Props Go Out To FIGHTING PHOTOG Emily Harney

The Fighting Photog…

Has a nice ring to it, yes?

Emily Harney is a most accomplished shooter, and the Massachusetts resident added another resume bullet point when on Wednesday evening, she stepped into a ring and instead of snapping pics, snapped off jabs and cross and hooks, for a good cause.

Harney, who works by day as a visual arts teacher in Salem, Ma. at Gloucester HS, fought at on Haymaker For Hope’s Belles of the Brawl VI, at House of Blues and took on Stacy Macquarrie.

The scrap raised $6,200. to help battle cancer. Harney raised 125% of her goal, by the way. They whole crew raised over $300,000 to work to KO fucking cancer.

No, Harney didn’t get the W, the judges gave the nod to Macquarrie. But Harney, age 38, sees the experience as a massive win, overall.

“Man, it was so amazing,” Harney told me on Thursday. “I already felt my respect for the life of a fighter was high, after this experience my hat goes off to anyone who ever steps in that ring. The training, physical and mental respectively, are such a massive components and commitments that I think sometimes people don’t realize or they forget how much it takes to do this. My fight was three 2 minute rounds, I worked full-time, ran my business, parented, and did this… I have so much respect for the discipline of these fighters we cover, their work ethic and dedication to the sport. I don’t know how some of them do it. It’s a massive undertaking. From working in this sport, it allowed me to answer questions that fighters have a hard time describing in words: how does it feel to fight? How does it feel to hit someone? How can you do that and not feel bad? After the first time I sparred, I realized what it felt like to get hit, I realized I could take it and wanted to find away to defend it and hit her back. In comes the problem solving, these fighters are smart mofos!”

The training has allowed Harney a deeper level of comprehension of what makes these sweet scientists tick.

“They have to think fast, react and make a move that benefits them. But the mental space you go when you fight, that zone, that was intense! For me it was like a dream state, where who was in front of me didn’t matter but what their actions and intentions, movements were, that was what I was focused on. Through all of the training and prep I realized I was fighting myself. I wanted to be a better fighter after each experience. Take away what I could learn, practice and refine,” she said. “I understand why fighters have a hard time leaving this business, you know there is something you can always work on to be better!”