[People of UIC] Meet Imran: Wrestling with discipline

Imran Butt came to China from London, England in 2009 to work as an English teacher, and, apart from a year teaching in Ecuador in 2012, has been working at UIC as an ELC Lecturer ever since. Before coming to China, Imran worked in many different jobs. From a restaurant manager to a civil servant, he exercised discipline and tenacity in every role he held. These were skills he learned from his true passion, wrestling.

As a third-generation wrestler, Imran started training at the young age of ten to compete in amateur freestyle wrestling competitions. Imran’s grandfather was also a professional wrestler in Pakistan in the 1930s; therefore Imran’s father had a strong work ethic instilled in him from his father which he passed on to his sons.

Imran’s first wrestling competition at 10 years old

Wrestling had a huge influence on the lives of Imran and his brother during their teenage years. Even when they were kids, if they weren’t squabbling or fighting, their sibling rivalry meant they would often be wrestling together on the living room carpet. All of his training wasn’t for nothing, because Imran gained a lot from the experience.

He won the British championships in the under-15, under-21 as well in the senior category. His proudest achievement was winning the British under-21 championships because his dad was there and saw him win. Winning that got him a place to compete in the world under-21 world championships.

Imran winning the British Under 21 in Birmingham, UK (1985)

Beyond participating in the world under-21 championships in Colorado Springs, Denver, Imran has also had the opportunity to do a lot more travel throughout his years of wrestling. He used to go to Belgium and France frequently for wrestling competitions, and has participated in wrestling meets in Sweden as well as New Zealand for the Commonwealth championships in 1991.

Imran had the chance to train in Turkey, Pakistan and Hungary. He said that training in Hungary with the Hungarian senior national squad in 1980 was probably the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. The three-hour training sessions with the national team were gruelling and difficult. As a fifteen-year-old, he was training with world-class senior wrestlers in a huge glass-covered gymnasium which made it feel like he was training in a sauna.

Imran (left) and his father

Imran’s last wrestling competition was in the late 1990s when he had a career-ending injury as he dislocated his knee. Imran doesn’t miss wrestling too much because he feels he wrestled competitively for over twenty-five years, achieved what he really could have achieved and made his parents proud of him.

Since winning his competitions, Imran has gone on to coach aspiring wrestlers in London, as well as teaching wrestling at a high school in Zhuhai on Saturdays. He enjoys staying fit these days by doing body exercises in local parks around Zhuhai, as well as cycling to and from work. He likes to stay in shape and enjoys the health benefits of exercise as well as the positive effect it can have on his mood.

Imran competing in the World under 21 Championships in Colorado Springs, USA (1985)

Beyond winning competitions, Imran took some important life lessons from wrestling. Strength, flexibility, technique, speed and stamina are considered the key attributes to being a wrestler, however, Imran believes that stamina is often overlooked and to him, it is the most vital of all the attributes.

Imran (left) at the British Championships in Glasgow (1986)

Furthermore, he learned that “You’re not going to win anything if you don’t persevere and overcome obstacles”. He feels that obstacles can come in many forms. Imran explained that “It often feels like you are swimming against the tide and no matter how hard you train you don’t seem to progress. You might experience mental blocks where you don’t feel that you can overcome a particular opponent. There could be injuries that hold you back. There could be techniques that you just can’t seem to master. There could be a lack of desire to continue with the relentless training regime. There is often self-doubt which hinders your progress. If you try to overcome these obstacles with visualization, by reading books about motivational champions, by travelling abroad to train with foreign national champions, by attending training camps held by great wrestlers, by travelling to competitions to test yourself, by continuously honing your skills and pushing your body to achieve great things, eventually, often after many years, you may find that you are the best in your country. Like climbing a mountain, often you don’t realize how far you have climbed until you reach the top and look back.”

Imran (centre) took 1st place at the English Seniors in Salford (1993)

Wrestling has taught Imran is that things aren’t always going to go your way. You can try your best, but you aren’t always going to come out on top. Imran tries to exercise these lessons in his ELC courses, by encouraging students to keep trying and to persevere through difficulty. Imran came second and third in national championships so many times but was still able to learn from those experiences, and the setbacks he encountered only encouraged him to try to do better the next time.

Reporter/Photographer: Samantha Burns

Other photographs supplied by Imran Butt (ELC)

Editors: Samuel Burgess, Deen He

(From MPRO)