Ben smith Def. Rico Washington by Unanimous dec. 1/26/13
Calm, cool, and collected but ever the competitior is Ben smith.
Moving from Las Vegas to Minnesota months ago with his Family, Smith has been a great addition to The Academy MMA team as both a practice partner for everybody big to small, but also an overall great pressence to have in the room everyday.
What is your martial arts background & how did you get started in MMA?
Ben:” I started training in MMA around 3 years ago in an effort to connect with my roots as a wrestler. I started wrestling when I was 5 years old, and after having been disconnected from the sport for almost 10 years, I felt there was a major piece of my foundation as a person that was missing, or at least lacking the appropriate nurture. MMA has filled those gaps for me.”
What motivates you day in day out?
Ben:” I’m motivated to wake up and face the grind every day by an uncompromising need to seek out personal actualization. The sense of merit and accomplishment, which my involvement in MMA supplies, allows for me to be a better, happier, and more adjusted man for my family.”
How did you end up at the academy?
Ben:” I spent the last couple years training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Although I was happy to move back to Minneapolis in order to be closer to family, I was nervous about finding a gym that would suit my needs as well Xtreme. Everyone I asked told me that The Academy was where it’s at. They were completely right, and I’m incredibly honored to be a part of the gym.”
What are your goals as a competitor?
Ben: “My only concrete goal in MMA since I started was to get myself to the UFC. I figure that when that happens, I will reassess and come up with some new ones.”
What do you enjoy most about the sport/ training at the academy?
Ben:” I love competing in MMA because its a tangible attack against immobility, doubt, and fear. Every person, in one fashion or another, has to face those things in life. Competing in one on one combat just happens to be the medium that best suits me.”
“What I love most about The Academy is the motto it operates under (Opera non Verba…Deeds not Words). I wish all factions of the world would operate under this very simple, and very noble principle.”
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