By CHARLIE DUMAVI
Born and raised in the out skirts of PNG, who would have ‘TAUGHT’ Adrian Pang a local plantation boy would one day represent PNG and knock down top fighters and be under sport light in Australia and around the world.
Pang was born in PNG and brought up in the rough surroundings of Kokopo where he and his brothers would watch Bruce Lee movies and tried to copy the moves. He had this passion for martial arts but there were not many options in the country at that time for him to learn.
At the age of 13 Pang moved to Australia with his parents and as a new kid in the city he was forced to defend himself in the schoolyard scuffles that got him to study Kung Fu.
“It wasn’t until I watched the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on VHS when I saw a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) fighter named Royce Gracie taking people down at will and submitting them with chokes and joint locks. I copied the moves and tried it on my team mates in Kung Fu until my first victory in Mix Martial Arts (MMA) against Chris Hielscher a tough boxer who also had some grappling skills. I defeated him with a choke in the first round, and I was addicted to this sport forever,” Adrian “the Hunter” Pang said.
When Pang discovered BJJ and started practicing the moves on his team mates. His teams were surprised and wanted to know more.
“They would ask me ‘what on earth is that?’ and I would tell them it’s BJJ and we should all go to learn it. But they all refused to learn outside the box we were in so, I would go to learn on my own.”
He studied Kung Fu in Gap, Brisbane before moving to Newmarket near city and he would travel for about 45 minutes to Mount Gravatt to train for BJJ after his kung Fu classes. But when his Kung Fu teacher found out about it, he restricted Pang to attend training elsewhere. Pang said like all other teachers his teacher thought that his Kung Fu style is the best of all martial art and Pang must learn it without any distraction.
Despite the restrictions Pang continued with his BJJ class afterhours as much as he could.
Until 2001 in Brisbane, Pang gave birth to what have been burning inside him. He stepped into the cage with the PNG flag hanging down his shoulder that marked the start of his professional fighting career.
“Ever since I first started fighting professionally, I have promoted my country of birth, PNG. I was born and raised in Kokopo. Who would have thought a ‘mangi from Timbur Kopex’ would be fighting all over the world and representing our country? “When I carry our flag into the cage it gives me strength knowing that I have the support of our nation on my back and I will always fight to the end to do myself and our country proud. I know I am based in Australia. I have a successful fight gym there but I have never forgotten my roots and the tremendous support I get from my fellow countryman,” Pang said.
The MMA professional fighter had over 40 professional fights including world titles around Australia, Australasia, Asia and Pacific. He has five championship title pined to his name.
Knowing the struggle to learn martial art as a boy, he travelled and involved himself with different martial art he could and has several PNG fighters training under his gym both in Brisbane and PNG.
“I tried some traditional styles throughout the years like Tae Kwon Do, Judo and spent years studying Tong Long Kung Fu which is a southern praying mantis system. I even travelled to Hong Kong and slept on the floor of the late Grand Master Ip Shui house in Kowloon to train with him.”
He also competed in Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling and currently MMA as a contracted fighter with One Championship.
MMA is a combination of all the most effective styles. It allows the individual to create their own styles as a fighter. “It did not matter the size or style of the opponent I could grapple them,” he said.
Moreover, the journey of individual sports is a tough one. At times it can be lonely yet an exciting one to take. The athletes who take part in individual sport do not always get the support needed from the government and business houses to represent the country in the global stage. However, it is the passion and the heart they have. They even face some racial discrimination in different regions they compete in and Pang experienced this in his fight in Tokyo, Japan on November 6, 2006. The fight that he keeps as his favorite.
Pang had a rough year fighting six times with mix results. At the same time, he was offered to fight in the winter fight in Tokyo.
“This is a long story…let’s just say I was not flown over there to win. The place was very cold. At the venue and we were freezing out in the warm up area which was like a concrete room. (When) we were called to a rules meeting, we got in the room and all the Japanese fighters were there, heaters on, carpet, TV, lounge chairs, really nice and comfortable for them,” Pang recalled.
He said prior from him being called into the cage to fight “the officials made my coach cut the wraps from my knuckles before I put my gloves on. They knew I was a heavy puncher so they attempted to handicap me. I fought in the main event against their golden boy Taiyo Nakahara” which was aired live across Japan. A tough battle it was. Fortunately, Pang submitted Taiyo with a triangle choke in the last round, rendering him unconscious on the floor.
“You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium, the silence was incredible as this was not part of their plan. The promoter drove us back to our hotel in his BMW telling me what a bad day it was for Japan that I won,” Pang said.
He added that when that fight got televised, they replaced it with another fight as the main event.
Furthermore, Pang is now married to a beautiful woman Melina and has two children an elder son and a daughter. “Melina has always supported me through my ups and downs and is a huge part of where I am today. I love my family very much. I’d also like to mention my mum and dad. They’ve always believed in me and supported me in whatever I do. I was never good at any sports growing up but their hard-working ethics gave me the tools to succeed in life.”
Pang’s parents currently live in Port Moresby where he comes to visit. Adrian “The Hunter” Pang added that there are many things that contributed to his success but the main one is consistency.
“Consistent with diet, exercise and making good choices. Consistently treating others as you would like to be treated yourself. Consistently showing up to practice whether you feel like it or not and always be accountable,” Pang emphasized.
He said being a consistent person in learning new skills and upgrading the ones you already have is the key to being able to perform in any situation, and as the saying goes “beware of an old man in a sport where men usually die young.”
