the nation can excel in international
competition. Consequently, opportu-
nities like this exist — but even with
free rent, I figured that we couldn’t
afford to keep an MMA gym open.
The average pay in Weifang is $500
a month. Most gyms charge less
than $200 a year. To be able to cover
just the salaries, we would need 200
members, and there’s no way we could PhotoCourtesyofAntonio^GraceffoThe Ex-Fighters of Weifang, Part 3
BY ANTONIO GRACEFFO, PH.D.Z
HENGTONG’S girlfriend and
baby came to the sports
school to watch us train. I
made several jokes about
his 2-year-old being almost ready to
start grappling. The first few times,
Zhengtong laughed, but later he said
with uncharacteristic seriousness,
“I think it’s good if my son wants to
wrestle as a hobby, but I don’t wanthim to be a full-time wrestler like I
was because when it’s over, he won’t
be able to do anything.”
His mother worked as an adminis-
trator in the city sports department.
Consequently, he and I were offered
a city-owned martial arts school,
rent-free, in which we could open an
MMA gym. The Chinese government
hopes to start promoting MMA so26 BLACKBELTMAG.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019DES
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