Quick Hit Summary
In this interview, we have the privilege of talking Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) with Shiba Banerji. Topics discussed include how he got started in martial arts, what “drives” him in the sport and what his training schedule looks like from sun up to sun down.
About Shiba Banerji
Figure 1. Shiba Banerji
In this interview, we have the privilege of talking with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Shiba Banerji. To date, Shiba holds a Muay Thai record of 15-4-0 and a Pro Kickboxing Record of 5-1-0. He is also a member of the 360 Degree Fight Team and lives in Kolkata, India. Recently Shiba was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule and share his story with us here at CasePerformance.
First off, tell us a little bit about your background… How did you get involved with martial arts?
I have Muay Thai background and absolutely love it from my very core. It’s been 10 years now that I have been doing Muay Thai and kickboxing. I have been competing professionally in Asian circuit. I am a national champion in both muay thai and kickboxing. More recently I have shifted my focus to MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)! I’m a member of 360 Degree Fight Team which is the best team in Kolkata, India. The guys are awesome and know how to get the best out of you. We are more like a family than a team!
My story with respect to getting involved in martial arts is pretty interesting. As a child I didn’t have many friends and got bullied a lot. In addition, most other games didn’t interest me. While the other boys played, I used to wander elsewhere to find things to fill my time.
One day a friend of mine, told me that he was learning martial arts and asked me to come with him. Therefore, I used to go with him regularly and watch them train. After many days of watching them train, I started doing the moves on my own in the corner of the gym. One day a martial arts instructor came up to me and asked me to join the training sessions. However, I was in no financial position to join! Despite that, I didn’t stopped going there and continued to train in the corner of the gym! After a week or two the head instructor told me to come regularly, train along with others and not to worry about the cost! I was so happy to hear that and literally didn’t miss any classes! The name of the gym was MUAY THAI SANGHA and after that I represented them in ALL ASIA PRO MUAY THAI CHAMPIONSHIP.
Who were/are your biggest inspirations as a fighter?
Jackie Chan is the man; because of him, I became mad about martial arts. Now fighters like Anderson Silva, Hector Lombard, GSP, Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, Dos Santos, Jon Jones inspires me to work in the hardest possible way, push myself up to the top and bring fireworks in my performance! My sole inspiration in Muay Thai was Cro Cop!
What do you like most about being a fighter?
The greatest aspect of being a fighter is that we cherish the hardest part of life in a very healthy manner. I also enjoy the struggles we go through, never giving up despite having a hell lot of problems. I enjoy the pain, the hunger, the nights when we couldn’t sleep due to pain and training my heart out just to win a fight! What I enjoy the most is that we endure all of this without complaining. You see, in every day life, no matter what job you do, you have to fight and earn your food. People don’t like that, but we all know that no one is going to give you anything if you don’t fight for it! As a matter of fact, if we don’t have to fight for the things we love, there will be no passion left in this world!
I was wondering if you could describe to us what your typical training day looks like from the time you start in the morning till you finish in afternoon or evening?
I start my day pretty early. I get up at 5am, eat and go for BJJ training (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), which is followed by another meal and rest. During the afternoons I weight train (4 days/week) or swim. Afterwards, I relax and eat again. In the evening I alternate between my Muay Thai, wrestling and MMA training.
Does your training routine vary much from day to day?
Yes it does; I keep adding new things in my training to make it interesting!
To date, as a fighter, what accomplishment are you most proud of?
I have competed in many championships and have won some of them but I’m not at all satisfied with them! I think no fighter should get satisfied with their achievements; they should always be hungry with respect to reaching their goals and continuously pushing themselves beyond the limits!
With such a demanding training schedule, what do you do in order to help your body recover faster?
Rest, a good amount of food and massages are my preferred way to recover!
Shiba, can you share with us some of the upcoming competitions that you have on your calendar? There has been some discussion that you may be worthy of competing at ONE FC, “Asia’s Most Prestigious MMA Event” Is there any truth to this?
My next fight is scheduled for July (2012)… And yes, there are some discussions going on for me to compete in ONE FC. In February I had a title bout and lost. It was unfortunate, but I will recover, manage a healthy record and be promoted to ONE FC… With a target like ONE FC and SFL (Super Fight League) in front of me, I am planning a ballistic comeback and will dominate Indian MMA like a furious storm. You see, I am the kind of a guy who doesn’t believes in proving his worth while sitting in a couch; I’ll get in there, I’ll fight and I’ll prove my worth.
You’ve mentioned to me that you’re thinking about dropping down a weight class for your upcoming competitions. What is the reasoning behind this and what changes in your diet and/or training routine are you going to do to accomplish this?
My coach feels that I’ll perform the best if I drop down to the lightweight division. To accomplish this, we’ve increased the intensity of my non Martial Art workouts. My training includes more circuit/CrossFit type of training. We’ve replaced some of my longer runs with sprints and I’ve increased the number of laps that I do while swimming.
From a dietary standpoint, we’re backed off the total amount of carbohydrates that I’m consuming. However, I do have a weekly “cheat day.”
I see that you also do some coaching. What do you enjoy most about being a coach?
As a coach I really enjoy watching my students improve day by day, achieve their goals and become better people. I always tell them to grab every opportunity that comes to them and make the best out of it!
What advice do you have for those looking to get involved with Martial Arts?
I really want every individual in this world to learn martial arts…You see it’s more than guys/gals pounding each other, kick ass training and all that type of stuff. Not only does martial arts teach you how to fight, but it also helps you become a better person. The feeling martial arts gives you, from the inside, is huge and can’t be defined with words. You gotta experience it for yourself!
Beside a healthy body is what we deserve! So this is for everyone, those who have joined as well as those still planning to join: God has given us a great power to choose what to do in life… choose to pursue a healthy body!
Any final tips/thoughts that you’d like to share with the CasePerformance Community?
Drink lots of water. Avoid junk food. Train smart, be safe.
Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, the hunger of glory and food is too hard to resist! So keep training hard, eat hard and keep achieving your goals!
Those were very inspiring words. On behalf of the CasePerformance Community I want to thank you Shiba for taking time out of your schedule to join us today!
The pleasure is all mine!
Regards,
Shiba.