A Memorial to Adrienne Simmons

The following is a post from the WKA Newsletter. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Adrienne.

Depending on the type of fighter you are, you might say something like this before a fight, “I don’t care what happens, I’m just going to go in there and kill this guy” or, “don’t worry, I’m gona kill this guy.” However, usually even those guys don’t actually want to end the life of their opponent. Quite opposite in fact.

Within the martial arts community, regardless of rivaling gyms or fighters, there is a kinship that we all share that is defined by respect and strength of character. I’ve been a part of the martial arts community in north and south Florida for about 7 years now and have been fighting and coaching within the amateur Muay Thai ranks of Florida for about 5 of those years. This weekend I witnessed the most shocking and eye-opening event of my short time in the game. Adrienne Simmons pronounced dead at 34, on Monday, July 26th.

The IKF World Classic Tournament is like the super bowl for most amateur Muay Thai enthusiasts. It is for me. I have competed in the last two tournaments, and before this one, have never felt even remotely at danger; always eager to fight and felt completely safe. The Tournament is held at the World Marriot in Orlando, which is an upscale hotel with all kinds of things going on at any one time. With over 200 fighters in the place ready to throw down (and that’s just an estimation) the IKF have always had the best ring physicians in the game. This year was no different.
The women’s Muay Thai is grade A at this tournament, the best female fighters from all over the world come to compete, and the lightweight division is usually especially packed. On Sunday when it all came down to the final, it was Adrienne Simmons vs. Lindsay Sheer, and it was one of the more anticipated matches of the tournament. Both experienced fighters had fought multiple times on the previous day in order to come to each other in the final. However experienced they both were, there was a solid gap between them. Lindsay Sheer came into the tournament with 16 wins, 6 losses. Adrienne Simmons had 1 win and 3 losses.

Adrienne had a tough fight before going into the ring with the far more experienced Lindsay Sheer. As the fight started Adrienne was quickly dropped with a punch to start the fight for an 8-count. They continued to fight, and the underdog with a rough start, Adrienne continued to fight on with the best of her ability to try to win the fight, regardless of the point lost in the first round. Lindsay’s impeccable technique and experience was too much for Adrienne as she began to be controlled.  Adrienne fought back with intensity and the heart of a stadium champion, but it was not enough. Lindsay landed an uppercut that knocked Adrienne’s head quite far and when her neck was at full extension back, Lindsay followed up with an expertly timed overhand right-left hook combination and Adrienne dropped to the canvas unconscious. The ring doctors were in the ring immediately, tending to her injuries and taking care of her.

Adrienne was carried out of the ring by her coaches and brought back into the locker room. She became responsive for a second and then fell back unconscious. Now, I’m not a time expert, no certification in sensing lengths of times for me, but it sure did seem like a really long time before this woman was put on a gurney. By my amateur time-sensing abilities I would have to say it was over 30 minutes that she was lying down on her back in the locker room and being tended to by ring doctors.  I was in the locker room with my coach and a few friends when, then, very excited newly crowned 2010 lightweight champion Lindsay Scheer came back.  Lindsay and her coaches were excited and making statements like, “finally a knockout in 20-some-odd fights!” And then the conversation turned to the technical aspect of the fight and Lindsay said, “she was good [referring to her opponent Adrienne]. She had a lot of heart and kept coming back at me!” Lindsey continued talking about things that she, herself could have done better and further remarking how hard her opponent fought.  It was 5 or 6 minutes later when we realized her opponent hadn’t gotten up yet and went over to check on her. This was the moment when Adrienne became responsive for just a moment and we went on assuming she was injured and just needed to be seen.  But we all know now that she wasn’t going to be okay.

After the commotion I went on to corner my trainer in his final fight of the super heavyweight division and was astounded by the most shockingly bad decision I have even been a part of. During the fight I noticed the officials were distracted and the judges on two occasions were blatantly not paying attention. After the event we were all waiting on AAA (because I had lost my keys, but that’s another article) and were joined by a representative for the IKF who entertained us with a funny story about how his life was saved in the ring during a nunchaku demonstration gone wrong, by an on-site paramedic. This was when it became apparent that there was not an ambulance on site, and this is why it took so long for Adrienne, who eventually had to be airlifted out, to be transported to the hospital. While we were waiting (still under the impression nothing was wrong) a detective dressed in a suit and a person with a camera went into the ballroom as they kicked everyone else out, and thus started the talk. When my friend Pete asked an official if Adrienne was going to be okay, she replied with heavy hesitation “hopefully.”  At this point Lindsay also returned to the ballroom, sobbing. Lindsay did not realize the extremity of Adrienne’s situation at the time and is now devastated by the entire experience.  Please send your thoughts and prayers to her at this time as well.

Adrienne Simmons suffered a brain stem injury that caused her brain to swell and bleed. She fell into a coma and died on Monday, July 26th. She was 34. It is unknown (by me) whether or not the time spent getting Adrienne to the hospital had anything to do with her death. She was a dedicated Nak Muay Ying; she took the silver medal in this tournament in 2008; and she had the heart of a lion and wouldn’t quit.
It is important for people to understand that Muay Thai as a sport is not barbaric, and does not readily put lives at danger.  All who compete and love the sport understand the risks and take them willingly in order to attain something from this sport that nothing else can give them. Chike, Adrienne’s boyfriend, commented on WFTV that Adrienne fought because, “she wanted to feel stronger, because in past she hadn’t felt so strong.” The sport of Muay Thai inspires so many to be better people and to learn about themselves. Anyone who has any experience in the Muay Thai community knows that Muay Thai is not meant to kill or maim. Muay Thai is meant to express beauty and dedication, for self-actualization. So many people take so much from this sport it would be unfair to label it based on the terrible events of the World Classic Weekend. The risks are known, and we will keep fighting. We will always remember Adrienne Simmons and we will learn from her.

Remember MMA fighters, Judokas, Jiu-jitsu fighters, Nak Muays and Nak Muay Yings…when you are broken and beaten, when you feel like quitting, you remember not only Adrienne Simmons’ courage, but every champion’s courage who paid the ultimate price in the ring for us to learn from. Adrienne would never have quit and for all those who enter the ring, or the cage, honor her memory by behaving the same.

Never give up, and always learn.

Article courtesy of Joe Miller of WFighter.com