Twitter
Facebook
Ultimate Fighting Cham-pionship cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran shared memories from his unique life and career during a Dec. 9 event at the Daenner Kaserne chapel in Kaiserslautern.
Mr. Duran focused on the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, emphasizing awareness of suicide prevention and prevention of drug and alcohol abuse. When people have problems, they show it, Mr. Duran said.
“If you look into a fighter’s eyes, if you look in any person’s eyes, it will tell you everything,” he said.
The event began with Lisa Velez, the Army garrison’s suicide prevention program coordinator, offering a briefing on the signs to look for in people considering suicide and the importance of safety during the holiday season.
Mr. Duran told the Soldiers about working as a child in California migrant camps where he worked in farm fields, dreaming about becoming a baseball player.
He ended up joining the U.S. Air Force and served in Thailand, where he was introduced to kickboxing. Back in the states, he continued to train and began teaching — eventually opening his own kickboxing school.
Mr. Duran then learned how to be a “cutman” — the valued professional who fighters count on to fix cuts. He moved into the boxing world and learned the art of wrapping fighters’ hands. He’s worked with many boxers, including Mike Tyson, and had roles in movies.
He currently works with boxers Andre Ward and the Klitschko brothers, among others. In 2001, Mr. Duran became a cutman for UFC, working with most of the top UFC fighters.
After his chat, Mr. Duran wrapped the hands of U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Jessup. Mr. Duran also signed autographs, posed for snapshots with fans and gave away a few copies of his new book, “From the Fields to the Garden.”
A day earlier, Mr. Duran visited with troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, including Soldiers injured in Afghanistan.
Mr. Duran’s briefing, which counted for Soldiers’ mandatory suicide prevention awareness training, was a great way to get Soldiers’ attention, said Spc. Nicholas Philips, a mechanic from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command.
“It really caught my interest, better than the usual PowerPoint,” Specialist Philips said.
A huge UFC fan, Specialist Philips, of Gardnerville, Nev., grew up wrestling and has won two Army combatives tournaments. He enjoyed hearing about Mr. Duran’s life but also took away tips to keep his comrades from taking their lives, he said.
“There are a lot of little signs that people often overlook that could prevent a suicide,” he said. “The more the Army tells us about this, the more we can catch on to those signs with our peers.”
