Was I absolutely sure I was going ahead with it?
Yes.
With less gusto, but still definitely yes.
I had been in Russia for four months now, hadn't I? No dilapidated Soviet era, crumbling facade training centre/hotel was going to stop me from finding out, first hand, how they do things here.
The reality, like much about Russia in 2007, was very much a pleasant surprise.
For those of you still wondering: in St. Petersburg (and the rest of the country), bears do not stroll the city streets, mafia heavies do not have running battles with each other in black Mercedes' and the ‘Olympic Dreams' complex is actually a brand new, comfortable and fully equipped training center where most of the Red Devil fighters permanently live and train when preparing for tournaments.
There are currently 15 fighters here, eleven preparing for Saturday night. Four, including the youngest Emelianenko brother, Ivan, are here to train for a combat sambo tournament that will take place at the beginning of next week.
I was met by Alexander Vasilievich Michkov, the Red Devil and Fedor's striking coach who in his clipped, no-nonsense style showed me to my room. He recommended I take a shower so I would be ready to go first thing in the morning and insisted that I eat a full dinner despite the fact it was 12:30 in the morning.
Michkov then proceeded to answer a few questions I had as we sipped sweet Russian champagne and he briskly paced the room. He was still bristling with energy in the middle of the night, well into his fifties.
I had of course been hoping that Fedor and his brother Aleksander, who is fighting on Saturday, would be staying at the camp. To my brief disappointment, neither is.
Aleksander, who lives in St. Petersburg with his family, visits only for training sessions. I should still have ample opportunity for photographs and hopefully an interview with him.
On Saturday night he fights Jesse Gibson, a Dutch fighter of a similar height and weight with a Karate background, who the team knows almost nothing about. Gibson was a last minute replacement after Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) pulled out with an undisclosed injury.
Michkov says he is concerned about the dark horse aspect of Gibson. It makes him uneasy never to have seen the Dutch fighter in action, in person or on tape.
According to Michkov, Aleksander himself is not bothered in the least by who he is fighting. A general strategy for a striker has been developed, and Alek's stoic personality also plays a part in his demeanor.
I hope to be able to talk with Aleks about this in the next day or so. Check in tomorrow for more.
Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), who lives in Stary Oskol, a small city almost 24 hours away by train is currently here, but is on a maintenance regime, as he is not preparing for a fight, and trains alone.
I did manage to talk briefly with him at the M1 press conference about the possibility of an interview, and am hopeful of this happening sometime tomorrow when he visits the young Red Devil fighters, most of whom are either making their MMA debut on Saturday night, or only have a handful of fights under their belts.
Given that this is the case, it comes as something of a surprise to me that the atmosphere at ‘Olympic Dreams' is positive, though business-like and focussed. The fighters mostly follow the example of the trainers; they are quiet, contemplative and respectful. No one raises their voice, more often than not you have to strain to hear Michkov, fellow coach Vladimir Vornin or one of the rebyat (kids - as the fighters are often referred to).
Since I've been here I haven't heard anyone swear, not once. One could even say that it's peaceful. The broad hallways and cavernous training halls are filled with light, the only sounds are intermittent impacts of glove on pad, or body on mat and the fierce St. Petersburg wind, which doesn't follow seasons, and sweeps the halls tirelessly.
The day's second training session has drawn to a close. The fighters are relaxing for the night, which is actually as bright as day -- St. Petersburg has white nights for a month each summer -- though there is little levity, most are concentrating on either books, music or card games.
I'm signing off until tomorrow, when I'll be covering the weigh-ins.
Tomorrow brings the arrival of the international fighters, more training sessions and hopefully interviews with the elder Emelianenko brothers.
From ‘Olympic Dreams' in St. Petersburg, Russia it's over and out.