By Petr Zavadil

For The Post

Blood, gore and brutality — these are the images most people associate with Thai boxing and K-1 fighting, free-form combat that features fighters from a range of martial arts disciplines, including karate, kung fu and tae kwon do. But for Pavel "Hakim" Majer, the three-time European Thai Boxing Champion, there's more to the sports he has dedicated his life to than violence.

"The fighters' primary goal is to beat, not beat up, their opponent, so it could be compared to chess," says Majer, who at 6 and half feet and 258 pounds (1.95 meters, 116 kilograms), is the type of man who has to bend down to get through most doors. "Except, unlike in chess, the fighter tries to win physically."

Both in the fighting world and in his private life, most people know Majer, 30, as Hakim. Thai boxing has a tradition of branding fighters with nicknames.

"It's not a rule, but most of the [fighters have] nicknames ... like Tornado, Hyena, Killer and so on," Majer says with a chuckle.

Majer is the country's undefeated Super Heavyweight Thai Boxing Champion in Muay Thai, which is the national sport of Thailand. The sport, in which fighters use both legs and fists, has gained popularity worldwide, with the first traces appearing in Czechoslovakia in 1990, shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Majer's career in Thai boxing and K-1 spans 14 years, and his achievements are considerable. He is a one-time World Champion and a three time European and National Champion in Thai boxing. About six years ago, the fighter switched from Thai boxing to K-1. He is the most successful Czech fighter in K-1, martial arts fighting's most prestigious championship, holding several K-1 European Qualifier titles.

Now, Majer has set his sights on the K-1 World Grand Prix Final, the sport's premier event held this year in Japan's Tokyo Dome on either Nov. 25 or Dec. 2. (The event's organizers haven't set a final date.) This year he only has one more opportunity to qualify to fight in front of the capacity crowd of 70,000, following a disappointing exit in his last tournament in Bratislava.

Last chance

In Bratislava, Majer won his first fight, against Dutchman Alexander Novovic, but a head injury kept him out of the final.

"I took a heavy spinning back-fist blow to my head in the first fight," Majer says in measured speech. " My vision was blurred in the final rounds. I was seeing my opponent in triple, so I bashed the middle one and won."

After the match, the tournament doctor said Majer couldn't go on. The fighter asked to continue, but the doctor wouldn't allow it.

Majer's next, and last, chance at Tokyo will come at a competition in Milan, Italy, in April or May. (Again, the event's organizers haven't set a final date.) He'll have to win the tournament to qualify.

Majer will be ready, says Eva Gruberová, his media manager, because he is training harder than ever before. He trains 14 times a week with three coaches. His only problem, she said, is that the fighter doesn't have a suitable sparring partner to train with before the tournament.

In Milan, Majer will be counting on his run kick, his favorite hit. "Because I can't go into clinches and knee kicks, I'll try to use my arc kick, which is really strong and efficient," he says while spitting into an empty glass.

Fight of eight limbs

In Thai boxing, sometimes referred to as the fight of eight limbs, there are almost no restrictions. Fighters are allowed to use their fists, elbows, knees and shins.

Majer got his start in the sport at 16, when he and a friend went to a training session together.

"At that age, I felt I had sort of missed my train because a lot of athletes start at a young age," he says.

Majer's career started with high expectations but didn't take off as he thought.

"I fought and won my first fight at 19 in front of a crowd of 2,000 people at Lucerna, in Prague. I expected things to change dramatically after that," Majer says. "But nothing happened, and I was really dumbfounded and surprised that everything stayed the same."

Majer stopped boxing for a while before taking his high school exit exams, but picked it up again once they were finished. As an amateur, he won many titles, including Amateur World Champion.

In 2000 he turned professional and began competing in K-1 fighting. "It is the most prestigious martial arts competition, something like the National Hockey League," Majer says.

'Hug, huff and puff'

In K-1, fighters from a range of martial arts techniques face off: A karate specialist can fight a boxer; a sumo wrestler can take on a Thai boxer. The rules in K-1 are lenient so fighters can showcase their skills, but competitors have to remain standing, and certain hits, such as elbowing, aren't allowed because they carry a high risk of injury.

Clinches — when fighters lock up — are off limits as well. "It's not allowed because it's not interesting for the audience," Majer says. "They don't want to see two grown men hug, huff and puff."

A K-1 fight is over when three parts of a fighter's body touch the mat. This means fights don't always last until one of the competitors is knocked out, but Majer doesn't blame people for thinking K-1 is a brutal and aggressive sport.

It's easy for the average viewer to draw that conclusion, he says, while pointing out that there are fewer injuries in K-1 than in some other sports. Despite looking powerful enough to crush a beer mug in his bare hand, Majer says the person he is as a fighter doesn't carry over to his private life.