Name: Brian Heeter

Age: 41

Profession: Electrical Engineer

How long have you practiced martial arts: Various arts and disciplines (including Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do, Shotokan Karate, Kali/Arnis, Jeet Kune Do, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing, submission wrestling) starting in the early 1990s. I would give one a try and go for a couple of months until I got a feel for it and had an idea of how well it would work for me. If I thought the style didn’t work for me I would try something else. Sometimes it was just a matter of what was available and who was taking the class. If other students that I respected were in the class I would give it a try.

How did you get started: I graduated from Purdue where I swam for 3 years and realized that while I could still swim, my best days were behind me and I was ready for a change, anyway. I thought about what I had always wanted to do that my parents would never let me do and martial arts came immediately to mind.

How often do you practice: I attend class twice a week and then a sparring session once a week. I try to get into the Iron Pit to lift weights twice a week and then once a week get in a higher intensity cardio workout that simulates a 3-round mixed martial arts fight. If I were training for a fight I would attend more classes and be lifting weight 3 times per week.

Describe a typical practice or work-out: The Muay Thai kickboxing and mixed martial arts classes at Monroe County Martial Arts (MCMA) are very much geared toward supervised repetitions. You get a good sweat going but doing the techniques properly is the top priority. You can workout on your own time but you’ve only got the instructors to correct your technique during class. So, you have to make learning and executing technique correctly your primary focus. We get warmed up, work combinations and techniques for the majority of the class and then, if you have been cleared to wrestle, there is a limited sparring session at the end of the mixed martial arts class. When I’m at the Iron Pit, I am concentrating on cardio with some strength training thrown in. I really don’t enjoy lifting weights that much so I get warmed up, do a leg (squat), back (deadlift) or whole body exercise (hang clean) and then get on the elliptical for 20 minutes of cardio. Then I’m done! I try to get in, get it done and get out! If I were training for a fight I would have a much larger number of exercises to do.

How did you get involved in mixed martial arts: I don’t exactly recall. I think I was taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes and the UFC was starting to get exposure nationally. Classes were offered at MCMA and I jumped in.

Tell us about your first MMA competition: Finally, a win! I fought two kickboxing matches when I was 36 and lost both: one I was knocked out; and the other I just got beat up all 3 rounds and lost the decision. When I fought in the cage I was a bit tentative at first but when my opponent didn’t show much offense I started opening up. It was obvious that he didn’t take his training as seriously as I had and that he didn’t have a plan for dealing with my height and reach advantage. I was able to land several heavy kicks to his legs and many knees to his body and face. The referee stepped in and stopped the fight 20 seconds into the 2nd round and I was awarded a technical knockout victory.

How did you prepare for it: My lead coach and instructor at MCMA, Dave Miller, frequently tells his students that the first guy to get tired loses. So cardio conditioning was a very big focus. Adam Schaeuble of Next Generation PT drew up a 9-week strength and conditioning plan that got me into the best shape I’ve been in since college. We got information about my opponent and developed a game plan based on my strengths, experience and body type compared to my opponent’s. We ran a lot of what-if scenarios in which I depended heavily on training partners who were willing to train harder and with heavy contact than is normally done. Josh Kinser, Mick Williams and Kathryn Gardiner were great training partners that would do strength and conditioning with me, hit me harder and get hit harder than normal. There is no substitute for having people who are willing to step things up to help you prepare.

What did you learn: Training for this fight was different than any other training I had done before. In college I would train to swim for an entire season not just one race. With the fight training I was putting lots of hours in preparation for what might end up being 11 minutes of time: Three 3-minute rounds with a minute break between them. The focus made the training much more meaningful. And I also learned about facing fear. There is nothing like knowing for weeks and months that you don’t have to do this, but if you do someone is going to be waiting for you and he will try to hurt you, make you bleed and break your spirit. And then you do it anyway.

Why was it as you say your debut and your farewell: My wife, Kris, was the opposite of thrilled when I told her that I was going to fight in the cage. I had two kickboxing fights when I was 36 and lost both of them. In the first I was knocked out in early in the 2nd round. I went down in a heap but I managed to get up by the count of 8. I tried to look like I was ready to keep fighting but the referee was smart enough to see that I wasn’t in any condition to continue. Kris held an ice bag on the back of my neck for the next half hour to try to help me cool down while I sat and kept repeating, “That was cool!” I didn’t train properly for my second fight and my cardio showed. I was basically a heavybag for my opponent for all 3 rounds and he easily won the decision. After that I thought, “I’m too old for this and I don’t have the fire inside of me to train like I know I should.” So, I resigned myself to training just as a hobby and to be a good training partner, coach and instructor. At the end of 2008, two of my training partners (Josh Kinser and Mick Williams) were on the same fight card and I was helping them in preparation leading up to their fights. I was really enjoying the focus and intensity that it brought to our training. I started thinking about fighting again. I spoke with Adam Schaeuble of Next Generation PT and he got me onto a strength and conditioning program. My plan was that I would train like I was going to fight and leave my decision until I did a practice weight cut and sparring session to simulate the fight. The weight cut and sparring session went well and I submitted my name to the promoter. Then I told Kris. She understood that it was something that I wanted to do and would support me but she couldn’t bring herself to go watch after witnessing me get beat up twice previously. The training was great but it took up lots of time and energy that normally would have been spent elsewhere and other parts of my life were neglected. Having fought in the cage once has satisfied my desire so I don’t feel that I’m missing anything or cheating myself by not fighting again.

What are the differences/similarities between martial arts and MMA: I think of a martial art like the solution to a problem. Tae Kwon Do and the various styles of Karate use different techniques for the means of attack and defense, whether it’s in a competition or in life. Mixed martial arts is a sport which allows you to use any martial arts style to win a fight that starts with both combatants standing and frequently sees the fight transition and continue on the ground.

What are the health benefits of each: Many martial arts only deal with a portion of the fight game. For example, Tae Kwon Do is a stand up art with no attention paid to fighting on the ground. This allows you to focus on balance, striking and coordination. With mixed martial arts you are “forced” to think about all aspects of the game. Both encourage you to get and stay fit and are great stress relievers.

Best lifestyle change in the last five years: I don’t think I’ve made any changes, I’ve merely stuck with what has worked for me over the years: staying active and moving forward. By moving forward I mean that instead of setting specific goals I put myself on a path and see how far I can go. I enjoy and get benefits from the journey but since I don’t have a destination I can’t fail. For example, when I started Muay Thai kickboxing in 1997, I had no plans of earning my instructor rating (black belt equivalent) I just wanted to learn if Muay Thai was a stand-up style that would work for me. I saw the test that candidates had to take and wanted nothing to do with it. In October 2001 I tested and passed my instructor’s test. After that I asked myself, “What’s next?” For me it was fighting. So, I started working toward that end. Some people need goals to motivate them but I find that I get too focused on the goal and stop enjoying what I’m doing.

Health/fitness advice: Whatever you are doing, don’t stop. If you do stop, do something else. If you get bored, change something. It’s OK to take some time off and give yourself a rest but don’t take too much time off or you will really hate things when you get back to working out. There are some injuries you can train with and there are some that force you to take time off. You have to be smart and do something with your body or you will fall out of the good habits you have built up, gain weight, your fitness will decline, etc. If you are just starting out, go slowly. I tell students that they have the rest of their lives to do this stuff, whether it is kickboxing, wrestling, whatever. You don’t have to get it right today. Same goes for fitness. If you jump right into the deep end and injure yourself you are worse off than when you started out since you are out of action and frustrated.

What motivates you: I train because it’s a fun activity. I like the learning process, I like the competition during sparring, I like helping training partners prepare for fights, I like being in better shape than the average 41 year old.

How do you stay driven: I know that if I put the time in to my training I will be fresher than my opponents and training partners and when they feel like quitting I will be ready to go another round.

INspiration ingredients

What inspires you: My training partners, coaches and students. Whether I show somebody a technique and then next week they use it on me; a meek person comes in and a couple of months later you see a completely different side to that person because you’ve helped him conquer fear; an unhealthy person takes steps to change his habits and become more healthy; training partners that have a skill sets that are superior to mine. Inspiration is all around.

Who: If I had to pick out a celebrity/sports figure I’d say Randy Couture. I believe he’s 46 and still winning in the UFC.