The Perfect year!

Well it has been a while since I dropped a blog. I have been a little busy this year. Busier than i've ever been. Pursuing this life has been an amazing journey good and bad but I know that I am in the right place and I love it. My life has changed in every way imaginable. I can definitely see the direct reflection in my work, fighting, and teaching. I have become a better teacher, better competitor, and a better person because of the changes. I did what people always say to do, i learned to love myself. The results are evident. I fought in January on 24hrs notice to redeem myself for all the hard work I did for my fight in December when I fought sick. I won an IKF belt that night and it was the

beginning of good things to come. I didn't feel the normal stress and pressure of any of the previous fights and it was my first fight in Miami. I loved and needed that experience. Cool side note: It was kickboxing in a cage. very cool. Shout out to Jay Dezand my boy Luis Rodriguez!!

LMT was born!! I started doing Muay Thai training camps this year. It has been a blast. The first camp was small, like 6 people. As of the last camp we were up to about 12 or 13. We are growing rapidly! I also was able to take 2 fighters to their debut fights. We walked away with a champion, fighter of the night honors, and Fight of the year for IKF PKB! Much Love to Yoka "The Belgian Bomber" D. and Felipe "Babyface" Puente! They are amazing fighters and I can't wait for the next year and the future of Lucky's Muay Thai and for these two warriors.

My retun to Jiu Jitsu. Well I had wanted this for a long time. I just sort of kept it in my mind that I would continue with Jiu Jitsu as soon as I could find an instructor that I trusted and could learn from. My personal feeling about Jiu Jitsu is that I believe in it. I can feel the soul in it....too deep?? At any rate I love it and I was able to get back to learning with the help of 6 degree blackbelt and Vale Tudo legend Jorge Peirera. A blackbelt under Rickson Gracie I feel honored to be a part of that lineage. I was able to secure a silver medal in the state tournament and a gold in the IBJJF Miami Open. Not to shabby for just starting in Gi. Love my Jits man!

Then there was Thailand. I am still blown away. My girlfriend Taylor and I talk about it daily. There was something about that place. Besides the training, the food, the people, and the history. It was in the air and you could feel it with every breath. I think we received a little blessing with that trip, can't wait to return.

I just feel blessed to have had a full year of great experiences with amazing people and I look forward to 2013. You have all helped me to keep my focus on my passion and I love you all for it. Thank you for giving me the perfect year! LMT!!! Special Thanks to The LMT Team - Yoka, Jorge, Benjamin, Felipe, Jennifer, Luis, Elliot, Mark, etc etc... If I missed you it wasn't on purpose. I Love you guys, Thank You!!!

Pursuit

As a martial artist, the will to constantly pursue a sense of honest enlightenment through a physical art is one of the things I find most amazing. I truly believe it is a never ending pursuit with countless rewarding moments and constant challenges. Your true self is profoundly available to you. You don't have to go looking for it as it will undoubtedly find you. I've met countless people that started in martial arts when they were young and they've always thought about getting back in it. Once you do one of the arts in your lifetime, it sticks with you forever. The empowerment and humility experienced during training is something I that I can't possibly express in words.

Don't get stuck in one style, open your eyes to other arts. From one martial art to another the concepts may differ, the movements change, but the ideals the mentality remains the same. Treat people with respect and carry yourself with pride and dignity. If the moment in time arises become that you must use your art, then become the most ferocious warrior alive until the situation no longer requires it. The pursuit relates more to the first part of that philosophy. The arts should make you better as a person. More giving and compassionate toward your fellow man and woman. "Knowing is not enough, you must apply" -Bruce Lee

How do you know where you stand? How are your skills? You can surely get an idea in sparring in the gym, but I am a firm believer in competition. If your training feels stagnant or like there is something missing, this might be what you need. There is only so much theory, training, and knowledge you can fill your mind and body with before it is overflowing. You must allow it to be released to allow for more knowledge to be absorbed. Compete! Find a way to challenge yourself. You never know what might happen and you will be surprised at what you can find out about yourself. Pursue your art, then apply your art.

Heart, how do you know...

When I think about heart a few people come to mind, but today it's Felipe Puente. I believe heart is most times measured by how many times you are knocked down in life or competition and continue to get back up. I believe in Felipe's case it is the refusal to go down.

Felipe approached his first fight with no fear. Fighting at 135lbs is a tough for a fighter who some might consider small in the 125lb division. That is of no concern to Puente who throughout training camp never mentioned it nor responded to talks about it. He just didn't care and I think the idea that it doesn't matter who you put in front of me, i'm going to fight is exactly the attitude a fighter is suppose to have. Felipe embodies that. As we already knew going in Felipe's opponent was gonna be taller and longer, this one was going to be a difficult task. An extra tall 135lb fighter stood across from us as we awaited the bell. I told Felipe we needed to get right in his chest and not let him use his reach. Unfortunately he was able to get off first and in the first 30 seconds land a blow that bloodied Felipe's nose. His back was to me so I didn't see it until the ref stopped the fight momentarily to bring Felipe to get cleaned up. I was in shjock when he turned around, partially from the amount of blood coming out and partially because Felipe gave no indication that it even remotely bothered him. All cleaned up back into the fight he went. Like a captain of a ship steering into the storm. He fought his heart out taking punishment from the longer fighter but never giving an inch. He would not go down and i'm convinced if the fight went 10rds he would still be standing at the end saying "come on let's go!". That's heart that kept him fighting and that's why all 125lb fighters should be on notice because here comes the immovable object. Felipe "MF'n" Puente!!!

Training makes champions: Yoka D.

It's been a long couple of months but it was all worth it. I've been fully immersed in training my two fighters for their first fights and at the same time preparing for my own competition but more on that later. On October 13th, my fighter Yoka D. put all her hard work and dedication to the test and fought in the IKF PKB kickboxing tournament and won. Two fights and six rounds later she not only won the championship in her division but also fighter of the night. It was an amazing moment but it was even more gratifying because of how hard she worked. A Belgian import, Yoka has embraced Muay thai as a way of life and put in an enormous amount of time working on her skill set.

Throughout training there are always obstacles in the way as well as clashes between coach and fighter. We also endured some clashes and bumps along the way. The good thing about Yoka is that she is her own worst critic, so most of the time we bumped heads about how much she was training or how good she was doing. Even on her best day she would give the impression it was her worst. As far as her bad days went, well I wouldn't say it was a good time to be around. I pushed her to her limits in training and challenged her to be better every time. I yelled and she pushed at her and at times she let me know what she thought about it. She complained and I let her know what I thought about that.

Through all of that we kept our eyes on the prize. We met every week and we trained consistently. We worked hard on conditioning, technique, philosophy, and belief in what we were doing.

At the end of it all it was belief that carried her to the victory and the "fighter of the night" accolade. Belief in her coach, belief in the technique, belief in the hard work, but most importantly it was belief in herself. She deserved the championship, not because I say so, but because she genuinely earned it and it was an honor to watch it happen up close.

The Community

Hello all, I know the blogs have been pretty scarce lately but I have been working on building my brand and spreading Lucky's Muay Thai to a broader audience. There are some great things coming down the pipeline soon including more video blogs, an amateur team debut and a new website. That beinbg said, let's get down to it. I am currently trying to link to people around the world through the web, but the way I enjoy linking with people is face to face. It has been an honor to be a martial arts instructor as I am always able to meet new people from all over the world who live the same lifestyle and try to live by the same set of principles and disciplines as me. The styles vary fro place to place but the mindset for the most part is the same. I believe there is a connection in martial arts that brings people together. We learn from one another through our technique and theory and when one must return home to their country or me to mine we are connected forever. It is very different from meeting someone on a simple vacation there is a connection beyond late night cocktails and music. I had the pleasure of training in Thailand with a good group of guys at Kru Dam's gym. With the help of Patee Suwansomsri I left feeling like I got it, I understand better now. We all laughed and joked and became friends though there was an obvious language barrier. I will see them again for sure and I take what they taught me and pass it on to my students and it is a direct result of Muay Thai.

I had the pleasure of working with Gonzalo Fuenzalida from Chile. He was an mild mannered boxer and was willing to do the work in the classes that was asked of him with a huge amount of energy and respect. He worked hard here, returned to Chile and won his fight.

Then Rosa Lenz came to us from Germany and showed everyone what a high level Kick fighter is supposed to look like. She trained like a maniac and opened herself up to learning some Muay Thai techniques and was nice enough to teach a couple of my students her amazing kick fighting style. She was so inspirational to us all. She also fought a tournament here and won. Just a badass!!

Last but not least our most recent visitor Daniel-Jeffrey Madrigal from the UK. I finally had someone to help me with my 125lb fighter Felipe. Daniel made up for his size in attentive training coupled with an amazing sense of humor. He kept us in stitches. Even though he was on vacation with his buddies and they were painting the town red every night, he was at training every day. He really exemplified the spirit of Muay thai.

There are dozens of others internationally that I have been blessed to cross paths with and I am so grateful for the time that was spent. It proves to me that we are all connected as martial artists and as human beings. I love you all and I am honored to know you. Peace Luck

Just a thought

Hello all, this is just a thought. One thing is for sure about competing in a combat sport against another person, it exposes you in every way. Your feelings are amplified because it's against another human being. It is a test of will and there is no place to hide. Everyone will see how you react at times of great adversity as well as great success. Are you a gracious champion or an arrogant one, a respectful loser or a sore one. The strangest things can happen to men and women who put themselves in these situations. Wherever your mind and maybe your soul are at on that day it will be put on a pedestal for the masses and now replayed on Youtube for the entire world. I'm not sure why we do it, but I assume we ultimately long to be free and there is no more freedom than allowing everyone to view your faults and your greatness, your rise and fall with every punch delivered and received, and every choke and tap out. I did theater acting all through high school and college. I used to think that you exposed yourself while doing a play in front of an audience. And that is true, however nobody was trying to break my arm during The Crucible. That definitely would have made it more interesting to watch. Anyway, if you're looking for freedom, it is available to have. Just remember to be grateful and respectful to it because if you don't it will let you know. Also keep in mind that you're part of 1% of the world willing to offer themselves up.

Student and Teacher

I've enjoyed thoroughly this road that i've taken. I believe that I have been able surpass any expectations I might have had in the beginning as well as set new goals and deeper meaning in what I do. The thing that allows me to stay energized as a teacher is a first and foremost a love for what I and secondly the need to constantly learn. I have been teaching now for about 5 years. The one thing i've noticed is that as an instructor you go up and down. In a bag class setting sometimes training becomes monotonous. There are plenty of exercises to do, but after a while I start yearning to teach technique. Unfortunately, I teach more bag classes than hands on classes. I enjoy teaching in all formats so I have to counter that feeling, and I do that by becoming a student again. I have made my way back to the mat and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and with that, back to humility.

It is exactly what the doctor ordered. By tying that white belt around my waist twice a week and getting choked or arm locked, it helps push me to teach better. It gives me purpose when i'm feeling like I lost it. For whatever reason, when I want to get better I want to make my students better, and right now, I REALLY REALLY want to get better.

Motivation must be found! It can sometimes come from people, or born out of necessity. I get my motivation from the looks on the faces of my students and making myself a student as well. Whatever you have to do to evolve to the next level of life, you should do such things. As I progress further, my mentality changes. I get a spring in my step, my chest pokes out a little further and there is a strength in my voice. I love how humility makes you stronger.

Forever Ronin

Ronin- A samurai with no master.

   I've often felt that way throughout this journey. I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with some of the best fighters, but no real coaches. I don't mind that it happened that way but there is always that "what if" factor of course. Nonetheless it suits my personality to do it solo. There is no blame to spread out, the weight lies entirely on my own shoulders.
  This way of pursuing fighting as a career or martial arts competitively is not for everyone. Having a dedicated coach to guide you along the path to your final goal is invaluable. I've made ridiculous errors along the way including choosing the wrong fights, fighting injured and sick, negotiating poorly, and training improperly. This could have all been avoided. I don't regret it because it has left me with a wealth of knowledge to pass on to up and coming fighters.
   Martial arts competitively will teach you discipline, perseverance, humility, how to overcome any obstacle even if you must go through it and what you're really made of inside. It is constantly exposing your weaknesses to build your strengths. In other words it will give you what you want but your foundation is what will carry you through.
  Find somebody who cares about you. Chances are if their palm is out 5 mins into the conversation they don't care about you or your well-being. This is a problem because even in amateur competition you risk serious injury and sometimes worse. Don't set yourself up for a downfall.  Do some research, ask around about good instructors. Go train at some different places and check out the fighters there. If you're not happy with your training partners you won't excel plain and simple.
  Lastly, set yourself some goals. When you finally settle on a coach, make sure you're both on the same page. You can reach your goals with some quality preparation ans a good support system. Take it from me, I took the hard road and hopefully you won't have too.

Peace
Luck
  

Banged up:The sparring partner

Hello all! I hope this finds you well. I wanted to just touch base on sparring partners and what you must endure in order for the person fighting to have success. Generally speaking, helping a fighter prepare for a fight as a sparring partner is a give and take. On one hand you get to work on some skills and also help in some cases a friend and in other cases your wallet. While that might seem look a pretty good set of reasons to throw on the headgear, sacrifice accompanies the work. The fighter getting ready for the fight gradually gets faster and stronger and more accurate as the weeks go on. Now if you yourself are preparing for a fight the differences may not be noticeable. However if you're in between fights chances are you're not doing the same kind of training as the guy you're sparring. As he gets faster it becomes more difficult to keep up. The punches, kicks,and submissions become harder to defend. By the the last three weeks the fighter is sharper than ever. You've done your job, usually at the expense of your own body. However, you always come away a better fighter than you were going in.

I recently had the opportunity to spar with a good friend and fighter Asim Zaidi. Asim was preparing to fight in Italy and was trying to get in as much sparring as possible. By the end of a few weeks I was completely banged up. Between sparring with Asim as well as some of my clients I was a mess. From toes to shoulders. I picked up a bunch of new tricks and enjoyed every minute of it, but ouch!!. 2 weeks later I finally feel back to normal. I checked good old Facebook yesterday and there he was with his hand raised. It made it all worth it! A great win for a good guy that I know for sure put in the work necessary to win...trust me..lol The video above is from one of the sparring sessions. Enjoy my pain.

Say yes and don't stop

When she said,"you gotta come take Keith's class!" I almost blew it off. I was on an extreme street basketball kick at the time. My mind said I need to work on my 15 foot shot but something else in me, before I even realized it, had fixed my mouth in the yes position and the word flowed out. I found myself a little out of place and amazingly comfortable. The warm ups were done and then it happened. The moment that changed my life. I KICKED THE BAG! IT was at that moment that I knew where I was supposed to be. After taking these classes with my buddy Keith I started to feel alive again. As all things do, it came to an end. There were some fill ins as the class dwindled down to nothing. I was lost but realized that I couldn't let it go. I found something good, wait not good...Great. I trained for about 2 years on my own. Get someone to hold pads for me every now and then, but for the most part alone. Maybe in retrospect, I was falling in love with kickboxing.

Shortly after the beginning of my love affair I realized that I just didn't want to do much else. I was given an opportunity to teach and it again reaffirmed where I was meant to be. Still bartending 5 days a week, I decided to start a company making clothes and an MMA news website. I sponsored a couple of fighters and worked hard to get my business going. Once my bartending gig went the company went the way of the dinosaur.

I spent all of my money and time on it and it was gone. However my love for kickboxing had turned into a love for Muay Thai and then blossomed into a love of Jiu jitsu and re-hashed my love of western boxing. It all had meaning and purpose and gave me a feeling of fulfillment. What happened next was the hard part. After training for about 5 years(no real coach) I decided to try a fight. Now it had been in my head for a while. After class one day someone asked me "so when are you fighting again?". This had just reaffirmed what had been bugging me. How can I teach what I haven't directly applied. So I hunted down some fights, asked some people for a little help preparing, called a friend to corner me, and adrenaline did the rest. I got myself a fight and won. After that I truly believed that I was good at kickboxing, I was so not. In my next fight I was "handled"...easily. I studied nonstop and trained nonstop, I still do. I can only attribute it to passion. I am passionate about what I am doing. It has taken 11 years and plenty of sacrifice. You can't get certified to do what I do or carry the knowledge I have now in this brain. This is the first time I have been able to make living off of the countless hours studying, training, and competing. The injuries, from back pains to broken fingers and everything in between including a couple of broken hearts and bank accounts.

I have met amazing people along the way, laughed and cried in the same moment. I wouldn't change it for the world. People sometimes think this is an easy life or easy road or even glamorize it because of the rise of MMA, but the truth is it's flat out hard. Embrace the struggle. In my case it has been ever so worth it. I say all of this because I want you all to find your passions, say Yes to life and once you feel like you have something, don't stop regardless of the obstacles in the way. It's all starting to come together now, but it was earned and that makes it that much better. Love you all, follow your dreams and "Live Life-No Regrets"

Getting back to it

I remember feeling like a fish out of water when I first started doing Jiu jitsu. Trying to figure out what it was all about while getting tossed around like a ragdoll. It took some time but I started to be more and more comfortable and familiar with the positions and reasons why I was suppose to be there. I started off doing no gi Jiu jitsu, that's a big no no for traditionalists. Some believe that not learning the gi is really taking something away from the art. I think that if your goal is to be successful in MMA you must stay deeply rooted in no gi jits as there is no one in the octagon that's gonna choke you with their lapel. I totally understand the feeling that maybe people aren't grasping the traditional ideas of Jiu jitsu. However Jiu jitsu is many things. It's a major part of history,it's self-defense,a sport, and an ever evolving art that demands serious concentration and respect. It is not owned by Japan, Brazil, or America. Jiu jitsu is owned by the people that practice it.

I learned so much from my first instructor Troy Waugh, Abu Dahbi Combat Club competitor and referee, pro MMA ref, and all around good guy. He was so easy to understand that it made it easy, he just had a knack for it. Under his watch I won my division in my first tournament. I trained for about 3 years and started feeling very comfortable with my skillset. Unfortunately, I left the gym after several owner changes and disorganization. Troy moved and I focused entirely on my Muay Thai. I hadn't found a way to get back to Jiu jitsu until now and what a way to come back. I picked up another teaching gig at a place that has a well known Brazilian Jiu jitsu instructor. The wonderful thing about this is that it's Gi. So now I return to doing jits and not only that but I get to really increase my skills.

The instructor is Jorge Pereira, a 6th degree blackbelt under Rickson Gracie. I feel like i'm getting proper instruction and I'm loving starting over. It may seem strange to some but this time the Gi allows me to have handles to grab on to instead of someones slippery arm. I feel great about rolling twice a week and can't wait to compete again. It never stops, only you do. Evolve into a fully rounded fighter, don't hold yourself back into only liking one thing or another. It's all related at some point you might be on your back, then what?

Training blog ep. 3

Sorry it took so long guys... more coming soon!!! Had problems adding the music but I will update it later. Love you all.

Origins: Jiu Jitsu

"The gentle art", that's right jiu jitsu translates into "the gentle art". How you get off calling something where you choke, break the bones/joints or submit your opponent gentle i'll never know. Either way I love jiu jitsu. Though now it is more well known for it's roots in Brazil due to the success of MMA which was invented and dominated by the Gracie family. Royce Gracie submitted opponent after opponent in the UFC while growing interest in jiu jitsu with each submission. Because of Royce's success people associate jiu jitsu with Brazil however Jiu Jitsu was originally invented and developed in Japan in the 1500's.

Used by Samurai's to combat armored enemies, enemies with no weapon or short range weapons. It was a mixture of different martial arts used for close combat situations. Jiu jitsu at it's beginnings was similar to Judo as it used more throws than the conventional jiu jitsu we see now. During peace time, jiu jitsu schools often challenged and competed with each other as they do now in tournaments like Grappler's quest and Naga. In 1914 Mitsuyo Maeda brought Jiu jitsu to Brazil and taught it to Carlos Gracie. It was then passed on to his brothers Oswaldo, Gastão Jr., George, and Hélio.

Helio then took it and ran with it. He altered the art to fit his body style as some of the techniques were difficult for him due to his small size. In 1951, Masahiko Kimura, a Judokan, after being invited to Brazil by Helio Gracie, defeated Helio in 13mins using a reverse ude-garami known now simply as a "Kimura lock". Helio named it such after the bout.

Grand Master Helio trancended the art and has some of the most storied victories and defeats in history. Helio fought and defeated judokans and professional wrestlers from around the world. Often times he was outweighed and outsized. He once lost a fight to exhaustion after competing with former student Valdemar Santana for almost 4 hours. The Gracie family is now synonymous with Jiu jitsu, producing champion after champion. Although it is romanticized now as being a Brazilian art, the beginnings of Jiu jitsu are strongly anchored in Japan's feudal age.

Paint a beautiful picture

I love what I do. I have to admit that when I fell in love with kickboxing, I didn't know it would get to this point and I am excited to see how far it goes in the future. I am stoked and grateful for all the opportunities i've been given and "earned". I remember teaching my first class and being told that I had to be more assertive.

A far cry from the high intensity top of my lungs Muay Thai instructor I am now. All of that is great, however the most important thing for me is teaching. I am blessed to be able to Love my job and that is more than I can say for most. It has been a long road and I just feel like I have this small wealth of knowledge and when you're down to listen and learn, i'm even more down to teach.

I've had the pleasure of training some pretty cool ass people for health and real time application. I feel as if you don't share your individual knowledge on a subject it has a negative effect on the growth of that subject. I suspect that the evolution of Martial arts depends entirely on the students it is taught to. Each person an individual extension of their particular art form with each having their own unique way of expression. we might learn the same kick but set it up and "throw it" completely different. I often compare fighting to painting a beautiful picture. Each technique is a stroke on the canvas. I love helping people learn to get to that moment when it all just flows together.

Thailand bans MMA...

Hey there H20 nation, i've been gone a while working on putting together and following through with my first Muay Thai camp. More on that later. So i'm 2 months away from my trip to Thailand so i'm researching like crazy. If you know me personally then you might know that I am constantly on the computer or my phone studying...everything. Anyway, I came across an article that talks about Thailands recent ban on MMA. The Thai government is citing that "MMA is too brutal" and "is not boxing". Now at first glance this might seem like the pot calling the kettle black, but let's look deeper. Some may look at Muay Thai(Thailand's national sport) as uber brutal. Elbows and knees and kicks garnishing more points in the fight than boxing strikes. However, this is not just a combat sport to the Thai people. This form of combat is rooted in tradition dating back over a thousand years. Compare that to MMA which may have some ties to other similar forms of combat like pankration and vale tudo but are from different countries and are also considered extremely brutal by some. Modern MMA dates all the way back to 1993. That's right it's about 19 years old, an infant compared to Muay Thai and even to baseball which is about 166 years old. I say that to contend that MMA is not a polished product.

The tradition involved in Muay Thai is based in superstition and history. When the Nak Muay(Thai fighters) come out to fight they do a dance/prayer to pay respects to their coaches, God, Buddha, and to protect themselves and their opponent from serious injury. The entrance of an MMA fighter usually involves the blasting of some rock or hip hop song themed around being a badass or kicking someone's ass. As entertaining as that might be for Americans it would be considered disrespectful in the Thai culture. The Thais are extremely respectful, especially when it comes to fighting. MMA fighters and fans for the most part not so much. Last but not least, the large majority of fighters are using a watered down version of what the Thais are so very proud of and are calling it by the same name. Until the MMA community really understands and respects what Muay Thai is to the people of Thailand it will be hard for them to accept MMA. The violent rhetoric that MMA fighters around the world may be used to isn't an integral part of Thai society. Also it doesn't help that some fighters go there learn the strikes and don't respect the culture. Regardless of how brutal both sports might be, MMA might be lacking in area...RESPECT.

Believe in yourself!!!

I hope you guys enjoy these videos. The speeches are done by Erik Thomas the Hip Hop preacher. Enjoy. Peace and Love

Be proud!

If you are a martial artist, be proud of yourself. There may not be anything else you ever do in your life in which you will be a part of the 1%. That's right, you are part of a very small fraternity about 5% of adults in the U.S. have done martial arts and of that only 1.25% do it regularly. It measures out to about 1% in the entire world according to some statistics. The large majority of people either can't, won't, or don't understand the value of training in some form of MA. I sometimes think people have a bit of a warped perception of MA. "Man I can't be out there kicking and punching", "I don't want to roll around with someone on the floor that's gay", even if you do Jiu Jitsu you are somehow you are like Bruce Lee. I'm not sure where all that comes from but I have to assume it's just ignorance and stereotypes.

What we do goes beyond punching and kicking. We create peace and comradery through discipline and pain. We find balance in our imperfections everyone doesn't move the same, we aren't all built the same, but we all train the same, sweat the same and bleed the same...Together. As we progress in the arts we start to loo inward for answers, blame less on our surroundings. We feel empowered when others feel stressed and pressuredand when we feel stress and pressured we know exactly where to look for comfort. We look to Martial Arts which in essence is the look to exchange energy with each other to obtain balance from within. All that being said hold your head high people, you're part of the 1%

International ties

I would like to take this time to recognize a couple of fighters that I've had the pleasure of working with from across the pond. first I want to big up my boy Boubacar Balde from France. This dude is vicious with it. I hold pads for this brother when he comes to the states. he has won numerous fights and just straight beasts on his opponents. so here's his most recent highlight video, you'll notice my real name on the credits in the "merci" list. Next up representin' LDG(Lions Den Gym)in the UK Multiple championship belt holder Khalid Ishmail. I had the pleasure of spending some quality training time with Khalid recently and the dude is a monster. Super humble, easy to talk to but a huge talent when it comes to fighting. He is the owner of a couple of Lions Den Gym fitness centers in England. also reciecved the coveted Arabic Professional Man of the Year 2012 award. He recently had a documentary made about him and here is the teaser trailer. I wish both of these brothers much success in the future. Great guys, great fighters and both deserving of the best.

Training blog ep.2

Wassup warriors!?! I hope you are all well and good. I have been working diligently on trying to present you with some training vids. Still working out the editing between my phone and computer. However I am enjoying the process nonetheless. Here's the latest Training blog update. Please re-post the blog address on Facebook and Twitter if you like what i'm doing(Beh20.blogspot.com) and i'll keep expanding and growing this thing. Thank you all so much for your support!! Love to all.

Honestly expressing yourself - Bruce Lee

In light of the new documentary "I am Bruce Lee" that gave Spike TV it's highest rating ever for documentaries, I wanted to reexamine my martial arts roots. It should come as no surprise that Bruce Lee movies influenced me to become a martial artist as he did for many others. Growing up on the South side of Chicago I can remember how everyone imitated the sounds Bruce made while doing horribly ugly sidekicks at one another. Occasionally I would see a random kid in my hood with a Kung Fu uniform on, walking down the street. I didn't know what to make of it but I definately thought he could kick some ass. I mean you had to be pretty brave to walk around the South side dressed like you ust got of the boat from Hong Kong. At that time Bruce Lee was fantasy to us, a every man hero that we could all relate to. It wasn't until later that I realized it wasn't just fantasy.

At seven years old I started playing little league baseball. I played every year until moving to Texas at 13. As you get older you get to change parks and play with the bigger kids at the big park with the real baseball fields. I remember first being exposed to my new coach Carlos Lovington. He was a slim man with an air of confidence that I still recall clearly to this day. Back then in Chicago gang violence was on the rise and kids were often put into sports to keep them away from the craziness going on around town. Carlos was extremely strict with us and I assume it was for this reason. However I would find out later that he didn't act this way with us because he was a mean hard nosed coach trying to win Little League championships(which we did BTW). he was this strict and demanded respect because he was a traditional martial artist with a blackbelt in Tae kwon do. He gave me my first look into the mentality of a true fighter. However he wasn't my introduction into live martial arts, that respect goes to one of his students. I went to baseball practice early on this day and what I saw that day would change me forever. When I got to the clubhouse to check in with my coach I realized the door was open. I had never been inside before and was nervous about going in. As I approached the door I could see a lone figure moving inside. There in the middle of the room was a young man probably about 16 or 17 years old practicing with Bruce Lee's weapon of choice the nunchaku aka nunchuks. I was overwhelmed, it was real!!! I went home that day and begged to take the only word I knew "Karate". My mom spoke to coach Carlos and the rest is history. I am a martial artist to this day and so proud and happy that it is still a huge part of my life. As another martial artist said to me recently, "it just gives you that little something extra". There are many memories that still cross my mind about my time doing Taekwondo with Master Carlos but one of the best memories was my uncle upon finding out I was training telling me a story. He said to me that he knew my coach and that when he met him "he was kicking the bark off of trees". It just added to the mystique of Master Carlos but after spending time with him you wouldn't have been surprised to hear that he was kicking down Redwoods with Chuck Norris for firewood. No joke he was and still is legendary to me.

I recieved this certificate when I got my green belt. I have chosen to do what Bruce laid out for me ever since "Honestly express yourself" the meaning of Martial arts.

Training blog

So I'm going to start to shoot and display my training and some video blogs. I Love your continued support. I hope you enjoy the blog for a long time to come. By the way it was done on my phone so it'll get better with time, I promise.

Peace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aKYUZ22wVU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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The beauty of it all

What's up people, hope all is well and blessings are being showered upon you all. I just want to step away from the actual physical toll training and fighting take on ones body or the opponents body and focus more on the beauty of it all. You often hear how amazing the human body is or how shocked people are at what the body can do. I on the other hand am not surprised by anything the body does but i often find myself in awe of how beautiful it is in motion. Whether it's Michael Jordan playing one of his finest games with the flu and a temperature over 100, or Anderson Silva finishing Chael Sonnen after being beaten to the punch in every aspect of the fight for 23 mins straight. It's beautiful, internal struggles of life don't go away because you have a fight, in fact they become somewhat magnified. The external struggles of everyday life become more obvious to everyone around and even under the worst circumstances we push on. We are the real 1%. We are believers in the impossible and achievers of the improbable. We wear our hearts on our sleeves and our emotions as our armor. Nobody can suggest to me that what we do is violence out of anger rather than out of competition. If we get angry we make mistakes, because we are human. What we do is beautiful and we are blessed to be able to do it. Please enjoy the videos, I think they help support my point.

Examining: Winning

Hey guys, it's a huge joy to put these thoughts and feelings into words and share them with you. In my opinion this is winning in a big way. It's long and drawn out and as long as I can think of something I can write it. However, victory in combat sports isn't the same. It's like being shot in the heart with adrenaline like Winona Ryder in Pulp Fiction or like Jonah Hill in Get him to the Greek "I'm aliiiiive!!!".

That's right it makes you feel like your alive. It's infectious to everyone around you. People you don't even know feel like somehow they were in the fight with you. This feeling lasts a different amount of time for every fighter. Some guys will talk there fights up for years, some for an hour,and some are ready to fight again immediately after they win. In there is the rub of the whole thing, no matter how long the feeling lasts, you want it again. Yeah i'm gonna say it...It's like crack. I have never tried it but that feeling of wanting it again has to be similar. I don't think it matters when that last fight was or how old you get, you want that feeling of victory again. I'm sure there are some old fighters out there long since retired that are still wanting to feel their hand raised just one more time. This is the reason that guys that haven't fought in years still talk about that one win as if it happened yesterday. I just had one a few weeks ago and already want it again, that might be a sickness. Don't get stuck on winning though because "winning isn't everything" or was it "winning isn't everything it's the only thing"!?! Only one things for sure as they say "you're only as good as your last fight" so let it be a win or accept it as a lesson.

Origins:Muay Thai

Of course I chose Muay Thai to be the first post about knowing the history of your art. I believe it is important to know the history of the art form you practice. That knowledge really rounds out a fighter and gives them a better understanding. So here we go. Muay Thai, originally called Muay Boran, was created by Siamese soldiers for use when they would lose their weapons on the battlefield. At the same time a weapons based art form called Krabi krabong was also created and used by the siamese soldiers. Eventually Muay Boran gained popularity as a sport. Challengers fought using the techniques of Muay bare fisted in front of spectators and festival goers. The bare fists at some point gave way to lengths of hemp rope wrapped around the hands. In the 19th century under King Rama V Muay Thai became nationally recognized and use as a form of excercise, as well as recreation. Camps began to spring up all over the country and much like sports in the ghettos of the U.S. it has been used to create financial gains for those fighters that train and compete regularly. Before every match the fighters do a ceremonial dance called the Wai Kru to show respect for their teachers and ancestors. These fighters often took the last name of the camp they trained at out of respect. This is still somewhat common in the modern age. As the years went on, Muay thai lost such strikes as the headbutt, and groin strikes and made way for strict rules, time limits and weight classes. The hemp rope also slowly went the way of the dinosaur to make way for cotton wraps and boxing gloves. Also more western boxing hand strikes have come in to play in the modern age. As the sport grows the natural progression will change however the true spirit of the art will always be there if we chose to keep it alive. Even if it is just passing the history on verbally or in writing it must be preserved. Kob-khun-krap (Thank you)

Examining: LOSING

The following are my thoughts about losing, it doesn't mean all fighters feel the same. The spectrum of emotions from fighting win or lose is so broad that it can't be defined by one persons words. I can only give you a glimpse into what happens physically and mentally. All that being said losing is one of the strangest and most humiliating things that can happen, however it can also be the trigger that ctapults the fighter to new heights.
First, I think most people believe that losing is something that happens after the fight is over. In reality losing starts in the ring or the cage or whatever setting the competition is set in. I believe somewhere in the fight everything starts to seem a little surreal. Your body seeoms to be working on autopilot. It's doing everything you tell it to do but nothing seems to be effective. Meanwhile your opponent is living out some sort of Van Damme fantasy fight. If you're anything like me, you throw back everything but the kitchen sink but with no luck on this day. Your heart started sinking in the first round when you took the first hit or maybe the middle of the fight when the pace seemed to catch up with you or maybe right at the en d when you were throwing haymakers as a last resort. Somewhere in there you just know it's not your day. That's just the beginning because now you have to see all the people not just in the stands but your friends and fmily that came to support. I become very apologetic. I always feel like I let them down. I know that's not the case but I think it will always be that way.
You've made it through the gauntlet of family and friends etc. and now you start to feel doubt in yourself and what you do. That accompanied by the guilt of letting people including yourself down plus the increasingly painful bumps and bruises, cuts and other from the fight can make for a very powerful cocktail.
Losing is your defining moment in life in any form of competition or just in life itself. It is the choice, the choice to lay down and turn the other direction or stand up and embrace the loss as a part of your education. It is the ability to face fear or turn tail. It can also be as simple as the realization that this may just not be for you or it might just be the thing you had been waiting for your whole life. In any case, losing is one of the places you wish you hadn't been but one of the places that teaches you the most. You never forget losing. I know who I am, I know what I do after a loss. Who are you? What do you do?

Warrior mindset

How do you think when you train? Are you concerned with your belly fat, is it about lowering your cholesterol, or are you just fulfilling your New Year's resolution and just staying in shape. If you believe that when fighters train they think like you think you would be sadly mistaken. We have a "warrior's mindset" when we train. I work the heavy bag and mitts with purpose. Every movement is calculated and executed not with reckless abandon but with instinct and speed. Fighter's don't force or try to create power, power is the bi-product of technique and training. While most are losing weight and toning up their love handles we are preparing for battle. I have to believe that when i'm not training, my opponent is. I have to push harder and do more than he is doing because once the bell rings everything is exposed. The If you haven't adopted or developed a warrior's mind in training that also will show as mental lapses and weakness. Oliver McCall cried in his corner, Victor Ortiz after being hit by Floyd Mayweather looked for the ref to save him. The flipside of that is if all the training is sufficient and mind made strong during training in the event of a losing scenario, we never quit. Bernard Hopkins proclaimed that he would fight with a dislocated shoulder after being tossed to the mat during a fight, Tim Sylvia, after having his arm broken by Frank Mir also wanted to continue. Another product of having strong mental power is insinct, Chiek Kongo was getting a beat down from Pat Barry before dropping barry with a punch surely thrown on instinct, Scott Smith has multiple finishes in fights where he looked like he was on his way to a loss. When you sharpen body you must also sharpen your brain. It will show in your performance.

"If you were the greatest warrior for your people and you were on your way to battle and got caught in an avalanche and got broken ribs. Would you get back on your horse and go home and lose the battle for your people or continue on and help your countrymen fight?" -Jex Fontaine

"I would continue on and fight" -LUCKY Lloyd Walton

"Good, then get in the ring" - Jex Fontaine

A little motivation

Getting back to your roots

Hey guys, hope all is well and your 2012 is already bringing you blessings. In the past I wrote about how you're not alone going into fights and that your team is in there with you. I recently found out how important that really is. 2011 was a losing year for me on many fronts, but what affected me the most is not having a team to support me. I don't want to take away from the people that helped me get prepared for the fights but up until last year I always had a team of at least 7 guys all shooting for the same goal. Last year I was spending a lot of time searching for that connection and support. Something about a group working hard together makes it easier on the hard days. As of yet I haven't put together or joined a team but I have started getting back to things more familiar to me. I went and trained with my close buddy Max at the gym he trains at. I also have started training with a group of fighters that I work with on a semi-regular basis. I already feel better. It has made a huge impact already on the level of effort I put out. I know in my heart that 2012 will be a winning year partially because i'm going back to some of the things i'm used to. I believe it's better to add on to the things that work for you. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water if you will. Now that i'm training with a hall of fame mentor and I am back training with an old friend I feel like fantastic. If you feel lost in training or in life, think about when you were happiest or most successful and try to get back some of the things that made you that way. it's like being reborn.

The Reem

I know a lot of you were unfamiliar with Allistair Overeem before he sent Brock Lesnar into retirement so here's a quick recap on "The Demolition Man"!

Part 2: EGO!

In the last post we spoke about humility. It's only right that we discuss the opposite of being humble, and of course, that is the undying larger than life ego that some fighters carry around. Unfortunately, some fighters deem it necessary to maintain this "I'm kickass" attitude outside of the ring or cage. I believe that you have to hold your skills in high regard to be successful in combat sports but where does it stop? When does it start to affect the relationship with fans or family? A prime example came on national television when the egos of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Sr. clashed on the behind the scenes documentary 24/7. What started as a small disagreement ended with a full fledge family arguement that the two have yet to recover from. This is of course unusual only because you seldom have two egos that big in the same room, let alone the same family. When you have egos like those two, who needs enemies?

One of the largest egos to ever enter the ring, and everyone surely knows, belongs to none other than,"the greatest of all time". That's right! None other than Muhammed Ali, who once claimed that he flipped the light switch and was in bed before it got dark, when explaining how fast he was. Other than his meaness to Joe Frazier it seemed that Ali would do more joke cracking and rhyming about his upcoming opponents, than egotistical s@%t talking. I had the opportunity to speak with Khalila Ali(Ali's former wife), who is a regular at the gym. She told me that Ali was very humble when in public and that he had sort of a cocky humbleness. As we know now, Ali has become an ambassador for Islam, the underprivileged, and this country as a whole. I'm not sure the other fighters that carry that cockiness around will ever evolve beyond the fighter mentality into the humanitarian world. Can Mayweather Jr. do that? Not likely!

What about the new cocky, the young and so far unbeatable, Jon "Bones" Jones. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Jones. He is a nice guy but I didn't detect an ounce of humbleness. Although he may seem humble in some of the interviews, it is becoming more evident from things that I have heard from other fighters and seen for myself, he is becoming less humble with every victory. I don't think you should hide your feelings about how great you might be. All I contend is, there is a time and place for everything. Maybe taking a step back and realizing that some aren't as fortunate, blessed, or even in some cases, as lucky as you.
Know when to leave your ego at the door and remember that we all put on our pants one leg at a time. You'll want your fans to still be there when the flame starts to fizzle and at some point it undoubtedly will.