Any former martial artist approaching their half century would be happy to rest on their laurels after nearly 30 years of excelling in various disciplines, especially if they’ve been world heavyweight champion at one point.
Not Bob Daigle. At 47 he is teaching martial arts again and with the popularity of the UFC and mixed martial arts, he is inspired to compete again against fighters half his age.
On Saturday, Sensei Daigle gave a seminar with Master Steve Graham to a group of mma fighters keen to glean some tips from them. The two have been judges at the three Proving Ground shows. Daigle could be in one soon if he feels ready.
‘Right now my excitement in helping these guys who have this burning desire to become better has really excited me,’ he says.
But what about a comeback? ‘You never say never. My intention is to get back into really good shape again. So you never know. I need to get into top shape and by helping all these young fighters, by teaching them I will get fit again. So, hey, you never know. I haven’t earned the right to even say that I can fight again until I drop 20lbs.’
American Daigle’s rise to karate’s pinnacle is an eventful one. Born in Boston, Massachussetts, he has lived in Cayman since January 1987.
‘I started out in gymnastics as a teenager and competed for a few years and stopped when I became too tall. I started training in bodybuilding and competed a couple of times but did not have the genetics to be a successful bodybuilder.
Flexibility
‘So I started martial arts at 19. Having the flexibility and a foundation of hard training from bodybuilding I found the perfect sport for me and started competing in martial arts in 1980. It was exciting when I won six fights at my first tournament and placed third.
‘I knew then this was for me. The Krane organization (Karate Referee’s Association of New England) was a sanctioning body for sport karate in the six New England states. In my first year of competing I won the Massachusetts State title in men’s beginner fighting.’
He was later invited to compete for the New England Grand Championships. The top ten fighters in each division fought in this tournament to determine who would be crowned New England Champion. He won and took home the 6ft trophy and has been hooked ever since.
It was also a defining moment for another reason. ‘At that event I saw the best karate fighter I have ever seen, Billy Blanks, the seven time world champion and the inventor of the Tae Bo fitness craze.’
Daigle watched him from a distance for the next three years wanting to emulate him. In the meantime Daigle had many more tournaments and eventually competed in the black belt Division 1 qualified for the New England Grand Championships.
‘I won my first three fights and made it to the final against Blanks, the best in the world. I tried my best, but he totally out classed me and won the championship. He said: ‘Bob, don’t feel bad, it took me 15 years to get to this point’.’
A couple of months later Daigle moved to the Cayman Islands to open Cayman Karate Academy.
On May 14th 1987 the academy opened its doors.
‘I loved teaching and the people of the Cayman welcomed me with incredible support. After only four months we took a team to the US Open International Karate Championships.’
Cayman’s Chris Ebanks captured first place and took two third place trophies as well. ‘We came back to Cayman and the Compass did a feature article and all the parents and fighters and all the people in Cayman were proud.
‘Now these youngsters had a goal to train hard and travel the world and represent the island. I had to put my aspirations of being a world champion on hold, it was about my students, plus I didn’t have good sparring partners on the island.’
The press covered the results of all the local and overseas competitions and soon a major sponsor got involved with martial arts.
Cayman Airways Karate team was created. Daigle took the team competing all over the world and it was such a magnet that a few hundred competitors travelled to Cayman annually to compete in local tournaments. Soon the business community got involved with sponsorship which enabled instructors to bring down special guests to teach seminars to the 400 active martial artists in Cayman in the mid to late Nineties.
Support
As a result of all this support Cayman produced some of the best fighters in the Caribbean. ‘As my students got better I would spar with them and they, in turn, would help me get ready for tournaments again. My timing was better and I started winning again.
‘After competing for a couple of years and winning, with support from Cayman Airways and the business community in 1997, I decided to compete on the Krane World Tournament Circuit. I was 37 and it was now or never. I competed in North America, South America, Central America and all over the Caribbean. I won most of those tournaments and with help from my training partner Owen Lattie the the Krane Caribbean Heavyweight champion.’ He was crowned in 1997 Krane world karate champion.
But the years of intensive training and instructing had taken their toll and by 2001 he was teaching 50 classes a week.
‘We achieved all of our goals and I did not have the passion for teaching anymore. On 14 May 2001, exactly 14 years to the day, I closed Cayman Karate Academy.
‘I started working in East End in sales and only worked out sporadically over the years. Until something got me fired up again.
‘I was asked to help judge the Proving Ground 1, 2, 3 and I always loved watching the UFC and have respect for someone who trains that hard and lays it all on the line. After talking to some of the fighters I saw how hungry they were to become better.
‘It made me want to train and help teach. When I was hired by Coldwell Banker a few months ago to sell real estate it made it easier to leave work at night and drive to training in just 10 minutes.
‘All the judges for the mma events; Master Steve Graham, Kenpo Black Belt Paulino Rodrigues and myself are assisting the Cayman Islands Mixed Martial Arts Union and the promoters of the Proving Ground events in promoting mma in Cayman. With over 90 years experience between us we will teach some seminars on striking, as well as helping keep keeping the fighters motivated.
‘My goal is to get back in top shape and not just tell them how to become a better fighter but show them in the ring.’
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