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?