The MMA road show

Meet Chris "Brandenburg" Biddle

2009-06-09T19:49:00.005-05:00

Chris Biddle is a great guy and he was kind enough to let me harrass him with some silly questions and such. Hope you enjoy getting to know him a little better! You can keep up with Chris at http://www.myspace.com/brandenburgbiddle

Did you study martial arts before you wanted to become an MMA fighter or was it that you wanted to fight so you studied martial arts?

I actually started taking Judo with my son because I thought the discipline would be good for his hyper behavior. He decided to quit shortly but I wanted to continue, so I did. Josh(my fight coach now) saw me and asked if I would be interested in fighting for him to fill in for someone who had to back out. I had 2 weeks to prepare. I won that fight and have been addicted ever since.

Are you children involved in any martial arts?

My kids go to Judo with me sometimes. Especially in the summer. With school it kinda keeps them out too late but they still go occasionally. As they get older, I will let them decide if they want to go or not more often.

What degree is your belt? How long have you been studying?

I am a 2nd brown in Judo and I have been doing it for about 3 years. I study under Eb Keislich at Toshi Dojo of Brandenburg. I am a blue belt under Josh Johnson in ju jitsu. I have been studying ju jitsu for around 2 1/2 years.

What is your current record?

Right now I am 10-2 in MMA as an amateur.

Will be going pro soon? What do you feel is the determining factor to make that transition?

I have had numerous people tell me that I need to turn pro. Even four or five fights ago. But I am patient and trust my coach, Josh, 100% percent in helping me decide when the time is right. I think I'm honing in on that time.

The best way to deal with a loss is to take the lessons from it. What do you feel you have learned from a loss in the cage?

In both of my losses I have become better as a result. In my first loss I learned how important conditioning can be especially when matched up with someone of equal skill and strength. My other loss taught me that mental strength is equally important and focus is a must.

You work with a great school and a strong fight team. What do you do outside of training with the schools for your fight game?

I work on my conditioning mostly at home. I have a 450 tractor tire that I flip, usually for rounds. I also beat it with a sledge hammer. I have a homemade sled that I load with weights and drag around my yard. Running ,which I hate, is also part of my training. I usually use these apparatuses twice a week, or run three miles. This along with my class training is plenty for anyone. Any more and I can get OVER TRAINED, which many are victim to.

You are obviously skilled in BJJ so what do you think your next strength is?

I don't feel that I am really good at any one thing. I feel that I am descent at a wide spectrum of things. Mentally, athletically, standing and ground. They are all part of my game.

MMA may becoming a mainstream sport but we are still a very small circle of people. We understand why we are involved in this world but what do you tell family and friends when they view this as a violent thing?

This is a very real question for me. Most of my family, though they support me, don't want me fighting because they think its violent. But I assure them that I try my best to prepare for it. I tell them about all of the benefits I get from the exercise (especially with my diabetes) and confidence I gain are second to none. Plus if I am getting my ass kicked too bad then the referee will save me. LOL

What do your children think of Dad fighting?

They have never been to one of my fights. Hayden is 9 and Macey is 7. I would not have a problem with them going to watch me fight. Almost all of the fights I have participated in and watched have been really calm with no violent outbreaks in the crowd.( except the one at the Hardin County fairgrounds, woooo, what a night). But my wife Emily feels its a little too early for them to attend and I respect her decision. She is usually right when it comes to stuff like that. They have watched all of my fights on video at home though.

You call yourself Brandenburg Biddle. Have you always lived in the area?

Yes, my whole life. Its a funny story how I got that name stuck to me. The first fight that I had, as I talked about previously, was on really short notice. So when the promoters asked Josh what my last name was, he didn't know. He just told them Chris from Brandenburg. In turn they got mixed up and announced me at my fight as Chris Brandenburg. Hence, Chris "Brandenburg" Biddle. My wife hates it but I told her it has sentimental value. LOL

If someone came to you and wanted to start training to fight. What advice would you give them?

Join a club with the best reputation in your area. Be patient and listen to your coach. Usually they know alot more about the game than you. Have an open mind and develop the whole game. Not just one area of fighting. Take care and listen to your body. If your body is telling you that you need to take a break, then take a break. You will come back better as a result!

At the end of your fight career when you look back what are the accomplishments you want to have achieved?

I want to look back and say that I have done things that most people would be scared to do. It really takes some balls to get in the cage for that first time. It wouldn't hurt if I knew that people thought of me as a bad ass either. Maybe when my daughter gets old enough to date, it will keep the boys in line. LOL

MMA now has fighters that are 50 years old and many fighters fighting into their 40s. Do you think that there is such a thing as too old for this sport?

I once did but there are people changing my opinion about this. Randy Couture, Nogaira, Chuck Liddell. And even myself. I am 34 and I am by far in the best shape of my life!

Besides fighting, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Fishing, hunting, going to my kids ballgames. Anything outside. I know this sounds bad but one of my favorite things to do is SLEEP!

Who are your heroes in life?

My parents, even though I haven't always given them the credit they deserve.

5 silly questions

What is your dream car?
65 fastback Mustang, tubbed and fast as hell!

What is your favorite candy bar?
Watchamacallit. No, that's what its called. LOL

What is your favorite type of music?
All music except Opera. I really like Bluegrass too!

What is your favorite color?
Black

What did you have for breakfast?
6 scrambled eggs, oatmeal, Gatorade

Is there anyone you would like to give a shout out to??

Yeah my wife Emily, my kids Hayden and Macey, all my family and all my friends I train with. Thanks for the support and being there for me.

Dan gets sworn in!!!

2009-06-03T23:56:00.004-05:00

Lord help me and my habitual speeding because my husband is now a cop and he will enjoy giving me ticket after ticket after ticket.........

Dan was sworn in the other day. They had to special order his uniforms so he didn't have them for the event. I am excited for him because this is something he has always been interested in. I envy the people that started their job at 18 and have been there for 20+ years. Dan and I are not those people even though we have tried most of our lives to be. I tell him to embrace the way we are and see where our interests lead us! We are more than likely never going to be financially wealthy so we might as well make up for it in happiness and experience! :p I can't wait to see him in his uniform woooo whooo :P

I also threw in a few pics of the puppies since it has been a bit lol Please click on photo to enlarge it!

Seminar at Etown BJJ

2009-06-02T09:22:00.006-05:00

As I am sure by now everyone know Josh Johnson is a good friend of ours. The day after Hardrock and Vanessa's fights he had Dan over for a seminar. It is always fun and the guys(and women) are always a riot!
PureFight.com has part of the seminar on video, a great interview with Josh and a tour of Josh's school. It is under Etown Gym Tour. Anyone in the Kentucky area or may be flying into Louisville should stop by and check it out!! etownbjj.com

As always click the pics to enlarge :P

Saturday night at the fights

2009-05-27T09:58:00.015-05:00

Several years ago(wow, it seems weird to say several)Dan went down into the bowels of Kentucky to corner a guy who had just started taking classes. It will be remembered as one of the best nights of our lives because it was the beginning of wonderful friendships with a great group of people.....even if they were from Kentucky!! HaHa

One of those characters was Hardrock. He has completely endeared himself to our hearts and we are lucky to call him friend. Hardrock and his new bride Vanessa have a fight organization that puts on fights in Kentucky and we went down on Saturday night to hang out and Dan reffed. As always, it was a blast!! You can check out the schedule at hardroc kfights.com You can also check out all of the videos of the fights on purefight.org As always if you want to see a bigger picture, just click on it :P

Hardrock and Vanessa (btw Vanessa fights as well)

This is Josh Johnson and team getting ready for the fights that night.

The quiet before the storm

The next are random pics of the night. I am NOT a photographer and I didn't take a lot of the fights but more of the people at the fights LOL If you want copies of the orginal sizes, email me kyriamac@yahoo.com

BREAKFAST :) At Denny's!!!

My friend, Evan.

2009-05-23T04:04:00.008-05:00

At his fight in Columbus with the first Team Tanner shirts on.
Training at Integrated on his visit to Indiana

This picture with the look on his face is one of my favorite pics of him.

I wish that I had an inspiring Evan Tanner story like so many of those I have read over the last few years but I don’t. My Evan story is just about a friendship not unlike any other friendship between two people. It is a story that I need to tell but I have been reluctant. I think somehow I feel by telling my story I will lose the last part of him that I have been desperately hanging onto. The truth is Evan is gone from this earth but he will never be forgotten by those of us who loved him and those of you who love to tell tales or read of his adventures.

I met Dan many moons ago and had no idea this thing called MMA would someday become my life. I had even been to fights but had no idea what I was watching lol On my first trip to Albuquerque I bugged Dan to let me watch a fight. He relented and put in a VHS (tells you how long ago that was)of a UFC fight. It showed the entrance of two fighters and one fighter kept my attention. I was and I hate to say it mesmerized by his intenseness. In fact I was almost frightened by him. Here was this intense man with crazy hair and a determination that demanded respected immediately. I watched the fight and within the rounds of that fight, I not unlike so many others began my love affair with Mixed Martial Arts which would soon lead to a marriage of it(not to Dan but to the sport haha).

Let’s fast forward to the age of Myspace. I started a profile on the demand of a friend and paid no attention to it. It was an alien world and I am a creature of habit. Finally, I was bullied into working on my profile and building my friends list. I belong to a great group on a forum so they were the people who I began with and searched through their friends list to build my own. One day skimming a list I saw him. There was that scary, intense man who was the fighter in the first UFC fight I had watched. Here was the beginning of my love affair with this sport. I have never been one to be a “fan” or at least not a very dedicated one. The best I had ever been was an Andre Agassi poster on my wall in college and a Cannon Snappy for a Christmas gift the same year. I decided to send Evan Tanner a letter and tell him about my first fight and my life now in the MMA world. Much to my surprise, Evan returned my email. This was the beginning of many, many emails and a collaboration of ideas, thoughts and laughter. We went on emailing for months and getting to know about each other’s lives until I mentioned going to Dan’s UFC fight in Vegas and he mentioned meeting. It was set and we were going to meet. I was at the weigh ins and there he was. I heard someone yelling what appeared to be similar to my name(and with my name you get used to answering to close to anything) and then a whole group of guys yelling my name. I look over and there he was with his shit eating grin and I just started laughing. (A funny note is that Evan refused to pronounce my name as I do. He said I didn’t pronounce it phonetically correct and he was going to do so. In all of the years we we were friends not once did he say my name as it is.) I met up with my friend Lara after the weigh in and she took a picture of us. I wish I had taken a million pictures. Over the next few years there were chances to take more but I guess I thought there would be years of chances and I was sadly wrong.

We went back to our lives after that weekend and he went on to win his fight the next weekend. He didn’t seem as happy as I thought he would be. He was unsettled and he said he was taking a break. What a break he took haha Evan’s next journey was one crazy ride. I am a worrier by nature and those of you who know Evan know he isn’t one to have people close to him for long periods of time. People have always flowed in and out of his life. I was fortunate that he was patient with me lol I wouldn’t worry but then I would read something or a few weeks would go by and I would email demanding proof he was still alive. He would always respond by email or a drunk phone call in the middle of the night. I knew he had to find his own way and I was an ear when he needed it and a voice of reason even sometimes when he didn’t.

Dan and I became pregnant and I asked Dan if it would be ok if we named the baby boy after Evan. It had double the meaning. The pregnancy was rough and I also wanted to honor my friend. The Celtic meaning of Evan is young warrior and with all of the trouble that I had during this pregnancy the baby growing inside me was a warrior to live as long as he did. Evan was thrilled to have a namesake! He loved kids and so often talked of having his own. I know everyone saw Evan differently and in spite of his struggles and his demons he had something valuable to pass on to the world and I believed our son could learn so much from a man like him. The pregnancy did not go full term. I was so very devastated but I think Evan took it harder than Dan or I did. He said our Evan gave him hope for a future family of his own and he really wanted that for himself one day.

Our friendship forged ahead and one day he left me a message with his “project voice“. He spoke a certain way when he wanted to turn an idea or a dream into a reality. He decided he was going to make his house in Oregon into a fighter’s refuge. He wanted our help. I don’t know that people had the ability to deny Evan so ahead we went. We found sponsors and a lawyer to help with the details and started laying the ground work. Evan was somewhat impatient and jumped ahead and the outcome was not what anyone expected lol He tried to pull away after the failed project and he wrote me this email about how he let me down and he wished he wouldn’t have brought me into his chaos and on and on. I was always straight with Evan and I told him he messed up but that’s when you need your friends. They help you clean up the mess and once things are ok again they make fun of you for it and I did make fun of him for it lol There were other ideas and other projects he would think of and send emails and I’d get phone calls. And then one day we started talking about his lack of enthusiasm for the marketing world and the idea of being sponsored solely by the people who supported him the most was conceved. Evan had a huge following on myspace. He personally wrote back to the people who emailed him and he had started his blogging and he wanted these people to be a real part of what he was doing. I thought it was an incredible idea. He asked if I would help and I said I would do whatever I could. I was not in the best of places in my life so I said I didn’t know how much I could actually do but if he needed me I’d do whatever.

Team Tanner began. Evan had asked someone else to head Team Tanner for him and the beginning stages started. Evan was very protective of his name and his image or at least when other people represented him HaHa He did not agree with the way the other person was handling things even though I am sure he was doing a good job it just wasn’t EXACTLY what Evan wanted. He asked me if I would step up and help. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I would never change it for the world. We didn’t have a clear concept so we not only had to set that but it had to satisfy Evan. Everyone who has met, been friends with, read his blogs or watched his fight has a perception of Evan Tanner. I know he is an inspiration and a hero to many, many people and it is deserved but he was also a complete pain in the ass! He was difficult to please and to this day I will never understand how I achieved that most of the time or we didn’t end up strangling each other through the process of Team Tanner. He would want things one way one day and then completely change things around the next. I got dizzy trying to keep up. I believed in Evan and Team Tanner and there was no way I was going to give up on it so there were plenty of rough bumps on the road. Team Tanner began to mean as much to me as it did Evan. I put a lot of myself and my energy into it and the reward was unbelievable.

The first t-shirt was created and we had no idea what we were doing so it was decided that I would ship them from my house. My house seriously became a warehouse. There were t-shirts, envelopes and stuff everywhere. People would send me their money orders and info, I would mail out the shirts, email Evan the info, he would mail out the autographed items and once a week I would mail him the money orders. I don’t remember why he hesitated about Paypal but finally he decided to go with it. I still mailed the t-shirts from my house though. It was a crazy mess but those months in the beginning stages of Team Tanner and the people who joined are forever etched in my heart. We all believed in the same thing and we all came together to support Evan. It was truly magic. I loved the next shirts (the Believe ones) and as much as it was a relief to warehouse the shirts through someone else I missed the craziness and I felt some of the original magic was somehow lost. There were still tons of emails but the bond with the first members of Team Tanner is something I will always be grateful for.

Evan’s first loss was hard but with it being his first fight back it was understandable. I didn’t talk to him after but Dan did and I knew he was taking it hard. I didn’t want to smother him (a tendency I have when people are hurting)so I just left him a message and told him to call when he was ready. The next night the phone rang and life went on. He did a few crazy things in the next few weeks and I couldn’t believe the response. Evan spent a week in a casino spending about $200 and not once picking up a drink and he was getting hate mail. People were acting like he was squandering their own money. I know that people sent money in to support Evan but I also know how much it was and the money sent didn’t even cover the cost of the postage to get the shirts out let alone the shirts themselves. He would be upset that I am saying that but it is the truth and I think people who sent those emails should know it. It broke my heart to read those emails and for the first time in my life my faith in people was shaken. It was heartbreaking. I fought back and Evan got angry at me for the first time. He kept saying if they don’t understand there is no way I can make them so I was fighting a losing battle. He kept me from sending some replies by making him let him read them first and there were a few times that I returned the favor. He loved the contact with people but there were times he was completely overwhelmed by it. I can’t say that he ever really understood what people saw in him. He would actually get upset sometimes about someone saying he was a hero to them. I think he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to live up to their expectations.

In preparation for Evan’s second fight, Evan dedicated himself to his training. I was very proud of him but something about Evan was wrong. Evan came here to Indiana to do a guest appearance for a friend of ours show. He and I were in the backseat of our friend’s vehicle and it made me sad to look at him. He looked small sitting there and something was just out of place. The Evan that I knew, that I had met didn’t seem to be inside the person I was sitting next to now. I felt this urge that he needed to be taken care of and in all of the time we were friends I never felt that tug before. Later when he would lose the second fight and then find out about his medical condition I knew I had been right about what I felt that day. I now feel guilt because may be I should have tried to force him to take care of things before his next fight but the part of me that knows Evan knows I nor anyone else could make Evan do anything that wasn’t his idea. He thought he could cure it himself with something herbal he was taking even though he didn’t really know what it was. Evan was humble in a lot of ways but his ego was also very stubborn and many times it hurt him in the long run to be this way. You didn’t question his decisions or most people didn’t anyway without being cut out of his life. I questioned a lot of his decisions and this was one of them. He was angry with me for it but he knew I was sincere in my concern so he at least allowed me to put it out there that it might have been something that couldn’t be cured without medication.

Dan and I went to Evan’s fight against Kendall. He looked great and he sounded confident so my fears subsided or at least until he was in the cage. I have seen a lot of fights but by I had to force myself to watch this fight. We were in the front row just a few feet from him and I was watching my friend lose something he had fought so hard to win and I don’t mean once he was in the cage but his journey to get him in it. I was so proud of his heart. He took a beating and wasn’t going to give up but it was painful to watch. We were all together after his fight and he was trying to be gracious to everyone. He kept saying that he just didn’t have the energy to do what he needed to. He had worked his ass off for this and something kept him from doing what he needed to do. It was a hard loss but the gain was that he was finally willing to find out what was wrong…..and he did. It was a hard lesson but I was proud of him for learning it.

Evan moved to Oceanside and he was happy. I could tell it in his voice and he was working on getting healthy. He was even interested in a relationship for the first time in as long as I can remember him mentioning it. We talked a lot about my marriage and the struggles within it and what we did to overcome them and even why we wanted to bother to overcome them. He had seen this woman on tv and something about her struck him. He searched her out on the Internet and even sent me a video on her. He said wanted to get his life in order so he would have something to give someone and build a family. I often wonder if she received his email and if she did if she knew what had become of Evan. I have only told a few people about her but I want people to understand that when he went off into the desert he had plans for his future and it wasn’t a mission of death. I wanted to contact her myself just to see if she got his email but in my mind it was be a disservice to her because she missed out on knowing someone very special.

The camping trip. Our actual phone conversations were few and far between while he was preparing and we relied more on text messages. The night before he left he started talking about people and how he wanted to get away for awhile, get his head clear and come back refocused. He had said a lot of people annoy him and I said I had no idea how he stayed my friend as long as he had because I am annoying and in Evan’s humor he said “You are great in small doses” He was constantly teasing me and seeing if he could stir me up. He succeeded many times and we had our rounds….boy did we! I can honestly tell you that there were many times that I thought I had enough and was going to tell him to go to hell. He would be so difficult and I was get to frustrated with him and then he would send me some email or text about how he was an asshole and he wasn’t sorry for it but that he knew he was and thank you for putting up with him. UGH!! He had a knack for knowing just when I was going to throttle him and would completely take the fun out of it.

Our last phone conversation was a fluke. I had received a package back that he had sent out to one of the Team Tanner members and I knew he had left for his trip so I thought I would call and leave him a message. He answered my call and I don’t know which one of us was more shocked. He said he couldn’t believe his phone had signal where he was. We talked about the item and he said just to wait until he got back. We started talking about the trip and he began to tell me about the things he was going to do once he got back. He was ready to start the rest of his life. He mentioned going back to town the next day and we chatted on for a bit. My phone started to die and I would now give anything to have just plugged it in. At the end of our conversation a strange pull to tell him that I loved him happened but of course I didn’t because I knew the horrible teasing I would get for that. We got read yto say our good bye’s and he teased me that this may be the last time I ever talk to him. He was enjoying torturing me and I was like great now I will worry but the funny thing is that I wasn’t worried a bit….me the worrier!! I was the last person to talk to Evan alive.

The phone rang and rang and it was people who had heard Evan was missing and even the police. I thought people were over reacting. I knew he wanted to get away and I thought about how pissed or how amused he was going to be when he got back and heard of all of the commotion. I really didn’t worry at first. Finally I sent a text message and no response. His voicemail was full. I reassured all that called that he was fine and he would resurface at some point and make fun of all of us. I was talking to a very nice detective and I wish that I would have saved his phone number to thank him. He couldn’t tell me anything because I wasn’t family but he knew that I had been the last person to talk to Evan and I wasn’t sure how he knew that until he said he was sorry he couldn’t tell me anything until he spoke with a member of Evan’s family first. I knew it then and it felt like someone grabbed my heart and ripped it from my chest. I couldn’t speak and my reaction must have been so terrifying that the poor officer asked if I needed a suicide hotline number. He promised that he would call me back as soon as he could and he did. He spoke to Evan’s brother Jeff and he called me back but he knew he didn’t have to say anything except that he was sorry. He was on the phone with me when Evan’s friend Brent beeped in and he was going calling to tell me. The days that followed are a blur. All of us that really knew Evan weren’t really worried about him being in the desert and I think we were all in shock. I would jump every time my text message would go off(and a lot of you know how many I get in a day!) and before I would look I would pray that it was from him saying Gotcha! I wanted so badly for this to be some cruel joke he was playing on us. Evan’s death left a huge hole that can never be filled. My heart still aches every day and I still cry every single day because I miss him. I keep thinking as the days go by it will get better but somehow it seems to get harder. I have become friends with his brother Jeff and it has helped a lot. I am grateful for those as close to Evan as I was because we all seem to still be reeling from everything. GB, Ian and Alan and the Team Tanner members make the pain a little more bearable by being the wonderful people that they are. My husband has been more understanding than any man should ever be expected to be. I grieve the loss of another man and he sees my tears more often than not and he allows me the freedom to grieve without jealousy or resentment that they are for another man that wasn’t him. He understood that I loved Evan as my friend and because of that he loved Evan as his friend too. People often think I met Evan through Dan and in a way that is true but they did not actually meet in person until Evan’s comeback fight in Columbus. I hate that the one picture I have of them together is not a good picture and yet another regret that I didn’t take hundreds and hundreds of pictures.

The inspiration that I have gotten from Evan being in my life does not come from just Evan himself. He was a good friend to me and I know he would have done anything he could of to help me out if I would have needed it but it was the people who cared about him that was so incredible. By Evan allowing me to be a part of his life and a part of Team Tanner I got to witness some amazing stories of courage and strength not just from Evan and his blogs but from the people who wrote to us through Team Tanner. The fact that people believed in someone and was inspired to change their lives by reading about Evan’s struggles and challenges was a gift that is beyond anything anyone could ever begin to explain. People sent in their own stories of struggles and of how they beat their demons. People opened up their lives and showed us inside their weaknesses and that in itself takes enormous courage. I was disheartened and my faith weakened by people when they attacked him by showing his weaknesses but after he was gone the outpouring of grief by people restored a lot of it because then I knew so many people saw what I saw and believed as I believed. Evan’s death truly rocked people to their core and I know this because I was one of them. I know that there are many people out there still trying to find a way to come to terms with the fact that he is gone and I know this because I am one of them. I wish I had words to help heal not only myself but so many of you who feel the way I do. I have gotten to know many people who he was friends with and everyone knew a different Evan and everyone has a different Evan story. I believe that Evan’s message will live on in each of us and his stories will be lessons not just for us but for people who will be here well after we are gone. I know that my story will not inspire anyone but I thank you for allowing me to tell it. This is my Evan Tanner story about a man who was simply my friend and I loved him.

-Proud Member of Team Tanner

WAR TANNER

The Believe Tshirt

Shane's Evan story.

http://silverladder.com/blog/?p=20

Good day!

2009-05-23T00:28:00.000-05:00

Today when I was pulling clothes off of the line and letting the puppies run amuck in the back yard, a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. I don’t know if that happens to anyone else but moments like these happen for me now and again. It hit me today how very blessed I am. I try to be grateful every day for my life and show those in my life how much I appreciate them but for some reason today the simple fact that I am able to take care of my family……even have a family and friends and ones that love and support me like mine to really humbled me to the core. I am home taking care of my family, Dan is teaching his class and Kailee is out being 15 and I have two monster puppies biting my toes and I can’t recall a time in my life when I was happier than I was at that very moment.

I haven’t always been the best person I could be. I have hurt people along the way of becoming the person that I am. I do think there were times in my life where I could have handled things better than I did but I made mistakes and I wish I could take back any pain I caused anyone but I can’t regret too much or I wouldn’t be who I am today. It is a sad fact that most of life’s lessons are learned the hard way through rough and sometimes bad choices but they weren’t joking when they said life isn’t easy.

Life is filled with big moments, getting your license, graduating school, getting married(I should know I have had several “big moments” lol), buying your first home, having children and those are things that you will always remember and feel proud of. I, however, really love the little moments like watching the puppies play, having my husband kiss me on my forehead when he comes home from class and getting a goodnight hug and kiss from my daughter before she goes to bed(or to her room to talk to her boyfriend until wee hours of the morning).

My friends are a huge part of my life and that is how it has been for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I loved having hundreds of friends and going and doing all of the time. A few years ago I reevaluated my life and formed my close inner circle. I had so many friends and not all of them were really what a person should call friends. I weeded out what needed to be and what I have found is the most amazing, incredible people who have been an invaluable support in my life. I thought I would miss the constant of so many people but the quality in my life has grown so immensely that I can’t imagine it any other way now.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that contribute to the blessings in my life and you know who you are J Thank you for loving me despite my quirks and flaws. I am so blessed to be where I am in my life and to have the life that I have. Thank you!

Meet the new Christison, Coal

2009-05-22T16:09:00.008-05:00

You can click on pics to enlarge them.

Over a week ago I found a puppy coming across 12th street(Hwy 66)in Tell City, Indiana. He was almost hit three times in just a few minutes. I knew he wasn't going to last long so I put him in my car and brought him home. I made flyers, contact the local vets and the Perry County Animal Shelter. We didn't dare name him because I kept thinking someone would claim him. No one did. It's been over a week and he has found his home. He and Avery are two completely different dogs in looks and nature but both are really good puppies! They have a blast together!! So.....Coal is added to the pack. Dan named this one lol Daddy and the puppies playing :P They submit him by licking him too death haha

The puppies finally wore down :)

2009-05-14T17:57:00.005-05:00

Happy Mother’s Day…..a few days late! For me the day was much more than being appreciated for being a mother but it was about appreciating the simple fact that I have been blessed by those who love me to give me the ability to be a mother.

It was a beautiful day and we were at my mom and dad’s house. My niece, Athea was “helping” my mom plant her flowers that she was given for Mother’s Day and we were all enjoying the sun. I sat there with my mom and my sister chatting and paying attention to Athea when she demanded it. Dan, my dad and Don sat around the corner on the drive way talking and playing with Avery. Typical family event, women and men divided lol

The day reminded me of how lucky I truly am to have the life and the family that I was blessed with. I find it ironic that I can consider them a blessing in my life when the majority of my life I thought they were solely put on earth just to ruin my life beyond recognition. Here is my mother whose role here on earth was to do everything in her power to make my life a living hell and my sister whose sheer existence marked the beginning of the end of my charmed life. The fights, the screaming matches, the wars that the three of us had between us are now funny stories that we tell and laugh about together. Life isn’t always easy nor is it meant to be but how fortunate am I to have these two women……… who I know can argue for hours or make you so ashamed of something you did that you want to cry or terrify you into doing something just because they said so and who I know can throw anything within grabbing distance at you and hit you in motion or bring you to the brink of death with a flyswatter……….. be on my side and to have my back when I need it. Who knew!

And for all of the things that I want for my daughter, this is the one that I pray for the most. I pray that someday the sheer awe of understanding will humble her to appreciate her life and what she has instead of regretting what it wasn‘t.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day!!

Team WARHAMMER

2009-05-05T01:21:00.005-05:00

Saturday after training at Integrated we headed up to Muncie to work with Matt and a few of his guys from his fight team Team Warhammer. If you are in the Muncie area and are interested in training with Matt and his team, please contact missy@ironwarriorfights.com She can set you up with class times, prices, etc.

The pics were taken by Cassie!!! There were too many to fit on the blog so you can check them
out at http://photobucket.com/teamwarhammer

Hermes Franca Seminar hosted by Josh Johnson

2009-05-02T01:46:00.033-05:00

Hermes, Josh, Scott Porter & Dan

Hermes, Ethan and Dan

It is a regular Thursday night and while most moms/wives are getting ready to make/eat dinner, watch Grey’s Anatomy and settle in for the evening I am in my car driving to Bowling Green, Kentucky for a Hermes Franca MMA Seminar. HaHa

The seminar was great and Hermes is a very dynamic instructor. If you are looking for a good mix of MMA and BJJ in a seminar you should look into bringing Hermes into your school. Hermes has this booming voice that demands attention and he spent enough time on each move so you could learn but not too much time that you got bored with the repetition. Dan and Ethan Coghill (who is from The Sandbox) both had a great time!

Hermes is working on his website www.hermesfranca.com He is also on myspace www.myspace.com/hermesbtt or become a fan on Facebook www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?sid=7d10953c3e0a7434faaf3b5b88c64d05&gid=54663527933&r ef=search

Our good friend, Josh Johnson, hosted the seminar. Josh owns the school in Bowling Green and one in Elizabethtown Kentucky. He is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt under Luiz Palhares who is a 6th degree black belt under Rickson Gracie. Josh also holds his black belt in Judo. He has a great group of guys who train and fight under him. Josh expects his fighters to be respectful and professional and that in itself tells you that he and his guys are true martial artists. You can find out more about Josh and his schools at www.etownbjj.com You can add them as your friend on myspace at www.myspace.com/etownbeatdownbjj

Also, I couldn’t fit all of the pics on here from the seminar so feel free to go to The Sandbox’s Photobucket to check them out and download any that you like! www.photobucket.com/HermesFranca Hermes working with Ethan in the next pic and the last two are Dan and Scott.

Ian Dawe, MMA Fighter.....among many other things!

2009-05-01T00:16:00.008-05:00

Part of the reason I started this blog was to support our friends and the people we work with. I sort of got off track and obsessed with my puppy haha BUT in my defense he is really cute! I am going to try to get back on track and only a bit here and there about the puppy….no promises!

Ian Dawe was kind enough to allow me to ask him a few random questions and give you a little insight into who he is. I met Ian through our mutual friend Evan Tanner. Evan thought a lot of Ian and after getting to know Ian better I can see why. He is intense like Evan was and they have similarities like brothers as much as friends . There are some people that just have a special spark and I saw that in Evan and I see that in Ian as well. I hope you enjoy the question and answer and getting a little insight into Ian and his world. You can follow him and his blog at www.iandawe.com Ian is much more eloquent in his blogging than I am so I am sure every post will be an enjoyable read.

How old were you when you started fight training?

I have been getting beaten up by my twin and older brother for as long as I can remember, but... I would say that my formal fight, or MMA training started when I was roughly 18.

What attracted you to fighting?

For one reason or another I have always felt like professional competition (MMA) was something I needed to experience. Just like writing, it is impossible to lie to yourself when you are locked in a cage or ring with an opponent trained to defeat you.
If you are a liar or a quitter, it will show.
If you are determined and have heart, that will show too.

What type of fighter do you consider yourself?

I would consider myself to be a jack-of-all trades (and am working diligently on perfecting all disciplines). I consider my heart and conditioning to be my greatest assets.

How often do you fight?

When I first got into MMA I was fighting every six months. I would have liked to be more active but I knew that in order for me to compete with the elite guys at this level I needed to pay my dues and put more time into training.
I took some time off from the sport for personal reasons but am happy to say that there are some big things coming up in the next couple months.

How often would you like to fight?

I would like to fight 4-6 times this year.

What would be your dream fight contract?

My goal has always been to fight in Asia. Any contract that allows me to do so would be a dream come true.

Is winning everything?

To be completely honest, losing sucks… it is one of the loneliest feelings I have had the pleasure of experiencing haha. Having said that, I don’t really care about winning or losing, winning definitely isn’t everything. I think if you ask any fighter, they will tell you that they have learned more from their losses than their victories.
My goal is to fight the toughest guys out there and put on a good show, win or lose.

You lived and trained with Evan Tanner and I know that he believed in you (as a person and) as a fighter. Does having someone who has seen the success that Evan had in his career help you believe in yourself as a fighter when you have doubts?

Evans friendship had such a positive impact on my personal and professional life. Evan helped me reach new heights and was always there for me when I needed advice or just someone to listen to.
Evan flew all the way from Oceanside to Gatineau to corner me for my last fight… words cannot express how much that meant to me. Having a man like Evan in your corner is incredibly motivating and inspiring.

You know how Evans death affected people because you were in contact with so many people who cared about him so through your own experience is there anything you would like to say to may be help them feel less of a loss?

I miss Evan every day.
The only thing I could say that may bring some relief to those in mourning is... believe. Evan lived his life by his own terms and was his own man. He felt a deep connection to his past-lives and his path.
There is no doubt in my heart or mind that he is with us.

As far as your fighting do you think one day your fight life will be over or would you like to facilitate your fight career into something else in the fight world?

I have always been interested in teaching. The thought of being able to foster growth is extremely appealing to me… maybe one day later on down the line if my career goes the way I think it will I will open my own gym.

As you can see my blog is full of stories of our new puppy, do you have animals? If so, what kind. If not, do you like animals and if so, what kind?

Growing up in a family of ‘cat people’, we always had a cat or two at home. I don’t have any pets at the moment but I would to adopt an English bulldog.

When did you start blogging and why?

I have been writing for as long as I can remember. However, I only started blogging after living with Evan Tanner. The connection Evan had with his fans through his blogs was amazing.
I also viewed blogging as a great way for me to stay motivated and on track. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself I were to publicly state that I was training like an animal and not doing so.

Do you ever consider what other people think about what you wrote before you post it or are you free of peoples opinion and just hit post?

For the most part I write from my heart and don’t worry too much about what people will think before I hit post. However, I constantly edit my blogs before I post them and have a huge collection of writings that I have never posted… I am not sure what will come of those entries, if anything.

Those of us who are absorbed into this sport still need an escape from time to time. What is yours?

Training two or three times a day five or six days a week is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. Although I love the sport and training, most of my free time is spent reading or writing. I rarely watch MMA unless a friend, training partner, or potential opponent is fighting.
I am also an Internet junkie and food network buff.

I remember being 25 and thinking about where I wanted to be at the age I am now. It didn’t quite happen like I had planned lol Do you have a life plan or are you just a take life as it comes?

I think I have always had a rough idea of the way my life would pan out, but for the most part I try to take things as they are presented to me and live on a day- to- day basis.

In your mind, how old do you feel?

Another tough question… The easiest way to answer that would be to say that I feel like a 25 year old who has experienced a lifetime of emotion.

You seem like a very deep and thoughtful person to me but how do you see yourself?

This is an extremely tough question for me to answer. I would like to think that I am a thoughtful, rational, and caring person… but the truth is that I often feel like an overly emotional, spontaneous and somewhat reckless human being looking for his place in this world.

Tell us something about yourself that you would like everyone to know about Ian Dawe.

I am generally a shy person and dislike confrontation. I don’t think I have ever sent back a wrong order at a restaurant in my life. I am also a complete germaphobe and somewhat OCD.

You have a lot of meaningful tattoos at such a young age so will you continue to tattoo moments of your life on your body and what happens once you have run out of space?

Thank you. Recording my story has been something I have always felt compelled to do. Tattooing myself seemed like a logical transition from writing to me. I don’t think that I will ever run out of space, but… I would not be disappointed if I did because that would only reflect an abundance of adventure in my life.

I know sometimes the fight fans can sometimes interesting and sometimes rather bizarre. What is your most interesting or bizarre fan story so far?

Luckily I don’t have too many bizarre fan stories…
I consider the majority of my fans to be friends and am ever grateful of their support.
Every now and then I have a run in with someone who follows my blog and am shocked at how much this ‘stranger’ knows about me… then I remember I that I post most of my feelings and day-to-day life online and I feel like the weird one haha.

Again, thanks to Ian for being so open and kind to answer my questions.

Aric's next profession!!

2009-04-27T01:14:00.008-05:00

I so hope that this works. Aric Dylan www.aricdylan.com

moved here last year from Arizona to train with Dan. He is now like family. He may kill me for this but I thought he did a great job!!! Aric has had many hats. He went to college, played Arena Football, did Pro Wrestling and all while getting his pharmacy license and is now training to fight MMA! Who knows may be he should give it all up for a venue in Vegas with side burns and swinging hips!!

OK I warned that these were backwards a bit The night after weigh ins!!

2009-04-27T00:58:00.003-05:00

Dan weighed in for a career first of 265 with absolutely no weight cutting. It was incredible. I was so proud of him. He set his mind to it and he did it!!

After weigh ins food was important :P Here are a few pics of us at dinner. I wish I could figure out how to load videos because Aric was doing karaoke and he rocked it!!

Avery's sleep over

2009-04-27T00:39:00.002-05:00

After the fights in Kokomo I found out one of the guys had a 6 month old Pitbull puppy with him in his vehicle. We were told Avery should socialize as much as he can with other dogs. His owner wanted to go out after the fights so I thought a sleep over would be fun!! I didn't know that he had been away from his dad only once before so there was a little whining and restlessness but once he figured us out and got used to Avery we all had a great time!!

Avery's first MMA Fight

2009-04-27T00:27:00.005-05:00

Ok by now you realize that the people who own the IWFL are very good friends of ours and we love them but they get more awesome everyday!!! They put on a show in Kokomo, Indiana and somehow Missy did her magic and Avery was allowed inside the venue! He was such a good puppy! !The first picture is Avery's first venture into the cage. He is with Jon from Josh Johnson's Etown Beatdown. This next picture is about about half way through the fights. He was just worn out from all of the excitement! He had a great time and it was so cool to be able to have him inside the venue with us. You can check out the IWFL website at www.ironwarriorfights.com There next fights are in Muncie, Indiana on May 16th at the Horizon Center!! Dan ref's for them.....sorry I am trying to cram weeks into an hour in one night. I am going to add those pics as well!!!

I have really been away.....

2009-04-27T00:25:00.002-05:00

I am sorry I didn't realize how long it really had been. I started off with a bang and then........nothing lol I promise to do better :P

Let's catch up......Dan fought in Cincy. Dan lost his fight. We did Dan's taxes and have been really busy somehow doing I don't know what. I am going to rewind a bit and post about some things!!!

Crazy few days!!

2009-04-09T00:01:00.002-05:00

First I want to thank my friend Missy for being such an angel the last few days!! Thank you!!

I wanted to give you an insight on the days leading up to a fight but it has been so crazy I haven't even had time to blog. We had a mess with t-shirts and shorts, I pulled something in my neck and couldn't turn it AT ALL and we found out that our hotel doesn't allow teenagers. Isn't that silly....they will let us bring our teenager but not a puppy!! Puppies are much cleaner and much more behaved than a teenager! haha

So, the t-shirt and short problems are solved, the puppy will be taken care of and Kathy worked on my neck tonight so it is somewhat mobile......that will definitely be a plus when I am trying to drive tomorrow! haha I am trying to get everything washed and packed while keeping the house in some kind of order......that is a real challenge. I like to be able to walk in the door after being gone to a clean house. I know that probably sounds silly but who wants to come home, tired from traveling, wanting to relax and have a mess and dishes to clean up! Not me!

Dan's weight is amazing and if he has to cut it will not be more than a pound or so! I am so proud of him! We head out tomorrow morning sometime.

In the next few days I will post my first blog about a fighter. I am really excited because you guys are going to really like him!!!!

Saturday night

2009-04-06T09:44:00.007-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous post we went to Matt, Missy and Cassie's house on Saturday night. Dan was treated to(not only a good dinner but also)a kettlebell workout. He loves working with kettlebells and he was like a kid at Christmas excited! I am not going to do the whole sales pitch on kettlebells because I don't need to. You can ask around and find someone who trains with them and you can get a personal insight. It has made a huge difference in Dan's strength and hopefully this Saturday the fight will be proof of it! A picture of kettlebells.

The instructor was Gavin Rulon. You can check out his site at http://www.rulonstrength.com/ Actually you should check out his site because some of the things he does because of his strength is amazing! Hope you enjoy the pics! The guys also used these "things" I haven't a clue what they are and will find out from Gavin!

It starts at 6:00 am

2009-04-04T22:22:00.013-05:00

We got up at 6am and got ready to hit the road. I meant to take pictures along the way and at training today and just didn't. Missy and Cassie were there and we haven't seen each other in a few weeks so we had to catch up.

We left training, stopped by the Ego grappling matches for a minute and headed to Anderson. Cassie, Missy and Matt were wonderful enough to have us over for dinner. Avery finally got to play with his own kind lol He had a big day and he is so tired that he once he fell asleep he hasn't even moved.....not even when we changed rooms. I have pictures of the guys training Kettle Bells but "someone" left Gavin's card in the card so I can't post his contact info......will post tomorrow!

The playing started out innocent enough and then moved on to a little XXX action.

I will compare this to curious college years!

This is "Aunt" Cassie with the puppies! She made an amazing dinner for us!

This is "Aunt" Missy with Avery checking out the horses.

Friends for life.....ok, ok "Close friends" Aunt Missy and Aunt Cassie gave Avery a great gift. He really liked it and is already using it!!! A new puppy bed and chew toy!!!

THE END!!

It's been a rough day!

2009-04-03T19:19:00.002-05:00

It has just been one of those days! The puppy has been a handful, my daughter has been even a bigger handful and my husband is convinced I am crazy! Wow, that kind of sounds like every day!

The puppy had an accident. He was very difficult today. I had to read the whole puppies have accidents because of you not because they are mean and getting back at you stuff SEVERAL times today! haha If he weren't cute he would be in a lot more trouble today!!!

My daughter, God Bless her heart. She was being a teenager. I know we are going to get through this but I worry that one of us will be dependent on medication by the end of it! She wants what she wants RIGHT NOW! I was taking her and Nicki back to Nicki's house AFTER she decided to go there after school and then calling me telling me that I needed to come and get her and then take her back again. She started with zinging text msgs, calling and calling and calling and calling...... and me being in a cranky mood may have POSSIBLY been a bit of the instigation. How it ended? She said something about wanting to get out of the car and ride a horse to Nicki's house, I said fine, pulled over and out she went on the side of the road. I just drove off and there she was in all of her smart assness in my rear view mirror. haha I drove a few miles down the road....out of eye sight at least and then turned around. I don't think there were any clear winners in this battle LOL

My husband! I am glad he has class to go to so he can work it all out. I think I should start training!!! I know everyone has these days and sometimes I think we feel like we are the only ones that have them but here it is proof that you aren't.

We are up early tomorrow for our drive to Indy and it will be a good weekend. I will get to see Missy and Cassie and they are another important part of my support group.

Avery's day at the park

2009-04-02T16:58:00.009-05:00

Poor Avery, since we are not having any more kids he has to fill the void lol We figured he was tired of just playing in our yard so we took him to the park here in town. I think Dan had more

fun than Avery did!

Spring Break

2009-04-02T16:45:00.009-05:00

Kai's Spring Break fell between two of Dan's fights this year so taking a trip was not possible. We will plan a summer vaca instead. Dan wanted to do something with Kai so he took her and two of her friends mudding.

The Jeep was so muddy by the time they got home you couldn't even tell what color it was. They had fun and that was all that mattered!

Avery, my belated birthday gift.

2009-04-02T15:57:00.007-05:00

We spent my birthday in Indy training and it was before Dan's fight so his focus wasn't quite on getting me a birthday gift. I did get to celebrate with my great friends though so to me it was a great bday weekend!

I lost my dog about two years ago when he was hit by a car. He is the Schnauzer in the picture with Dan. I was devastated. I had Abram for 8 years and he had been there through the roughest patches of my life. I could not bring myself to get another animal because I lost two of my dearest friends after that and I just didn't want to know that someday I would have another loss! We were coming home from the fight the next day and stopped at Corydon. Dan was chatting on the phone with one of the guys when I saw "Puppies" I was just going to check them out and then I saw HIM! There was no doubt we were leaving with a puppy!

Here he is with Dan the night we brought him home. He is 8 weeks old in this picture. He has grown up so much already!

We took him to Indy with us the next weekend to train. We learned the drive takes a bit longer with a puppy. We hit quite a few rest stops between home and Indy.

So a new member of our family has been added and I believe it will be a great experience for all of us! Avery at 9 weeks!

Dan's last fight!

2009-04-02T14:31:00.017-05:00

Dan fought Brion Peoples in Florence, Kentucky for Intimidation Cage Fighting on March 14th. The video can be seen at http://www.intimidationcagefighting.com/ under Events. We are very lucky to have a great support team with our friends, training partners and students. This time was even more special because Dan's training partner, Pat McPherson's wife Amy made it to the fights. Amy and Jake O'Brien's girlfriend Bekah are part of my support system LOL

This is Pat and Amy. VERY funny pic of Pat haha Pat owns and is the coach Integrated Fighting Systems out of Indianapolis, Indiana. We travel to Indy most weekends to train with them. Pat has been a great for Dan. They bounce all of the MMA stuff back and forth at each other along with a lot of BS!

This is Jake and Bekah. A lot of you will recognize Jake from fighting the UFC. He won his last fight in January and will be fighting again in July! Jake has been a vital part in Dan's training in the last year. Jake's incredible wrestling skills have really sharpened Dan's fight game. Aren't they a cute couple???

The Sandbox Mixed Martial Arts is Dan's school. He opened it last summer and it has grown steadily since then. He has a great group of guys and he loves teaching. A lot of the guys came out to show their support at Dan's last fight......in their Sandbox tshirts!!! The Sandbox is located in Dale, Indiana on US 231 S across from Conner Ford.

Dan won his fight in the first round at 34 seconds due to knee strikes. Thanks to Steve Stanton and Intimidation Cage Fighting for a great night!

Getting started!!

2009-04-02T14:11:00.005-05:00

Hey there! I am going to give everyone a quick update on who we are and then post a few things from the past few days! This is us on the pic to the left. This was taken some time ago by Tracy Lee who is an awesome photographer when Dan was in the IFL. Tracy can be found out http://www.combatlifestyle.com/ or http://www.mstracylee.com/ Dan and I met quite a few years ago, became best friends and somehow, someway lol ended up married two years ago. He moved here to Indiana from Albuquerque, New Mexico where he was training with Greg Jackson and the team. http://www.jacksonsmma.tv/ He has started his own school here in Dale, Indiana, The Sandbox (more about that later) and we are fortunate enough to have great friends and people to train with in this area. I have a soon to be 15 year old daughter, Kailee, who keeps our life very interesting or may be I should say in upheaval LOL We recently became proud parents of a puppy Avery who is a Bullmasador. He has brought a lot of joy and potty time to our our life. Dan has a fight coming up on April 11th in Cincy, Ohio with http://www.intimidationcagefighting.com/ and the next week will give you an insight to how we prepare for that. I will tell you it isn't always pretty :) I know I am missing about 1,000 things but I am sure in time you will know more than you probably want to anyway!