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SUNNY Temp: 75 °F Wind: N at 3 mph Friday, September 26, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend July 26, 2002 Full contact fighter Kris Silva, right, practices with Brent Coy in preparation for Saturday night�s Fight Night at the Medford Armory. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Getting their kicks from fighting Local fighters are ready to duke it out inside an octagonal cage in Saturday’s full contact fighting event at the Medford Armory By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune It’s only a day before his first local fight, and Kris Silva still doesn’t know his opponent. Not that his scouting is subpar, mind you, it’s just that Silva’s competitive world doesn’t have the structure others feature. That’s just one of the lumps the Phoenix resident has to endure as an up-and-coming full contact fighter. "Things get switched around so much, it’s all up in the air until the last minute," Silva says. So goes the world of any sporting event trying to get off the ground. Fortunately, Silva’s willing to roll with the punches — quite literally — as he prepares for Saturday’s Fight Night set 8 p.m. at the Medford Armory. "It doesn’t matter who they put in front of me," he says. "It could be a top-notch fighter or someone just getting started, I’m going to fight anyway. I’m not entirely prepared, but it’s a hometown fight and I do it for the love of the sport." Silva intends to be one of eight members from the Fight Factory in Ashland who will do battle inside the octagonal cage in Saturday’s event, which features fighters from the Full Contact Fighting Federation. Also competing out of the newly developed Fight Factory will be Brent Coy of Talent, Rod Snyder of Medford, Joe Walsch of Medford, Osamu Takashina, Cameron Fjarli of Central Point, Rich Griffin and Central Point’s Matt Lee, who will be making his fighting debut. Head trainers at the Fight Factory are Gary Quan and Mike Whitehead, but neither will be competing Saturday. Although only 22 years old, Silva is considered one of the veteran fighters for the Ashland contingent, sporting a 2-3 record in a sport trying to escape its underground status. "Some people try it and find out immediately they either hate it or love it," Silva says of the sparse full contact community. "It’s one or the other; there’s no in-between." Interestingly, it’s the in-between nature of full contact fighting that brought Silva to the sport almost four years ago. A solid wrestler while at Phoenix High until his graduation in 1998, Silva spent his offseasons learning judo and kickboxing. He has since trained in jujitsu and boxing. "Anything applicable to fighting I’ve done for the last six years of my life," he says, adding that his initial inspiration came from martial arts movies. But in his many pursuits, the one thing Silva truly learned is that none of them, individually, brought him the satisfaction he was seeking. "I didn’t like being limited by all the rules in the different sports," he says. "I want as few rules as possible. "And wrestling got boring because you can only pin guys and boxing got boring because all you do is punch." Not so in full contact fighting, where submission holds and just plain beating someone into submission are the norm. "This is much more of a chess match because there’s no limit to what you can do," says Silva. Silva says his forte is his unpredictable nature and extreme flexibility. "I have a lot of moves that are unique to me that nobody else tries so they don’t see it coming," he says. "And it’s really hard for people to hold me down because I’m so flexible, it’s almost like I have four arms. They call me ‘Gumby’ at practice." Even with those traits, Silva has certainly had his run-ins. A particularly favorite memory is his matchup with noted fighter Dennis Hallman of Olympia, Wash. Silva went into the match with a 2-1 record, while Hallman countered with a 40-4 mark. "He was stronger than me, faster and more experienced, and just dominated me the whole time," recalls Silva. "He took me down and kneed me in the head 15 times straight ... but it was fun. We’re friends now." Which also begs the revelation, Silva says, that full contact fighting isn’t quite the violent, bloody brawl most picture when the subject comes up. "It’s not violent at all," says Silva. "It’s fast-paced and people can get injured, but almost every single guy will give the other a hug once it’s over. There’s no real anger involved. It’s just about proving who has the better training and ability." Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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