New to MMA Update

Today I went to the weekly boxing class at TBJJ. I am writing this immediately after class because I want to put down how I feel before I get rested and have a different point of view. When I get rested, I will appreciate today but I realize that if YOU were to join the class, having never trained before, you might very well feel like I feel right now and quit.

So let's address the elephant in the room shall we? Right now I am very tired, my back hurts, my left big toe is out of joint, my neck (having two buldging disks in it) is throbbing, and I now have a new pain in just above my left elbow in the muscle on the back of my arm. Mix in the frustration of my not being able to put a single combination together after 4+ months and you might be able to understand why I might have a bad attitude right now. And yes, I have thought of just dropping the class on more than one occasion, usually on Tuesdays around 12:00 pm. Nervous yet? Thinking of staying away from this class? Are you in a class and considering dropping out? Every felt this way at all? (You are not alone if you said "yes" and if you are smart, you will squash those thoughts right now.)

To top it off, I could see the frustration in Doc's eyes when I didn't get the punches correct, because he and Chris have only tried to teach me these for 4+ months now and I still haven't gotten it right. Talk about embarrassing and having feelings of inadequacy! (Oh, poor me... ever feel that way?)

WHY ON EARTH would I be telling you all this negative stuff if I want you to ever take part in this sport or join TBJJ. Here is why: it is part of it. It is part of the growth process. It hurts, heck yeah, but it never hurts past what you can bear. Doc and Chris make sure of that. And the thoughts of embarrassment and feeling like the trainers are frustrated with me?..... All in my head, I know that. When I reflect back on the day after I recover somewhat, I always come back to one thought: "I did it." I didn't quit today. I stayed in there even though I wanted to crawl back home and get into the fetal position and suck my thumb. 4 months ago I couldn't jump rope for 10 seconds straight. Now I can at least move around for 3 minutes and not pass out! That is a BIG DEAL to me.

Jeff Chambers stayed after class and taught Tony Palmer and myself how to do a few things and Clay Short was kind enough to talk to me on the side about what to do when I pass guard. These two guys are the reason I keep going back. Not just them, but you see... this is the class of guys and gals that are associated with this gym. Never, not once, have I needed instruction or advice or encouragement that there wasn't two or three guys right there just waiting to pick me back up. Doc and Chris are always at the front of the line. I have simply never seen such dedication to the success of "others" like I do here. It is a lifestyle to these people and ego takes a back seat to the success of the guy that needs help.

So after Tony Palmer kicked me in the temple (yeah Tony, it hurt), I was happy to sit right there and continue to learn. We laugh, we run, we joke around, we have fun. Is it work? Yes. Is it worth it? HECK YEAH! So let me say thanks to those people at TBJJ that have been so kind to take a minute or two with me each week. The list is getting long but I will continue to appreciate all of you. If it weren't for you, I would have left a long time ago because TBJJ would be just another gym. Fact is, TBJJ isn't just another gym. Its a family.

Training Tips with Chris Gates #2

Here it is, week two's video with Chris Gates and this weeks professional fighter, Jeremy Kilgore. Now you all know you love them... Yep, we are talking about "Burpee's"! This is a VERY effective exercise and if done consistently, you will see big results fast.

Thanks to Chris and Jeremy for taking the time to do this for FREE. Just another way TBJJ proves they are YOUR MMA team. Oh yeah, special thanks to Jeremy for getting those out of the way for the rest of us in class today. You are a true "giver" Jeremy.

Watch the video here or click on the link to watch it on Youtube and forward it to your friends. Please help us out by asking them to send an email to sign up for the TBJJ newsletter. Then they will get the video directly into their email each week. Send their email address to ken0021@yahoo.com

ISLE OF CAPRI CASINO FIGHTS OCTOBER 17TH

Email:  chiroromano@juno.com

Originally our October fights were scheduled to take place at the Summit in Tupelo.  We were fortunate to receive a call from the Isle of Capri Casino in Lula Mississippi inviting us to move the fights on the 17th to their location.

This presents a unique opportunity for TBJJ and our fighters in that the publicity will no doubt be expanded and the venue is a little larger to say the least.  We are very excited about this date and hope that it leads to bigger and better things for our fighters.

We will be back in Tupelo in the near future and, as usual, it will be exciting for all who attend.

The TBJJ fighters that will be on the card the 17th are:

Darren Hitchcock
Goldman
Jesse Kilgore
Joe Milligan
Jon Price
Cody Floyd (All are subject to change)

From the Amory MMA Gym, Juice Madrid will be on the card as well, so North Mississippi will be we represented all the way around.  We hope that you will consider coming to the fights and supporting your favorite fighter. 

Remember, the young guys as well as the pros depend on your support.  If you know of anyone who needs real positive publicity, tell them they might consider sponsoring a fighter.  These guys are eager to show up and represent their sponsors well so the investment is a no brainer.

We are sorry to report that no one under the age of 21 will be able to attend the Lula event due to casino rules but don't worry, we will be back in Tupelo before you know it.

Joe Milligan WINS Sep 18th Fight in Memphis

Chris Gates texted me a while ago and he is proud to announce that Joe Milligan of TBJJ won his fight on Friday night in a very decisive fashion. According to Chris, the referee stopped the fight in the first round!

We hope to have more details of the fight soon but for now, CONGRATS go out to Joe. I know Joe has worked extremely hard over the past weeks to achieve this goal and it has paid off for him. I am sure little Joe Joe III is very proud of his dad as well! Great job Joe!

After 4 days to think about the fight, Joe was kind enough to share some of his thoughts on the fight. "When the fight started I was real surprised. I had expected the guy to be a stand-up brawler but instead he took me down! I swept him and stayed on top. He went for a foot-lock and exposed his head so I went at it, then took mount. I pounded away, then heard the ref tell him to do something or he is going to stop the fight, so I really went off then! I liked not having to break a sweat, rather than going all 3 rounds and being exhausted!" Joe Milligan

Training Tips with Chris Gates

Well, here we go! We began a new project this week, today to be specific.

Chris Gates will be providing very short, straight forward, simple training tips, which I will be sending out in an email. Now if you know someone who needs to get into shape, or if you have been trying to get them into MMA, this just might be their ticket. The project is designed to give them something different every Friday so they can do that for the upcoming week. It won't be complicated or long so hopefully they won't get frustrated or quit. Those of us that work out already can gain from this because I bet we can all use a refresher course on some of the fundamentals from time to time.

So cut and paste this link and email it to all your friends. Tell them to email me at ken0021@yahoo.com and I will put them on the email list so they can get the tip each week for FREE. Watch it here or on Youtube at the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNJIW378jik

Also, ask them to sign up for this blog. It is pretty easy to do and they will have free access to all the news in North Mississippi MMA that we can gather. Thanks for spreading the word. This is "Your Tupelo BJJ Team"

Life's Challenges from "Mark Romano"

Hello everyone, I hope that this finds each of you doing well. I think
all of us continue to experience life's challenges. These challenges
would mostly consist of the things in life that we really do not want to
do or partake in. The requirement in these circumstances is discipline. I
define discipline as doing the things that you really do not want to do
but are necessary in accomplishing a goal or task. Discipline is a
conditioned response to life's challenges ( which takes discipline to
learn, lol). Discipline is truly a habbit of success people.
    This brings us to the point of life's challenges. These challenges we
face serve a tremendous purpose in the building of human character,
strength, and confidence. They allow for growth and development of the
human spirit. In fact, without these challenges, a person will never know
who they truly are. Without life challenges, relationships would not grow
strong. A life without challenges is a life that never reach its full
potential. Wasted potential is one of the biggest tragedies of our
society.
   Life challenges lead to defining moments in our lives. In these
moments we rise to a higher level of existence. We perform  better and
think clearer than we ever thought we could. Doors open in every aspect
of life. Investing in the health and strength of our bodies truly helps
in the daily challenges of life, as well as, preparing us for those
defining moments. There is no failure when you are committed to
excellence. Your Health, Your Life, Your Choice  my friends!!!
____________________________________________________________

New Cool Project from TBJJ

Within the next two weeks, we hope to begin a weekly email to all the followers of this blog and all the recipients of the TBJJ newsletter which will be an instructional type piece. The idea is to give all of us a workout to do for that week. It will be something different, fun, and best of all, effective.

We are going to try and digitally video Chris Gates and he will be providing instruction and a few words of encouragement each week. This should be far reaching and may be very helpful to some folks that cannot make it to the gym in Tupelo.

So if you know someone that might want to receive the email with the video in it, then email me at ken021@yahoo.com and I will make sure they get it.

New to MMA Update: 5th Month

Well, today marks the 5th month of my venture into the world of MMA. I have met a number of very colorful characters and made a host of new friends. Bear in mind, those people I consider friends may not even know me if I met them on the street but I consider them "my" friends anyway. My previous posts indicate why.

I took my first week off last week since I began this journey. Since my first class with Mark Romano I have rarely missed a day working out at least for a half hour or so and on most days do an hour to and hour and a half. I had to be in Jackson on business last week so I used that and the weather as an excuse to just "loaf". NOT A GOOD IDEA, as you probably know.

To be totally honest, I had become somewhat frustrated with myself and was beginning to feel a little sorry for myself. I noticed that I was using the scales as an indicator as to my success and each time I pass them, I weigh myself. When I started I was right at 200 lbs and two weeks ago had only lost 10 pounds. This was while eating broccoli and oatmeal and drinking water every day. No fattening foods are in my diet except sometimes on the weekend I might have fish or shrimp with my wife but my diet mainly consists of salads, oatmeal and broccoli along with garden vegetables for dinner. I just could not understand why I wasn't dropping weight and actually still don't really; however, I know I am getting in much better shape and have much less daily aches and pains than before.

Here is what happened to me: Of course, I was winded in class today but more importantly, I was very rudely awakened to the fact that my body had gotten used to the exercise and on this past Saturday, my lower back went out. My energy has plummeted and I cannot sleep. Serves me right. I knew better and did it anyway. So when Chris Gates says there is no magic pill he is right and your body will tell you when you start to goof off when you are as old as I am.

I am going to try and attach a couple of photo's for your entertainment since this post might bore some of you; but my point is this. Just don't stop. Don't do it. Hang in there and stay committed. The guys at TBJJ have told me this over and over and they are right. Don't let yourself get depressed over a stupid scale. It will pay off.

The photo's are compliments of Terry Robinson and then Jeremy Kilgore. Terry popped me on the left side of my nose and then Jeremy taught me to jab the correct way when sparring with a left handed fighter by tapping the right side. Somehow I feel that I won't be forgetting today's lessons very soon. LOL

Today's class was great, even if I was the worst one there because of my time off. Guess what, I didn't pass out and didn't feel like I had to quit, so that proves it. All the work so far has been well worth it and it is all thanks to TBJJ. Thanks guys. And Oh, bye the way, I have lost 13 pounds so far as of today.