Fitness with a Purpose!

Purpose – “the reason for which something exists
or is done, made, used, etc.

“Fitness with a Purpose”…..This is one of the many catch phrases I use in my Academy’s marketing. I came up with this because I used to do Triathlons, which was a fun and challenging sport, but also a sport that really doesn’t have a purpose. Yeah, I know what you Tri-athletes will say, “The purpose is in challenging yourself!” Well I’ve never viewed this as a “true” challenge. Don’t get me wrong, it is very hard, but all you are really competing against is a clock.
I used to love Triathlons, and it was basically my job in the Marines. How I got involved was a complete accident because I was never really into endurance sports. I had no idea what a Triathlon was but knew I could swim, bike and run so when a fellow Marine who had signed up for the event got injured, my unit looked for a replacement. I decided to do it.
As it turned out, I was pretty good at it. I ended up winning that first race, which kicked off a new chapter in my life. I wasn’t the best at any one event but I was good at all the events which put me way ahead of a lot of the other athletes. The world of Triathlons took over my life! I worked out on the weekdays and raced on the weekends. All I was focused on was how to beat my times and I trained about 6 hours a day with that goal in mind. But was this purposeful to me?
I was stationed on a Navy Base and we were the only Marines on the base. The base was made up of about 25 different Commands and each of those commands had over a couple hundred sailors. The MWR (Morale Welfare Recreation) set up competitions in everything from football, softball, bowling, racquetball, darts, golf, horseshoes, etc. The points were tallied up and at the end of the year, the command with the most points was awarded the “Capt’s Cup”. The competition was fierce because whoever won the cup would have the bragging rights for a year. This was a huge thing for the Company Commanders of each command and especially big for a little unit made up of Marines winning against a bunch of sailors.
Our Command had about 25 guys and a lot of those guys were not very athletic. The great thing about the way the points was set up was that even a small command like ours could compete with the big ones because they gave the same amount of points for all the events. We couldn’t field a great football team because we just didn’t have enough to men to choose from, but we had a bunch of drinkers that could bowl and throw darts. We were also pretty good at softball, but the majority of the points came from the events that I did (5k, 10k, Swimming Competitions, and (2) Triathlons). In fact, I scored so many points that the cup was kept on my CO’s desk! Now there was a purpose….to win the cup. But was it my purpose?
I was really lucky that I excelled at these things because I ended up getting to stay at that command for 8 years strait, which is unheard of for most Marines. It opened up other doors for me as well. I got the opportunity to go to almost any Military school I asked for (Combat Swimming, Rappel Master, Primary Marksmanship Instructor, etc.), which was a benefit not enjoyed by most other Marines. I was given the nickname “The Golden Child”, because of the way I was treated.
It is funny how life is. You never know where it is going to take you. I really didn’t care which way I was going in life as long as it was fun. That is basically how I have lived the majority of my life. I was never concerned about a higher purpose. I just wanted to live for the moment and enjoy what I was doing. I had no purpose. Then Mixed Martial Arts came along…..
When I started training in martial arts again, my love for it really showed through. I didn’t have as much time to train for the Triathlons and it was apparent during the races. The thrill of having someone actually trying to punch kick you while you were doing the same was so much more exciting than sitting on my bike for 3 hours going nowhere. I would leave the gym exhausted which didn’t help my motivation towards training for my races. I started placing in the top 10 and was no longer in the top 3. I didn’t care because I realized that the only reason I was doing triathlons was for the CO’s cup. I was trying to live up to the expectations of the other guys in my Command, but I was not doing what I loved. To me, running Triathlons had no real purpose.
I actually got out of the Marines because my luck had run out and I was going to get transferred to another unit. I told my martial arts instructor at the time, and he said that I could come work for him and train to fight. It was a dream come true! My mother thought I was crazy and I could see the disappointment in her. I had a great future in the Corps but my dream bug had bitten me and I didn’t care….I was jumping ship! Even though I was going to take a drastic pay cut and walk away from 10 years of Military service, I finally had a purpose!
I went off topic a little but want to give the reader a brief look into my background. So why isn’t everyone training in Mixed Martial Arts? I am not sure if I am a special kind of person because I enjoy the primal thrill of punching, kicking or choking another person. I have always felt like Mixed Martial Arts is so much more of a challenge to me than any other sport I have ever done. It is also one of the best full body workouts that you can do. It works every muscle in your body, including your brain. It’s like playing 3D Chess. Training in Mixed Martial Arts is a physically challenging workout that also requires the use of mental calculation, cognitive reasoning and problem solving skills.
The name “Mixed Martial Arts” can be very intimidating. This is what makes my job so hard. I have to continually think of new ways to get the message out there – that this is for everyone and anyone who wants an incredible workout. I know that once they start, they won’t quit because they will have discovered what I discovered. And the best part about it is that you actually get to workout for a purpose –Self Defense. Sure, the chances that anyone will end up in a violent confrontation are pretty slim. Of course, the chances that your house will burn down are also pretty slim, yet you still spend money on Homeowners Insurance, right? I like to think of Mixed Martial Arts training as insurance for your body. Now who wouldn’t invest in that?

Superheros

Disappointment is an emotion I was full of when I was younger. If something didn’t happen the way I had planned I would get disappointed and let it eat at me to the point that it would affect everything else in my life. I have learned much later in life that it is me who creates the expectations and that I am in control of most situations that create the feeling of disappointment.
Life has been much easier since I figured that out. I no longer look at things as a personal thing and really look at most things as just the way the situation is. I have also created certain barriers in my life that protect me from disappointment. I live my life the way I want to and do not go out of what I call my comfort zone.
One example of a barrier is in my Personal Security work- In the past I would work for $250-$300 a day which is great money until I started about what I was doing. What I started to realize is that most of the time I was getting disappointed at the jobs I was doing. I rarely ended up working with the client and most of the time I was securing a hallway or watching a door. I ended up working jobs where I felt like a high paid security guard. I don’t mind watching a door for 12 hours if you are paying $250 a day, most guys would be glad to watch a door instead of dealing with the client. But I started thinking about how I could be with my family and my academy and that I was working for about $20 an hour.
While I was on the jobs I would start thinking about all the other things I could be doing I would get disappointed. I would even get miserable which would affect my performance on the job. Not anymore, I won’t work for anything less than $500 a day. This has done a couple of things #1. My phone has stopped ringing. I used to work a security job every 2 weeks but I have virtually priced myself out of the industry. Very few companies will pay that kind of money for a job in the USA and the security field is now flooded with so many personal security specialist willing to work for less. #2 when I do get called for a job the job is always a good one where I am working directly with the client. Very few security companies will pay $500 for someone to watch a hallway or a door.
That is just one example of a barrier I put in my personal life and I am no longer disappointed when I do security jobs. Do I think that I am worth $500 a day? Definitely!! Do I make $500 a day when I am not doing security work? Definitely Not!! So why don’t I work for less? All the disappointing jobs I have done has made me realize that my time is worth a minimum of $500 a day. I know that I am losing a lot of money by keeping my daily rate this high but I am no longer disappointed. I concentrate on the bigger picture and know that money is not everything.

I also have put barriers in my Business life that prevents disappointment. One Example- The interview process I have at Evolve. I have turned away a lot of students that could have paid the monthly tuition but could not fit into what the Evolve academy stands for. We have created a family environment where anyone can train and feel safe while learning the most effective martial arts that I have ever done. Evolve Academy has also become a place that the community is looking at as the place that are creating the leaders of tomorrow. Many of the younger students go on to become leaders in their chosen professions. This is a very hard balancing act that I struggle with and one way I weed out future trouble is that I make everyone start in the PDS classes as a white belt. I don’t care if they have had previous training or numerous Black Belts, everyone starts at white. Of course we do a assessment of your skills and place you at the correct rank but you have to be willing to start at White because that shows me what kind of student you will be. It also shows me that you are there to learn and hat you do not have an ego.
You wouldn’t believe how many potential students leave when I tell them that. One guy had trained with BJ Penn and said he had 8 pro fights and had a record of 7 wins 1 loss. When I told him about my policy he gave me the look like I was crazy, he asked me if I was joking. Half of me thought about how cool it would be to have a fighter on the team with that much experience but the past has shown me that when I try to circumnavigate my barriers I always get disappointed. The barrier is there to protect the atmosphere and the reputation of Evolve Academy. We have created some of the best Grapplers, MMA and Thai Boxers in the world but we are not a fighters gym, we are a Academy of learning. So if the pro fighter was not willing to put on a White belt he could never fit into the environment.
So back to my point of Disappointment, whenever I get the emotion it is amplified more than it probably would have in the past. Since I rarely feel it anymore, when I do it really tears me up inside. This is what happened a few weeks ago, I found out that 3 of my students were involved in a fight. Not sure about the details but all 3 students ganged up against 1 and really hurt the person. I was really in shock when I found out who it was and I am still trying to figure out how it could have been avoided. They all went thru the interview before they got to train. And they were not new students, they all have been their over a year and were in the Black Belt Club. This means they have listen to all the leadership and character lessons that are taught in every class. I guess it didn’t matter because they used their skills for evilL
I always talk about the skills that you gain training at Evolve are very effective and can be used in a negative manner or a positive manner. You should learn the skills to help society not hurt it. Almost like a superhero, you gain skills that make you more powerful than the average person who doesn’t train. If you think about how much stronger you get physically, mentally and spiritually you become much more capable in any situation then someone who doesn’t train. But like a superhero you can choose to use your powers for good or for evil, these students chose to use their skills for evil which for me was a huge disappointment. I even took a few days off from teaching because I knew I could not teach without letting the emotion engulf me. I always try to teach a positive class because I know that is what the students come for, so I would rather not teach than risk teaching a class that isn’t exciting and positive.

I tried to think back to how this could have been avoided and I am not sure if it could. I did my usual interview and they seemed like great kids, even their parents told me they were great. What I found out after the incident was that they were not great kids and that they had been involved in fights and trouble in school before and even while they were training at the Academy. Their parents never told me and even after this incident the students tried to come back to Evolve like nothing had happened. I used to get into fights when I was younger but most were one on one and I never sent anyone to the hospital for 3 days. I also never ganged up on one person and kicked and stomped them when they were on the ground. Most of the fights I got into when I was younger was because I was either protecting someone of fighting a bully. They got the whole fight on the school cameras and some of the teachers that watched the video started to cry. They all said it was one of the most violent videos they had witnessed.
I am not sure why the parents would let their kids keep coming to my Academy especially since they were arrested and expelled for life but I have to create a new barrier to protect myself from feeling disappointment. Not sure if it will work and I know that I will lose a lot of teenage students but it is what I have to do to protect Evolve. We started a new program in March for any student in Middle and High School-
Once enrolled, each Student will have certain criteria which will need to be met, in order to continue their training at Evolve Academy of Martial Arts, which include:

1. Attending a pre-enrollment interview with Master Mike.
2. Maintaining a GPA of at least a 2.0 or higher.
3. Having their home room teacher or guidance counselor sign quarterly notices, verifying that the participant has displayed above average conduct at school.
4. Meeting quarterly with either Master Mike or Ms. Amy, in order to discuss their progress in our program, as well as at school. A Parent or Guardian must be present at this meeting.
5. Attending a quarterly leadership workshop at Evolve Academy.
6. Participating in monthly community service activities.



I have already received a lot of positive feedback but I have also had a few potential students not enroll. It is a barrier that I have implemented and even though it doesn’t make great business sense I am not going to circumnavigate it. Even if that means there are no longer any teenagers in my program.
By the way here is a great website that figures out what villain you would be- http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/villain/
The questions really make you think and look into the negative part of your makeup
And the same could be said about the superheroes quiz.
http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/
I took both of them and I was a little disappointed, the villain was definitely cooler than the hero they said I would be. ( Villain – Venom : Superhero- Robin) So if I was given the choice of being a really awesome villain like Venom or a mediocre Superhero like Robin which path would I decide to take? Robin of course!

Great Leaders

Leaders are born, not made. Or is it that leaders are made, not born? I used to think they were born because when you meet a great leader they have already become a great leader. You rarely get the chance to see the development of a person as they become a great leader. The first thing I want you to think about is the difference between what makes a leader and what makes a great leader. You have leaders all around you – the manager of the local coffee shop, or the restaurant you eat at or even the person who is telling you what to do at work. These are some examples of leaders, but are they great leaders?


Barrack Obama just recently became the 44th President of the United States. He is a great leader, as are all of the previous 43 presidents. Any person who reaches the most powerful position on earth should be considered a great leader. It does not matter what his background is. President Obama had a rough upbringing that shaped his ability to lead and get people to follow him. Many of those who previously held the position of president came from much better home lives, and some will say that it is because of this, that they had a huge advantage when seeking the Oval office. That is probably true, but they still had to get the majority of the nation to follow and believe in them. Does being a great leader make you a great president? Definitely not. History has taught us that some of the greatest leaders ended up becoming some of the poorest president’s.


Because of my life, I have been fortunate to see leaders and great leaders in every economic class you could imagine. Many of the leaders who I considered great were the ones who could get me to follow them and believe in their visions. Here is a list of the people that I consider to be great:


Otto Kretzner -was a football player who was a couple of grades higher than me in Germany. He was in charge of a gang of about 35 kids from the base we lived on in Germany. Whatever Otto did, we all did. I think back now to all the trouble we used to get into and still can’t believe that we did some of the things we did. The one thing I can remember is that he used to make everyone feel like they were part of a bigger thing. Being thirteen at the time and having all those friends who spent every waking hour together was like having another family. As a matter of fact, I would have rather spent time with the gang then with my real family; it was so much more fun. Otto had a unique way of making each person feel like they were important. He always included each of our opinions before he would make a decision. It didn’t matter what the situation was; we all followed.
Otto ended up having a successful career in the military and now owns his own IT company.

Lenny Joyner- was my first boss at my very first job. Lenny was my first real encounter with a boss and he made a lasting impression. I was 16 years-old and I was in tenth grade when I decided I needed a car. Of course my parents told me I had to get a job if I wanted one. I ended up getting a job at Wendy’s flipping burgers where Lenny was one of the Assistant Managers. He was such a great leader that he could get me to work almost forty hours a week while I was still in school. He also had great talent in making everyone believe that the job we were doing was so important. Even though all we were doing was flipping burgers, it seemed like it was the most important thing going on in the universe. Our crew never had customers waiting even during rush hour and his crew always made the most money for the restaurant. He would always reward us with free food after we went the extra mile for him. Lenny ended up becoming Head Manager of that restaurant then Area Manager of all the Wendy’s.
The last I heard Lenny switched companies and was in charge of training all the Managers of all the Taco Bells on the East Coast.

Staff Sgt Spears- was my first real boss in the military. He was 26 at the time but was so much more mature than most guys his age. I was still in the “trouble” phase of my life and ended up finding it on a regular basis. On one occasion I got in a fight on Norfolk Naval Base against two sailors. I ended up getting the better of both of them and one of them was taken to the hospital for a broken jaw, but it also landed me in jail. They called him at 2 am and he drove out to the base which was about 45 minutes away. I was completely innocent and after I told him what had happened he stood behind me unconditionally. I remember being amazed at his reaction to my story; he believed everything I told him, which was a first. I was always in trouble, so having someone believe my story was shocking to me. Monday morning he went with me to see my CO who got a call from the CO of Norfolk Naval Base. Standing at attention I stood there and listened on the speaker phone to all the ranting and raving about how he never wanted to see me on his base again and wanted some major disciplinary action taken. He got off the phone and asked me if I had anything to say. Before I could reply, Ssgt Spears stood up and spoke for me. He proceeded to say how the MPs that picked me up told him that I did not start it and that I was defending myself. I am not sure if that was true but it got me completely off and by the end of the conversation I was getting a pat on the back for beating up two sailors. He protected me and even risked his career to do it. Ssgt Spears was a great leader and went on to become a Sgt Major which is the highest enlisted rank in the Marine Corps.

Frank Cucci - I was a kick boxer at the time and I thought I was doing the most realistic martial art out there. Everything we did was full contact and we didn’t get points for pulling our punches. We got points for trying to knock the other person out. I knew about Thai Boxing at the time but assumed it was just like kick boxing except they allowed you to kick, knee and elbow. Boy, was I wrong! The first time I was able to spar with one of his students, I was shown how much more effective this art was for combat. I was 24 and had already earned three Black Belts. I was also a semi-pro kick boxer when I joined his academy. I went in and, once again, put on the white belt and started another journey. Frank was a different kind of leader. He never really seemed like he wanted or cared to be a leader but everyone just put him in that role. He was so skilled at everything he did that when he spoke you would listen. I trained under him for many years and went on to work a security detail with him and it was like that in everything he did. He is still to this day one of the most gifted athletes I have ever met -- he could watch someone do something and duplicate it almost exactly. That is how he would lead; he would show you how to do it and do it right besides you. He was a perfectionist and wanted you to get every detail. That is what made everyone around him so good.
Frank now runs one of the largest MMA schools in the country and his security company has grown to one of the biggest in the world.

Dave Lane- When I moved to DC, I needed a job because Martial Arts didn’t pay the bills so I ended up working for a company that worked for the World Bank. I had no experience in the kind of job I was doing and it was very technical; it involved a lot of work in something I hate -- math. I still have a hard time calculating how much tip I should leave at a restaurant. Dave was only in charge of a few guys but he took care of all of us like we were his kids. He knew how many hours I was putting in trying to get my school started and he always let me put that first. My daily schedule was get up at 5 and head to the metro. We started work at 7 so we could get done by 3. I would then head to the school and start teaching kids at 5, and the night didn’t end till after 9:30. If I was in bed before midnight I was lucky. This schedule went on for the first four years that I lived in DC. Dave knew I was working hard and would never give me a hard time if I was late or if I fell asleep on the job. He would always just ask if I got the job done and if I didn’t he would jump in to help me. He knew what my dreams were and he believed in them as much as I did. He also knew I was there physically doing the job but my mind was always on Martial Arts. Most of the time the whole lunch hour was spent talking about my goals and plans for my school. Always being supportive and helpful, he would ask questions that would make me think about the situation. At the time I had a partner in the school but I was very new and naïve to the world of business. I still based everything on a handshake and trust. Dave tried to get me to be better at treating it more professionally, but it took many years before I listened.
Dave went on making a lot of money in real estate and opening his own dog breeding business. He is now retired at the age of 48 and living his dream on a farm in WV selling Goldendoodles.

Mrs Smith- September 11, 2001 was a huge turning point for my life. Shortly after, I went to work for one of the wealthiest family in the country. The world had turned into a scary place and the upper echelon of our society was taking every precaution money could buy. After 9/11, my security skills were suddenly in high demand.
The wife of a billionaire is who I was hired to keep safe; the job was great and I did things that I never ever dreamed of getting to do. If you have ever watched an episode of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” you can understand. Wherever Mrs. Smith went, I went. Her list of friends included some of the most powerful people in the country (First Ladies, billionaires, princesses, senators, CEO’s etc….), so every day was different and exciting. I actually got to see and meet all the people I had only seen on TV. I was also able to see how they acted without the camera on, which proved to be a whole other story.
The one thing that always amazed me about Mrs. Smith was her ability to make everyone feel like her equal. She never acted like she had money; she dressed well but not how you would think a billionaire would. What I quickly learned is that the people with the most money never flaunt it or show it. After two years of spending almost sixty hours a week with her, I realized that every day she was trying to educate me. I never had any interest in what was going on in the world but her daily questions would have me running home and studying so I wouldn’t be caught off-guard. She would also ask me questions about my personal life and she is the reason I got married and why I also bought my first house. Before I started working for Mrs. Smith my life was going in circles and I had no direction. She changed all that and did it because she genuinely cared.


These are only a few examples of the great leaders that have shaped my ability to lead. I am a firm believer that you are not born a great leader; your leadership traits come from your past experience and every single person can learn to be a great leader. If you take a look at each person I listed, I gave an example of what made their leadership style work and why I consider them great-

Otto- Made everyone feel important and part of a bigger group and tried to include everyone in whatever the group did.

Lenny – Made everyone believe that the job they were doing was the most important job in the world, even though it was only flipping burgers, the world would end if they didn’t do it.

SSGT Spears-Trusted me and believed whatever I told him; and he always protected me even if it put him in danger.

Frank Cucci- Was so skillful at whatever he was teaching that it made you want to follow in the hope that you would be the same.

David Lane- Had empathy and knew that I had my own dreams which he also wanted me to achieve.

Mrs. Smith- Never looked down on me and always tried to make me strive for more.


I try to take these lessons and implement them in my leadership style. Every day I learn new things about leadership and I know that I will never have it completely figured out, but my goal is to become a great leader like the ones I have worked under. Just like everything in life, it is a skill. Skills need to be honed, developed and nurtured. I hope I’ve offered you a glimpse into what makes me think the way that I do. Each of the persons that I have mentioned have helped me to become the leader that I am. If I can pass along what I have learned from them, to even one individual, I will then know that I am on the path to becoming a great leader myself.

Learning to walk again! (Written Dec 22 2008)

Learning to walk is probably one of the most challenging things you have ever had to do. Most will not remember the time, but if you have kids you can see how hard it is for them to figure it out. Watching Thor learning to walk reminded me of Fridays and Saturdays in Va Beach when I used to stay out all night at the bars. When I would leave, I was also grabbing onto furniture and walls to keep my balance but only getting a few steps before falling. I am glad it doesn’t faze him when he falls because I know the only way he will get better is through repetitions. It still goes back to anything that you want to learn -- it won’t become ingrained into muscle memory until you get 8,500 – 10,000 repetitions.

Success in anything depends on a lot of factors (talent, genetics, environment etc…,) but one of the most important things, and something that is often overlooked, is repetition. Most individuals will look at a pro athlete and think he is what he is because of talent or genetics, but they never see the repetitions he puts in. Ask any athlete at the top of any sport and I can guarantee that they are not there without countless hours of repetitions.

Take Mixed Martial Arts. It is only in the past 5 years that you have started to see fighters that can go from every range without hesitation. In the past, most of the fighters were good at only one thing and if they were taken out of that range they would look really bad and lose. Think about the UFC fighters that can proficiently go from punching, kicking, clinch and ground; there are still only a handful who are experts at all of the ranges. Guys like George St. Pierre, BJ Penn and Anderson Silva come to mind, and while there are still only a few, the number is increasing.

If you have been following the UFC in the past 5 years you have been able to see the effect of repetitions in fighters. Fighters like Forest Griffin and Kenny Florian have become two of the UFC’s best fighters, but they didn’t start out that way. Take Kenny Florian -- he was already one of the best ground fighters in the UFC when he started. He is a BJJ Black Belt with many grappling championships under his belt but he lost 3 of his 14 fights in the UFC. If you look at his record you will notice he has not lost in the past 6 fights and he has crushed some of the top guys in his weight class. Why? Because he is now as proficient at standup and clinch as he was already on the ground. His standup was not great at the beginning of his career but you can now call it one of the best in the UFC. If you ever hear his story on what his daily routine is you will understand why he has become one of the best; he is doing the reps in the things he was weak at!

Doing reps is the only way to become better at anything. The problem with reps is it is boring so the people that can become good at something are usually the ones that can put in the boring time. Those are the times that are the hardest but most important, the times when no one is there cheering you on or telling you what to do. You know that you just have to do it. It is hard to do reps of anything unless you have a passion for it. If you have passion, boring becomes fun!

I started this subject on my blog because I am also learning to walk again. I had ACL surgery and my meniscus tendon repaired in my knee. This is the second time I have gone through this, so I knew what to expect. Having your ACL repaired is actually more pain and suffering than the actual tear. The recovery really stinks and it is a long process of boring reps. I didn’t go through physical therapy because I want to do it on the mat like I did last time. I can duplicate a lot of the movements that they were showing me in physical therapy on the mat. I get to roll too which is a great workout. It is also a great experience to grapple this way because it makes my defense so much better. I am grappling with only one leg so learning to survive without being able to move my hips in certain positions is very difficult. It is also very humbling because of how many times I have had to tap. Makes me feel like I am a beginner again. It is always like this when I injure something, I try to grapple around it. So if it is my arm that is injured I put it in my belt or if it is my back I work form the guard position so it is supported. In the 12 years I have been training, I have been only been off the mat for an extended time of two months and that was because of a security job. So if you figure that I train 2-4 times a week you can start to see the reps I am getting on the mat. If someone does the exact same program that I have done but they train 4-8 times a week then they will be as proficient as I am in 6 years.

It was unheard of for guys to get their Black Belts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in less than 10 years but guys like BJ Penn and Lloyd Irvin broke that mold; they did it in 4 years. I personally witnessed Lloyd’s growth in BJJ and I can remember his meteoric rise through the ranks. He started roughly the same time as me and we even competed in a lot of the same events together so I got to talk to him a lot back then. When he was telling me how much he was on the mat back then I was stunned. He practically didn’t do anything but train, 2-6 hours a day, 6 days a week. He quickly became one of the best grapplers in the world in half the time it would take most guys.

Later when I joined his team, he would give me long talks about training and how reps were more important than genetics and talent. Of course I would argue with him and say that he was good because of his natural talent and genetics. Lloyd would go on to explain that when he was in the NFL, the most boring drills and patterns were in every training session, three times every day. He said that basics were being ingrained in their muscular skeleton through reps so that they could do it with their eyes closed! He took the same training methods he learned in the NFL and applied it to BJJ.

Lloyd also went on to prove me wrong with his prodigy Mike Fowler who came to Lloyd with only one goal, to become the best at submission grappling. I remember the first time I met Mike and watched him on the mat. He was getting tapped by everyone in the class. He wasn’t anything special, but Lloyd had told me about this kid he had on a program and I needed to watch him because this kid would do whatever Lloyd asked him to do. Mike would come in early and stay late getting the reps that Lloyd told him to do. Mike’s skills grew quickly and in less than 5 years he has become one of the best grapplers in the world.

I know that not everyone can train all day long. That is why I tell all my competitors and fighters that they need to be honest with themselves -- how much can you train and how much are you willing to train? If you can’t put in the time then you should set your goals for longer term. This is hard for a lot of fighters and grapplers to swallow and they still want to try and push the time without doing the reps. Like I have said before, there are no short cuts or magic pills, so get out there and start getting the reps.

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 :)