with Dalton Salinas
5/27/2010
MMA - THE HEART OF AMERICA
I have been watching the history channel and the mini series "America The Story Of Us". It is quite a fascinating piece of work. It definitely makes me proud to be an American - even with the many attacks and people being self appointed agents of change. We Americans are still a very ingenious, innovative and hard working people. However; our government is no longer effective. If we ran our gym the same way the government runs the DMV we would be out of buisness!
We Americans are still a very ingenious, innovative and hard working people and MMA is an expression of America's very soul. What other country would start a promotion to find out which martial art is truly the most effective, and to find out who really is the baddest of the bad. What other country has put two boxers in the ring where the athletes get paid up to 30 million dollars.
We Americans are a melting pot of people and we have used the ideas that immigrants have brought here and made this country even better.
The Natives of this country have contributed many things to our individuality that they seldom get credit for. John P. Colby brought little Irish pit dogs to America and bred them to be American Pit Bull Terriers - which were the very symbol for America and the symbol of victory during World War 2. We were the first to make steel, drill for oil and Mr. Ford came up with the Model T so that everybody could experience the freedom of being mobile. Harley Davidson turned a motorcycle into a lifestyle, we put a man onto a brahma bull and turned it into one of the most exciting sports in the nation. Bootleggers building cars to out run the cops is now Nascar. Where else do these things happen?
It would take a month to write down all the many things Americans have contributed to the world, we are the most generous nation history has ever seen. We are the first ones there at every disaster no matter what the country and the tragedy. We are fighters.
I know DogBoxer brand is the symbol for American fighters. MMA is the very soul of America with the innovation of combining all the martial arts the world has to offer and not only making a more effective form of combat, but a billion dollar industry.
It saddens me at times to see what the powers that be try to do to us and our country, we have so many haters that would love nothing better to see MMA banned here in the USA. People are trying to eliminate the American Pit Bull - trying to tell us what sport we can partake in, what breed of dog we can own. They want to take away our right to bear arms - I mean the list goes on.
I remember when the seat belt law came into being, is it not a right to drive in our car with out a seat belt? As long as we are not hurting others what difference does it make. Now I am not saying it is a good thing not to wear a seat belt - I have personal experience of what this can do if you are in an accident, but does it have to be a law? And if you get caught not wearing one they take your money and if you get enuff tickets for not wearing one they take away your driving privileges. If I want to be stupid and not wear my seat belt and it only hurts me should I not have that right? Why couldn't they just campaign that the goverment cares about its citizens and asks that we please wear it for our own safety?
There are so many examples I could give for this type of regulation. How many Americans have died for our God given right to be FREE. It does not matter who is President, these are our real issues. Who decides how much freedom we have?
I do think we Americans have gotten soft and spoiled. Some of these issues are our own fault - just for letting them happen. Power hungry people decide what is best for us, will it ever stop? I am well aware I cannot solve the worlds problems. All I am lookin to do is stir some thought on the subject. Looking back at history is a good thing so as not to repeat mistakes, but its also good to remember where we came from.
So much of what we take for granted started out as somebodies dream, and many times somebody had to fight for that dream and even die for that dream. That is our history no matter what race you are. One thing we all have in common is that we are Americans and we are here because people had a dream of a free nation and they were willing to fight for that dream as well as die for that dream. Should we be no less committed?
This is our country! Every human has a dream and every person has the RIGHT to make that dream come true and like it or not we are all in this together, we need to fight together and if things keep going the way they are going - die together.
If we have something worth dying for - we are a very blessed people - in my opinion.
- Dalton Salinas
5/14/2010
WHO IS A "REAL" FIGHTER?
It has been awhile since I have written an article. Between training camps and shows the last couple months - haven't had much time. I do have a few observations if anybody cares to read them.
Seems to be a ton of guys trying MMA lately - I was careful not to say fighters because there is a difference between a guy practicing MMA and a fighter. I do give props to anyone who gets in the cage - it truly takes some heart. It can also take away a person's heart.
I am working with around 20 guys right now, out of the 20 maybe 4 are real fighters. The real fighters work, they live a fighters lifestyle, they enjoy a win maybe for a weekend and more often than not are very dissatisfied with their performance.
Now a guy practicing MMA will live as long as he possibly can in victory over a win, and not only are they happy with their most recent performance they will do a play by play of the fight to anybody and everybody who will listen for as long as they possibly can. They take their week off, maybe more if a rib hurts.
A fighter is back in the gym the following Monday trying to fix every mistake they made either real or imagined, they have no time for time off unless they are truly nursing an injury and even then often come back to soon. A real fighter at the amateur level wants every fight he can get his hands on, while a practitioner wants to see fight tape dating back as far as possible, wants to think about it a week, haggles over what weight the fight is going to be at and then wants to think about it some more. The real fighter many times has to be told "no - you are not fighting that guy, you are not ready", he gets mad and beats everyone of his sparring partners up and apologizes after, saying he was mad because I did not make that fight for him.
Now I am not by any means disrespecting the guy who is not there yet or will never be there, I am merely pointing out the difference, and anybody who has been in the fight game awhile - knows what I am talking about. I am sure you all are aware the American Pit Bull is the symbol for DogBoxer and the heart and courage they display. Now a dog is either born with heart or not, very black and white, but a human can choose - granted some have more naturally than others, but it still is a choice. Even though few make that choice anymore. We have bred a very soft and spoiled people these last couple of generations, but it is satisfying to see a young person come into the gym who chooses to and is determined to hone their skills and put themselves thru trial and tribulation until not only are the physical skills and the conditioning there but the heart and the courage to become a true warrior.
Sometimes these are the very ones who make it to the championship levels - by choosing to have heart, by observing how champions got to the levels they have gotten to and mimicking what they see. Champions begin with the end in mind, they see themselves as champions and then do what champions do to get there - even when the odds are against them. They are better off for it because it still gets them to the destination they are supposed to be at whatever that may be. It is thru the bad times, the struggles the trials of life that our character is built.
The people who constantly bob and weave away from this and always choose the path of least resistance are robbing themselves of the very things that I believe are put in our path to make us great, or at the very least better people, stronger people, people that wake up in the morning and try to matter to somebody or something.
These things not only build our character but they make us humble, able to help another and keep us from being so self centered we are not worth the led asprin it would take to put us out of our misery-- just saying.
- Dalton Salinas
2/17/2010
HOW REAL IS ULTIMATE FIGHTER?
I've been asked how real I think the Ultimate Fighter show is. Well the other day I was watching Dog The Bounty Hunter as it came on TV - now Dog fans please forgive me for what I am about to say, but as I watched this Dog doing his reality TV show I did not see much reality at all. I saw this middle aged guy dressed up like Sitting Bull saying he was native. I mean the guy has blond hair with a bald spot, shaves his chest and looks more like a guy from the Aryan Nation than a native. He runs around talking about how dangerous his job is all the while he is pepper spraying dope fiends. Then he talks about how he is a hardened convict and was locked up for murder in Texas, but he's been out 30 years. The last time I checked Texas gave murderers life or a led aspirin. I don't even want to go into the impression I got from his wife because I don't believe its fair to talk about a man's wife unless he is in front of me, but words might not describe what I saw anyway.
So the Ultimate Fighter is plenty real compared to this wanna be Indian running around in cowboy boots spraying bail jumpers with pepper spray. Now they do script certain things and encourage certain behavior to make it more entertaining, but they are training and fighting for real and for that we give them props and we give them hope for their continued success. I have heard from guys taping the next series that it's going to be a good one, its the 185 division and they do have some good talent fighting for real to earn the contract. Hopefully the fighters who don't make the cut don't end up in the intense violent world of Dog The Bounty Hunter. I mean what fighter could possibly survive a day with all the harsh reality and brutality he has to deal with everyday!!!!!
- Dalton Salinas
2/10/2010
FINDING A DREAM GYM
How does a guy go about finding a gym that can take him to where his dream is demanding?
Whether he or she wants to make a run for the top or compete in amateurs or just get in shape and be a body for the other competitors - you need family and friends who will not get jealous because you are doing what they will not.
I can say for certain at our gym fighters come and fighters go, some gyms are great at grappling and some at striking, some at boxing some at Muay Thai, some are connected in high places some couldn't make a fight to save their life, but to be a successful fighter you need a TEAM. Not all fighters are blessed with that luxury, but one thing I know - if you don't have a gym that believes in your dream you are at the wrong gym!
I work for a very famous fighter and he had a dream. I believed not only in him, but his dream as well. He was a former world champion - so it was not a huge stretch I guess to believe in what he was doing as he has had much success in most of his endeavors. Even tho we have not reached the full vision of that dream as of yet - we have accomplished many other dreams along the way and even added a couple that are far greater than the one I jumped on board with. He is the one that taught me early on - fighters come and fighters go, MMA can be very difficult, there is so much to learn and so many ways to do things. One of the things we do best is we believe in the dreams of the men and women we train. We will do whatever it takes to see it to completion, we are not afraid to go for the very top prize, as we strive to be the best every day.
It all started with a dream and without that I don't think all the training in the world would matter much. It takes a lot of sacrifice to be a fighter, tons and tons of work, all the discipline a person can muster and then beat yourself down to gain more discipline and dedication like your life depends on it. That's how dreams come true and that's why many do not achieve them.
Many gyms are capable of bringing a young fighter to maturity, training them well and giving good value for their time and money, but only dream gyms will get behind you with all they have to achieve your dream, no matter how big or how small and if you can ever find a gym that will believe in you and your dream then that's your gym.
Who knows how many more AKA Lion Den's, America Top Teams, Greg Jackson Teams are out there if men and woman can remain faithful to their dreams and to each other, only the future will tell for certain. Let's hope we get to see them rise and support them when they do cuz most of them started with a dream!!!!!!!!
- Dalton Salinas
