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How a Czech football hooligan became a UFC champion, via Japan
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Newfound path: Czech Republic's Jiri Prochazka during a competition in Singapore on June 12. Once a football player, Prochazka turned to cage fighting, inspired by an ancient Japanese text after receiving a copy of Miyamoto Musashi’s The Book of Five Rings about eight years ago. (AFP/Nicholas Yeo)
J
iri Prochazka was a football hooligan in his native Czech Republic until martial arts and an ancient Japanese text inspired him to turn from street fighting to cage fighting -- and become a UFC world champion.
The Book of Five Rings was written in 1645 by the master-Japanese-swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, and when Prochazka was handed a copy about eight years ago, he finally found the focus to "become a warrior" after a wildly misspent youth.
"You have to look into yourself, and you have to follow the rules -- be honest, be brave, be calm in hard situations," said 29-year-old Prochazka, of what he has learned from the book and from the "Bushido" Samurai code of discipline that it encourages.
Prochazka became the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) first Czech world champion after a thrilling back-and-forth battle with Brazilian light-heavyweight Glover Teixeira that went deep into the fifth and final round in Singapore in June.
A battered Prochazka seemed on the verge of defeat to Teixeira, but somehow drew on reserves of strength to apply a choke hold and force the Brazilian veteran into submission.
"Some people say my style is unpredictable," Prochazka said.
"But I'm not doing unpredictable things. I am calm and I just look for the space for attack -- where is the weak point of my opponent -- and I attack."
