Evolution of Wrestling:)

Doing live TV interviews are always a drag, especially if you have a limited vocabulary like mine, but I decided to help a former student out. Since none of his coaches could make the interview, he thought of me and asked if I would talk about wrestling for his club. He went on to tell me that wrestling is very similar to what we do at Evolve. I spent a couple of hours at their practice last Friday and was really impressed. The training was very similar to what we do with our kids and I couldn't help but compare the two.

I am a huge fan of wrestling and in my mind it is the hardest of all scholastic sports. The practices are usually two hours long or longer and I believe that if we made any of our prisoners do this type of workout, the human rights groups would be shouting that it is cruel and unusual punishment. Wrestling teaches self-reliance, self-confidence, and life skills; utilizing the power of positive goals, without making excuses for failure. There is no one else on the mat but you and your opponent.

Evolve's kids' program only has long training sessions on Saturday's, and those are open only to the kids in the Master's Club. The rest of the classes are only one-hour long. Despite this, I feel that our program teaches the kids so many more skills that will give them a head start in life. These life skills include discipline, self-control, patience, confidence and courage. I am not saying that wrestling does not provide these things, but I do believe that what we teach focuses more on this type of character development.


One of the main things I have noticed missing in wrestling is the respect factor, which I personally think is one of the first building blocks of life skills. Most of the kids I met at the practice , except for the one who had trained with me, had no idea how to greet or talk to an adult properly. Teaching that you should respect your elders and show it through your communication skills is something that is often overlooked in today's society.

As most of you already know, I do Personal Security work for some of the wealthiest people in the world, and their social settings are always a bit intimidating. I believe that my ability to make the client feel comfortable is the main reason why I am able to thrive in these settings. I am still being requested even though my price is one of the highest in the security business. While I use specialized security skills in order to make my client's feel safe and secure, I also use interpersonal skills on a daily basis. These communication skills allow my clients to feel like they can relax around me. I have learned that communicating respect is very important in society.

Self-defense is another thing that I really think makes our program stand out, even against other Martial Arts academies in the area. One of the most common things I hear is " my son earned his Black Belt at _____ Academy and I want him to really learn how to defend himself so I brought him to Evolve" . Self-Defense is one of the main priorities in all of the programs we offer, but we also stress conflict resolution, personal responsibility and avoidance of confrontation. If a kid or adult has to step into the world of physical confrontation I want them to have the tools necessary to come out on top. This is very different from most other martial arts schools, where punching the face will get you disqualified or punished.

At Evolve, there is a belt system that acknowledges kids for the work they put in. This teaches goal setting and rewards you for the goals you reach. In wrestling the only rewards are in the tournaments. This can be a harsh reality because some kids, no matter how hard or how long they train, will never win at tournaments. Does this mean they are not winners? Of course not. That is why at Evolve it is a hard path to Black Belt, but it is one that is attainable for everyone who can pass the intro class. The definition of success is "the completion of anything intended." In other words, success is finishing what you planned to do.

The wrestling program and our Young Adults program were very similar, but observing it did make me feel a lot better about what we do for our kids. I truly believe, and have proven through my former students, that we try to give positive building blocks for life skills. I have been teaching in the DC area for about twelve years and since that time I have had kids go on to become some of what society would say are some of the most successful occupations- Lawyers, Doctors, Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Military Special Forces Soldiers etc… In order to become any of these things, you have to have good life skills. Did Evolve Academy have a part in any of this? I would like to think so !

Religion and Politics

Two things you should never talk about. That is what I have always been told and I do keep it out of my Academy, but since this is my blog, I guess I can express some views. I will not say who I voted for or what my religion is – I don’t think it is important. What is important is what kind of person you are. Some of my closest friends are on the other side of the aisle with their party and their religious beliefs. My mom is Buddhist and my dad is Baptist, but they are both great individuals. That is a gift I was given from my parents at an early age – they did not try to force me to believe in their religion, but they let me experience everything and let me decide. My sister became Catholic and my brother Protestant… I will let you guess what I am:)

I only bring religion up because I have had people question me on the Evolve name. Does that mean I believe in Evolution and not Intelligent Design? No, it has nothing to do with the argument. I believe everything advances, like in the automobile industry –

The first vehicle to move under its own power for which there is a record was designed by Nicholas Joseph Cugnot and constructed by M. Brezin in 1769. A replica of this vehicle is on display at the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, in Paris. I believe that the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D. C. also has a large-scale model. A second unit was built in 1770 which weighed 8000 pounds and had a top speed of 2 miles per hour and on the cobble stone streets of Paris this was probably as fast as anyone wanted to go. Now we drive around at 65 mph with everything at our fingertips.

I came up with the name thinking about how I have seen the growth and advances in Martial Arts. Much like the automobile industry, we have made great advances – we have Evolved.

But maybe I should have used one of these names-
advance, derive, disclose, educe, elaborate, emerge, enlarge, excogitate, expand, get, grow, increase, mature, obtain, open, result, ripen, unfold

Then no one would have confused it with a Religious argument that I never even cared about or paid any attention to. I think Evolve Academy sounds way cooler than Advance Academy. I think religion should be separated from Martial Arts but some see it differently than me, and I respect their beliefs. One of the MMA clothing companies that sponsors local fights is named “JESUS DIDN’T TAP”. Check out their site, and make sure your speakers are turned up:)
https://www.nosubmit.com:40009/myoffice/storeonline/default.aspx?orgId=13972&category=2581

I was thinking about that clothing company and I think Jesus would do Jiu Jitsu. Jiu Jitsu means “The Gentle Art”. I think Jesus would avoid confrontations, but if he had to use force, I think he would try to do it without hurting the individual. Also the kimono is very similar to the pictures of the robe Jesus wore. I also find it sort of ironic that we have a move called the crucifix. I am sure you guys can think of more reasons why this art fits Jesus.

Now about another subject I should not be talking about. Am I a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent or something else? I will let you guess, but I will tell you that I voted. I think voting is really the only time for my voice to be heard. It is the foundation for our democracy that many have fought and died for. Many people around the world have no say in who governs them, but we do. Even though it is not simply the popular vote that decides the election, it is still important cause it represents the voice of America. The day after the votes were tallied was a memorable one.

There are a lot of times in my lifetime that I will always remember. Some are more vivid than others, things like the hostages being released in 1981 from Iran or the wall coming down in Berlin, things like the Shuttle tragedy and 9/11 are forever etched in my memory. November 5, 2008 is one of those days -- that was the 1st day for an African American president. It won’t matter where I am in 20 years, but the day will always be a vivid memory. The excitement and the joy that was on display was something I will never forget.
For American history, this is a turning point. There will always be racism in America, but the majority of Americans have just proven that race does not matter. This is one reason I say that even if you voted for McCain or someone else you can still feel proud that America has moved forward in some ways. Only about 44 years ago, people were separated by the color of their skin. Our Declaration of Independence was written in 1776 and it said “all men are created equal” but that was not true until the 1960’s.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Institutionalized racial segregation was ended as an official practice by the efforts of such civil rights activists as Clarence Mitchell, Jr., Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., working during the period from the end of World War II through the passage of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 supported by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Many of their efforts were acts of non-violent civil disobedience aimed at disrupting the enforcement of racial segregation rules and laws, such as refusing to give up a seat in the black part of the bus to a white person (Rosa Parks), or holding sit-ins at all-white diners.
By 1968, all forms of segregation had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and by 1970, support for formal legal segregation had dissolved. Formal racial discrimination was illegal in school systems, businesses, the American military, other civil services and the government. Separate bathrooms, water fountains and schools all disappeared and the civil rights movement had the public's support.
So if you are a Republican, Libertarian or another party don’t be a hater:) You should still feel proud of America and remember what John McCain said in his concession speech-
“I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.”

Since a lot of people are very sensitive about religion and politics, I am sure I hurt someone’s feelings, but it was not my intention.

It’s been a long journey, but it has just begun!

Watching Zach Davis's highlight reel made me smile, and it wasn't because of his singing abilities.J It made me smile because I have not seen on video all clipped together how far Zach has come. If you haven't seen it, check it out- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgjmWgXoLz8. Andres Meraz did a great job on it.
I forget because I see Zach every day. It’s almost like when you see your baby every day; it is hard for you to see his growth. It is only after you look at pictures or old videos that you can you see it.
Zach has been training with me for about 5 years, and as most of the old timers know he wanted to be an MMA fighter from day one. This was before the explosion in the popularity of MMA, basically before the money was in the sport. He wanted to do it even when it wasn't cool. He was so serious about the goal that in 2005 he put a big tattoo that says Vale Tudo down the side of his leg, which means anything goes or free fighting in Portuguese, which is now recognized as MMA here in America.
By putting the tattoo on his leg, he made a public commitment about his goal. There are some goals that you keep secret because you know that if you tell people they will tell you that there is no way for you to achieve them or give you some other negative opinions so you just keep it to yourself. Whenever you go public with your goals, it is no longer a maybe; it turns into a must. You are now 100% committed to it. Zach's tattoo publicly committed him to his goal of becoming a MMA Fighter.
The first time I saw the tattoo I thought he was crazy. Why would anyone who had so much going for him want to be an MMA fighter? Zach at the time was a college student with a bright future but he didn't care about anything but MMA. Explaining to Zach that it was a very difficult journey and there wasn't much reward when you got there didn't deter him. (Of course that is now changing with MMA so popular a fighter can actually make a good living.) He has put everything in his life on hold or cut it completely off to try to reach his goal.
MMA is not something that can be learned in a year or even two. There are so many facets to MMA that training your body for everything takes years. This is what is so hard to explain to new students. If they have never wrestled, boxed or done some type of Martial Arts it will usually take several years of serious hard training. If they have done something else you can usually speed up that process. Most new students (including Zach) don't want to listen and sometimes end up getting emotionally hurt when they discover the truth. We are all used to instant gratification and in combat arts there are no short cuts. You have to train and get your body reacting off instinct, and that takes time. In MMA there are so many variables that getting your body to react instinctually is very difficult.
Zach learned this in his first MMA fight. He had been training boxing, so his standup was better than his opponent. His opponent saw this and quickly took the fight to the ground where he put Zach in a triangle in the first minute of the first round. Some students would have quit after losing like that but Zach looked at it differently. Rather than see it as losing, he looked at it as a learning experience and it just fueled him to be a better fighter and train harder. Since then, Zach has become a professional MMA Fighter and is one of the most popular fighters on the East coast. This weekend Zach travels to Chicago to try out for the UFC Fighter show. He got close the last time; they flew him out to be an alternate. If you see him this week ask him if you can check out that tattoo and then wish him well.
What does the future hold for Zach? I cannot say but after watching his highlight reel I know he has already reached his first goal of becoming a Vale Tudo / MMA Fighter!

Throw Away That GI!

If you have been following the newsletter, you already know about the new program starting at Evolve Academy. The No-Gi Submission Grappling program has not even started and the interest is already overwhelming. I have been fighting the change for a long time, but everything Evolves. In nature, things either Evolve or becomes extinct. I don’t think Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will ever become extinct but I do see Submission Grappling becoming more popular. Here are some basic reasons why-

1. If you tell a new student the Gi vs No-Gi debate he will most likely want to do No-Gi, especially if he tries both classes. The Gi class starts off by putting on that heavy potato sack. Then you do the warm ups, stretching, conditioning, basic body positioning drills, takedowns or self-defense grappling and then you go into the ground techniques, all while wearing that uncomfortable potato sack.
The No-Gi class starts off by putting on a t-shirt or rash guard and shorts and then doing the same basic class. So you can see why the submission grappling could be more appealing if you are brand new to the sport.

2. A wrestler will automatically want to train in submission grappling because he can become proficient in a short time. He will not have to go through as much of a learning curve because this style relates better to the mat time they have already accumulated.

3. The days of gis in MMA went out a long time ago, so most MMA guys will want to train without the gi because it also relates to what they do better. Even though the technical aspects of the gi transfer well in the cage, it is now possible to become a world class MMA guy without ever putting on the gi.

4. No-Gi training is a lot faster pace and the practitioner’s athletic ability becomes a bigger factor. A physically gifted athlete will be able learn and pull off the moves faster because he does not have to be as technical.

4. For the spectator, the No-Gi is more exciting to watch because the grapplers cannot stall as much as they can in the Gi.

6. There is prize money in the sport. Tournaments are now offering money to the winners, so submission grapplers can actually become pro grapplers. The money is not a lot at this time, but neither was it in MMA when that started.

So the addition of the Submission Grappling program only makes sense. I will always think that training in a gi will make you more technical. It allows you to slow the game down and with the gi you have so many more grips to control the opponent with. A smaller, less physically gifted athlete can equal the playing field in a gi if he is more technical. As far as the debate about realistic training for the street, you can learn things with gi and no-gi. Some instructors will say that attackers wear cloths that you can use, much like the way you use the gi. Others will say it won’t work unless it is a jacket and unless it is winter time you are in trouble. This is nonsense because both types of training will give you valuable skills that can easily be converted to self-defense for the street. It is the instructor’s job to train and show the students how.

As most of you know, I have been training 6 weeks without the gi for the No-Gi Pan Ams. Most of my grappling career has been spent in a gi and the 6 weeks was the longest I have ever been without it. The picture of the fingers is what happens when you put the gi back on. Since I could not use grips my callouses have disappeared. When I put the gi back on last week it was a little unfamiliar, my guard passes where harder and the things I had been getting away with were being shut down. I had to really go back to thinking and strategizing my moves more, but I had a blast. I also had a blast the 6 weeks without the gi. You will have to decide for yourself which you think is better and the one that you like more.

After reading this if you are wondering which one I like better, next time you see me pull to the side and I will tell you.

The $606.00 Rash Guard

The $606 rash guard.

$257 train Ticket

$39 hotel room

$117 entrance fee

$120 cab ride

$73 food

Priceless?

What was the The Priceless Moment? That is what I was thinking about Sunday morning when I was looking at my wallet. The Mastercard commercial always has a priceless moment. As you probably already know, I am a procrastinator . I always wait till the last second to make a decision. In some parts of my life it has served me well because there have been times when waiting until the last second has opened up a lot more opportunities. Most of the time it has worked against me; this would be another one of those times. I knew a few days before that no one had signed up for my division at the No Gi Pan Ams, so I sent out an email to the Federation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and had them move me to the Open weight class. I figured that I would get a match in the Open because there were other Black Belts in my age group and they were all heavier. I was wrong -- nobody signed up. So when they posted the brackets, I sent them another email to move me down an age group but Saturday morning when I looked at the brackets, I saw that it had not been done.

Usually this would not be a big deal because most tournaments want the Black Belts to compete so they will go out of their way to make a match happen. I learned Saturday morning that this was not going to happen even with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend Leo Dalla talking to the director of the tournament. His reply was that if he started with me he would have to do it for everyone. I was upset but he was right. I run the Mission Submission tournaments and our most time-consuming process is creating the brackets, so I can understand and actually admire them for sticking to their guns.

The rest of the time was spent explaining to everyone why I was not competing. One of my old friends asked why I have not just signed up for the Adult division to begin with. He said he knew I could hang with them. I went on to explain the major difference between the old man division and adults – 5 Minutes! In the adult divisions the matches are 10 minutes vs 5 minutes for my division. I trained for 6 weeks 2 hours a day 4 days a week. For multiple 10-minute matches I would have to double the training, which is almost impossible for me. Whenever I train for competition, my business and family suffer. I become very selfish with my time and the training is about me not my students. My wife also gets the short end because I become very aggressive and ornery all the time. In the past that didn't effect us because she knew what to expect when I was training but it is different now with Thor.

So back to the Priceless moment- I thought about what part of the weekend was the most enlightening. It wasn't the Renzo Gracie Academy, even though that did give me a lot of new ideas which my students will see implemented in the next couple of weeks. It wasn't the No Gi matches even though there were a lot of exciting ones, especially the Evolve students. I would have to say the priceless moment would be the time I got to spend with Leo Dalla. We have known each other for about 11 years but have never really gotten to hang out for more than a few hours at a time. This weekend was different. Dalla has been in the sport since he was a kid and is one of the legends of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so listening to his stories about all the heroes of our sport was cool. He is also a school owner with a lot of good ideas on how to run his program. But the most knowledge I gained from him was when he was talking about his kids. Dalla has 3 kids, with his daughter being born one month prior to my son. He talked about all the trials and tribulations of fatherhood and how he balanced all of it. It was neat to hear his reasons for what he does and it really helped me look at things differently. Even though I spent $600 and didn't get to compete it was well worth it, it was a priceless weekend.

Combat Charms

Being in the Marine Corps held for me some of the fondest memories of my life. I learned and did things that I never thought possible. Though it was not always fun in the sun, the positive memories definitely outweighed the negative memories. When I signed up I did not have much of a future and since the rest of my family was part of the military it was only natural for me to follow. Some of my fellow soldiers signed up for many reasons but some forgot what the Marine Corps main’s purpose was. When we were called to deploy to a hostile environment, it was amazing to see how many soldiers would panic and try to come up with all kinds of reasons why we shouldn’t deploy. We even had a soldier’s wife come down to talk to our Commanding Officer the morning we were about to deploy. He did the politically correct thing and took time to try to calm her down and explain to her that combat was our main job and every Marine knows and trains for that. She didn’t was to hear it and ran screaming and crying in front of our bus and laid down in front of the tire refusing to move until her husband was taken off the bus.
I was like every other Marine that was ready to deploy into the unknown -- scared! Yeah, we tried to act like we weren’t and some hid it better than others but you could see it in the mannerism of everyone you talked to that they were all nervous or scared about all the unknown scenarios that could happen. Questions like “Are we ready and prepared for this? Have we trained enough? How will I react if everything hits the fan?”

One of the things that always helped me ease my mind and nerves was my combat charm. It was my Kbar knife that I only brought out when I was going to deploy. Days before I would spend time sharpening it and cleaning it while preparing my mind for the unknown. I would tell myself that if everything else fails I will always have my Kbar. I would keep it on my side the whole time, even sleeping with it. And when we got back I would put it away until the next deployment. It seems silly to think about it now but it really helped me ease my fears and not worry about the unknown.

When I started to compete again in the Martial Arts those same feelings that I got before I deployed in the Corps would come up, so I created some charms that helped me get through it. For my Thai boxing matches I looked at my Thai shorts as my charm. I only wore them during my fights and I never cleaned them after. I left all the sweat and blood stains on the shorts that each fight would leave. You can imagine what they started to smell like after a couple of years but I believed that they held special powers. The shorts were a gift from my original instructor and he had used them in his fights.

When I started competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu I made my charm my belt. Each belt I ever wore became my symbol of strength and power. I have never washed any of my belts but every belt looks like it has been washed a thousand times. Through hours of sweat and training the belts would change colors and fray. It helped me compete because it eased the unknown, when I looked at the belt it would calm my nerves because I knew I had trained hard for whatever was about to happen.

It was a nerve racking Pan Ams last year because I was 5 pounds over the day before my matches. The gi I was going to wear was a double weave and if you have ever seen my belt it is a belt that is made for a heavyweight. I have to rap my belt around three times to tie it. Frank Wiot (Evolve Academy’s Manager), who flew out with me, came up with a great suggestion. He got me to buy a lighter gi at the event and a lighter belt. The idea saved me 2 pounds which meant I only had to lose 3 but what I forgot till the next day was that I would be fighting without my charm. I ended up winning without it but I definitely was not at the mental state I would have been if I had my real belt.
I felt better about my charm superstitions after doing a little research on the subject. I found that most athletes use charms or rituals to help them perform better. Do you ever wonder how the length of NBA shorts changed? In order for Michael Jordan to wear his lucky blue North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform, he had to wear longer shorts. The power of one superstition changed the style of the uniform.
Even though it is not life and death, I still look at grappling competitions as combat. I have to prepare to go to war, so on October 4th I am going to look to my Combat Charm to keep me calm and help me perform my best.

Posers and MMA and clothing!

It was cool when the sport first started and having a shirt that said Gracie or Tapout was something that was rare. You either had to be training in MMA or had trained. If you saw someone wearing a Gracie or Tapout shirt you immediately walked up to him and started a conversation. It didn’t matter how long he had been training or even how good he was; the main thing was that he trained. If he did train, you had an instant brotherhood formed with the person no matter what team he was from. The Brotherhood was formed because you both had endured countless battles that included a lot of physical, emotional and spiritual pain that daily training gives you. If you had never trained before and happened to be listening to two MMA guys talk, it sounded like they were talking in some kind of coded language.

Our sport was so small back then that at the time there were only 2 degrees of separation from every BJJ and MMA instructor in the USA. It didn’t matter who the Instructor was, you knew someone who had trained with him. There were only a handful of legitimate Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt Instructors when I started. On the East Coast we only had 5 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belts. Gracie was the name in MMA; Royce had shown the world that Gracie or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was superior to all other arts. So if you were an MMA fighter and not training in BJJ you were taking a big risk stepping into the cage.

So you get the idea when I say that seeing a Gracie or Tapout shirt being worn by someone was cool -- there were very few posers! These days, the sport has become so popular that you no longer know if someone is a fan or if he actually trains. Even if the guy doesn’t train but he says he does, it is hard to tell if he is lying or not. If he has watched a few UFCs he has probably picked up on the lingo and can even rattle off some names and training camps. So determining if the guy is a poser is becoming harder and harder.

I think that having posers out there is great. They are supporting our sport and educating more people about it. We should not care if they are walking around with MMA clothing on and acting like they are tough; they are acting like that for the chicks. Most guys become posers because they are not tough or good enough to do whatever they are posing as.

Example-

When I was in the Military and deployed in Arizona, I remember some of my Marines telling some girls we had met that they were Naval Aviators. The girls really dug it and since the Marines had all watched “Top Gun” at least 20 times while we were on deployment they could perpetrate the role. I was a SGT at the time and the Marines were all working for me. When I asked why they didn’t tell them the truth, they said that being an aviator was so much cooler than what they did. Some of the Marines went as far as buying T-shirts with Naval Flight Squadrons on it and wearing the gold Ray Bans that Tom Cruise wore.

It was the chicks’ responsibility to find out if they were pilots or posers. Navy Seal, Delta Force, Marine Recon, SWAT, Sniper are some other occupations that get a lot of posers. So you should feel great that there are guys out there who think the sport you train in is worth the poser status!

Behind the Scenes at Full Throttle

This past weekend the MMA fighters went to Richmond, Virginia to showcase their skills in the CSC 26 Mixed Martial Arts show. The name of the show was Full Throttle which was a fitting name when you think about what happened in the fights. Instructor Orlando is doing a write-up on all the fights that will be sent out on the newsletter but I will give you my views and some behind-the-scene stories.

The first fight of the night for Team Evolve was Israel Flores. Israel had trained a full 2 weeks for this fight. As you already know I would never put any fighter in the cage with just 2 weeks of training but Israel gave me a story about how many times he has missed the window of opportunity to fight. Work always seems to stop him form being able to commit to the training needed. Israel proceeded to tell me how much he had been conditioning on his own and that he had been training in every class he could so he felt his skills were sharp! I told him that I would throw him in the Gauntlet and see how he did. As you already know he did really well.

The fight was awesome and if you missed it I will have it posted on www.evolveacademy.com by the end of this week. You should watch it because if you looked up the definition of tough this fight should be linked to it :). If you have ever listened to his life story it would make you appreciate your life and how easy you have had it. I don’t care if you were raised in a lower, middle, upper, broken, abusive inner city, drug, alcohol etc. family or what the rest of your life story is it will sound like a great life in comparison to Israel’s. There are positive things that come from his type of difficult upbringing and life and he displayed the positive things Sat. night. The word quit is not in his vocabulary and I believe it is because he has had such a rough life that he is so tough!

The 2^nd fight was Jay Mo. He came to the school a year ago at 215 lbs and fought at 145 Sat. night. If you watched his past fights (which are also posted on www.evolveacademy.com) you know that he likes to put on an exciting show. I was on the fence about if I should let him fight because I heard his opponent had weighed in a little over 135 and had been training in his garage. Not sure why they would put this guy in the show but I have seen some tough backyard garage fighters so I really did not want to underestimate him. That was until I saw him warming up in the parking lot. Anyone using a Kata to warm up is either 1. trying to throw me a curve ball or 2. really has no idea what he is about to get into. It was the 2^nd -- he had no idea what he got into.

When I saw him warming up with a Kata and I think it was a Green Belt Kata I was going to switch Al Benjamin in instead of Jay Mo. Chris and I talked about it and we decided that he had cut so much weight and put in so much time that it would be unfair to change it. Giving Jay Mo his pre-fight speech I told him not to play around and finish him as quickly as he can.

The 3^rd fighter was Zach and this was a pro fight and meant that it was a match with 3 rounds of 5 minutes each. This was his 2^nd pro fight and it is always comical when the pros are in a show because the state regulatory commission gets involved. I wish we had filmed that part of the show because it was like a Saturday Night Live skit. It is amazing what a little authority does to people. All the fighters were put into a big room and everyone was hanging and relaxing when one of the commissioner guys starts barking orders for the pros to move to this part of the room and the amateurs to stay where they are. After about 10 minutes another commissioner stands up and says all the pros move to where the amateurs and the amateurs move where the pros are. I really thought they were joking but we all did it. About 30 minutes after that they said that everyone needed to move again because the corners needed to be split up so red corner fighters should be over here and blue corner fighters over there. About 10 minutes after we moved into our areas which are rooms about as big as a garage, the same commissioner guy stood up and said that all the pros and amateurs would have to stay on their sides of this little room! That’s about when Brian Crenshaw stood up and said enough, “no, we are not going to move or split the group anymore.” I guess the guy realized how stupid it was because he listened.

All I kept thinking about is why it always takes a few hours when you have to go to the State Run DMV or MVA (Division of Motor Vehicles or Motor Vehicle Administration). This example explained it all:).

Zach finished his fighter who was a really good wrestler and a seasoned MMA fighter in less than a minute. Zach also picked up a great sponsor http://www.criticalfightgearstore.com/pages/home/.

They sponsor a lot of UFC fighters and are expecting big things from Zach. You can also check out what his manager wrote about him and if you have time leave a comment for Zach. The more fans the more chances he will have to get into the bigger shows!

http://www.suckerpunchent.com/events/4-big-wins-for-suckerpunch/

Al Benjamin and Ben Brophy trained really hard for this fight only to find out the day of the fight that their guys had pulled out. This is the bad thing about amateur fighters; they are not bound by a contract or anything else to show up to fight. The only repercussion you have as a promoter is not letting them fight on any future cards. It is also a small community of promoters so their name gets blackballed. Stay tuned, they will be fighting next month.

Overall it was a great night with some heroes that did not get the spotlight. The main one was Chris Lujan who always goes to the next level to get the W for the fighters. He was up at 5 am before the weigh-ins getting Jay Mo in the sauna and getting him where he needed to be. He also took charge of getting all the fighters to where they needed to be. Chris has become a great coach who knows what it takes because he has been there. He also knows my vision and what I expect and I rarely have to say anything because he basically knows it before I say it. It has turned into a great team with him doing most of the strength and conditioning while I do more of the technique training. If you see Chris this week, give him major props!

I also would like to thank another couple of heroes - Nichole Cassler, MD and Erica Gawrys, RN. They both came down Friday night to make sure the fighters were rehydrated. They were also on hand the fight night in case we needed any more medical attention. They are both in the Military and joined at a time when being sent to combat is almost guaranteed, so they are used to being heroes.

The last heroes of the night were the approximately 75 Evolve students, friends and family that came out to support. It was Labor Day weekend and 3 hours away so I did not expect so many people to show up. Thanks for the support and a great evening:).

Mike aka "Army General"

This week I feel that I should address the method to my madness and why some people will never get me.

Wow, I really never had any idea that somebody could actually feel this bitter about meL I am truly sorry that you feel that way and if you ever want to talk or email me I would really like to hear why you feel the way you do. I do listen to criticism and I always try to improve my ways. Anonymous said- “ I don't know whether you do this on purpose or you really are that ignorant?” I would have to say yes to that, and in many ways I am. If you know my past you already know that I am not the sharpest tool in the shed but I continually try to improve myself. This is why I wish if you had a problem you would not let it grow into hate. My intentions have always been for good. My door is always open and if you feel like you cannot talk to me there are always other instructors you can talk to; they always voice everyone’s concerns to me.

Where do leadership abilities come from? I believe a leader’s skills are made up of his past experiences and his own personality. My personal influences have been my instructors in the Martial Arts and my instructors in the Marine Corps. My style of leadership and coaching reflects my past. Throughout the years of running my own school my style has changed and I now feel like I have found the key to keeping the majority of students happy and striving for their goals.

The 1,2,3’s are how explain my system to other school owners and instructors who have tried to duplicate my success in running a school. When a student starts training there are three categories that they generally fall in.

1’s- Students that want to work out in a safe environment, learn effective skills that could help them in a real-life confrontation and be part of a family. This person trains an average of 2–3 times a week. 1’s get to come in and train and get pushed to strive for more. They are rarely pushed out of their comfort zone by anyone but themselves.

2’s- Students that want to take it higher and want to test themselves in the competition arena. These students trains 3-5 days a week and their competition goal is secondary to their life goals. 2’s get pushed out of their comfort zone and they do feel a little of what Anonymous would call the “Army General”

3’s – Students that give up their life and everything revolves around their goal of being a fighter or grappler. They do not care where they work or live as long as they can train. This is their primary goal and everything is focused on achieving that. This student trains 6 days a week at least 2–4 hours a day.

3’s feel the full wrath of the “Army General” they hear me and feel me 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I call them when they are at home, tell them what they should be eating, playing, how they should be sleeping, etc….

As you already can see that I invest the most time in 3’s and I am the hardest on my 3’s. I know what it takes to excel in all the things I teach because I have done it. I am not a coach who will tell you to do it without having done it. I am a 3 and when I realized my goal of becoming the best, I did everything I could to make that happen. I even gave up a long successful career in the Military to chase the dream. You can imagine what everyone around me thought about that decision. As most everyone already knows, things happen that take you away form your goals and you have to be able to change and roll with the punches of life.

3’s demand the most from me and to get quality results I have to give a lot of my personal time. In the past few years I had given up on the 3 ‘s and focused on building my 1’s and 2’s. Now that my school has grown I am back doing what I enjoy the most, building 3’s. It is very difficult to make a living building 3’s because they usually can’t even pay to train since they are chasing their dreams. They take minimum wage jobs or work at the school to try to fund their dreams. Some of the 3’s will reach the highest level of competition and some no matter what they do will not.

When a 3 doesn’t reach his goals and dreams, what happens then? Some move on like I said searching for that Magic Pill. Some focus on their personal and professional lives and some become 2’s balancing their competition lives with their personal lives.

2’s are what I recommend every 3 should be unless they actually want to invest 3-5 years of their life spent being a bum, giving up on their personal life for the pursuit in their goals knowing that few ever reach it.

If you ever want to jump into the 3 group you have to personally come talk to me and now I make you sign another waiver that basically says things like – I will not cry or whine, that I will do the best that I can and understand that I will be pushed beyond what I think is possible. The waiver goes on to say what I expect from my 3’s and what they can expect form me.

My academy has Evolved from a fight club to an Academy, a school of learning where everyone no matter what their goals are can come. Frank listed a few of the champions that I have coached and I appreciate his replyJ but I have never in any of my marketing to the public put any of the names and titles out there. I have never gone out and said “look who I created” or “look what I have done.” If you walk in my school there are a few pictures of me but there are no trophy cases or “I love me” walls. There are also none in my house. You do not see any of the trophies I have acquired throughout the years; I give them to my Mom because she cares more about them than I do. I think the important accolades are the ones you get in life.

To me, a few examples of some of the champions that I have produced would be the students who trained and learned the real lessons of Evolve Academy. Masai McDougal – went to college on a full academic scholarship, received his law degree and passed the Bar to become a Lawyer. Nakapan Phungephorn – while training and competing at the professional level finished up his degree in accounting and is now a Comptroller of a major corporation. Tommy Chuckerel who became Montgomery County Head Police Defensive Instructor. Garo Nalabandian and Jason Dunbar who became Military Officers. Emil Daubon who became a Special Forces Soldier. Mark Coleman, John Park and Alan Ross who are successful business owners. Or Tyler Malys who not only lost 50 pounds, but has become a friendly fun person to hang out with. The list goes on and on. These are the real champions, the ones who can take the lessons of the Martial Arts and use them in their professional and personal life. If I had a trophy case these are the stories that would be displayed.

The name Evolve was chosen because everything in the Martial Arts and life is constantly changing. Adapting to those changes is something I have grown accustomed to and now welcome. The Evolve Academy of 2002 is nothing like the Evolve of 2008. Many of my former students come back and are amazed at the changes. Some see the vision and some don’t.

PS- A more fitting name would be Marine Corps Drill Instructor not Army General :)

Black Belts and the Magic Pill!

Tom Shin who started training with me over 10 years ago was awarded a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Friday night. This is only the 2^nd one I have ever given out, the first one being Justin Montano. This was a great moment for Tom and me because it signified more than just his skills on the mat. The dedication and loyalty is something that is hard to talk about because it is something I never ask for, like many instructors you just assume most students are like Tom. It amazes me when after years of training a student in BJJ still looks for that magic pill. I can understand when a new student is looking for it.

I have had students jump ship after years of training with me because they think I am not spending enough time with them and their goals, that if I hold their hands and work with them everyday they will be able to reach their goals they are looking for that magic pill. I have learned from years of Coaching that this type of student will never reach their goals because they didn’t realize where to find the magic pill, it was inside them.

I have created many World Champions and National Champions in Thai Boxing, MMA and BJJ, Submission Grappling using the exact program I have now. Some of the best grapplers and Thai Boxers in the country train at Evolve each of those athletes know that they already have the magic pill it is already inside them.

Tom already knew about the pill the moment he started training. He told me his goals and I told him what it would take to reach it, he never questioned it he just did it. I knew then that he had the magic pill inside him.

If you ever hear me call someone a “Soldier” that is what I am talking about, someone who follows the order without question! A “Soldier” already knows that when I am yelling and screaming at them it means I think they can be something bigger than even they think they can become. They also know if I am giving them enough attention to yell and scream at them it is because I care about them!

I have never told Tom or anyone else about this subject but I was told that this is what a Blog is for, your true opinions and thoughts. The ceremony was awesome and I was shocked to see so many people show up. The live band ( Electric Kool-Aid Babies) really put on a great show. My only regret was that we did not have it on a Saturday so we could have partied a lot longer:)

Once again I want to congratulate Tom on his Black Belt and thank him Justin and all the students that have stuck with me throughout the years.

Should I go on Vacation or Compete?

It was a big decision I had to make early in the week, the World Championship of No Gi Submission grappling was this weekend and I had a paid trip to go compete. It was funny how these things happen to me, about 6 months ago I mentioned to Master Lloyd Irvin that I wanted to compete. We were out celebrating after a fight and I didn’t think much about it when he said if I did he would. I also didn’t think much of it because he was told that he should not ever compete again because of his neck injury. Well a week ago at the fights at George Mason University he told me he was going and that he signed me up!

Well that got my blood stirring and I was excited but told him I had not trained for competition in No Gi. By the end of the night every excuse I brought up was crushed. I said things like I am not in shape and he would counter with when are you not in shape? By the end of the night I was pumped up and knew that I had a good chance of winning. That is one of the reasons why Master Lloyd is such a good coach he knows how to make you feel invincible.

Getting home that night I explained my plans to my wife who was really supportive but who also reminded me that it was supposed to be our family vacation! I told Amy that I would wait till next year but she knows how much I like to compete so she insisted I go. 1 week out from the World Championships and I had no idea where I stood on conditioning or how I would feel during a competition style match. Knowing that Zach and Jaymo have been training for a fight I called and asked them if they could push me Monday.

Monday came and we set out to check my conditioning and technique. Well during the hour workout my knee (which has had a bucket tear in the meniscus) locked up 3 times. I have had this tear for over a year and I competed with it when I grappled in the Pan Ams but No Gi is different. I could not control the pace as well and my knee was put in positions that made it lock. To unlock it requires me to stop and put both hands on it and push it till I hear a loud pop! I tried 2 knee braces but neither helped. Guess it is time to get my knee cut on.

Well I called Amy and told her the news, on one hand I knew she was disappointed but I could hear the excitement in her voice when she asked if that meant we were heading to the beach? I was very sad that I could not compete this year but a few days at the beach with Thor and Amy helped me get over itJ

Last Post on Thai Camp!

Last 2days were a blur, I kept thinking about that Duncan Donuts commercial where the guy is working so hard to make the donuts he is basically on autopilot – “Its time to make the Donuts kept running through my brain!” Getting 5 hours of sleep started to take a toll on Zach, every break you could find him sleeping wherever he could lay down. On one occasion he feel asleep where one of the stations was and slept right thru the sounding of the bell. He didn’t wake up until everyone started training.

By the last day you could see a drastic improvement in Zach and Karl form. Karl said “Those 4 days was a whole year of Thai Boxing training!” It is true that if you ever wanted to accelerate any thing you do, train it for 4 days 14 hours a day and I am positive you will be better at it :)

For me the camp was the same as it has been every year prior awesome! I got to train, workout, learn some cool new techniques and hang out with friends and mentors. Every year it gets harder for me to make it. I hate leaving my life and putting everything on hold for a week but I am always glad after I do it. I know that Zach and Karl have their own views on what happened the past week so you will have to ask them. If I had to guess I bet they are filling their 2009 calendars – July 29- August 1 Thai Camp with Master Mike!

Never enough time!

Almost every year I have been to camp the weather is always hot, so there was no reason to think this one would be different. I was wrong, it was about 54 degrees when we showed up at 630am. The morning started off with a 3 mile run followed by some shadow boxing and more technique training. We were given time to eat breakfast followed by a 130 minute downtime. The downtime is the time you can relax and take a nap, it is also a great time to catch up with what is going on in the Martial Arts community. Most of the participants are either fighters, instructors or school owners.

The next session started at 930 and ended up lasting until 230. During that time the stations were set up with the full instructors teaching. Since their was an explosion of MMA fighters, Master Chai asked me to teach a takedown from the clinch and show a basic arm bar. I am still amazed at all the camp members who had never done the armbar I showed before. Some of the Thai Boxers were veterans of many camps. Not sure if everyone was happy about the station I was teaching at because they had to train in the dirt and grass.

The other 5 stations were the same as the day before 1. Heavy bag 2. Shadow Boxing 3. Thai Pads 4. Timing Sparring 5. Clinch The difference is the students got to spend at least 30 minutes at each station learning all the techniques and tricks that the full instructors had accumulated through years of training. Some of the top Thai Boxing in the TBA had showed up this year so the stations had a lot of wisdom. Zac and Karl was still trying to figure out who was who and during the break would let me know which instructors impressed them the most.

The lunch was more authentic Thai food that always had you going back for seconds. I have been to many Thai restaurants but it seems like I can never find one that serves food that tastes as good. It could be because the chef is flown is Thai and has been a chef for years or it may be because you are starving from training so much. Karl and Zach always went up for 2nds and couldn’t wait till the next meal. After lunch we had another couple of hours of downtime.

Evening started off slow with more boxing with Leonard Trigg. The combinations from the day before were reviewed and more combinations and footwork was added. Listening to Leonard Trigg opens your eyes to how much of a science boxing is. There are a lot of people that claim they teach boxing but this showed what a high level boxing coach really is .

After that more rounds at the stations, these rounds were like the first day 3more hours of stations, followed by more calisthenics. By the time dinner rolled around it was 8 pm. Eating took another hour and a half. The morning session was so cold we decided to go get some gear at this store called Fred Myers. The east coast does not have these mega stores but they contain everything from groceries to car parts. By the time we got our gear and got back to the hotel it was after 12 am . As I was setting the alarm for 5am I thought to myself how much fun this experience must be for Zach and Karl but I think it sucks!

Sorry a Day Late

There are moments in your life that you will always remember like it was yesterday. Like the first time you rode a bike, or the first time you got into a fight, or even the first time you were kissed. The First day of Torture Camp is always a day you remember clearly. It is usually one of the hardest days because you are trying to figure out what is what and where you fit in. There are always new faces and students that are trying to prove something. These are the students you want to try to avoid, the Camp is all about pacing yourself and staying healthy.

The 1st day was a little anti climatic for the new recruits because I woke up with pink eye and had to go to the Hospital. It was probably a good thing because Karl’s plane was late and we didn’t get in till 2am. When I woke up and realized that all that itching and Visine did not help I told the recruits we would not be making the morning session so go back to sleep. I would rather have them fresh the rest of the week than training for 14 hours a day and worrying about sleep.

The Hospital was a pretty cool place, the staff was really friendly and helpful. They had all kinds of questions when they found out I was not from their town. One of the questions was why I was in their town ( Longview ,WA) I told them is was their for a Thai Boxing camp. One of the Nurses said “ Oh yeah my daughter does that stuff!” I was really surprised and intrigued so I asked “Where does she train and how long has she been doing it?” She looked at me like I was dumb and said” She trains at her house and I am not sure how long she has been doing it, she got the tapes a few years ago. I am not sure how much she does it anymore but she used to talk about it all the time! Is the Black Guy from the T.V. going to be here? ” I finally figured out that she was talking about Tae Bo. I started to tell her it was not the same thing I did but then I realized it would be a losing battle so I stopped.

We ended up getting out to camp in time for the afternoon session which started with –
A 2 hour boxing session with Leonard Trigg. Followed up by 3 hours of Thai Pads, Shadow Boxing, Timing Sparing, Clinch work with Greg Nelson and Heavy Bag rounds. The groups are always split up in two with the fighters in one and everyone else in the other. Master Chai makes it harder for the fighter group so after the 5 hour workout the fighters had to do more rounds with the man in the middle. This is a clinch drill where there are 4 guys with 1 in the middle every time the whistle blows the next guy jumps on the guy in the middle. This last for 3 minutes then the next guy goes in. The drill was followed by some calestnics , all this lasted for another hour. So the afternoon training session was about 6 hour long.

On the way home all I kept hearing was how awesome this experience is. The trees, the instructors, the food, the drills… We ended up getting back by 1130 pm and ended up in bed by 1230 with a 5 am wake up call. Stay tuned for tomorrows report.

On the way to Torture camp

Didn't make it to bed till 12am and got back up at 130am. Had to get to the Airport by 5 so I decided to go early since all the construction on 70 has made it a nightmare to get through. I am heading out to Oregon for my once a year trek to Thai Camp or as I will call it torture camp:) I am not required to go but feel obligated because of all the things that Master Chai has done for me, it is a small price to pay, so I will subject myself to 5 days of torture. Misery loves company , I am bringing professional MMA fighter Zach Davis and Fitness First Manager Karl Noyes who is also a Green belt in PDS.
Tomorrow will be the first day of training so I will give you updates on what their thoughts are of the camp But I want to leave with a few questions about flying-

1. Why does the plane always seem to hit turbulence when you are using the bathroom?

2. When the fasten the seat belt light comes on why are the stewardess allowed to walk around?

3. When you want to lean your chair back, should you turn around and ask the person behind you? If not should you go slow or lean back fast?

4. If someone is too big too fit in their chair and their body starts touching yours, does that bother you?

5. Have you ever accidentally left your phone on?

6. Have you ever wanted to see if the life preserver under your chair will actually blow up by pulling the cord?