Countdown to Training Camp

It's Countdown to Training Camp! On Thursday, I'm off to a Cage Fighting Training Camp in Las Vegas. What? I know it sounds kind of crazy, so let me start back a couple of years.

It was a late night, in early April, 2005. I was watching TV in bed, unable to sleep (that happens a lot when you weigh 400 pounds and can't get comfortable). As I was channel surfing, I came across some kind of weird boxing match. Two kids, Stephan Bonnar and Forest Griffin, were in the middle of a war. They were giving everything they had to a crazy fight. They were both bloody and exhausted, but they fought on. The fight was memorable, and is often called the fight that saved the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. The fight was the finale to Season 1 of a show called the Ultimate Fighter. The show is a reality based show where a group of young fighters compete against each other to become crowned the Ultimate Fighter, and earn a six figure contract in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

In December of 2005, I had my Gastric Bypass surgery. I began to loose weight quickly, and I soon looked kind of sickly. I was melting away, along with any kind of muscle I may have used to have had. Someone who didn't know I had the surgery asked my Son, Rocky, if I had cancer. I was actually starting to feel tired all the time and really felt kind of sick. I decided that it was time to break down and seek professional advice. It was time to find a trainer.

Rocky told me that his buddy Aaron was training in Mixed Martial Arts and Cage Fighting. Now I've know Aaron for years. He's had Thanksgiving with our family, been to our 4th of July bash, and my wife and I had even seen his band, Uzi Suicide, play many times. I asked Rocky if he thought he would be willing to work with me. That question led me to being in the best shape of my life.

When I first started training with Aaron, I wanted to get right to the good stuff. I wanted to get in the cage and kick some tail. The sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) combines boxing, kick-boxing, wrestling, ju-jitsu, muy thai, karate, and judo. I wanted it all right away. Aaron was smart. He made me start with the basics. Conditioning, conditioning, nutrition, and more conditioning. Did I mention he was big on conditioning? After awhile, he started to teach me the basics. We started with some basic striking. Lots of punches, elbows, and even some kicks, but always after basic conditioning.

Fast forward a couple of years. My love of MMA continued to grow, and I was in great shape. Rocky and I were headed to Vegas for Bikefest. I knew that Randy Couture had just opened up a gym in Vegas, so I looked it up on the Internet. It turns out that for a small fee, non-members can purchase a day pass to the gym and take any of their classes. Hey this was right up my alley. Randy Couture was kind of my hero. You see he had been a dominant force in the UFC. He lost a couple of fights, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, and retired. But wait, there's more. Randy got bored, came out of retirement, moved up to the Heavy Weight division and won the Title. He was Heavy Weight Champion of the World and way past 40. The guy was a stud and a hero to everyone, not just those of us with a little grey on top.

While in Vegas, I went to his gym, Xtreme Couture. I signed up to take a striking class. When class started, I looked around. This was a regular class that met every Friday morning. I was the oldest guy in the class by at least 15 years! Now not to brag, but I wasn't the best guy there, but I was a long way from the worst. :-) I came away from that class with the biggest grin on my face. I was kind of sore, but I had so much fun. I talked about that 1 hour class for months!

I continue to monitor the gym's website, and whenever we go to Vegas, I always plan on hitting the gym, even for just a one hour class. I recently noticed that they were going to have a 3 day training camp. I mentioned it to my wife. Wouldn't that be cool. Three days of MMA and nothing to do but train and workout! Well my Wife decided to send me to the three day training camp for my 50th birthday. My birthday isn't until September, but the camp starts on June 19th, and I'm there! Wish me luck!