Memory of Slain Mentor Drives Bay Area’s Cariaso
Memory of Slain Mentor Drives Bay Area’s Cariaso
By Frank Curreri
Hardcore MMA fans may remember Alex Gong as an acclaimed Muay Thai fighter who was gunned down in 2003 on a busy San Francisco street after running barefoot in pursuit of a hit-and-run motorist. Chris Cariaso, however, memorializes Alex Gong as a one-of-a-kind friend, top-flight coach and innovative businessman.
“I wasn’t at the gym the day that he died; I was teaching a private lesson that day,” Cariaso said. “I got a phone call and I couldn’t believe it.”
Gong, a charismatic visionary and architect of one of the Bay Area’s most successful martial arts gyms, was just 32 years old. His premature and nationally-publicized death rocked the MMA and kickboxing communities and spelled the abrupt end to Cariaso’s five-year apprenticeship under him.
“He taught me the ropes of how to fight and run a gym, all of the business aspects,” said Cariaso, who began working for Gong when he was just 16 years old. “He mentored me until he passed away.”
Nearly seven years later after the fatal shooting, the 29-year-old Cariaso is primed to leap onto the biggest stage of his career when he makes his WEC debut against Rafael Rebello, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who trains at the famed American Top Team academy in Coconut Creek, Fla. Cariaso, 9-1 as a mixed martial artist, took the fight on short notice, yet insists he won’t be the least bit intimidated by his opponent’s dangerous ground game. What else should we expect from a San Francisco-based fighter whose nickname is “Kamikaze?”
“I didn’t care who they wanted me to fight,” said Cariaso, who fashioned an impressive 17-3 record as an amateur Muay Thai fighter and also won a Golden Gloves title in boxing. “I feel like my skills are at the point where I can fight in the WEC. I remember Alex would say stuff like, ‘I’m tougher than anybody out there. If I have to I’ll just kick the other guy in the shins until he quits.’ That same mentality is part of my style. I’m smart and tough and you’re going to have to kill me to stop me. Fighting has taught me to believe in myself and my team.”
Truth be told, Cariaso conceded he doesn’t know all that much about Rebello (6-3) and isn’t fretting the lack of information.
“I know he’s a jiu-jitsu fighter with some standup skills, but I haven’t seen much video of him,” said Cariaso, who predicted he would prevail via knockout. “I just have to fight my gameplan; Fight to my strengths and exploit his weaknesses.”
Cariaso’s background reveals a young man who is obviously athletically gifted and exceptionally determined. A trip to a Thai restaurant in Arizona with his mother, as a teenager, resulted in him visiting a Muay Thai gym and immersing himself in the art. He began studying under Bunkerd Faphimai, who became like a father figure to the ambitious youngster. In addition to the martial arts, Cariaso also evolved into a talented BMX amateur racer. It was in that realm that he acquired the “Kamikaze” moniker.
“I was Top 10 in my age group for awhile and I had a lot of sponsors and raced around the country,” Cariaso said. “I won the World Cup and grand nationals a few times. Then I had a bad accident. We were racing and coming out of the starting gate and as we hit the first jump my chain broke and I flipped over the handle bars and face planted. It was a freak accident. I crashed and broke my forearm and my jaw and had surgery.”
His race team and sponsors dropped him. During the recovery, young Cariaso re-committed himself to his Muay Thai training.
“I intended to get back into BMX racing and used Muay Thai to get strong again … The next thing I know I was fighting in Muay Thai and boxing and never made it back into racing.”
It was one more obstacle in a teenage life filled with uncertainty and flux.
“My mom did a bunch of odd jobs, my dad was in and out of our lives,” Cariaso said. “I lived with my mom, my sister and my brother. We didn’t have the worst but we didn’t have it easy. We’ve definitely had our hard times, where we had no power in the house, no water, and floating around and not having a solid place to live. But my family was always able to keep us in nice neighborhoods and not letting us get too far down.”
At 16, Cariaso moved to the San Francisco area with his older brother, and began working for Alex Gong at the wildly popular Fairtex gym. The boy has grown into a man. He has poured the better part of his life – 17 years – into Muay Thai training, and for the past five years has run a martial arts school along with Bunkerd. Cariaso turned to MMA in 2006, is inching closer to becoming a purple belt under Ralph Gracie, and his lone loss came in early 2008.
“I took it hard and I stepped back and analyzed my game,” he said of the TKO setback. “I definitely don’t ever want to lose again after that. I got my one loss out of the way and now I’m ready to go on a tear.”
Cariaso has won three straight – all finishes – and credits mentors like Bunkerd and Alex Gong for laying the foundations for his success.
“I keep Alex in my heart,” he said. “I feel like he’s always watching over me.”
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