Ymca Buck Tournament: Fill & Download for Free

The accomplishment is really no great feat. I'm only most proud of the accomplishment because everyone said I didn't have a chance of winning the event. I was enrolled in a karate school at the end of my 8th- grade school year. I kind of wanted to learn but I wasn't really that excited about it. I had been in several fights before and I only remember losing one fight, to an opponent that was a senior in high school and I had just started middle school. I wasn't feared by anyone or considered to be a badass, but people knew that I had no reservations about fighting. I truly believe a big percentage of people don't really want to have a physical altercation. If people know that you are not scared to fight they usually won't confront you. I refuse to stand and argue with someone and try to have a battle of wits with comedic put-downs. If someone invades my personal space while we are in the midst of arguing I will throw a punch as soon as they are within striking distance, contrary to what I was taught to do.I fought a kid that was a brown belt in karate before I started training and he wasn't much of a fight either. He did kick a coke out of my hand, instead of intimidating me it pissed me off because it was outside of a movie theater where I had just purchased it from and I paid almost 5 bucks for it. He was upset because I was talking to a girl who he was currently dating. If he would have taken the time to see what was going on he would have seen the girl and I were arguing. I probably would have still gotten into a fight with him. She was telling me that her boyfriend, knew karate and she was going to have him beat me up. He did give me the worst black eye I've ever had still to this day. I started attending the classes 4 nights a week 2 hrs a night. I think I missed maybe 3 classes in 2 and 1/2 years. It took me that long to obtain my black belt. I regularly competed in tournaments and I did fairly well I usually always ended up in the top 3 in (Kumite) fighting and in the top 3 placings in (Kata) formsI wasn't particularly fond of fighting in tournaments, because I got defeated by guys I knew I could beat if I just had enough time to do it in. A guy could do really well in a tournament if he just had a quick backhand strike or above-average speed jab punch. I was an independent competitor also. The majority of the competitors were with big schools and they competed all over the world. It's sad but true politics even have an influence on some of the most unimportant things. I would decide to go and compete within a couple of days prior to the tournament. I had always been a big fan of kickboxing in the 80s. I loved “Bad Brad Hefton” and several other fighters. The sport was pretty nonexistent in my area. The majority of pro kickboxers were just boxers that learned how to kick when I was into the sport. I had never had any boxing training whatsoever. It didn't stop me from signing up to fight in a full-contact final elimination kickboxing tournament though.I told my current instructor about my decision to enter it, and asked him if he would help me because I was fucking clueless on how to prepare for it. He said he would not help me and that I should have consulted with him before I signed anything. I didn't have to pay to attend his school since I had gotten my black belt under him, but I was also teaching his classes, 2 of the 4 nights they were offered for free. I never stepped one foot back into that school after that day. I'm not trying to be arrogant or ungrateful but I could dog walk his ass all over that sparring ring the studio we trained in had anyway. He really couldn't have shown me anything more than what he already had. I started going to the local boys club and YMCA and started watching the boxers and tried to gain some insight that way. The few times I was offered any help it always ended up being could a boxer beat a black belt type of contest.I just started running 6 miles a day about 30 days out from the tournament and trained on the bags. I don't think sparring would have really made a difference. I'm a defensive fighter. You learn to defend against attacks in karate and not to be the attacker. The guys trying to help me wanted me to be the aggressive one but I'm more comfortable countering other people's attacks. I knew that wasn't going to change in 30 days and I knew trying to change my whole way of fighting was going to most likely get me knocked out. I fought 4 fights the night of the contest. I won 3 by way of TKO and one by a KO. I had a guy from a gym in Cincinnati that promoted kickboxing and kickboxers contact me about scheduling a meeting with me, but he lost interest when he found out I was only 17. I didn't have aspirations of winning the first fight honestly. It only ranks so high on my list of accomplishments because I basically trained myself.