Like
many other martial artists, my interest in the martial arts stemmed from
watching Bruce Lee movies as a child. This led to my study of Shotokan and Tang
Soo Do in my youth. I graduated high school in 1989, and entered the U.S. Army
Military Intelligence field when I was 17 years old. My interest in martial
arts led me to enroll in every combative course the military would offer. This
was my first introduction to ground fighting.
After the military, I made
the decision to begin training in Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do. There were no Jeet
Kune Do instructors in the area at the time, so I began training Wing Chun
instead. Although I enjoyed training in Wing Chun, I knew my ultimate quest was
for Jeet Kune Do, so the search for an instructor continued. This ultimately
led me to Sean Madigan (a Jeet Kune Do instructor under original Bruce Lee
student, Steve Golden). Eventually, with a certification and permission from
my instructor, I went on to open one of the first Jeet Kune Do Schools in
Indiana.
Later, I co-founded Elite
Cage Fighting (a mixed martial arts promotion), in Indianapolis. As of
September 2009 we have one of the best reputations in the Midwest and 34 events
under our belt!
It was Sean Madigan who
first turned me on to MMA. He urged me to seek my path in ground fighting,
whether it was Wrestling or Jiu Jitsu, and taught me the importance of “LIVE”
training. Ground fighting instructors in the Indianapolis area were very
limited at the time, so I began participating in ground fighting seminars around
the Midwest. Being a very flexible and lanky guy, I discovered much of my
ground game was predicated on the use of my legs and deep hooks to control my
opponents. After hearing legendary BJJ Blackbelt Jean Jacques Machado was a big
advocate of deep over hooks, I decided to investigate his style of Jiu Jitsu.
Of course you can’t investigate JJM without hearing about Eddie Bravo! It’s
very difficult to explain, but the first time I saw Eddie Bravo move on the
ground, I knew I had found a home (provided he would accept me). The first time
meeting Eddie, I felt very at ease and comfortable. We have very similar
political beliefs as well, so finding a topic of discussion has always been very
easy with him.
It has been a long road,
most of which has included thousands and thousands of repetitions, but I am
finally a proud part of the 10th Planet Revolution!!
