My first blog post

Well, I've decided to start a blog to catalogue my journey as a professional mixed martial arts fighter. I figured that some people may be interested in the sort of daily struggles an aspiring fighter goes through, and the many hurdles that have to be overcome along this path. I hope that this blog provides insight into my path to becoming a successful fighter, and that anyone who reads this will learn that this path is not easy, and requires a ton of sacrifice.

I'm a married father of two wonderful children. Though there have been ups and downs, my wife has remained steadfast on this long trip I have been on, as I have been training near full-time for several years now. She has seen my growth along the way, and has never stopped pushing me to reach my highest goals. Sure, sometimes she becomes a bit sick of all the time I put in, but I can understand her perspective. When you come home from a hard day of work, it is probably hard to watch the man you love say goodbye and step out the door, and not return until it is time to go to bed. I am grateful for my family's support, and I always will be.

The sacrifices that are made are tremendous, and the help in my training is without a doubt, incredibly valuable to me. I don't know what I would do without all of the trainers and training partners who have helped me to grow, and continue to help me grow. They can rest assured that I will always let everyone know how much they are appreciated, and how valuable they are to my success.

My path has not been without it's share of failures, and I am not nieve enough to believe that there won't be more. I view these as opportunities to grow and learn how to become a better man and fighter. In my first fight, I took a beating for two minutes before losing via rear-naked-choke. I was busted up badly, my eyes blackened, my lips busted, and my nose broken. I still remember bleeding all night long in my hotel, after I drank myself silly, like an idiot. I didn't quit though, I took it as an opportunity to be motivated, and I have went 5-2 in my time as an amateur, learning every step of the way, through my successes and failures.

When I went to the modern army combatives tournament for the first time, I did very well, making it to the intermediate rules portion, which you could say was more or less the semifinals. One baseball bat choke later, and I was unconsicious for everyone to see. However I pulled through, and came back the next year even better. I made it to the finals against the late Pedro Lacerda, and took one of the worst beatings I have ever taken, losing by triangle choke in the second round. Still, this experience was incredibly motivating, as so many people came through to pat me on the back, as they knew how good Pedro was, and were shocked that I was even able to push him past the first round. I even had a few legit guys tell me that I was, "on my way."

I am looking forward to the many ups and downs this trip has to offer, the near-impossible training sessions where I put my body to the test, and the fights and competitions in front of screaming fans. I am excited and blessed to be doing something that I love, and I hope that I will be able to make a great career of this. Thanks to everyone for their support.