STANDING ALONE,
T
Mixed martial arts builds strength, clears the mind, and creates community — meet the people embracing the city’s fastest-growing sport
BY CHRIS BENJAMIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE MURRAY/VISIONFIRE
he entrance to Titans Martial Arts and Fitness on Horseshoe Lake Drive offers little clue what’s going on inside. It’s at the side of a building that looks like a warehouse, and houses the Nothin’ Fancy outlet in front. Inside is a long strip of gym, carpeted with bare walls, industrial LED lights, and white pipes overhead. To the left are weights, and a boxing-style ring next to another fighting area without ropes. To the right is a hallway, change areas, several heavy bags and men paired off, sparring. There is one young woman roundhousing a heavy bag and a middle-aged woman lifting weights while chatting with a toddler. Overseeing the action is Peter Martell, coowner and, according to one of his proteges, “the best coach in Canada.” He has worked with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) luminaries like superstar Gavin “Guv’nor” Tucker and the late Ryan “Big Deal” Jimmo. The brutally physical sport of mixed martial arts is equally a mental game, Martell explains, offering Tucker as an example. “Gavin is a special athlete,” he says. “Gifted, able to put things in perspective. When he loses, he’s able to say no excuses, identify what went wrong and fix it.”
TOGETHER JULY / AUGUST 2022
UNRAVEL
37
