Never too old

 
This is Buck "The Coach" Grant. After 7 years of retirement, he's back on the mats showing his students at Hybrid Academy of Martial Arts how it's done. He's also a CrossFit athlete (thanks Brown!). Not hard to imagine that; this was him last month during the Battle at the Nation's Capital. Did I mention he's 32 years old? (As a 33-year old who refuses to accept the idea that age=deterioration, I love it when the older guy wins.)

I like this picture for several reasons. First, I like the dichotomy between the bodies of the victor, tall and proud, and the loser, bloodied and on his knees. This was a messy fight, with Grant cutting Dixon early in the first round and the ref stopping the fight when Dixon was no longer able to defend himself. That brings me to the second reason why this photo is interesting to me- the ref was still signaling a call to the fight long after Grant walked away from his opponent. He stayed there waving his hands forever, as if driving home the message that there was no question this fight was over. I'm glad he did because it allowed me time to take a frontal shot of Grant, arms raised in victory, while the ref was still gesturing over a stunned Dixon. Finally, I'm drawn in by the facial expression of Dixon. He's staring down at the blood on his hand as if in disbelief. (He'll have to watch the video of his fight a couple of times before he knows what happened and how he came to be in that position.) Shortly after this picture was taken, he and Grant hugged in the center of the cage before Grant's arm was raised.

In other news....
I had to take some time away from the 'blog over the holidays so that I could focus my photography on Photo calendars, family get-togethers, and kids on Christmas morning. Apologies for the hiatus. I hope to feature several more shots from the Battle at the Nation's Capital over the next few weeks, interspersed with the CrossFit pics, of course. Then, in February, get ready for UWC Man O' War.....