All Hail Spenna The Northern Godfather of UK MMA

Life was about to change for three young grapplers one innocent Thursday up North; for out of the blue they were summoned to attend a triple training session by the one they call The Godfather. Carl Fisher, Ian Butlin and Quashi received the news the day before that The Don was looking to train and true to form, it was an offer they could not refuse - three hard-core MMA training sessions in one day; countless others had accepted this offer and had never been seen again, would the same thing happen again?

the Don, from 2nd left

Bradford Cosa Nostra - Quashi, The Don, Butlin & Fisher
(note the stumps - they only have 3 fingers left)

The first session took place in the heart of the Don’s territory at Kickers Black Belt Academy in Bradford, behind closed doors; the Don had requested a striking session and a striking session he received in the capable hands of Ian Butlin. On what was one of the hottest days of the year, it was clear that stamina and endurance would be needed if there was to be any chance of survival, so with Ian Butlin in control, a technical session in the finer points of striking was offered to the Don. Ring work and footwork were studied in great detail as well as striking drills and shadow boxing; with the session in full swing Ian went on to show how the grappler can take advantage of the striker by slipping jabs and crosses and move in for the takedowns, all of which seemed to please the Great Man Himself. First session over and still alive.

The Shipley Cartel

After the first session, the three were taken on a tour of the Don’s territory before heading back to his headquarters (all in blindfold) where the three were allowed food and water, before heading off to the next session, freestyle wrestling in Shipley. The class lasted just over an hour and was very intense, just a few techniques shown and straight into the sparring. For all three it was their first taste of a proper wrestling class and hopefully not the last, they just had one more session to get through.

The Godfather's new soldiers

However, the last session was the hardest, as the Don isn’t the Godfather for nothing; the session was held back at the Kickers Academy and was taken by the Don himself. Many lesser men had crumbled before this point and begged the Don for a pass out, only to be denied and ground into dust as an example to others — it was now or never. After a thorough warm up, striking drills followed and from then on the rest of the class was a blur. Demanding nothing less than one hundred per cent, all three were pushed to the limit by the Don, drilling ground positions and sparring from set pieces, before moving on to takedowns and defences in the boxing ring. Ian Butlin was kept in the boxing ring and was fed a never ending succession of fighters who worked the takedowns, whilst Carl and Quashi were kept on the mats sparring a never ending sea of grapplers and then it was over. With one click of the fingers The Don had seen enough and ended the day’s training — three intense training sessions had been completed and all three had impressed the Don with their stamina and endurance and were now allowed into the inner sanctum of the Godfather’s empire. With their newfound status, these three survivors are recruiting new comers to try the triple training session and will be spreading the word on the street very soon.

The Don, as always in control, with an offer you can't refuse

Postscript

The Fighting Photographer smuggled this report out, after being involved in a terrifying situation with the Don; at the wrestling session, the unthinkable occurred and the Don was pinned by the Photographer in sparring and he now lives in fear of reprisals at a secret location in Bolton………..

Note to bemused SFUKers - The Don = The Northern Godfather = The Mighty Spenna

About the author: Carl Fisher, was one of the original correspondents for SFUK. His writing has taken him all over the world, and in particular Fisher has given much exposure to the Scandinavian MMA scene. His efforts in promoting MMA in the should not go unrecognised. SFUK