Johnny K'O

Johnny arrived down to training one night last year on a night when only the girls were training. He joined in and was obviously impressed by the talent (in a football sense) on show and stayed. For the rest of the year he was ever present and ‘mad-eyes’ Johnny O soon became a recognisable presence on the G.A.A. scene. He also went against what had become the come consensus that all people from Cuala were a pain in the arse.

This year we haven’t seen so much of him because he has been moonlighting as a Jui Jitsui warrior with a club in Brussels. Still he makes training when he can and is again available for tournaments. Last week he sent out a mail to see he was competing on Saturday in downtown Brussels.

Not many fellas would be so brave to invite lads to something where they could be on the wrong end of a beating. A combination of curiosity and sense of club spirit brought myself, Conan and his girlfriend down to Palais Justice in the rough part of town! David Collins tagged along, openly hoping to see Johnny O take a hiding. I was backing our man all the way though!!

In the introduction of the player pack we made last year, I talked about how most of us are here separated from our families and that if fellas had a problem they should be able to fall back on their teammates without question. It’s a grand statement but it’s true. The group is the closest thing to family most lad’s have here and they should be able to fall back on that when required. Whilst Johnny’s cause wasn’t a problem, it was still an opportunity to support a teammate.

The location of Palais Justice is best described by telling someone to come out the door of Nua (late night Irish bar), turn right and walk ten minutes. I was never even tempted to turn right in 4.5 years year and with good reason. Our concerns were justified within moments of entering the venue as a skirmish broke out in the crowd. We were down the other end and watched as the kids fled and the adults flocked.

Back on the mat, Johnny was progressing through the opening rounds and our knowledge of the rules was getting so good that we even felt within our capability to question decisions. Johnny made it all the way to the final where he faced a member of his own club. He’d already told us earlier how yer man beats him up at training so he can’t have been too optimistic about his chances.

Still, he gave it a good lash in a low scoring contest, drawing nearly as many fouls as his man’s scores. It was a good effort, especially considering it was Johnny’s first competition in Belgium. From a novice spectator point of view it was a bit technical so we’ll be encouraging Johnny into something a bit more violent to keep his new following entertained.