I have been practicing Martial Arts since 1978. Started in Tae Kwon Do (Black Belt) then Chinese Kempo (Black Belt). After that, I got into Hapkido & Chin-Na (No significant belts). Did a little bit of Wing-chun & then started wrestling.

Despite the Black Belts and, other Martial Arts training, I felt like something was lacking. I never agreed with nor, understood Tae Kwon Do point sparring nor... did I agree with the "stand-up" only rules of full contact sparring, not to mention all the bulky padding that was required to wear. It was not until I discovered Small Circle Jui-Jitsu that I felt like I was actually getting somewhere. However, small cirle is not BJJ so, again... I felt incomplete.

Not until the concept of MMA did I start to get excited about the Martial Arts all over again. I am currently a student of Jui-Jitsu & KickBoxing which in my view are the most basic arts to master in order to become successfull in MMA. Others like Boxing & Wrestling help but I think BJJ & KickBoxing are the fundamentals.

-Michael

I Love playing Chess. I am USCF rated 2057. I also LOVE to watch Movies. Other than that... I spend a lot of time with my 3 young children ages 3, 4 & 6