Date: Monday, March 08, 2010, 5:45 am
By: Tonya Pendleton, BlackAmericaWeb.com
Former NFL star Herschel Walker has already dealt with some extraordinary challenges.
In 2008, just after carrying the torch in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Walker released a book, “Breaking Free,” where he revealed that he suffered from dissociative identity disorder, otherwise known as multiple personality disorder. The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner spent years grappling with various personalities, some of which helped him achieve personal and football goals.
But after he retired from the NFL in 1997, those personalities became more destructive, leading to the end of his marriage after 17 years. Once he realized he needed help, he went to therapy, where he was diagnosed and received treatment.
Apparently, Walker has his disorder in check, and his conditioning hasn’t lost a step either. At 47, Walker made his debut as an mixed-martial arts fighter, beating newcomer Greg Nagy in his MMA debut.
“I’ve been training for several years. I would play college football games on Saturday and then compete in martial arts tournaments on Sunday after church. I’m now looking forward to opening up another chapter in my life and to competing in MMA,” Walker said.
He’s not a complete novice. In the NFL, his unorthodox training style was thousands of sit-ups and push-ups per day. He’s also tried bobsledding ballet and is a fifth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. But as MMA fans know, the sport is tough and violent, requiring not just physical ability, but the mental ability to push aside fear.
Although Nagy was only 1-1 – so he hadn’t had much experience either – he’s still only 26, two decades younger than Walker.
“The experience was exciting,” Walker told MMAfighting.com. “First, let me thank my opponent for giving me the opportunity to fight him because it’s tough to fight an old man.”
Walker is at an advanced age to begin a new sport, especially after spending years in a sport that tends to leave its athletes physically broken when their careers end, but MMA experts have been amazed by the shape he’s in. The chief physician for the Florida Boxing Commission, which also governs the MMA, says despite Walker’s age, he’s in amazing shape.
“He’s in as fine a shape as Muhammad Ali or any of these people we’ve had the care of,” Allan Fields told the Associated Press. “This guy is 47 going on 22, as far as his physical fitness goes.”
Fields, who once worked with the U.S. Olympic team, said that a cardiac test performed on Walker at a leading institution produced one of the highest scores they’ve ever had.
Despite his amazing fitness regimen and unbelievable conditioning, once in the ring with more experienced fighters, Walker’s MMA dream may take a literal beating. But Walker says he will persevere.
“MMA is the No. 1 sport out there for me,” he told the Associated Press. “I love competition; I don’t want to lose at anything. I’m a little bit older, but I love competition.”
