TOUGH Lad of the week: Forrest Griffin

Unlike our last TOUGH CUNT of the week, Forrest Griffin isn’t being honoured for one hard as nails incident, but rather for being a tough lad his entire life. A professional Mixed Martial Artist for the past 10 years, at the age of 31 Forrest has become a fan favourite in the UFC for his exciting fights. He is also a gas man, and I recently read and enjoyed his first book “Got Fight”. It is part autobiography, part training tips, and gives a great insight into the mind of a guy that I consider one of my idols.

The best thing about Forrest Griffin however, is how much of an everyman he is. He is not like a Mike Tyson or an Anderson Silva, who are basically machines and can be counted on to win nearly every time. Forrest is just a guy who loves fighting, and doesn’t have many things in his favour other than his determination to win and willingness to take a beating. One of the most famous stories about him involves a fight he had in Brazil before he got famous. In this fight, Forrest had his arm broken blocking a kick from his opponent, but just kept fighting and won the fight by knockout with his other arm. This got him serious attention, and now he is one of the top ranked MMA fighters in the world.

He is also prettymuch mental, and not just in a wacky, Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon (or real life) kind of way. Before becoming a fighter he was a police officer, but was supposedly discharged after failing the psychological tests required to fully qualify. After this, he started training with some friends, and entering various underground tough guy competitions. In an contribution in his book written by one of his friends, he says that Forrest often used to get drunk before training each day, figuring that he would most likely be drunk if he got in a fight, and so that was the best way to prepare. If you have never seen one of his fights and intend to watch one, you better not be skittish at the sight of blood. He has been in so many fights that his face is covered in scar tissue, and he bleeds a little bit easier after every fight. 

When I think of a hard lad, Forrest Griffin is always the first person I think of. I admire his straightforward approach to everything in life, and have tried to become more like this myself since reading his book. He suggests getting over fear of confrontation by going out and letting yourself get into a few street fights, and openly admits to losing as many fights as he won while growing up. He also has a second book Be Ready When The Shit Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse, which I intend to read as soon as I figure out which section of a book shop I can find it in.

This has to be the best book cover of all time

Never was a man more deserving of the title TOUGH CUNT.