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On June 11th , 2008, I walked into American Revolution Muay Thai and Submission Center eager to learn. I had seen UFC and kickboxing on television and growing up had always thought it would be cool to learn martial arts. The mental toughness, self esteem, and respect that comes with the status of "martial artist" is something very few can experience. On this date, I took the first step towards that goal.....
On June 11th, 2010, exactly two years later, I took on another challenge. You see, training for two years isn't enough anymore. I have benefited physically as many others have from the workouts at AR but now, it's time to take it to the next level.....
On September 11th, 2010, are the North American Muay Thai Championships in Davis, Oklahoma.
Follow me as I go through 90 days of hell in preparation for this single elimination tournament in which some of the best amateur kickboxers from the entire United States compete for the title.
This is my story.
90 Days of Hell
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recent updates first:
AUGUST 27TH 2010: 15 DAYS.....RUNNING MY ASS OFF TODAY. Although my foot is a little sore. Don't know when or how I banged it up but I see some bruising. Oh well pain is temporary.
AUGUST 26TH 2010: It's been 10 days since I've said anything on here. The reason being I didn't know if this journey was gonna have a happy ending. There were doubts that this tournament wasn't gonna happen. The rules state there must be at least 4 in a weight division to make a bracket. We had 3. We emailed with questions and weren't getting much in response. I began to say "screw this", and thought about stopping my fighter training. Luckily yesterday we got word that there is now 4 and maybe more to come. This means we DO have a fight on September 11th!
The training now has gone from intense to insane! Tonight I got my two bottom front teeth kicked inward. YES! I thought they were goners. In the moment with my adrenaline pumping, I straightened them out and they are holding up. My mouth hurts like hell and I've bled alot but I'm a soldier.
AUGUST 16TH 2010: Mondays are usually a little tough to get through but not this Monday! Went by and saw my buddy Rock over at Rocks Discount Vitamins and More. He hooked me up with some BCAA's (Branch Chained Amino Acids) and coupled with some Karbolyn I am definitely feeling the benefits! I felt great all the way the workout.
AUGUST 12TH 2010: Another great day at American Revolution! Lots of drills and some sparring. I've been noticing the amount of new members joining each and every day and it's a great sight to see. I hope this trend continues. I can't explain how this place has changed my life. I think I will get some rest this weekend and be back ready to hit it on Monday.
AUGUST 11TH 2010: Circuit day. Enough said.
AUGUST 10TH 2010: ANOTHER GREAT WORKOUT TODAY! Worked some thai pad work today. Dustin really pushes me. aaaagh...it's exactly what I need. Fundamentals class went well too. Always good to work on basics. Didn't spar today because I want to be cautious towards this knee. It's too close to fight night to suffer another injury. I did put in another 3 miles today after the workout.
AUGUST 9TH 2010: LETS DO IT. A week of ice and hydrocodones have done me well. The swelling has subsided and I feel like it's time to get back at what I missed out on for a week. Great workout today. One month and we'll be in Oklahoma. Time to pick it up. Threw in a 3 mile run after my workout today. Whew!
AUGUST 8TH 2010: RECOVERY
AUGUST 7TH 2010: RECOVERY
AUGUST 6TH 2010: RECOVERY
AUGUST 5TH 2010: RECOVERY
AUGUST 4TH 2010: RECOVERY
AUGUST 3RD 2010: INJURED! My biggest fear hit me today. Literally. I hurt my left leg when I took a kick today! It is swollen and hurts BAD. I'm in pain from my shin to my thigh and can't walk. Wow. What a setback. Will this be it? It can't be. Not this close to my fight! I'm done for the week for sure but I can't go out like this! :(
AUGUST 2ND 2010: BACK IN THE GYM. It's crazy to think my fight is now a little over a month away. So many thoughts and emotions running through my head! How will I do? Am I ready? Today's workout was great but I really think my mind got a tougher workout! Just the uncertainty that comes along with this training and the "unknown".
AUGUST 1ST 2010: REST
JULY 31ST 2010: REST
JULY 30TH 2010: REST
JULY 29TH 2010: Back at American Revolution today. Conditioning was the focus today. Lots of movement incorporating pull ups, shoulder work, leg work, etc. Two hours of "dynamic training" as they like to call it. Conditioning with technique would be what I call it. Great day to sweat and work together with partners. Enjoyed it and look forward to a weekend of rest.
JULY 28TH 2010: I don't know if I was still on a happy trip from the previous day's accomplishments or not, but today was more of a day where I sat back and enjoyed the point to which I have arrived. No sparring today. No pad work. No drills. Just running and thinking.
JULY 27TH 2010: SPARRING DAY! AAAAAAH! No two words have instilled much fear into me more so than those two! Ok as of late this is usually the day where my legs get destroyed and limp out of the gym crying like a little school girl. NOT TOOOODAAAY! :P
I am noticing the front kick and the jab are my two main weapons of choice when fighting. I am now beginning to hit with accuracy on both. I frustrated my 1st sparring partner today and moved very well. Usually after one round with Dustin my legs are done. However, it was his legs that were the red ones today. My next partner was Jarred and I was able to land a 4 hit combo on him. As I heard my instructor yelling from the background "Very nice!", I knew this was a day of change; a day of progress. I was getting it. I was seeing things I hadn't seen before in a fight. This was good. THIS day will be remembered in my training journey as the day I began to "see".
JULY 26TH 2010: ANOTHER WEEK BEGINS TODAY! Not a bad start either. Everything is flowing a little easier. My legs are much improved with the rest I got over the long weekend. Even my conditioning feels as if though it is better too. This is starting to put a smile on my face.
JULY 25TH 2010: OFF
JULY 24TH 2010: OFF
JULY 23RD 2010: OFF
JULY 22ND 2010: After much debate I decided to rest my legs today. There was no way in hell I would've been able to go through another sparring session today.
JULY 21ST 2010: Wobble wobble....I CAN'T WALK! aaaaaah. Made it to the gym anyway. Grunted my way through some full body squats, calf raises, lunges, etc. My legs are killing me. 30 mins on stationary bike too. Time for another pain pill.
JULY 20TH 2010: Back in the gym today! yay! OR NOT! MY LEGS WERE DESTROYED TODAY! ouch! Where's the crying face emoticon on this thing? Too Too many leg kicks. I'M IN SOME PAIN. Both outside areas of my thighs...the inside of my left thigh....the back of my right leg....and my left shin ALL IN PAIN! I don't have that many ice packs to cover all this nonsense.
JULY 19TH 2010: OKAY...I didn't plan this one! I was asked to fill in at a Hooks game for work so it takes me out of training for yet ANOTHER day! Sorry....starting to feel guilty now.
JULY 18TH 2010: OFF :0P
JULY 17TH 2010: OFF :))
JULY 16TH 2010: OFF :)
JULY 15TH 2010: SPRINTS SUCK....RAN A MILLION OF THEM TODAY....HOWEVER, nothing feels better than to connect on a straight jab and watch a guys head snap back. :) I'm starting to experience that great feeling. Up to this point it seemed like I was only on the receiving end of good connecting punches. Things are starting to flow a bit better. My cardio still sucks. As I've said before, work in progress....
Bring on the weekend.
JULY 14TH 2010- Today was cake compared to yesterdays torture. I was walking like a duck from all the leg kicks Mr. Dustin Adams offered up yesterday. Thanks Dustin, there's your shoutout! Worked some thai pads today in advanced class and followed up with some simple combination drills in fundamentals. Not a bad day. Sparring tomorrow....my legs already hurt thinking about it!
JULY 13TH 2010- Best day in a while. It was a conditioning day today. 13 different stations. 45 seconds at each station with 5 seconds rest in between. Can you say "GASSED OUT!" What a great workout! I've made up my mind today to just say "screw it" and fight as hard as possible. Sparring at 80%.... my ass. How about from now on I'm gonna hit the other guy as hard as possible?
JULY 12TH 2010- BACK AT IT! Mondays usually suck because coming off a weekend I'm never prepared to get back into the swing of things. However, today was different. I felt really rested and ready to go hard. Turned out to be a good day. Officially, its 62 days til my match. :)
JULY 11TH 2010- OFF
JULY 10TH 2010- OFF
JULY 9TH 2010- OFF
JULY 8TH 2010- Feeling a bit better today. Maybe it's the weekend approaching or maybe I am just finally feeling the results of all this crazy training. Good sparring day today. Alex hit me with some good shots today. But I also caught him with some kicks....hee hee (see pictures). We're gettin' there!
JULY 7TH 2010- Almost stayed in today. It was a debate going on in my head all day. My legs are bruised up from top to bottom. My ankle/shin is still naggin after two weeks! aaaah. For whatever reason I had that feeling of "quit" today. The feeling where you ask yourself "why am i doing this?".
Eventually convinced myself to get to the gym. Worked some front kicks and knees today. Noticed I still have good power on those front kicks. Hang in there GINO!
JULY 6TH 2010- HERE WE GOOOO! As they say on UFC! Back in the swing of things today after what felt like a million years off. Great workout and some hard sparring goin on! Leg STILL bothersome but not like its been hit with a bat anymore. Gotta keep the ice packs on it and hopefully one day it returns to 100%. Hopefully. Man I took some shots to the legs today. I know its gonna hurt tomorrow.
JULY 5TH 2010- OFF
JULY 4TH 2010- OFF
JULY 3RD 2010- OFF
JULY 2ND 2010- OFF
JULY 1ST 2010- FIRST DAY OF JULY! WILL THIS BE A BETTER MONTH? Hmmm. Sparring again today. This damn leg is a nuisance. I'm reeeeeally thinking this should be rested. With the holiday weekend coming up, I'm thinking about taking some time off. 4 days may be the answer to this leg injury. Ooooor it may be, the demise of this training mission. : /
JUNE 30TH 2010- off for work booooo.
JUNE 29TH 2010- I'M BAAAAACK. :p Went by Rocks today and picked up some supplements. I'm still weighing in at 197 nowadays which is 11 lbs lighter than the last time I was on the Rock plan.
All the cardio is cutting pounds off left and right but the goal is to keep the strength. Got some protein (TRU MASS) creatine (ALL MAX) and a couple of other items. Today also brought me back into the weight room. Aaron Pineda, owner of Flexfit, had some strength training tips for me. I know I'm gonna be sore for this. American Revolution had a good looking class today. Lots of newbies are now entering and its a beautiful thing to see some bright faces ready to learn. We worked on some combinations today, changing elevations within. Good stuff. I've learn its about technique technique technique. Then came sparring...... (tear). Once aaaaagain this stupid right leg is not cooperating.
So I decided not to use it in sparring. You know it's not fun when you don't have a leg to use. I was really disappointed and felt helpless not having my "#1" tool. My right leg is what's gonna f*** people up. Right now, it's f'ing ME up. Even trying to improvise, I looked pathetic. I couldn't focus on sparring because all I kept thinking about was how bad my leg hurt and how I couldn't use it. Back home to ice it. Starting to really think about it. This sux.
JUNE 28TH 2010- OFF......You're probably thinking "did this guy quit already?" Actually today wasn't my decision to take off from training. Work had me at a Hooks pre-game so it took me away from the gym. As you know, work comes before training. Training doesn't pay the bills. Be back at it tomorrow for suuuuuure. We'll see how this leg holds up after the time off.
JUNE 27TH 2010- OFF
JUNE 26TH 2010- OFF
JUNE 25TH 2010- OFF
JUNE 24TH 2010- GOOD TRAINING DAY....BAD DECISION DAY. Everything felt good today. All the conditioning drills were right on. Work on thai pads was excellent. Theeeeen came sparring. : /
My first leg kick sent me hopping in pain. It seems that my damn right leg is still injured two days later. This really sucks. Had to sit and ice it down. (sighs) Holy crap, this isn't fun. I had to show my "in pain" face for the camera. :P A slight exaggeration but still I was hurting. I think it's time to take some days to heal.
JUNE 23RD 2010- Work had me busy today. I had a live broadcast in Kingsville and another in Corpus keeping me out of our advanced training class today. I was only able to make it to fundamentals but it was a great conditioning day. We worked some good drills and had a good sweat going. My leg is still badly bruised so right legged round kicks were out of the question today. Maybe tomorrow....
JUNE 22ND 2010- FLAT OUT ASS KICKING TODAY. Everything started off great. Then we sparred. uuuh not so good. I hurt my leg bad. One of my kicks got "checked" and all I can say is "ouch".
Well I turned my leg inward too much on another leg kick and I badly bruised the outer part of my leg. Then I caught a hook to the face because I was thinking about how bad my leg hurt. What I didn't realize was I had a bloody nose after it was all said and done. Clearly an ass kicking but it's days like these that bring me back to reality. A reality that screams "You're not good enough yet!"
Be back tomorrow for more....
JUNE 21ST 2010- Back in the gym today. It's amazing how you much better you feel on Monday's when you don't down 50 million beers over the weekend. lol. Great workout today. Worked on some lead leg front kicks and rear leg front kicks. Conditioning is improving and the thai pad work went smooth today. Maybe it was the fact that I rested over the weekend. hmmm. For whatever reason today went well.
JUNE 20TH 2010- HAPPY FATHERS DAY! Mowed the grass today. That's about the extent of my physical activity! Back at it tomorrow....can't wait.
JUNE 19TH 2010- It looks like this weekend will be a restful one. I had planned to get some running in this morning before pullin' my weekend shift at hotz95 but my bed and I had other plans. When you have to wakeup each weekday morning at 5am, getting to sleep til 9 is paradise! Cooked some breakfast this morning for Jess and I and watched some fishing show. As I was scanning channels I found that there's a Ultimate Fighter Marathon on Spike! woohoo. It's weird but as I was in the kitchen cooking I found myself shadow boxing! That's crazy. I'm going through blocking and striking without even thinking about it. Glad nobody was watching me in my pj's.
JUNE 18TH 2010 - A DAY OFF! WOOOHOOO! Not really. I have a party to DJ. So technically not off but it does bring some nice rest. My left leg is bruised a bit from taking some leg kicks from Dustin's tree trunks. Also my right shin is bruised from kicking. lol. So I'm finding myself a bit "wobbly" today. All good.
JUNE 17TH 2010 - GREAT DAY! I felt good through many of the combination drills working on changing elevations from head to body and finishing with leg kicks. My body control seems to be getting better. I was able to get some sparring in tonight and it felt good. I'm learning that my height and reach will be an advantage to me. i can land those inside leg kicks fairly easy and my jab feels good. I will continue to utilize my reach and work on some basic blocking. Got to keep those hands uuuup! aaaaah.
JUNE 16TH 2010 -
OH MY GOD....
JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS IN SHAPE A DAY LIKE TODAY! It was a conditioning day at American Revolution. Lots of movement going on. Problem is, I wasn't moving that quickly. lol....
My workout today consisted of 3- (three minute) rounds both on heavy bag and shadow boxing followed by 15 mins of intense cardio drills which moved into a year of circuit training. haha. I say a year because when you're doing it, it feels like a year.
Tough workout but well needed.
At the end of it all, Freddie asked for me to do more thai pad striking. I was very disappointed in the sloppiness and overall fatigue factor I was experiencing. It was like I wanted to move quickly when striking and I wanted to keep my hands up for defensive blocking but my body said..."I'm too tired idiot".
At the end of it all I was ready to hit the shower and say "whoa". This is one of those "reality check" days in which I'm reminded of where I want to be and where I really am. No pictures needed. Be back tomorrow.
JUNE 15TH 2010 -
I was asked to attend the Carroll Tigers Rally this afternoon. Although I am proud of a Corpus Christi team winning state, I was irked that it cut into my training time. lol. Call it selfishness I guess. Nonetheless, I was able to get an hour or so in "the furnace" at American Revolution.
Another 92.3 degrees...
6:30pm- 15 mins intense cardio drills
6:45pm - 7 mins elbows, knees, and footwork drills
6:52pm - Kicks, kicks, and more kicks :) Loved it.
Overall, I feel my conditioning improving. It never fails that whoever my training partner is, they always comment on how strong my kicks are. That's always a good thing to hear. I'm just imagining how strong they might be if I can master the perfect step and hip rotation. whoa. Gonna keep working on that. I was a little disappointed that no other fighters were sparring last night but I understand they have a submission tourney coming up and right now their ground game is what needs the attention. But for the time being, I'll just lie to myself and think they didn't want "some of this". :P All in all, a goooood Tuesday at American Revolution (2033 Airline) 877-2614.
  
JUNE 14TH 2010 -
5pm- 30 mins stationary bike
5:30pm - 15 mins jumprope
5:45pm - 12 mins shadow boxing
6:05pm - One on One combinations with training partner
6:30pm - Conditioning drills - 30 seconds each with 10 seconds rest
a. sprawl burpees
b. 1,2 punches
c. squats
d. non stop jumps
e. flutter kicks
f. toe touch sit ups
g. military push ups
h. wide push ups
REPEAT- sprawl burpees, flutters kicks, toe touch sit ups
Finish with diamond push ups.
Drills Focusing on Technique and Blocking (40 mins) - different elevations, different kicks -leg, body, head.
2 mile Run.
A great way to start this training mission. My conditioning needs lots of work. Its one thing to train and another to train for a fight. The drills we did today were a lesson on keeping my hands up! If you follow UFC, ask Chuck Liddell. He has never seemed to figure that one out. lol. Overall a great day at American Revolution (2033 Airline) 361-877-2614.
 
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