This may not be news for some of you, but the following press release was issued the other day on the Niagara Regional Police Service website:
“Vehicle Driven Into Front of Fallsview Casino
At approximately 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009, a lone male drove his vehicle into the front of the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, following a series of incidents in the city.
Earlier, the male had been involved in a dispute at a residence in Niagara Falls. The dispute resulted in the male assaulting a male and a female with a weapon and fleeing the residence in his vehicle.
Police encountered the vehicle as it drove through the North end of Niagara Falls. Police attempted to stop the vehicle, but the male continued driving. The pursuit ended when the male intentionally drove into the front entrance of the Fallsview Casino.
Fortunately, no patrons were injured when the vehicle drove through the front of the casino and the vehicle came to rest a short distance from the gaming floor.
A 51year old male from Niagara Falls was quickly taken into custody without incident. Several charges are pending.
The male and female victims of the initial assault are being treated at hospital for serious but non life threatening injuries.
Further details will follow.”
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Even though I live about ten minutes away from the Fallsview Casino, this news really didn’t shock me when I heard about it (the part about the crash) over the radio. It seems like every three months or so, someone is driving a car through a plate-glass window of some sort of business. I figured that it was no biggie – just chalk it up to drunken driving…again.
A couple of days later, I was at my mother’s house opening Christmas gifts and she asked me if I had heard about Harold Howard.
“No” I said, “what about him”?
You see… I grew up as a local martial artist in the Niagara Region and had even trained briefly under Harold.
In fact, my very first ever full-contact point-fighting tournament (it was an “open” tournament, meaning that it allowed all styles of fighting) was hosted by Harold Howard. Unfortunately, I lost in the finals, but I wasn’t overly disappointed in myself given that I was 15-years old at the time competing in my very first full-contact event against grown men in my weight class.
I was mostly proud of the fact however, that I even beat one of Harold’s prized Jui-Jitsu students who also happened to be a very young black belt at the time.
Although, no real information can be found out about Harold through Wikipedia, I knew him as a well-respected World Heavyweight Judo, Karate and Jui-Jitsu Champion who trained in multiple fighting disciplines. Please remember that this was years before his appearance in UFC 3.
In case you didn’t know, Harold Howard was the real deal. A true mixed-martial artist who was a very well tested (and rumour had it – unbeaten) street fighter.
Well my jaw nearly dropped to the floor when my mother told me that it was Harold who had crashed his truck into the Casino. And to add to my surprise were the details of the incidents leading up to the crash.
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I found this today in the Niagara Falls Review (posted four days ago):
“Martial artist Harold Howard, who police allege drove his pick-up truck through the front doors of the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls early Tuesday morning, has been released from hospital and remains in police custody.
He was reported to have a few bruises, but no serious injuries, said Niagara Regional Police Staff Sgt. Shawn Clarkson.
Howard, 51, is charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a weapon, attempted break and enter, fail to remain, flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, mischief and two counts of breach of recognizance.
Howard remains in custody pending a bail hearing.”
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According to my mom, the weapon that Harold had used was a “hammer”.
The first question I asked myself was “why would he need a hammer”? It seemed to me that if he wanted to hurt someone, he could have easily done it without a weapon of any sorts.
It certainly puts the charge of “attempted murder” into context.
Wow…
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I know that this may seem like a black eye on MMA (at least that’s how many will probably perceive it), but this isn’t about the UFC or MMA. This is about a man’s life and his obvious desperation.
Harold Howard spent many years as a community leader and martial artist who did more than most people will ever understand or appreciate to promote the sport of martial arts.
I don’t know Harold Howard.
I “knew” him yes, but I don’t know him.
My heart truly goes out to his family and children – and obviously the victims – but for all I know, they had it coming (although “self-defence” seems very unlikely).
But that’s for the courts to decide.
Desperate men will do desperate things. How unfortunate for Sensei Harold that his life has now come to this.
Wow, a Pioneer? I thought he competed in 1 event and then had to bow out of another because a light fell on his head. Then I have to go back to the few years that I was into martial arts and all the stories I heard was how crazy he was and how parents were pulling their kids out of his school because of it. Was anyone really surprised to hear it was Howard? From what I understand, the two victims were his nephew and his mother. I am not sure if it was a sister or sister inlaw, but the point I am making is that it doesn't matter. Nobody has it coming! Especially from a true martial artist.
I meant the nephews mother, not Howards.
Good points Greg. I have no knowledge of the victims identity or the circumstances behind what happened, so you just never know is all I'm saying. I am familiar with his reputation, but I wouldn't be quick to convict him based on that. All in all, it's just an unfortunate situation for everyone.
Thanks for the input Greg. Hope you had a great Christmas buddy.
All over a woman I suspect..lol..
A woman or booze, or maybe both…who knows?
I hope he gets the help he obviously needs to salvage whats left of his life, some jail time—maybe a year or so in the can—may help him sort things out and get his life back on track, he UNDOUBTEDLY has many gifts that he is still able to give.
GREAT JOB HERE BUDDY..
I don't know If Howard was really a master of the disciplines he said he was a master of…. but in any case… a strange story.
Harold Howard's current tantrums will have no impact on the reputation of modern MMA. Rampage Jackson's well publicized incident is ancient history in the media.
Mark Hall put a thunderous end to Howard's UFC career at UFC 6 in Buffalo. Harold was a brawler who threw technique to the wind and fought on emotion and adrenaline in the octagon. Not 'master' like at all.
Life is a rocky road, sometimes we go over the edge and it is never a good thing. You never want to hear about something like this. Sad.
Thanks Stoker. Much appreciated and you're right, I think everyone in the martial arts world would want him to turn his life back around. Let's hope he gets the help he needs.
Hey BasssPlaya,
Excellent point about Rampage. Plus, he was much more in the spotlight at that time than Harold obviously is – so other than a few articles on various websites, I don't see this getting much attention at all.
Compare this to the Tiger Woods situation and the media attention that he has been getting for “alleged” adultery.
Tiger showed the world that he was human and he was punished for it by making the front page news for over two weeks – setting a new media record.
10 minutes up the highway in Grimsby, Sensei Shane Weaver has been charged with sexual exploitation of one of his young female students.
10 minutes up the highway in the other direction (N Falls), Sensei Harold Howard is being charged with attempted murder.
Martial Arts would seem to be in a sad state of affairs here in the Niagara Region, but I know for a fact that there are some clubs in this area that are doing really great things right now (Fight Club Canada in Niagara Falls happens to be one of them).
Hopefully, with the legalization of MMA in Ontario, we will continue to see more positive change. I just wish that the powers that be would hurry up.
Thanks.
The man is a true psycho – no other description required. Stupid as he was tough – only the toughness diminished with age and the stupidity apparently did not. Put him away where he belongs with “his” type of people and let them kick the crap out of each other or worse in jail – and leave the rest of us law-abiding citizens alone. Grew up around him and his cronies and family for decades – this is LONG overdue. The Law and such have been turning a blind eye to him for so many years, no wonder he still thinks he is invincible.
The Follow-Up
April 19, 2010
*Updated* Mulletted UFC Meme Harold Howard Sentenced to Five Years in Prison
Instead of a fight, the next time Harold Howard utters his well known “If you're coming on, come on!” catchphrase, his words will likely be followed by prison sex and obligatory spooning with his cellmate “Shanky” Dave.
The cartwheel-kicking former UFC underachiever and my Canadian homeboy, who was the first fighter to ever defeat Royce Gracie (Okay, fine, the win over Royce was by forfeiture, but it was still real to me, damn it!) was sentenced today to just south of five years in jail for his pre-Christmas family festivities last year that saw him attack two relatives with a claw hammer before crashing his pick-up truck through the front doors of a Niagara Falls casino.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been involved in many a spirited and spirit-fueled debate with members of my family over the holidays, and I may have at times had the urge to grab an implement out of my tool box to drive home the points that didn’t seem to be getting through to my relatives, but the difference between thinking about it and actually doing it says a lot about the mental state Howard must have been in at the time.
Here's a retelling of the incident from The Niagara Falls Review:
“Hill said Howard had been staying at his sister's home on Muir Ave. His nephew was getting milk out of the refrigerator when Howard suddenly attacked him with a hammer, striking him five or six times with the claw end of the weapon. The nephew required 21 stitches to close the gash on his head and six stitches to close a wound on his hand.
Howard's sister entered the room after her son screamed and she was struck with the hammer and fell to the ground. She suffered a broken finger, a gash to the right eye and cuts. She required four stitches.
The nephew struck Howard with a chair, which ended the attack. Howard then drove to a house on Carmen St., where his estranged spouse and son lived, and struck her vehicle that was parked in the driveway, causing about $3,000 damage. He then approached the front door and tried to gain entry and yelled: 'You ruined my life.'
Police were called and located Howard driving his pickup truck, but he failed to stop. A pursuit followed reaching speeds of 110 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.
When Howard approached Niagara Fallsview Casino and Resort, he crashed his pickup truck through the glass front doors and it glanced off the fountain in the lobby, coming to rest against a pole.”
Never one to make excuses for himself or to let anyone else fight his battles, the 52-year-old karate and Japanese jiu-jitsu black belt and instructor, who has spent the better part of the past two decades teaching the next generation of UFC hopefuls how to “Come on!” at his Niagara Falls martial arts studio, represented himself in court Friday. Howard pled guilty to six charges (aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm, dangerous driving, failing to remain at the scene of an accident, mischief and breach of a court order) which was a vast reduction from the original tally of 25 that included two charges of attempted murder.
Addressing the court one last time before sentencing, Howard made a couple interesting requests, including one for the hammer that started the whole ball rolling:
“After assuring the court that “these actions are not [his] normal behaviour,” Howard asked if his sentence could be served in a facility out west, explaining that he had no future in the Niagara region. He also wanted to know if someone could retrieve some belongings and tools from his former residences.”
In my mind, that's not how I saw his speech going down at all. I pictured Howard snapping his head to face the judge, while tearing off his wraparound shades and muttering one of his prophetic post-fight gems, like: “Well, I told you, if it worked, it worked and it didn’t, I didn’t. “So in the end, it didn’t,” before getting into his karate stance and going out in a blaze of glory.
This was written on cagepotato.com