Fighting For Autism Interviews ONE F.C Welterweight Mixed Martial Artist, Tyler McGuire

 Fighting For Autism, have been so incredibly fortunate to have some amazing ambassadors from around the world take time out of their schedules to take part in interviews with our Junior Ambassadors, whom a large percentage of are on the autistic spectrum themselves and are thriving through an activity, art or something they love taking part in. Having prominent professionals who share a common interest with the person conducting the interview, or them being from a sport, art, activity that the interviewer can relate to, not only helps to build confidence and develop social skills, they are also fantastic to read. 

ONE Fighting Championship's Professional Welterweight Mixed Martial Artist Tyler McGuire has been phenomenal in helping to raise Autism Awareness throughout his career and we are honoured to have Tyler as an official Fighting For Autism- Fighter Ambassador. 

 

Tyler who trained and taught as a special educational needs teacher before going on to a career in the United States Air Force where he is currently Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Specialist as well as being a professional Mixed Martial Artist, with two physically demanding roles and a training regime that would make most people tired just reading them, the beautiful part is that Tyler throughout his fighting career Tyler worn a "Autistic Kids Rock" T Shirt that was given to him by the parents of one of his students during his career as a special educational needs teacher, and is often commented on by people on how much pride they have seeing Tyler wearing a positive T shirt that promotes Autism Awareness and Acceptance. 

Tyler is due to be competing at ONE Fighting Championship's event on the 7th of April against Raimond Magomedaliev. Please wherever you are in the world give Tyler a massive roar of support. 

April as some may be aware is Autism Awareness Month around the globe, and what better way for Fighting For Autism to start the month with an Interview with Tyler that has been conducted by one of Fighting For Autism's Junior Ambassadors a young gentleman named Nate "The Great" Wilmer. 

Nate is 17 years old from Indiana, USA. Nate was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of two. He began training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2017 and it became immediately evident that it was something he enjoyed. He later began to train in Muay Thai and also wrestles for the high school team. He has competed in many Gi and No Gi Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions earning 13 Gold, 9 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. He has also competed in fund raising tournaments raising $1730 for cancer research and also fought in an exhibition matches to raise awareness for Autism. He plans to attend culinary school after graduation in 2022. 

1. How long were you teaching before you decided to go out and start fighting? What made you decide to start teaching kids with special needs? 

"I started training the first year I became a teacher.  I got hired in the fall of 2009 and had my first fight in December! I had always wanted to try it as part of my "bucket list" and after winning my first fight in a minute I was hooked! 

I decided I wanted to serve children with special needs after working with a pair of non-verbal children in college.  By the end of my 8 weeks with them I could get them to make very faint noises to say Hi and Bye to me and knew that I had a connection with them.  That feeling of trust and watching them grow really made me want to keep working in that field". 

2. What words would you share to autistic kids to motivate them to work toward their Goals? 

"There are so many people who are rooting for you and want to see you succeed.  In the end it doesn't matter about a label, its putting in the work to succeed.  Meeting those goals with Autism just means that sometimes the road presents unique challenges to get there.  Find people with the same motivations and get after it". 

3. What branch of the military are you in, and how long have you been serving? 

"I serve in the United States Air Force and have been in 8.5 years" 

4. Have you been on any deployments? If so, how many and where? 

"No deployments yet, I was a SERE instructor prior to becoming an officer and where I worked the focus was training others, not deploying" 

5. Tell us about your family. Are you married or single? Do you have any kids? 

"I have a beautiful wife and a 5 year old daughter" 

6. What would you say is your most memorable fight? 

"My most memorable fight was against Luis Santos for my 1st fight with ONE.  No-one on earth but my coach and I thought I could win.  He was 65-10 with 38 knockouts.  However, the fight ended with my hand raised and I had overcome huge odds to finally prove to myself I belonged at the highest levels of MMA. 

7. Mind giving your gym a shout out? 

"I currently train at APEX MMA in Tucson Arizona! However, I still also train and maintain a close relationship with SIKJITSU in Spokane, WA". 

8. Here are some rapid fire questions: 

A. Cat or dog person? 

"Dog" 

B. What's your Favorite soda? 

"Xyience energy drink". 

C.  DC or Marvel? 

"Marvel! Although I love Batman". 

D. Star Wars or Star Trek? 

"Star Wars all day". 

E. Stand up game or ground game? 

"Ground game, but I like throwing bombs to get it there". 

F. Favourite movie quote? 

"It's not fear that grips him, only restlessness. A heightened sense of things". - Movie ~300 

G. Most important object you own? 

"My 2020 Daytona scat pack charger!! 

On behalf of everyone at Fighting For Autism we wanted to say a humongous Thank You to Tyler McGuire for taking time out of his busy schedule to take part in this interview Tyler we think       "YOU ROCK", and we are sending you our very best for your bout on April the 7th, also a huge thank you to Tai and everyone at ONE Fighting Championship for their kindness too.                            Finally Thank You to Nate "The Great" Wilmer for conducting an awesome interview. 

 If you would like to follow Tyler on Social Media, he can be found on Twitter to send some support his way his twitter account is www.twitter.com/Onetylermcguire or on Instagram www.Instagram.com/tyler_mcguire_mma for details on ONE FC upcoming events, www.onefc.com 

our website is www.fightingforautismeurope.org if you would like to find out more about autism awareness and acceptance, what we do and how you can help. Until next time  #DareToBeDifferent and keep #ShiningThorughTheSpectrum 

 

Fighting for Autism Junior Ambassadors interview Martial arts Icon, Bas "El Guapo" Rutten

Fighting for Autism prides itself on not only raising Autism Awareness, but also striving for inclusion and acceptance for youngsters and adults living with autism and their family and friends too.                   

One of the initiatives Fighting for Autism has created is our Junior Ambassador Programme, where we have been joined by some amazing youngsters who are thriving through  martial arts, boxing, motor racing or health and fitness, not only are these future champions helping to raise autism awareness at their respective clubs or at the competitions they compete in, a large number of the junior ambassadors are youngsters living with autism themselves, so including, involving and having their perspective on issues is incredibly important, particularly in what has been a challenging year to say the least.  

Fighting for Autism has been so incredibly fortunate to have some amazing role models who have represented and competed at the highest level of sport or art that they represent, hearing a positive message of understanding, awareness and acceptance from these amazing people has made a significant difference, as not only does it get people talking or researching what autism is and changing opinions and challenging stigma, but it also has inspired youngsters and adults to try something new, learn new skills, build confidence, develop social skills  and maintain a healthy lifestyle.                                    

One of these amazing people that puts the heart in martial arts is Bas Rutten.

  

Sebastian “Bas” Rutten is a Dutch retired mixed martial artist (MMA), Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and Kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three-time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22-fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw) .  Bas was inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame in 2015.                                                                                                               

To say Bas' reputation in the martial arts community is second to none would be an understatement.      

"El Guapo" - The Handsome One is renowned for delivering his trademark " liver shot" whether manifested via punch or kick often resulted in devastation to his opponent, also for "The Bas Jump" which is a jumping splits done in celebration to winning in competition.                 

Bas is also a world class coach, colour commentator, former professional wrestler, innovator/inventor of martial art and fitness training equipment -The Bas Rutten O2 Trainer, an actor, as well as inspiring the next genratio         

Bas and other elite martial artists Joe Worden, Josh Sampo, Alex White, Jake Matthews and some amazing professionals gave their time, expertise and donations that were integral in assisting Head of Operations for Fighting for Autism (USA), Brian Higginbotham to launch the Fighting for Autism- No Contact Kickboxing Therapy sessions. 

We asked some of our Junior Ambassadors who have been helping us to raise autism awareness if they would like to ask Bas a question, we received responses from around the globe, we think they asked some excellent questions, with Bas for providing some superb responses. 

Junior Ambassador, Ethan Foreman, England  

Junior Ambassador, Andre O'Leary, England 

Ethan and Andre ask Bas : Which was your best fight and who has been your toughest opponent? 

"Ethan and Andre, both my best fight and toughest opponent, my rematch against Funaki, he was the first person who beat me, my third fight, with a move I didn’t even know because I just started MMA. After my last loss by submission, I forced myself to learn the ground game and suddenly I fell in love with it, started doing it all day every day, never lost a fight again after that fight, actually won my next 8 fights (after my last loss by SUB) by way of submission. So, the second time I fought him I was a different fighter. I had to knock him down 4 times, the final one was a knee to the head as hard as I could and thankfully, he stayed down that time. They said it was my best performance, but also Funaki’s best performance because he kept standing up and fighting. It was a crazy fight". 

 Junior Ambassador, Lorcan Lacey, England 

Lorcan asks Bas: If you could have one dream bout with anyone, who would it be against and why? 

"Lorcan, when I was still competing, I wanted to fight Rickson Gracie because they said he was the best, people thought I didn’t like him but that’s not true, I respected the heck out of him because I saw his BJJ was insanely good. So just wanted to fight him and see if I could stay out of his submissions, which of course, I totally believed I could (I had an ego at the time, you HAVE to because you can’t go into a fight thinking you might lose, that’s not a healthy thought)". 

Junior Ambassador, Adam Mumin, England. 

Adam asks Bas: What do you find harder? Mixed Martial Arts, Professional Wrestling or Acting? 

"Adam, everything is hard in the beginning, my fighting started to become very good once I started fighting in Japan, but it takes a bunch of fights. Pro wrestling was the easiest because it was “strong style” wrestling, meaning, they used real submission moves (In Japan), since I was already a champ in MMA, that was pretty easy for me. Note: I received more injuries from pro wrestling in my first three matches than in my entire MMA career. These guys are TOUGH, all the falling and craziness, it’s real, sure you know who wins, but they do that 220 times a year? It’s crazy, I have the utmost respect for these guys. Acting is hard as well, if I would be in more movies, I would have gotten used to it, but I didn’t do a lot of movies. I really enjoy it, but it’s very hard to be natural on screen, it takes works, this is not as easy as when you practice in front of a mirror, everybody can do that. Doing it with three cameras in your face and you can’t mess u and have to say the lines EXACTLY as they are in the script, that’s a lot of pressure. Preparation is the key to success to calm your nerves in whatever you do, so prepare, prepare, prepare. Hopefully I can do more movies and get completely relaxed". 

 

Ayub Mumin - (on the left with his brother Adam) England 

Ayub asks Bas: What do you enjoy more? Mixed Martial Arts, Professional Wrestling or Acting? 

"Ayub, when I was fighting, I only wanted to fight, when I was pro wrestling, I only wanted to do that, when I was acting, I only wanted to do that. So for me they came in a perfect order, first fighting, I retired, than pro wrestling, and stopped with that, and now acting. Acting I LOVE, especially doing comedy, fighting and pro wrestling I can’t do anymore because I had three neck surgeries". 

 

Junior Ambassador Tamara Addison, Scotland 

Tamara asks Bas: How did you manage to transfer from Fighting to Acting? 

"Tamara, when I came to the States in 1997, within a month I was taking acting classes, because I knew I wanted to do something in the “acting field” after I retired from fighting. I also knew that acting is very hard to do, that’s why I started taking classes. What really helped me as well was commentating, because it’s live, if you open a show, you have to do it on camera (live) and you can’t make a mistake. So, you learn how to deal with pressure. Anything in the world, if you can do it like you do it in a relaxed atmosphere, you will be good. But that’s hard. I know fighters who are better than current world Champions and beat them up in training, but when they fight, they can’t deal with the pressure. Everybody in the gym thinks they can fight, the test is, doing the same under pressure. You master that, you will do good. Imagine you are a lawyer and you are preparing an opening statement for a person who could get the death penalty. At home, that speech is easy in front of the mirror, but in the full court room, and somebody's life is depending on it, it’s much harder. My acting coach told me:” Once people say you are the same onscreen as you are in real life, that’s when you become a good actor”. 

And thankfully I got that response from people after the movie Here Comes the Boom. But I still need a lot of work". 

 

Junior Ambassador, Leo Curtis, England. 

Leo asks Bas: Bas you are an inspiration to us all and I have heard you use the saying."The longer it travels the stronger it gets." please explain why you say this and what it means? 

"Leo, I am talking about strikes when I say that. Like a punch, if I stand one foot away from my opponent (30 CM) and I want to give him a straight punch, I can’t extend my arm, so there will be not a lot of power in that punch, when I step back and give that straight punch ”room”, so I can use the entire length of my arm, the punch becomes powerful. This counts for every strike. 

But I like that you thought it was something deeper, and when I read that line it CAN have a deeper meaning. It would mean that “time (travel) gives you knowledge”, because the more time you have, the more knowledge you can gather (knowledge is power or “stronger”). I love it, thank you, because I am going to use that now as well, haha"! 

Junior Ambassador, James Wright, USA 

James asks Bas: What advice would you give to those who want to become Mixed Martial Artists. 

"You have to let go of everything else in life, no time to party, or eat what you want, or hanging out with your partner all the time, having “fun” Holidays because you can’t eat what you want. Going through all the injuries and still keep training because you have to. Write everything down, is what I did, so you can train harder every single workout, but only increase little tiny bits each time. If you go all the way, all the time, you burn out. Make sure what to eat, so do your homework and make sure you don’t get injured, always stretching before you start. So, set a goal and a path, and don’t let anything take you away from that path. Also, understand the mechanics of everything you do, everybody knows what a kimura looks like, but they don’t understand the mechanics because I see pro’s not able to finish people with a kimura sometimes? But if you understand the mechanics, that will help you a lot. Same as in striking, you have to set up combinations, there is an art to it, but when you do it well, you will knock your opponent out. Most of the times when I stopped somebody, it was with combination I worked on before the fight, whether it was a KO or SUB. My house was filled with “post it notes”, with combinations and set ups to combinations, it was the only thing I did. And once you do that, you simply become good because you put in more time than others do. Last thing, STAMINA is your best friend, every fighter who fought their first fights will tell you they were NOT in shape. Take this one to the heart, train as much stamina as you can and you will win all your first fights, because 90% doesn’t do it, trust me, I have trained a LOT of guys, I know. The stamina you have in your gym before you fight, will be immediately cut in half when you fight, nerves will do that for you. So do NOT be like that, get a boat load of stamina". 

 

Fighter Ambassador, Maximus Jolly,USA.

Maximus asks Bas: What is your strength and conditioning regimen? 

"Maximus, yeah that’s too much to write down, I write a bit, in a nutshell, power training consists of 12 exercises, a pushing and pulling exercise one after another, meaning, bench press, then pull cable to your chest, triceps and biceps, neck press, neck pull down, dips and pull ups hands close together, so every exercise works a different muscle than the one before. 12 exercises, 50 seconds each exercise, 10 seconds to get to the next station. 35 seconds is when lactic acid hits you (around there), then you push harder for 15 sec and up to the next exercise. One whole round 1 min break, then two more rounds of the same, so a 38 min workout. If you push yourself, which I always did, it’s a killer routine. I would write every amount of reps down and what weight, every week increase either in weight or reps. So, write everything down. Main rule, once I increased weight or reps, I can NEVER go back anymore. Only, of course, when you don’t train for 3 months, then you have to build up, but during training camp, never.   

I write ONE conditioning exercise down. 15 one-minute rounds on a bag, as HARD as you can. Find 8 combo’s, so you can repeat the cycle after round 8. I make a combo, beat (no more than a sec), then same combo plus an extra punch. Example, cross hook cross, (beat), cross hook cross livershot OR left right left hook to the body (beat), same plus right left hook to the head. Again, every single punch is to kill, otherwise this is easy. 

If you are 8 weeks out for a fight, you increase every week your worktime by 5 sec and take 5 sec away from your rest. So second week, 1:05 with 55 sec rest, then 1:10m with 50 sec rest, etc, until you hit 1:30m with 30 sec rest (after 7 weeks). This, when you do it the way I do it, is insane! This is how I prepared for my 30 min matches in Japan (one round 30 min, no breaks), my last punches and kicks, are as hard as the ones I started with, everything100% power, not 99%. There is a difference when I do it or I see other people doing it, you need to be able to push yourself extremely hard. Also, this way you don’t over-train, because you let your body gradually get used to throwing out more power every week. All these routines are done AFTER I had a normal workout" 

Junior Ambassador, Noah Waddell, Scotland 

Noah asks Bas: My Opa (granpa) is Dutch and his favourite Dutch fighters are Bas Rutten and Ramon Dekkers, who is your favourite Dutch fighter? 

"I love your Opa Noah! Badass name by the way, “Noah”. I am with your opa, Ramon Dekkers was somebody I looked up to, I trained at the same gym. My style of fighting is much different than others, and based on Mike Tyson and Ramon Dekkers. It’s an open stance which will give you almost equal power in your right and left hands plus legs. Ramon was still “blading” a little bit, but way more “open” than others. I am just a freak when it comes to training, I want to have the very best style possible. So I have been obsessed with making it perfect and I 100% believe it IS the best way to fight. Of course, people can throw in their own “flairs”, but as base, nobody can deny that you can develop the most power and that you have equal movement to the left, right, front and back, its physics, can’t deny it. 

When I got inducted into the UFC HOF in 2015, Fight Metrics said that till this day I hold the highest striking accuracy in entire MMA, 70.6%, to give you an idea, Anderson Silva has 60.2% is the highest in his weight class, so I am extremely proud of that, but it is because of my fighting style, so more people can do it, and probably do it better"! 

On behalf of everyone at Fighting for Autism, we wanted to say a humongous "Thank You" To Bas Rutten for time out of his hectic schedule and giving some amazing youngsters a fantastic interview, and for the kindness he has shown to Fighting for Autism. For more information on Bas, his website is www.BasRutten.com 

Also Thank You to Junior Ambassadors Noah, Adam, Ayub, Tamara, Maximus, James, Lorcan, Ethan, Andre and Leo that took part and asked questions to Bas. As Christmas rapidly approaches we would like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and we hope that the New Year brings Health and Happiness.

  

If you'd like more information on Fighting For Autism and how you can get involved our website is www.FightingForAutismEurope.org or we can be found on social media 

www.Facebook.com/FightingForAutism  

www.Twitter.com/FightForAutism or  

www.Instagram.com/FightForAutism 

A winning combination for Autism Awareness. Adam & Ayub Mumin interview Professional Welterweight Boxer Sajid Abid

In today's Fighting For Autism blog,  two young and inspiring brothers with a love for boxing have accepted our challenge to interview someone from the sport or martial art that they take part in or that they are passionate about.

Fighting For Autism has been so incredibly fortunate to have some amazing ambassadors and gyms from the boxing community have actively become involved in helping us to raise some much needed autism awareness around the globe but also strive for inclusion and acceptance for those living with autism, at the beginning of the COVID 19 lock down period in the UK some of our junior ambassadors, coach ambassadors and fighter ambassadors were put through an online training session with former W.B.C world champion, Olympic and Commonwealth games medallist Wayne "Pocket Rocket"McCullough,  where Wayne put everyone through their paces and took time to show the medals and belts hes won over his illustrious career and then answered questions at the end, the session featured people of all abilities including some who are on the autistic spectrum, again a massive "Thank You" to Wayne and Cheryl McCullough for being absolutely amazing, everyone had a fantastic time.     

The video of the workout can be found on YouTube at the following link.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=3GdrTyaZom4&feature=youtu.be

Allow us to introduce Adam and Ayub Mumin, to say these two rather amazing young gentlemen are interested in boxing would be an understatement, boxing also strengthens their brotherly bond and allows the traits to shine through that makes them champions in their own right.

Adam is a superstar of the autistic spectrum and despite the challenges he faces with the loving support of his family, his love of boxing and some gentle encouragement from Ayub, Adam is going from strength to strength. 

To say the Mumin family are boxing fans would be an understatement, with both Adam and Ayub's Instagram accounts featuring them practising their boxing skills, but also sharing important messages on initiatives like knives down, hands up which aims to combat knife crime show wisdom beyond their years and the champion mindset they have,  the bond that they have is a amazing to watch.        (Although everyone at Fighting For Autism is a bit envious of Ayub having his picture taken with boxing royalty and three weight world boxing champion Vasiliy Lomachenko)

The rather remarkable Adam Mumin

We asked Adam and Ayub if they would like to interview  professional welterweight boxer and Fighting For Autism Fighter Ambassador Sajid Abid.

 

Sajid Abid is a professional welterweight boxer, who trains and fights out of Gym City Boxing in Derby, United Kingdom with an impressive 9-1-0 professional record to his name, he is renowned for his pace, work rate  and endurance when he competes.

Sajid has been amazing in helping to raise autism awareness and acceptance, Sajid himself offered assistance to young gentleman named Daniel who is on the autistic spectrum, Daniel had been subjected to some pretty nasty bullying that made the attention of the local newspapers where Sajid lives.

Not only did Sajid offer a hand in friendship to Daniel, he also offered him the chance to come and try his hand at boxing, which gave the chance for Daniel to rebuild confidence, get healthy, make new friends as well as learn some boxing skills too.

Adam and Ayub Interview Professional Welterweight Boxer Sajid Abid

  Introducing today's interviewers Ayub and Adam Mumin

 Ayub asks - How long have you been boxing?

" I've been boxing since the age of 12! Only took it seriously when i was 19, turned pro at 20 and now I'm here as a professional with 10 fights at 26 years old".

Ayub asks - What got you into boxing?

"I wasn't ever the most confident or fittest but I loved my sport!my asthma use to play up a lot so i found my ability was hindered. So i decided to go into boxing with the help of my uncle to try battle that and its been the best thing ever for me".

Ayub asks - How much do you train?

"I train twice a day. Morning strength and condition and evening boxing work followed by a run".

 Sajid Abid in competition

Adam asks - Whats your favourite punch in boxing?

"My fave punch has to be a right uppercut, love the feeling when you catch a sweet connection"!

Adam asks- Who is your favourite boxer?

"My fave boxer is Mohammed Ali. The man, the legend, the greatest"!

Adam asks- What dream fight would you like to see?

"My dream fight would be to watch Goku fight Superman, I love my anime and superheros haha! But boxing wise... being able to watch any of Mohammed Ali's fight live would be a dream."

On behalf of everyone at Fighting For Autism, we wanted to say a massive "Thank You" to Sajid  for taking part in this interview and also to Adam and Ayub Mumin and their family.

You can follow Sajid on his Instagram account at  www.Instagram.com/sajidabid 

If you would like to share a positive story from the autistic spectrum, or perhaps you'd like to find out more about autism, please get in touch  at www.fightingforautismeurope.org.

#DareToBeDifferent #ShineThroughTheSpectrum #AutismAwarenessAndAcceptance

Awaken the Earthquake- An interview with Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach and competitor Sean Davitt, by Junior Ambassador Evan "The Earthquake" Stojanov

Today's blog interview has been carried out by Junior ambassador Evan "The Earthquake"Stojanov.

Evan is a superstar of the autistic spectrum who is thriving through the martial art Judo. Evan trains with Williamsburg Judo in VA, USA under the instruction of Pete Mantel who has struck up an amazing friendship with Evan. 

                                                                                                                     

Evan has also been assisting Fighting For Autism in raising autism awareness and our fight for acceptance and inclusion by highlighting positive stories from the autistic spectrum and inspiring others to try something new, maintain a healthy lifestyle and make long lasting friendships. Evan has been training with Williamsburg Judo for nearly 3 years and his moniker "The Earthquake" comes from Evan's other passion and that is seismology - the study of earthquakes.

What is Judo?

Judo  (柔道) is a Japanese martial art that derives from traditional Ju Jitsu, created by Jigoro Kano in 1882,  Judo became a recognised sport 1910 and was adopted as a part of Japan’s educational system the following year, in 1964 Judo became an Olympic sport. 

Judo objectives are to either throw or take down an opponent to the ground, immobilise or otherwise subdue an opponent with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke.                Judo translated means "Gentle Way",  Judo is an activity undertaken worldwide and  has millions of practitioners (Judoka),  famous Judoka include Ronda Rousey, Kayla Harrison, Chuck Norris, Theodore Rooselvelt, Vladimir Putin and so many more.                                                                                                                          

Evan with some of the Team USA Judo Squad

Autism and Judo

Over recent years numerous studies have carried out and highlighted the positive outcomes for those on the autistic spectrum who have trained in a martial art.

Please see below a link to a study carried out by University College Florida 

https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-study-judo-may-help-health-social-interaction-of-children-diagnosed-with-autism-spectrum-disorder/

               Evan with his Fighting For Autism Patch that will placed on his Judogi (uniform)

Evan was asked if he would like to interview a martial artist, with little hesitation he chose to interview Judoka and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner and coach Sean Davitt.                                                        Sean is also a Fighting For Autism Coach Ambassador.

Sean who is based in Wexford, Ireland is an accomplished competitor and coach both in Judo and  Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Sean along with James Mulroy of Judo Assist Ireland also dedicate their time and expertise to the promotion of and development of inclusive Judo both nationally and internationally, Judo Assist have worked tirelessly in seeing children and adults with additional needs  become involved in Judo, helping them to get fit, make friends and importantly have fun. 

                                         Sean performing a judo technique on an opponent. 
 

Sean Davitt is Interviewed by Evan "The Earthquake" Stojanov

                                                                                                                                                          

Evan asks.

Who is the best fighter with autism you have trained?

Sean- " I have trained many many competitors with autism, not everyone who trains Judo or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu wants to be a fighter, so I train people to be their best selves. Anyone who gives their all on the mats is a champion to me".  

Evan asks.

How much Jiu Jitsu and Judo should I practice each week?

Sean- " I would say that it depends on how much is available to you, when i first started I was training twice a week, at one point I I trained eleven sessions a week. Now I train two to three times a week, I suggest that you try to train two to three times a week if you can, remember there are more things to enjoy in life than martial arts, but its a great place to start".

Evan asks.

What do you think I should practice most?  

Sean- " I would suggest practising the basics. without a solid foundation you can't master the more advanced techniques, I dedicate a lot of my own training to the basic movements and transitions both standing and on the mats". 

Evan asks.

What is the best exercise for Judo?

Sean- " I suggest the best exercise for Judo is simply doing Judo. This could be working on footwork, practising the techniques in your mind or on the mat, its all awesome and will help you massively".

Evan asks.

What is your favourite throw and pin? 

Sean- "Throw : Harai Goshi or Ura Nage                                                                                                                   Pin : Kese Gatame or Kata Gatame".

Evan asks.

What throw is best for tall people?

Sean- " I would suggest Osoto-Gari , Uchi-Mata, Sumi Go or Ko-Soto-Gari".

And finally Sean wanted to pass on a message to Evan..........

We would like to thank both Evan and Sean for an amazing interview.

if you would like ot share a positive story from the spectrum please get in touch we can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or our website www.fightingforautismeurope.org 

Standing on the shoulders of giants. An interview with Professional Heavyweight Mixed Martial Artist Neil "Goliath" Grove

Neil "Goliath" Grove is a professional heavyweight mixed martial artist who has competed in some  of the worlds premier mixed martial art organisations.
Originally from South Africa, Neil moved to London , England in 1996 and began martial arts training in 2000 receiving his black belt in Goju Ryu in 2005, Neil has also trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu where he has attained a brown belt as well as being trained by Steve Gladstone in Muay Thai since 2008 .

Neil's professional  mixed martial arts career began in 2006  where Neil went on to win the heavyweight championship with Ultimate Challenge Mixed Martial Arts (UCMMA) in 2008 and the interim heavyweight championship with Ultimate Challenge Mixed Martial Arts (UCMMA) in 2012, as well as competing for the Bellator Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight title in 2010, Neil has also fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Fighting For Autism asked some of our Junior Ambassadors and Coach Ambassadors if they had any questions for Neil.

Please carry on reading to see the questions and Neil's replies.


Junior Ambassador, Lorcan Lacey  asked: You have trained in multiple martial arts, which ones are essential to get to the top in Mixed Martial Arts competition.
"Hey Lorcan!
I trained in Goju Ryu. It’s an old Okinawan style karate. It’s full contact and all round with striking, submissions and throws... it gave me a great foundation in all round fighting. 
I love striking, and my training in Muay Thai helped too!"

Junior Ambassador,  Leo Curtis asked: What advice would you give on nutrition and what does your daily food diary look like and do you follow a strict food plan?
"Leo, calorie counting is key! I follow eating a healthy and balanced diet of home cooked food. I also use supplements. Herbalife Nutrition shakes as it helps cut my calories".  

Junior Ambassador Adam Mumin asked: What is your favourite food to eat?
"Adam, I love red meat, but stay away from it when I’m cutting weight!! (And cheesecake!😂😂) 
If I go out it’s Wagamama or Nandos!!"

Junior Ambassador Ethan Foreman asked: What fight did you like the most, and what is your greatest achievement?
"Ethan, my fight versus Zak Jenson in Bellator! 
My greatest achievement, is my kids! I’ve a boy of 12, his name is Ethan too! And a little girl, 8 years old, Calesi". 

Voices For The Voiceless Ambassador Archie Blakemore asked: Do you get nervous before an event, because he gets very nervous before practice and wants to know if fighters feel the same?
"Archie, it’s natural to get nervous before a fight! Anyone who says they don’t get nervous is lying! It is however how you channel those nerves that matter! Believe in yourself. See yourself winning and the rest will fall in place!"

Junior Ambassador Maximus Jolly asked:
1.What have been your favourite striking combinations to use in competition?
2.What is your favourite grappling/submission technique?
3.How do you celebrate after every victory?
"Maximus, 
1. Jab, cross thigh kick! 
2. Rear naked choke
3. I jump and sit on the edge of the fence/ wall in the cage!"

Junior Ambassador Tonio Quiroz asked: Who has been your toughest opponent?
"Tonio, Stav Economu... because he is also a close friend!"

Coach Ambassador Martin Ridley asked: How different do you think your life would have been if you started training martial arts at school?
"Martin, I wish I had, I started karate at 29 years of age and lived it! 
I think by starting earlier, your ability only improves with age. But starting late, getting slower is a problem. And recovery takes longer!
Only since I’ve done martial arts, have I learnt to ‘complete/ finish’ what I’ve started. It takes discipline. I was a wild child. Came from a broken home, so discipline was an issue...
Saying that, my mum and eventually my step dad did a fantastic job raising me".

We would like to say a massive Thank You to Neil "Goliath" Grove for taking part in this interview, you can follow Neil on Twitter www.twitter.com/goliathgrove or on Instagram at www.Instagram.com/goliathgrove

Todays blog is dedicated to the memory of our friend  Tony "Pillagius" Pillage.

Unleashing the Swarm. An Interview with Linton Vassell by Fighting For Autism Junior Ambassador Max Jolly

During Autism Awareness Month we asked some of our Junior Ambassadors to interview some if the amazing Fighter Ambassadors who have raised their hand to help us raise Autism Awareness, a large percentage of our Junior Ambassadors are champions in the making who are on the autistic spectrum themselves and are not only helping to raise awareness, but by sharing their success stories are encouraging others to take up something new, learn new skills or perhaps make a new friend.

In todays blog Junior Ambassador  Maximus "Prime" Jolly  interviewed Professional Mixed Martial Artist, and Bellator Fighter Linton "The Swarm" Vassell.
Linton whom is due to compete later this month at Wembley Arena in the UK, so is relishing the chance to compete in front of a home crowd on behalf of all us at Fighting For Autism we wanted to send our very best to Linton and also a massive thank you as well for all that he does for the autism community.

 

Bellator Light Heavyweight Fighter

Linton "The Swarm" Vassell

 

Maximus himself is a rising star this young gentleman is not just competing in Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling, he has worked incredibly hard and has won numerous competitions  he is truly shining, being on the spectrum himself, Maximus is inspiring other youngsters on the spectrum to shine through it.

 

Fighting For Autism Junior Ambassador

Maximus " Prime" Jolly in grappling competition

 

We have a special guest here currently and his name is Linton Vassell a Bellator Mixed Martial Arts fighter with a professional record of 18-6.

1) Every MMA fighter has their own training regimen and I’m interested in what your is?
Hello Max. My training is
Monday

10:30 MMA drills and live Grappling

7:30 H Kickboxing Drills and Bag and Pad work

Tuesday

10:30 MMA live sparring

5:00 Strength and Conditioning

Wednesday

10:30 Live Wrestling

Thursday

10:30 Live Sparring

7:30 H Kickboxing Drills

Friday

10:30 No Gi Grappling Drills and Live

5:00 Sprints

Saturday

11:30 Pad work

Sunday

DAY OF REST



2) Who are your coaches in each martial art that you train in, such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing etcetera?
H Kickboxing - Henri Hooft & Sean Soriano

Wrestling - Greg Jones & Kami Barzini

No Gi Jiu Jitsu - Mario Sperry

Strength & Conditioning - Corey Peacock

3) How do you celebrate after you win a fight and how do you push your victories aside and focus on the next?
A week in Vegas, and then back to work a week or maybe two later.


4) Many of your fights, you able to just take people down with ease without a clinch?
For me that’s just the way I fight, I saw an opening so I shot for the take down, drive hard and explosive.

5) What motivates you to train the way you do today and what would you say about your successes in the past?
The will to win, I love this sport, and losing to Bader just made that fire burn worse than before. I feel like I have come along way and beat two former World Champions, but I’m still not happy, I know I’m destined to be a World Champion.

6) When you first started training what martial art did you start with or did you do it all in one piece?
I just started with no experience and enjoyed it at a local Mixed Martial Arts club, before you knew it I was getting ready for my first fight 6 months later.


7) Experiencing fighting different people do you ever look up your opponent to try to get info about them so that you can have an advantage on them when you fight that person?
Of course, I’m always watch and sizing up my division, as I know I’m going to be fighting them sooner or later.


8) Besides fighting in Bellator do you ever compete in separate martial arts tournaments like North American Grappling Association, Newbreed, IBJJF, or wrestling tournaments?
I have competed in the Naga and Kelos Grappling tournaments winning gold in both.

 

9) On a scale of 1-10 how hard do you thing you punch? Do you enjoy the impact of your hands when you do ground-n-pound how your fists vibrate after each land?
I have no clue but I’m going to guess pretty dam hard, as I have a number of TKO victories. I guess I do as I keep getting back in there ha ha.


10) What is your advice if someone asks you a question on how to be a champion, could you tell us in your words?
I get this question a lot, first you really do need to find a good gym that have the right coaches, and team mates to help push you, this isn’t a sport where you can only give 50% you need to give it your all, turn up everyday and put in the work, and work on all types of disciplines, Boxing, Kickboxing, Grapping, because you never know where the fight is going to go. And yes it’s going to be tough I’m ain’t going to lie, you will feel like quitting and you will feel like crying, but the pain won’t last forever but being a quitter will.

11) One more question? Can you tell us why you work with Fighting for Autism?
Well, I was approached by Paulieboy a good few years ago asking if I would like to help and be a ambassador, I didn’t have to think twice, I thought if I can even help or even make the smallest impact on someone’s life, I want to be a part of it, and help spread the word, and even put a smile on someone’s little face.

Linton wearing his custom Fighting For Autism Cap

 

We wanted to say a huge thank you to both Linton and Maximus for taking time out to carry an excellent interview

 

We would also like to say a humungous Congratulations to Junior Ambassador's

Rhys McCole and Maddie Mitchell.

 

 

Rhys and Maddie won their respective categories at the Community Champion awards this week in Scotland.

Rhys and Maddie who are facing adversities of their own are thriving through their respective sports

Rhys (Boxing)  and Maddie (Muay Thai).

The inspirational young warriors are inspiring others to #DareToBeDifferent and

 #ShineThroughTheSpectrum encouraging them to try something new, learn a new skill or make a new friend.

On behalf of everyone at #FightingForAutism We wanted to say Congratulation's and Thank You to both of these Junior Ambassadors for going the extra mile to raise a smile and being positive role models.

Fighting with Autism- Lewis "Twitch" Daykin

Fighting For Autism has had some absolutely amazing people come onboard as Fighter ambassadors , one of the things we pride ourselves on is actively involving those from within the autism community, in hope that their success stories go on to trigger the spark that will ignite so many more.

One of these ambassadors is a gentleman from Yorkshire in the United Kingdom named
Lewis "Twitch" Daykin.
Lewis is a larger than life character, an amazing personality that truly does shine through the spectrum and encompasses the message of Fighting For Autism message to Dare to be Different.
This gentleman along with our friends at Almighty Fighting Championship in Leeds, UK went to do fundraise from which the proceeds raised went to give 30 Fighting For Autism Junior ambassadors from around the world their own Fighting For Autism hoody and choice of patch or a  baseball cap, these youngsters are both on and off the spectrum and raising awareness in their respective clubs and in competition and driving the message of Autism awareness and most of all acceptance and understanding, and with some truly inspiring stories of their own.
Lewis truly does have a heart of gold.



My name is Lewis “Twitch” Daykin
I have Aspergers Syndrome, I have been doing boxing and Muay Thai now for nearly 9 years (including competing 2 years) my idol is world champion Muay Thai fighter  John Wayne Parr and I hope to train with him one day.
Besides training and competing, I love motorbikes.

How does Aspergers impact on your life?
“Well it impacts me with like new situations or going new places or having changes in my life and I do take things to heart a lot, but if someone explains everything to me slowly and n in a way i can understand i can be ok, so if I don’t understand something I will tell you that I don’t understand and because of that I can have a short temper sometimes“.

How old were you when you were diagnosed?
“I think i was about 3 years old when i was diagnosed with autism, according to my Mum“.


How was school whilst you were growing up?
“To be honest it was tough n not to sound like a sob story but I only had a few friends as I found it hard to make friends i was easily distracted at school n since autism was a relatively new thing non of the teachers really knew what to do same when i was in high school i was bullied throughout, for being autistic and the "freak" amongst many others name I was jumped about 7 times in high school, my Mum and Dad did every thing they could to make sure I was ok or as good as I could be“.

 A young Lewis whilst on holiday with a friend

How has Boxing and Muay Thai helped you?
“It helped me by giving me confidence in going out n been able to talk to new people and learning about the Thai culture and handling things better, I don’t think I could live without it” .

Lewis has also gone onto coach youngster at the gym where he trains Ludus Magnus

Who have been your biggest influences in your training?
“My biggest influences in training are champion Muay Thai fighter, John Wayne Parr but my biggest influences are Neil Wain and John Popelwell I want to be as successful as them they have made there mark on the combat world and I want to follow in there foot steps. (I love them both like family J )”.

Lewis in competition at a boxing event.

What would be your advice be to someone on the autistic spectrum be?
“Hmmm my advice would be yes things in life are going to be hard really hard but set a goal in life start of with small goals and gradually make bigger ones if you are on the  autistic spectrum, please understand that  you are more awesome than you can ever imagine J ”.

Fighting with Autism - Smashing down Stereotypes, Daring to be Different with Boxing

We proudly introduce 5 gifted young boxers, each one of them is a Fighting For Autism Junior Ambassador and each of them is on the Autistic Spectrum
.

Josh Westcott, Alex MacDonald, Zak Lovell, Nas Stowell and Rhys McCole

In a little over a year Fighting For Autism, started the Junior Ambassador programme with young champions both on and off the Autistic Spectrum from around the globe helping to raise awareness through their chosen sport or martial art whether it be  Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Taekwondo, Judo, Muay Thai, Kickboxing and the list goes on, with some truly inspiring journeys and stories being shared.

In the past year Fighting for Autism has accrued some of inspiring youngsters from around the world to help raise awareness together with us and at their respective clubs  and when they compete.
the amazing part is that the Junior Ambassadors are made up of future champions who are both on and off the autistic Spectrum todays blog brings you an insight into 5 of these individuals who are not only boxers, but are also on the autistic spectrum.

Josh Westcott, Zak Lovell, Nas Stowell, Rhys McCole from the United Kingdom and Alex MacDonald from the USA, are not just training and competing but also inspiring each other and others to perhaps try something new and pick up a new skill.
To say these gentlemen were inspiring would be an understatement these young men are leading the way in smashing down stereotypes, and shining the torch high for so many other people to show the world what they can do.
Last year, Nas, Rhys, Josh and Zak got the chance to interview former WBC world champion
Wayne "Pocket Rocket" McCullough, their passion for their sport is phenomenal, and the questions asked were excellent.

Hearing amazing insights about these young men from their parents, carers and coaches on how through boxing, notable improvements socially and academically has gone on to see them blossom into gentleman that are truly something to be proud of, they are an absolute credit to themselves, their families, their clubs, their sport and #FightingForAutism


Nas(Naseem) " T-Rex" Stowell- Junior Ambassador from Hessle, England

 

 

 

 



"I always knew Nas was different but no one would listen to me. When he started school age 4 he could hardly speak and cried constantly as he rocked back and forth.
By the age of 7 he had been labelled the naughty child in school, had no friends and was struggling to survive at school. His naughty label followed him through school, where he was falling further behind and spending hours in isolation.
I was called into school every day and told he was disrupting the class with his strange noises and periods of zoning out. I told him he wasn’t naughty and begged for help.
Nas started play therapy two afternoons a week as well as school and home observations with a psychologists followed by months of testing at the children’s centre. All through this the school told me I would never get a diagnosis for Nas and that he would never achieve anything as he was simply just naughty.
Eventually when Nas was 10 the results come in, Nas was diagnosed with ADHD, Tic’s and falls into the spectrum for Autism as he has many autistic traits.
Naseem Started on medication twice a day and the change was amazing, he could suddenly focus and began to catch up.
Nas went from 60/70% attendance at school to 100% also making a couple of friends and was happy.
Naseem started to train in 2012  and took to Boxing Instantly, boxing has now become his passion and he trains every day.
Naseem has had 6 fights, won 3 and lost 3 and won best boxer of the night 3 times and has also won the most dedicated boxer award at the club". (Liz - Nas's Mum)

In between this Nas is a keen fundraiser, putting his feet to the floor, doing sponsored runs to raise funds for his boxing club so that they can purchase new equipment so other kids can benefit from the sport just as he has.

Josh Westcott - Boxer and  Junior Ambassador from Glasgow, Scotland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Josh was diagnosed with Asperger's when he was 10 after 5 hard years fighting to get the school and doctor to listen. Josh was bullied by staff in his primary school and received a written and verbal apology for it. He started boxing 3 and a half years ago after completing CBT for the anger he had from being bullied. From the very first boxing session Josh was hooked, improving and growing every week. Boxing has helped every area in Josh's life, from confidence, self esteem, patience, even helping him not be fast reacting to frustrating situations, and he now also helps coach his clubs under 12 class, it has been 100% beneficial.

Josh doesn't have his nickname yet, some call him "Juggernaut Josh" although he's not used it at a bout yet. He boxes as a 75kg Junior Middleweight which is tough to match for in Scotland as his year peers have always been smaller, we're hoping for more matches as his peers stretch. Josh boxes out of Bellahouston Boxing Club in Southside Glasgow Scotland. (Serena- Josh's Mum )

Josh has also gone on to become good friends and a training partner to Junior Ambassador  Rhys McCole

 

 

Zak "Rocky"  Lovell- Boxer and Junior Ambassador from Burton on Trent, England

 

 

 

 

"Zak is 16 years old,  He is 59kg, and fights for Burton Amateur Boxing Club, he has had one skills bout and competitive bout, his club said he did them really proud.   Zak trains 4 nights a week at Burton ABC, and then a 5th night at the club with coach Neville Brown - he also has some private coaching sessions with Neville". ( Cat-Zak's Mum, who has gone on to gain a boxing qualification)

 

Zak was inspired to become a Junior Ambassador by Nas "T-Rex" Stowell, and is going from strength to strength.

At Christmas we asked for  festive posts to be put up with a Fighting For Autism hash tag, with the winner receiving a pair of customised Fighting For Autism Gloves, Zak's post not only that wasn't your average yuletide theme, but what it did do was look at a young gentleman who has come so far on his journey, never gave up, keeps practicing and is becoming better and better at the sport he loves on a daily basis.
a young man inspired by boxing greats like the "Brockton Blockbuster" Rocky Marciano this is where Zak has taken his fighting nickname from.

 

 

Alex "White Chocolate" MacDonald - Boxer and  Junior Ambassador from New York USA

 

 

 

 "I started boxing 1 year ago and loved it ever since. Growing up with autism no one really understands me. No one had my back so I would always have my own. People who always call me names and harass me non stop. I always stood up for myself and not run away. I would always confront them and never back down. This lead to me getting my butt kicked everyday. It was not until 10th grade were I wanted to play a sport. I found out wrestling a few days into 12th grade and joined the team. After the season was over I wanted to be in another combat sport. I wanted to box when I was young so I started boxing 1 year ago. Right now I love boxing more than anything in the world. I have found my purpose in life. It is to be the best boxer in history and to do it having autism. I know if I accomplish that there will be so many people who will think differently about them having autism. They will start having themselves to a higher standard in life. They will not think autism is a curse, they will start thinking it's a blessing".(Alex McDonald)

Alex is Fighting For Autism's first boxing Junior Ambassador in the USA and is highly regarded by his coaches and training partners.

Rhys McCole-  Boxer and Junior Ambassador from Greenock, Scotland

 

 

 

 

Rhys is a young gentleman who has over come significant adversity, Rhys not only is on the Autistic Spectrum but also faced battles with asthma, multiple holes in his heart, visual disorder and
Meares-Irlen Syndrome  as well.
Rhys who started boxing at the age of 10, and has gone on to capture gold medals at National level, a few months back Rhys was in hospital not knowing if he'd be able to compete, not only did he get out of hospital, he went on to win his weight category, his determination and dedication have seen him earn praise from Sports Scotland.
Rhys has said  " Boxing has given me the chance to flourish and make friends, its helping me to progress as a person as well as an athlete".

"Rhys was born with four holes in his heart and spent time in intensive care as a baby. He fought then and he is still fighting, despite being diagnosed with five other disabilities and learning difficulties.
Boxing has been a life-changer for Rhys and he had to battle his way into it as there is no disabled strand in boxing within Scotland. Luckily, consultants gave him the green light to be a mainstream boxer and he has excelled.
His hard work and dedication have not only led to him winning medals and titles but also many admirers at his sheer bravery and unwavering belief that everyone should be treated equally".
James- Rhys's carer.