FORT CARSON, Colo.-Harry Kong looks like your normal workout warrior as you see the 4th Infantry Division member workout at McKibben Physical Fitness Center.
His youthful looks defy the athlete that is burning underneath that bright smile who wants to leap to the top of the mixed-martial-arts world. Make no mistake Kong wants to be king of the martial arts world and he is doing everything he can to get there.
Kong was an average young athlete growing up. He played traditional sports, but really liked football. What started as a football workout routine turned into something that he learned to love.
"I got started off in mixed martial arts because I used to play football and a guy introduced me to it as a form of cardio training. After I got into it I really loved it," Kong said. "(I) had a couple of sparring matches and I have loved it ever since because I think it pushes you to your limits. What I like about the sport is you get in the ring and you either whip somebody or somebody is going to whip you."
Kong may have been destined to be a mixed-martial-arts fighter from birth. His father was an outstanding boxer and he even tried his hand at the traditional fight game, but he found there was something missing in that sport that mixed martial arts gives him.
"My dad was a Golden Gloves boxer who was in the Air Force. I got into regular boxing, but I didn't stay with that. I didn't like boxing as much because unlike mixed martial arts, you are limited in what you can do in the ring. You can't use your knees or your legs and you can't submit (your opponent) in boxing like you can (in) mixed martial arts," he said.
Kong said his goals in the sport of mixed martial arts are the same as those that make him a good Soldier. He said the sport makes him a better Soldier because it makes him more disciplined and more mentally focused. He said while he doesn't have a lot of time in the Army the sport has helped push him to be a better Soldier and be fit to fight.
"There is usually a wall that you can hit but what I learned from being in the Army is how to push through that wall and that started in basic training. There are times when you want to give up on your training but the one thing the military has done for me is get me to the point where I will push beyond that," he said.
Kong said he wants to become the best there is in the sport and to that end his goal is to meet the man many consider one of the best in the sport.
"I want to get to the point where I can fight George St. Pierre one day. My biggest nightmare is I thought I would not be able to hit someone or have someone tap out in mixed martial arts. But I would love to be able to say I beat or made George St. Pierre tap out. It would be the perfect fight," Kong said.
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