MMA Elite Mission #ShopMMAElite

I love the martial arts.  I started Tae Kwon Do when I was 6 years old and wound up getting a black belt.  In the late 90’s, I started training in what would become known as mixed martial arts.  It was a pretty rough time for the sport.  The UFC was banned in most states, even on pay-per-view.  If you stayed up late enough, you might get to see old Muay Thai or K-1 competitions or even the occasional Vale Tudo fights on ESPN8, The Ocho!  When I joined the Army in 2000, they were just starting to introduce jiu-jitsu instruction into the Basic Training curriculum.  It has been great to see the sport and art of fighting grow and become part of the mainstream.

Even if you will never be an elite fighter (yes, my hand is raised here!), training in the sport offers loads of benefits.  You can build confidence, develop self-defense skills, and develop great control of your body.  The dedication that it takes to train in that sport can transfer directly into the other activities in your daily life.  Even though I have not trained at a gym in years, I still maintain some degree of my skills.

The control that I developed is really helpful when playing with the kids.  As any dad can attest, one of the things that we really bring to the table is a rougher style of play.  Many studies suggest that rough housing with your kids results in kids who are smarter, more confident, and more socially and morally adept.  Part of that, though, is making sure that I am being safe.  Learning how to control the amount of strength that I use when working with little ones is something that I got from my MMA training.  When we wrestle, my kids learn how to struggle out of a difficult situation, how to twist around so that they are on top, and when enough is enough.

One way that I can show my love and support of the sport that has given me and my family so much is to wear gear that advertises the sport.  Did you know that you can find gear from MMA Elite at Walmart?

I was excited to have the opportunity to participate in the #ShopMMAElite promotion and get a couple of great shirts.  You can shop online, but I found way more options when I drove up to the local store.

Do you follow the MMA scene?  If so, make sure that you Follow MMA Elite on Twitter and Like MMA Elite on Facebook.  Also, make sure that you check out the rest of my photos on Google+.

Note:  I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and MMA Elite.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. #CBias #SocialFabric