Fat Guy in a Little Gi Entry-1: Who Is This Guy?

Fat Guy in a Little Gi

One big man’s journey of self-discovery through combat sports

Entry 1- Who is this guy? AKA the journey so far

They call me Polar Bear. I started my journey into martial arts, as many in my generation did, through old kung-fu movies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Watching Leo, Mike, Don and Raph stick it to the foot clan every Saturday morning ignited a lifelong passion that I wasn't able to really commit to until MUCH later.

From the time I could follow coherent logic, I ‘trained’ by reading every martial art book I could; practicing the moves by mimicking the pictures on the page. Names like Ramon Dekker, Andy Hug, and Royce Gracie weren't known to me yet; instead names like Jean Claude Van Damn, Chuck Norris, and the man himself, Bruce Lee inspired me. From the age of about 3, I have constantly pictured myself in some sort of martial combat.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the kung fu/karate guru I wished to be. Theory only helps so much when applied to real world experience. I was bullied relentlessly during my youth. Growing up, my personality was very odd, and I still have more than enough neurotic behaviors to label me ‘a f*cking weirdo nutjob’. While I have overcome much of my social awkwardness, childhood was hell for me. I lost A LOT of schoolyard battles. Most weren't epic scraps, but poor excuses for grappling matches that ended with me mounted and people taunting me. I can only remember winning two fights before I was 14 to be honest.

Part of my issue was a total lack of self-confidence. While formal martial arts training would have helped with that, we didn’t’ have a lot of extra money back then and my mother was adamantly against violence in any capacity off the football field (still is by the way). In fact I never even asked to do formal training until I got a flier in middle school. There was an afterschool program for Tae Kwan Do that was cheap enough ($25 a month) that I could attend, and I jumped at the opportunity. It wasn't long before I realized that it wasn’t the epic ‘defeat anyone style’ I had hoped it was. This was sport TKD, not traditional, and not effective. Further the instructor was very strict at the most random times. During touch sparring (everything was always too forceful apparently) she would joke and laugh, during forms she would be a dictator. All the while I kept studying other arts through the local library. My love of TKD died just after I got my yellow belt, at the age of 13. Sport TKD just wasn't for me.

It wasn't long after that, I found a copy of UFC 1 on VHS. Wow. I was hooked. These guys were real fighters! And one man captivated my vision. It wasn't Royce Gracie like people reading this will expect, it was actually Ken Shamrock. Here was a guy with my first name, a history of being a complete badass. I was rooting for him through everything. When he was submitted my heart was crushed a little bit, but I kept being a fan long after that fight. I watched every UFC VHS I could (my family couldn't’ afford pay per view until I was much, much older). I started reading on this ‘grappling’ thing and found that I needed a true hybrid system if I wanted to be one of these guys later in life. *note- I have since learned the error of my ways and LOVE Royce*

When I was 15, I finally found a system that called to me. That I could use to launch my No Holds Barred career (the term MMA hadn't been coined or used broadly yet). That system was Kajukenbo. It had everything I wanted; Kung-Fu, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Kenpo, and Boxing. Everything was there in one spot! My first day was very difficult, the school had old ½ mats that did very little to break any fall, and because the studio was still being built, it was often that my arm felt the cold sting of concrete. I really enjoyed it, but when I sparred my friends at a local open mat gym, I would still get whooped. Wrestlers would continually take me down and negate my stand up, kick boxers would continually beat me on my feet. II joined the Marines and when I came back the school was so different I decided to move on.

In the Marine Corps I participated in my first MMA fights. These weren't regulated and I can barely say there were anything more than drunken service members and locals fighting for sport. I thought I knew what I was doing, but yet again I was proved wrong. At 8-10 I started fearing maybe my passion wasn't for me. I left the Corps and came home, only to find myself even more lost in this journey.

I started my own fight team. I figured I knew enough about the game, if I couldn't do it, maybe I could find guys who could use my knowledge. Glacier MMA (now Glacier Combat Arts). Our first outings were less than stellar, but we started putting up wins and I felt good. Something was missing though. I had rudimentary skills but nothing I was ‘excellent’ at. I looked to a local gym owner who was kind enough to let me bring my team into his gym and train them with his staff or by myself.  It wasn't long before we became a part of the family. Now whenever we fight we are Glacier Combat Arts/Academy of Brian Johnson. Brian has taught me more about kickboxing and the striking game than I can even begin to explain. In his school he also has a Marcelo Alonso BJJ affiliate. That is where I met Kano Melvin and my BJJ journey begins…