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