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The Last 4 Years, My Life on the 10th Planet.
It’s been a little over 4 years since I had full time employment at a very famous post production sound facility, Danetracks Inc. Since then I made the move to opening up my own 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu affiliate in Van Nuys, California. I left Dane Davis, for Eddie Bravo, sound design for Jiu Jitsu. I went from Protools to The Twister. I won an M.P.S.E for best sound in a game., but we lost in the UFC title fight vs. Georges St. Pierre in New Jersey. I went from working inside the big blue Danetracks building, to training at the Van Nuys MMA Super Center. I walked away from the position of editor, and took up the title of coach. I traded the vibrant colors of West Hollywood, for dreary strip malls of Van Nuys. I went from an Academy Award winning sound studio, to cornering Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy in his title shot. I gave up a Kensington track ball and gained a cage panel. I swapped out sound effects for bone-breaking techniques. I left motion pictures, for pay-per-view events. I said good bye to interactive media, and said hello to “As real as it gets.” I went from competing for jobs, to competing for the challenge. I exchanged an Aeron chair for a Zebra mat. I went from networking at E3, to competing in ADCC. to went from bicycling to work, to flying around the world. I was work in a room by myself, then i was teaching seminars to full rooms of people. Punching a clock, to punching a bag. I went from recording the sounds of guns, to teaching how to use the body as a weapon. I went from insecure and scared, to confident and brave. I went from employee to entrepreneur. I went from being downsized, to running my own budding business. In my mind, I’m starting to feel like a success.
Along the way I’ve fallen, I’ve stumbled, and I’ve contemplated quitting. What keeps me moving forward you ask? I find my motivation in the moments. It’s the thank you and a smile from a new student. It’s the grappler’s realization of his/her progression over time. It’s the advice of a mentor, it’s being humbled by a black belt. It’s the camaraderie of a team. It’s the direct result of hard work. It’s the responsibility of those times when you have to be a leader and a role model. It’s reaching a goal. It’s visualizing the yet to come. It’s the win of a fighter, it’s a hug from a competitor. It’s the student confiding in you. It’s giving, and receiving the gift of knowledge. It’s in solving a problem. It’s making a difference in somebody’s life. That’s what makes being a coach such a rewarding job for me.
Thank you to everybody that’s played a part in my journey. Good, bad, or other, you all all added to the storyline, I’ve learn so much from all my experiences, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I’m looking forward to what the future brings. I have a feeling the party is just getting started. Enter the Alpha-Black era.
