最近,我遇到了來自廣東的少年德裡克。他有一個夢想,想要成為一名綜合格鬥冠軍。
Life has shoved him into a corner, and he’s laying everything on the line — possibly even his life — to break out.
生活把他逼到了死角。現在的他孤注一擲,甚至是把他的生命也作為賭注,要去擺脫困境。
Derek is 15 years old.
德裡克今年15歲。
He asked me not to use his Chinese name, but he shared his story. He grew up in an orphanage, abandoned as an infant. He doesn’t know if his parents are alive or dead, and he doesn’t care. He’s on his own now, and sees the mixed martial arts cage as a gateway to the respect that has eluded him so far in life.
雖然他要求我不要使用他的中文名字,但他還是和我分享了他的故事。他是一個棄嬰,自幼在孤兒院長大。他不知道自己的父母是生是死,也不在乎。現在,他全靠自己生活。在他看來,綜合格鬥的比賽籠子是通往他生命中至今未獲得過的尊重的大門。
At the orphanage, and later in school, he was frequently bullied and shamed. He chafes at the memory and spews out an admirable stream of profanity in English. He picked up the language on his own, mostly by watching movies.
無論是在孤兒院,還是之後的校園生活中,他總是飽受欺凌,被人羞辱。他對這段往事仍是憤恨不平,並罵了一連串地道的英語髒話。他的英語,大多是自己從電影上學來的。
Eventually he learned to fight.
最終,他學了拳擊。
When I met him, Derek had won eight straight matches in the cage. He feels power growing within, both physical strength and strength of mind. 「What are you looking for?」 I asked. He answered: 「Infinity.」
當我遇見他的時候,德裡克已經在八角籠中取得了八連勝的佳績。他感到自身的力量在增長,無論是身體上的還是精神上的。「你在期待什麼?」我問他。他答道:「無限。」
He wants to rise. He wants to go to school. He wants to love and be loved. Right now, though, a couple hundred yuan in his pocket feels like a fortune. A fully belly is a rarity. He has barely enough to eat — and to fight.
他想要反抗,想要上學。他渴望愛,也渴望被愛。儘管現在對他來說,兜裡的幾百元錢都算是一筆巨款,連吃頓飽飯也是奢望。他的食物幾乎不夠吃,也不夠打拳的消耗。
He is laser-focused on his dream, working out five hours a day so he can enter an octagon in a dimly lit private club for a chance to win enough prize money to heal, and then fight again. He might get bloodied. He might bloody his opponent. Either way, it’s punishing, dangerous work, if you can call it that.
他一心執著於自己的夢想,每天鍛鍊5個小時,以便自己能登上某個昏暗的私人俱樂部的八角籠,有機會贏得足夠的獎金療傷,然後再次投入戰鬥。他可能會遍體鱗傷,也可能重傷他的對手。不管怎樣,這是一種既辛苦又危險的工作,如果它可以稱之為工作的話。
Youngsters like Derek who have nowhere else to go are easy marks for exploitation. They fight for survival.
像德裡克這樣走投無路的年輕人,很容易上當受騙,被人剝削。他們為生存而戰。
Derek lives alone. A week ago, he scraped up everything he had for an entry fee of 500 yuan ($75). The winner would be paid 4,000 yuan.
德裡克獨自生活。一周前,他用自己的全部家當湊了500元的報名費。而比賽最後的贏家將會獲得4000元的獎金。
Derek, who weighs 61 kilograms, was paired against a 19-year-old who was 17 kg heavier — a dangerous mismatch. Four years of development matters.
61公斤重的德裡克,被分到了一個比他重17公斤的19歲的對手。雙方實力懸殊,比賽危機四伏。四年的發育差距至關重要。
Three minutes per round for 10 rounds, if you can last that long.
每輪比賽時長3分鐘。如果你能堅持下來的話,最多有10輪。
Derek unleashed his energy, and the other guy’s nose and lip paid the price, bleeding profusely after three rounds.
德裡克爆發出了自己的能量。在三個回合之後,對手的鼻子和嘴唇付出了流血不止的代價。
Then came Round 4. The bigger fellow attacked ferociously, taking Derek to the mat and pounding his head with both fists. 「I lost control of my body,」 Derek told me. 「Dizzy.」
接下來是第四回合。這個大塊頭開始猛烈進攻,把德裡克摔到墊子上,雙拳猛擊他的頭。「我無法控制自己的身體,」德裡克告訴我。「只覺得頭暈目眩。」
And then he blacked out.
然後,他便昏倒了。
When he woke up, still lying on the mat, the place had emptied out. Someone at the bar was laughing at him, telling him to get up and go home.
當他醒來的時候,還躺在墊子上,臺上已經空無一人。酒吧有些人嘲笑他,叫他爬起來回家去。
Concussions can be deadly, but Derek brushed it off: 「He was so fast. He was better than me,」 he said. 「So I must be faster.」
腦震蕩可能是致命的,但是德裡克卻不把它當回事。「他太快了,比我厲害,」他說。「所以我必須更快才行。」
Chinese authorities are taking a close look at orphan fighters. In Chengdu, Sichuan province, for example, they are investigating the Enbo MMA Club, which has trained hundreds of boys as young as 8. All of them want to be champions, though the odds are heavily stacked against them. If desperate children are used for profit, that should end.
中國政府正在密切關注「格鬥孤兒」事件。例如,他們正在調查四川省成都市的恩波格鬥俱樂部。該俱樂部訓練了數百名8歲的男孩。這些孩子們都想成為冠軍,雖然成功的機會如大海撈針,微乎其微。如果絕望的孩子們成了賺錢的工具,那這一切就該結束了。
With some help, there may be hope for a better future.
若有人相助,他們的未來也許還有希望。
譯者:曲金遙(實習)
看完這個故事,力搏君很感動。
這個世界有時候並不是那麼的公平,他們有自己的夢想然而卻止步在生活面前。而我們,擁有那麼好的學習機會和條件,卻給自己找了一個又一個理由去拒絕開始……
「我之前沒有基礎,肯定學不會的。」
「工作太忙了,下周再去吧。」
「哎,剛才朋友約我去喝酒,練拳的事明天再說。」
……
搏擊,真的沒有你想像的那麼難。只要你願意行動起來,你就一定可以。
南京力搏搏擊健身俱樂部,江蘇地區教練團隊最強,設施最完善,課程體系最全面的搏擊場館。擁有南京10W+ 的學員培訓經驗,能夠幫助你找到搏擊學習的突破口。
即使你是一名搏擊小白,力搏君相信你也可以在最短的時間內Get這項技能。
如果你對搏擊充滿興趣,可以編輯「您的姓名+聯繫方式」發送到我們的微信後臺,力搏君將為你安排免費的搏擊體驗課。
力搏搏擊
南京搏擊格鬥類課程高端領導品牌