What inspired you to take up mixed martial arts?

[Babycakes]

What inspired you to take up mixed martial arts?

My Answer is pretty simple i wanted to impress people this was a canny few years ago so took part in a event thinking boxing would get me the W how wrong was i i did ok then got taken apart on the ground in the second. Was probs the most humble experience ive had to date fight was pro rules with no elbows on the ground. so after checking gyms out and taking a while to find a place i could call home and feel accepted i bit the Bullet and made friends and took the sponge approach which means at the gym thinking ok all you guys and girl know way more then me but im here to learn anything you teach me i will try practise even when i got home i used to practise on a taken down punch bag in my living room. Its been a Rocky road but im still here trying to improve myself at each chance i get.
Ive accepted im not good enough to be a big name in the uk but now its all about trying to better myself as much as i can and been involved in something i would never have thought i would have the confidence to do.

The wanted to impress others looks silly i know but at least i have the balls to be honest lol. I was 17 with not a clue in the world about the sport only that id seen it on the internet and it looked kool. back then due to be been very badly bullied as a child i felt i had a point to prove which was totally the wrong way to go about it live and learn. That is now long gone now everything i do to do with mma is to better myself and try in any small way i can support others at the gym.

[DOORMANMATT]

As*a child, I was taken in and trained by a champion martial artist, who went so far as to adopt me into his family after the premature death of his own son. Decades later, I was a skilled martial artist myself and a solider in the U.S. Military. Upon the death of my surrogate father and sensei, I entered a mysterious, no-holds barred, highly illegal martial arts tournament in Hong Kong known only as the "kumite." Against direct orders from my military superiors I traveled to Hong Kong to participate and uphold my master's honor. In order to succeed not only did I have to win the tournament; I also had to evade capture by two military police sent to arrest me and and the prying questions of a nosy reporter eager for a story.

I hold a number of world records:

Fastest Punch with a Knockout - .12 seconds Fastest Kick with a Knockout - 72 mph Most Consecutive Knockouts in a Single Tournament - 56. To name but a few....

Try story....

[Babycakes]

As*a child, I was taken in and trained by a champion martial artist, who went so far as to adopt me into his family after the premature death of his own son. Decades later, I was a skilled martial artist myself and a solider in the U.S. Military. Upon the death of my surrogate father and sensei, I entered a mysterious, no-holds barred, highly illegal martial arts tournament in Hong Kong known only as the "kumite." Against direct orders from my military superiors I traveled to Hong Kong to participate and uphold my master's honor. In order to succeed not only did I have to win the tournament; I also had to evade capture by two military police sent to arrest me and and the prying questions of a nosy reporter eager for a story.

lol matt thats pretty funny but was hoping for serious Answers otherwise id have stated i will be one day ufc champion lol. Thanks for the post anyway hopefully we will get others posting so i can compare my journey to others who have achieved things i can only dream.

Reason i dont name myself on here is i enjoy been able to speak my mind without worrying if ive offended somebody as the last thing i want is to not be able to speak my mind incase some hard case takes offence and tries to cause trouble.

[DOORMANMATT]

Lol - I couldn't resist...

True story differs slightly from the above...

As a kid growing up I was always into martial arts. Did Shotokan karate (TASK later CFTS) under sensei Kidby from 8-15yrs old....

I am from Milton Keynes, there was a local fighter always plastered all over the local paper - a modern day samurai; Lee Hasdell. Whilst at Uni I started doorwork and thought best keep training protect my good looks. Trained at SSJ for a couple of years, and fell in love with MMA but more importantly the warrior journey and ventured further a field, training BJJ and a number of other disciplines - unfortunately never mastering any!

2006 fight amateur and went from there.

Like a number of others, didnt understand all the components of the game and upon occasion was supposed to be fed to the lions in most my fights tho with only 1-2 exceptions never lost a 1st rnd... Sadly didn't have gas in the tank to go past that point and as a result didn't always fair well.

Chased the money and was more concerned with fighting pro than actually being ready to and signed myself up for any fight I could independently.
..
In short, altho I faired ok had I have had the commitment to the sport would've faired better.

Now I am 32, back training after a 3yr hiatus from a hobby that never really started and trying to lose the weight to give it one last proper try... From 101kg on 2nd Jan to 95kg today the road back to 82kg lean continues... April I will fight at WW but only if all the stars are aligned and everything is right.

[Babycakes]

Lol - I couldn't resist...

True story differs slightly from the above...

As a kid growing up I was always into martial arts. Did Shotokan karate (TASK later CFTS) under sensei Kidby from 8-15yrs old....

I am from Milton Keynes, there was a local fighter always plastered all over the local paper - a modern day samurai; Lee Hasdell. Trained at SSJ his gym for a couple of years, and fell in love with MMA and then ventured further a field, training BJJ and a number of other disciplines.

Returned from uni resumed training... 2006 fight amateur and went from there.

Like a number of others, didnt understand all the components of the game and upon occasion was supposed to be fed to the lions in most my fights tho with only 1-2 exceptions never lost a 1st rnd... Sadly didn't have gas in the tank to go past that point and as a result didn't always fair well.

Chased the money and was more concerned with fighting pro than actually being ready to and signed myself up for any fight I could independently.
..
In short, altho I faired ok had I have had the commitment to the sport would've faired better.

Now I am 32, back training after a 3yr hiatus from a hobby that never really started and trying to lose the weight to give it one last proper try... From 101kg on 2nd Jan to 95kg today the road back to 82kg lean continues... April I will fight at WW but only if all the stars are aligned and everything is right.

Wow what a really honest humble story you tell of your journey man i dont even know you and i like you. Great post thank you man.And best of luck with your future id buy a ticket to see you right if its not to far away.

[Jza]

I watched the ultimate fighter on Bravo. Was actually a really big fan of Diego, watched it back recently he's very weird.
From there I found an mma gym in my local area and with no previous experience started training.
Not really been the journey I wanted when I started but am back training now after a long hiatus through university and after so may still fight pro one day

[Ralph]

I do agree with Diego when it comes to asparagus tho, only the tips taste nice!

[Evzy]

I saw Teila Tuli at UFC 1 and knew straight away I wanted to be a fighter, the only problem is, I have been eating ever since and am still about 3 stone away from my target weight of 68 stone, I reckon thats the tipping point and once I achieve that weight I will be immune to takedowns, jabs won't reach past my belly and I shall win every match simply by waddling across the cage and smothering the opponent in the folds of my flesh...

Its been a long hard road but I am hoping to achieve my dream within the next year or so, I did suffer a terrible injury recently in that my local pizza place no longer delivers so I have had to supplement with protein shakes and shit to replace the pizza loss

[Ralph]

Protein shakes mixed with shit must taste awful.... you should really switch to a Mutant Mass type product to achieve your target weight and goals!

[Evzy]

No I use cow pats from cows that have been fed McDonalds burgers, it gives the shake a meaty yet nothing like meat at all type taste.