348 5555)

julrasul@sph.com.sg


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