Catalan Fighting System head coach Rene “The Challenger” Catalan remains optimistic despite another loss to his prized pupil, Jomary “The Zamboanginian Fighter” Torres.
Torres dropped a quick one, losing by first-round submission to Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan in one of the featured bouts of ONE: MASTERS OF DESTINY on Friday, 12 July at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For the outspoken head coach, losses like this one are tough to swallow given how much they prepared for this match.
“I told her to stop thinking about her friends who would say that ‘it’s okay, better luck next time.’ There’s a difference between ‘that’s okay’ and ‘congratulations,’” Catalan said.
“I always tell her that there’s no tomorrow. There’s no next time. Of course, if she loses, there’s also an effect on the team and the coaches and that’s why we’re working intently on her game,” Catalan added.
So what exactly went wrong for Torres?
Catalan explained that Torres’ aggressiveness – or lack thereof – ultimately led to her downfall in the match against Radzuan.
“What happened is she drifted away from the game plan. What was supposed to be a combination of five punches turned to single punches. She also wasn’t giving anything back when Jihin moved forward. We wanted to knock her out,” Catalan said.
“Of course, Jihin would keep on moving forward, but we did not intend to keep on moving back – that’s not in our game plan. What happened was Jomary let Jihin get comfortable into imposing her game plan.”
Regardless of the outcome, Catalan isn’t about to lose faith in one of his most promising students.
“It’s not the end of the road for her. If there are obstacles, if people were dismayed, I know that she’s still new to martial arts and that she’s got a long way ahead of her. I started training martial arts at five and I still do the basics. She’s just been doing martial arts for three years,” Catalan said.
“Of course, I am dismayed but I’m confident that it’s not the end for her. Opportunities will still swing her way for as long as she remains disciplined.”
