A Fighters Blog #4

MMA and my first fight:

So I have been training in MMA for about 5 months now and am coming up on my first amateur fight on Oct. 3, and the major question I have been getting from people outside of the sport is "Why?”
Well its really very basic and also very complicated as well, for most guys they fight because it’s what they know, they have been fighting for all their lives in one fashion or another. For others it’s an attempt to assert their Alpha-Male status and prove some macho ideal that they have.
For me it really falls into the more complicated category, I don't have to fight; this isn't an avenue to a better life like some guys. I don't feel like I need to prove myself as a man to others either, for me it’s something entirely different, for me it’s mostly about fear and not giving up. I have spent the majority of my life being afraid of failure and quitting something if it became too difficult. Training and thus fighting is about overcoming that fear, to set a challenge in front of yourself and working your ass off to achieve it. It's really no different than someone setting a goal of running a marathon, (which I also want to do) it’s just viewed so much differently because of the violence factor; which leads to the other reasons of why MMA. When you are a former wrestler and football player who hates basketball and just doesn't get into softball there aren't really a lot of competitive ventures for you to explore, oh yeah there is running but that's just not physical enough. For someone like me there is no more pure athletic competition than 2 men facing off in competition whether it’s wrestling, lineman in the trenches or a cage fight. When you step into that ring, octagon, or mat you are all alone, you can't rely on anyone else like in team sports. Success and failure lies squarely on your shoulders, no one to blame but yourself if you aren't prepared and that is really the attraction of the sport. There is a mental aspect that doesn't translate if you have never trained for MMA (or been a wrestler) for casual fans and those outside the sport. You can't be mentally or physically weak and compete in this arena, and that goes back to the fear. If you can train for a cage fight, diet and sacrifice then other things in your life become much less daunting tasks.
But in the end the basic answer to "Why would you want to do this?" is simple "Because I can!"

Taken July 22, 2009 @ 260 lbs. Nearly 4 months and a total of 38 lbs lost.