ANDY HUG

There are fighters whose life is destined to end on the big screen one way or another. Andreas "Andy" Hug climbed to the top of his life to become one of them. But with a sad ending. very tragic. A sportsman with a mystical halo. A lover of spirituality, he managed to earn the respect and admiration of the whole world, for his character and his way of being, also for his spectacular way of fighting. Especially from Japan, where he was considered a "superior being" because of his background in karate and kickboxing. Such was his importance in this country that the founder of K-1 (a form of kickboxing that includes hitting the knee), Kazuyoshi Ishii, awarded him the title of "Honorary Samurai".

In 1996 he was champion of the K-1 World Grand Prix (WGP), an elimination tournament of Japanese origin where the best kickboxing fighters in the world competed. The following two years he managed to reach the final. With his showy style coming from karate he became world famous. Two strikes stood out from the others: the "kakato" or ax kick (raise the leg above the opponent and strike downwards with the heel) and the spinning kick also with the heel on the opponent's thigh. During his sports career, he defeated fighters such as Jerome LeBanner, Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts or Mirko Cro Cop. However, his journey to stardom was not without its setbacks.

Andy Hug (Switzerland, 9-7-1964) never got to know his father Arthur, a soldier belonging to the foreign legion who died in Thailand under mysterious circumstances. Her mother, Madelaine Hug-Baumann, was rarely the occasion that he was able to see her. For this reason, he grew up with his two brothers together with his grandparents in the city of Wohlen (Switzerland). At the age of eleven he started in karate, "kyokushinkai" style, one of the most practiced modalities. The young Andy Hug was already pursuing a philosophy based on personal evolution through control of the mind and body. Thanks to his intense training regimens and his discipline, at the age of 13 he already enjoyed superlative talent and subdued all of his rivals in amateur competitions. After the fortnight he won the world tournament «Oyama Cup». Two years later he helped found a karate school in Switzerland. He was already an elite member of the national karate team. At 20 years old he was already a unique fighter in his kind, a benchmark in technical and mental skills.

His career in karate had already taken off and there was going to be no stopping it. His attacks in fights were unpredictable. Impossible turns and rubber flexibility gained through effort. Of training. He conquered the Dutch championships. He then the European Cup in Hungary. In 1983, he competed in the "kyokushinkai" karate world championship where 80 fighters began with no weight limit. Victory after victory he slipped into the top 16. Years later, he reached the final of his second world championship, a milestone achieved for the first time by a fighter born outside the borders of Japan. A year later he took charge of the Swiss national team to share his experience and knowledge with other athletes. And he made a transfer to the "seidokan" style of karate. He was already a true professional. Thus came the year 1993, when the K-1 WGP was founded. He began his jump from the tatamis to the rings. As he always did: with the utmost respect and concentration as a samurai. Squeezing his incorporeal

ANDY HUG, the tragic samurai legend blue-eyed

by Álvaro G. Colmenero

capacity to unsuspected limits.

Andy Hug never shied away from any fight. A self-made fighter fond of Japanese customs. He always looking for peace and quiet. Except in the ring, where he gave every ounce of his effort. He spent three years competing in K-1. He winning, but also knowing defeat, as he did against Ernesto Hoost or Mike Bernardo, two greats in this sport. But Hug's persistence and resilience were from another planet. Of that abstract planet in which he always tried to live. In 1996, his coronation as an athlete came. His greatest achievement. The Swiss, known as the “blue-eyed samurai” (although he really had brown eyes) put the entire Japanese country on his feet. He conquered the K-1 WGP – the best competition in the world in standup fighting – after defeating Van Der Merwe, Ernesto Hoost and Mike Bernardo in the final on the same day. A double revenge without rancor.

The following two years he was runner-up in the K-1 WGP. In 1997 he defeated Satake and the very champion Peter Aerts, but lost the final against Ernesto Hoost. The next, in this particular give and take, Aerts took the title of champion in the final against the Swiss. At this time Andy Hug was the wrestler who filled the stands. The one who secured the lockers. The often young boy raised by his grandparents was already a superstar. He had become the highest earner in the history of martial arts, but he generated much more. Far from being a "showman", his work and humility attracted thousands of K-1 fans. In June 2000 he had a fight at home (Zurich) against the legendary Mirko Cro Cop. led the Swiss to decision.A month later he made what was, unbeknownst to him, tragically his last fight.Nobu Hayashi will forever have the honor of being the last victim of the noble Andy Hug.

Bad times were already running because he had recently separated from his wife. He was convinced that, despite his age, he was going to continue looking for another fight. From another challenge. But the toughest battle, against which he never managed to prevail, was yet to come. In early August 2000 Andy Hug was diagnosed with acute leukemia, which had been ravaging his body for some time. The Swiss had been fighting sick. And he kept knocking down rivals. With grit and courage. With the strength that his son gave him that he had only been in the world for a few years. “I want to inform you about my state of health so that I can fight this disease together with you. She is the biggest opponent of all my fights. But I will win », he wrote to his followers. It was no longer going to be possible to stop this evil contender. On August 23, he fell into an irreversible coma and was put on a machine. But his heart couldn't take it anymore. Only 22 hours later he died before reaching the age of 36 in a Tokyo hospital due to multiple organ failure.

Michael Schiavello recounts that Peter Aerts, one of Andy Hug's closest friends and one of the toughest rivals on the K-1 circuit, went to the Tokyo hospital when he found out about the disease, but it was too late. By the time Hug arrived he was dead. Aerts, a three-time winner of the K-1 World Grand Prix, and once considered the most feared fighter on the planet, could not contain his sadness. He collapsed. And he cried. Tears of sincerity. Of respect. Of admiration. His body was cremated and his ashes deposited in a temple in Japan, as he had requested. The Japanese country also cried. He was lamenting. Although the legend of him will live forever. Because Andy Hug was more than a warrior. He was the "blue-eyed samurai."