The Canadian Pyscho; an Autopsy.
Rory Macdonald is a rare breed.
A man who has contested with his darkness in a way few men have.
Rory Macdonald looked into the abyss and it reciprocated completely. Throughout his career, he has shown an aptitude for violence and discipline almost unparalleled in his field.
No one has embodied the epitome of the stoic savage more so in recent memory. He was calm but barbarous. Violent, but focused. He would harness his animal nature and use it to accomplish great violence. Doing so being his learned occupation. He did this better than most men on the planet for a time. He put his body through more torment and pain than many will ever understand. He did this for the sake of the search. The search for meaning. The search for purpose. The search for peace. The same journey we find many of ourselves on. The same journey we all must sacrifice for.
It would seem that the Red King's journey has come to pass. In his last outing, he stated an unwillingness to pull the trigger, to hurt his opponent, to do violence as he once did.
"I felt like I was unsure of the emotions I was feeling in the fight...For the longest time, I fought with a certain anger inside of me so it was kind of like a release. I felt good to fight, to do damage and it made me feel better about myself in some kind of a way. Lately, because of my new relationship with Jesus Christ, I just don’t feel that hurt in my heart or that pain that used to drive me. I have a new life and peace in my heart and I don’t really have that anger that used to drive me...So I guess I was just caught up thinking about why I’m feeling like this, what am I doing here? I was just not sure what to make of it.”
Many a man has been and will go through this arc in their life. We are all familiar with the rage, the white-hot fever of destruction. What many may never come to know is the quiet. The peace. The time in your life when you have accomplished all the deeds your beast must do, and it comes time for it to sleep. Many men may never reach this point. Because many men will never have gone through as much battle, or because they will never accept the help, the love, it takes to get there. I haven't done either.
Many a man have fought wars. True battles. These men have seen the brutality of humanity up close. They have seen it across from them, and they have seen it inside of them. This revelation has broken many a man and sent them down a path of madness or addiction. Addiction to substance and addiction to violence. They cannot cope with it inside them and they cannot cope without it. It is all they are and removed from it what are they? A monster? No. We are all monsters. We all have that beast inside of us. We all must contend with him and yet we cannot allow it to take control. This is is a task a man can not undergo entirely alone.
A flaw I have suffered personally. I always wish to go it alone. Asking for help is a weakness. That was the mantra of my youth. One I try to get passed with each day. The balance between being able to carry a heavy burden and knowing when to ask for a hand is a difficult one. That hand can come in many forms. As in Rory's case, it was God. One I respect but have yet to come to terms with myself. I know the good that can be done through a relationship with a higher being, a higher purpose, but I also know the destruction. Regardless he has found the right relationship with that greater power and it has brought him peace and it has brought him solace. That hand can also be found in a family. The love of a good woman. A child to care for. A brother to lean on. All of these can lead to helping a man find salvation. Do not deny yourself these things. Find your own philosophy. Your own family. Your own love. Your own kinship. Find when it is time to carry your burden on your own and when it is time to put it down with the help of something or someone else. We are not gods. We are men. And that is just what makes us worthy. You choose what path you take.
As for The Red King, Ares, the Canadian Psycho, I thank him for everything he has done. I wish him nothing but happiness in his future endeavors; in his new path. It takes a special man to find peace. To welcome it.
Rory still plans to fight again on June 22nd against Nieman Gracie. A dangerous competitor in his own right. I wish Rory nothing but continued success in this and all future contests. Maybe he can be one of the few men to find that delicate balance between man and beast. The same balance I aim for here. The same one we should all aim for day by day. For if a man can it would be one the likes of him. Rory Macdonald is a rare breed.
