Another trip

Im 6 days away from my next fight and Ive been thinking about all the great places and people Ive trained with for this fight. Im very fortunate to be able to train at different places and get different insight into the fight game. Ive traveled before, but I really went out and worked with a ton of great people for this fight. I figured I would break down the coaches Ive been training with and my insight into each of them and what them brought to the table.

Id like to first list all of the gyms that were nice enough to open their doors for me and were more than friendly and helpful. Erik Paulsons CSW(ca), Millennia Jiu Jitsu(ca), Rodrigo Mederios(ca),Bob Chaney Martial arts(ca) VMAT(ca), SouthwestMMA(az), The Faction(ca), The Lab(az), TAPOUT training Center(nv), Lions Den(az). Each of these places were great and I would highly recommend ANYONE to train at any of these places if in the area.

On to individual coaches

First off, I have to go with the Jedi Master Mr. Bob Chaney. Mr. Chaney is 67yrs young and has truly broken down the stand up portion of fighting to a science. His ability to explain and teach technique is on a different level. Ive been working with Mr. Chaney for a year and truly wish I had met with him much earlier. Personality wise he is like a mix between Mr. Miyagi and Mickey from the Rocky movies. A true character, but also a true martial artist. The guy still puts the gloves on and spars! An inspiration as a martial artist

Rodrigo Mederios: Ive been training with Rodrigo since Ive been in southern California. He has always been a very open person and willing to help with anything. The thing that I find great about Rod is that his movement in BJJ is flawless. Every time I train with him, he uses the EXACT SAME SWEEP on me and it works EVERYTIME. His fundamentals are that advanced. There are plenty of new tricks in BJJ and the game evolves every year. Now Rodrigo evolves with it, but the fact that he has the fundamentals down so well that he STILL catches me, is he essence of BJJ.

Betiss Mansouri: Betiss and Romie Aram are the two people who help me the most at Millennia, but Betiss in particular. He always gives advice and is a great pad holder. He will do it the whole time with a grin. Being around Betiss is great, he makes you work, but also makes you feel comfortable.

Erik Paulson: Erik is an encyclopedia of MMA. He has probably forgotten more about martial arts than I know. He knows everything and is always dropping knowledge. Coach Paulson wants everyone that trains with him to be the best they can be and he is at your disposal to that end.

Jordan & Paula Gravatt. I had done crossfit and some other strength and Conditioning, but going into CrossfitBy Overload changed me. I have to thank the owners and head instructors for that. Now Jordan is an ex marine and is a hard charger. It took him a while to realize with all my other training that I would have to switch things up to make crossfit work for me and he and Paula did. The strength and endurance gains have been great.

Now on to instructors that I visited and assisted me on travels

Shawn Tompkins: Shawn was the head coach when I first started training at Team Quest. I liked Shawn instantly. Coach tompkins makes you work! He has a great grasp of stand up for MMA and he makes it work very well. I went to TAPOUT and trained with Shawn and he was the same great guy with the same go hard work ethic. Coach Tompkins is a great guy and always great to work with(just dont call him Sir, he doesnt like that).

Thom Ortiz: Now Thom is the former head coach of the ASU wrestling program. To say he know wrestling is an understatement. Thom had great insight and really knows how to make wrestling work for MMA. If you have been around someone that is completely in touch with their art(whatever that may be), then you will understand Coach Ortiz. Breaks everything down and explains things very well. I hope to go back and work with him again.

Rob Monroe: Rob walks into the gym wearing board shorts(apparently this is all he wears) and its a good indication of Robs Personality. He is laid back(he's from Hawaii, what do you expect) and a genuine person. Great stand up coach who thinks outside of the box. What I liked about Rob is he is a student of the game and doesnt hold back. Great pad holder and puts it together really well.

Al Fuentes: Now Al is a performance coach. I had him come out to assist me for my last fight and to be honest, going out to train in AZ was centered around Al. His ability to center everything and ensure your on top of your game is just on a different level. Al talks with a very light voice inflection that puts you at ease immediately. Multiple athletes from a multitude of sports come to Al for his expertise and it is well worth it

Now, I worked with a lot of other people and each of them have helped me, but these coaches in particular brought something to my game to bring it to the next level. That doesnt mean that everyone else didnt help and between the coaching and schools there were also a TON of great training partners who are just a responsible for making this a great training camp.