#KiwiUFC What To Know About City Kickboxing: Culture
For many, culture in a sports or team context isn't real and is brushed aside as a cliche. This is likely because it can't be measured and this sits in the same pocket of 'vibes' or intuition, maybe even the magic of the universe that many struggle to quantify or even feel. I've come to view culture like ... culture; the first culture is the culture of a team or organisation and the second culture is the starting point of yoghurt.
A living bacteria, culture can flip into many different dairy non-dairy products. Depending on what you want to make, you will go through a fermentation process with lots of little organisms coming together to form that bacteria full of life. Culture can then be kept and re-used, becoming your own secret little recipe that forms the focal point of your creations and the effort put into creating cultures becomes a gift that keeps on giving.
Through that perspective, understanding team culture feels super duper easy. A team culture is made, effort and time is invested into creating a culture that then becomes living bacteria touching every little corner of a team. Like bread, kombucha or yoghurt, the level of investment into establishing culture directly influences the end product and having absorbed all sorts of information about City Kickboxing, it's clear that CKB understood the importance of such culture.
Whether or not they started with an intention of establishing a culture, doesn't really matter. Through the example set by Eugene Bareman and Doug Viney in setting up CKB, they have created a culture that like the bacterial culture, continues to be nourished and flourish. Culture in both examples is a sought after secret, get that information on developing culture and you'll have the key to a successful organisation or yummy bread.
CKB are bastions of team culture and while I have not ventured within the CKB walls to feel the culture, it's not difficult to peep nuggets that point to a fantastic culture. Creating such a culture is not easy and those who don't believe in culture or talk down on culture may do so because they are unable to take the time to establish a culture and often times it's simply too hard to stick to the required morals and values. Every time you divert from your morals and values, it's a damaging blow to your culture and for many people, the easier option is to not show up and support your comrades or chose quick money over the long-term value of holding tight to your values.
Imagine if the All Blacks decided not to grab the bags of the bus one time, or slacked off from cleaning the changing rooms. It would be a diversion from morals and values established through repetition over time and would likely snow-ball into further slip ups, then what becomes of that culture?
That's why linking up with CKB needs to come via a member of the CKB whanau. Like the mafia where joining the mafia has to come via a made man, one can't simply sign up to join the mafia. Of course, one may sign up and take a class at CKB, but to join the CKB professional stable, best start the process of building relationships and being a lovely person.
Ponder where CKB sits in the Mixed Martial Arts world as a powerful force, the best MMA team in the world right now. Any UFC fighter for example would be wise to sniff around CKB and as the profile of CKB grows, their reputation has likely led to many queries of training in Auckland. Benefits of this for CKB may be financial or adding to that reputation through a the visible improvement in a fighter who links up with CKB, that's not aligned with CKB's morals and values though.
From the outside looking in, the living culture seems to stem from the mana of Bareman, Viney and other elders involved. This has been most visible in how these elders talk about the success of Israel Adesanya or other fighters and with such rapid success, I've seen numerous interviews in which questions were asked about the success possibly having a negative impact on fighters. This won't happen to any CKB fighter, because the answer (usually from Bareman with international media) is always that the elders run the show and those within CKB hold each other to the CKB standard.
I won't suggest that CKB fighters are scared of Bareman or Viney, yet there is immense respect from the fighters for the elders at CKB. The elders run the gym and set the tone for the energy at the gym, no one is above the rules and regulations of CKB, there are most likely consequences for those who believe they are. In an interview alongside Adesanya with MMAFighting, Bareman spun this yarn…
Bareman: “The other day, I had 85 people sparring and I had 84 people wearing headgear and he (Adesanya) decided that he thought because it’s a hot day or ‘my headgear isn’t fitting right…”
Adesanya interjects: “It wasn’t that, it was because every sparring, every camp, my last sparring I take the headgear off…”
Bareman interjects: “But anyway … he asked if he could take the headgear off and I said no … and he kinda walked away in a sulk … and I yelled and cursed at him ‘you are not any different to the 84 other people here”. The whole gym stopped and looked at us an I said ‘put your fucking headgear back on and get back to sparring.”
No one is above being put in line, instead it's the responsibility of the leaders to ensure that such morals and values are upheld. Such culture is also evident in the effort fighters exert to support their team mates; it's not a choice to get back in the gym and help a fighter train for their fight, it's your duty to your team and you are expected to do so.
If Adesanya just had a title fight, after taking a suitable week off, Adesanya is expected to return to the gym and help Dan Hooker, or Brad Riddell. With everyone helping one or numerous individuals prepare for an upcoming fight, there is no choice but to reciprocate those efforts. Perhaps that's understandable with the UFC stable, CKB also have many fighters who are on the come up with smaller organisations and these fighters sacrifice their own time to help the UFC fighters. I'd strongly suggest that CKB's UFC fighters then ensure that they are there training with CKB's fighters preparing for an Eternal card for example.
Through repetition and strong leadership, this becomes the norm. The bacteria strengthen their bonds and the culture deepens, fermenting further into the walls of CKB's gym.
A simple example of this is CKB's 'spider' workout on Sundays. Regardless of how many fighters are preparing for a UFC card, the team gathers and sacrifices their Sunday to put the one fighter, or three fighters through training hell. Everyone's in the same boat, everyone's putting the team first and investing their time and energy in the success of someone else; an individual's success is the team's success.
This exchange is from Dan Hooker's chat with MMA Junkie...
Hooker: "The true test of a team is what goes on behind the scenes and I feel like behind the scenes, what's required of us inside the gym is seven days, seven days a week for the last three months" .
MMA Junkie: "Seven!? ... Eugene coaches seven days too?"
Culture extends out to knowing where you come from and who you are representing. Pre-fight trips to local marae aren't just for show, nor was it something unique for the recent UFC Auckland card where CKB welcomed opponents to the marae and the land of Aotearoa. These are regular events, further entrenching what CKB stands for and what is important to them. Sometimes these type of things feel empty or hollow, like when a semi-famous pop start receives a powhiri at the airport. Every time I see CKB at a marae, I feel the energy through my laptop, I feel CKB gathering power from the land of Aotearoa to take into their battle.
Another extension of culture is how CKB's UFC fighters are all individuals and their individuality is encouraged, as long as they are in line with the morals and values of CKB. Adesanya is a star, he shines bright and is a vibrant personality that may not appear to mix well with the under-stated nature of Bareman, yet Adesanya is allowed space to be himself and express himself.
We have also seen Kai Kara-France and Shane Young talk openly about youth suicide and Maori culture. Their platform is taken advantage of, their purpose expressed and CKB's culture moves through them in how they are leaders for young folks across Aotearoa.
Brad Riddell? Well he was at the CKB gym 5am, Monday morning after UFC Auckland on a Sunday afternoon to help coach Bareman and take his own session.
Swing it back to Hooker, who has his own gym 'The Combat Academy' and stated in that MMA Junkie interview that he manages himself. This is a fighter taking control of his own matters in setting up a career pathway and my hunch is that instead of any angst between CKB and The Combat Academy, Hooker was obviously encouraged to expand.
All of CKB's UFC fighters express themselves openly and eloquently. They are their fullest version of themselves, rooted to the culture of the CKB whanau. Whanau it is, as this CKB environment has been described by numerous people involved as a family and this is the essence of any successful culture. CKB have experienced deaths within their family, they've all experienced the sacrifices of others and they have all felt what it's like to truly be there for someone else in that whanau.
Some of these factors hold more weight that others, ultimately though the CKB culture is a combination of numerous factors. None of which are easy and as I ponder the idea of culture, more specifically a culture that can be deemed as 'successful', I'm left with a greater understanding of why many people or teams struggle to attain the feeling of such a culture as it's simply too hard for many people.
It's too hard to stick to morals and values. It's too hard to repeat this every day, to live by these morals and values every day. It's too hard to operate like a family, while taking care of your blood family. It's too hard to sacrifice, it's too hard to put the team ahead of you individual needs. It's too hard to invest years into breeding the desired culture.
Most notably, CKB's culture feels like a reflection of the people involved. I think culture is so hard for many people to understand because the people are the culture and everyone's going to want to create a successful culture, without understanding that their existence is the culture. Who you are, your actions every day and what you deem important to you become the culture.
If you learn anything from this assessment of the living organism that is City Kickboxing's culture, I'd suggest that it is to understand who you are. CKB have been their purest selves over a long period of time, thus establishing a fabulous culture. Thus, the various cultures you're involved in is merely a reflection of who you are and you're actions over a long period of time.
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Peace and love 27.