This is the last fight I had at the 2001 Southern American Nationals in Nashville, TN.
I was fighting for 1st and 2nd place against World Champion Brian Ruth.
When I was a young teen, coming up in the national circuit of competition, I always looked up to Brian, as he was a great fighter.
Anyways, at the time, in 2001, I was 20 years old and had a couple of years under me in the Adult Black Belt Heavy weight division.
During this fight, I started off pretty well, but Brian was than able to find some good openings.
At the end, Brian Ruth got a very good shot, on my chin. Next thing you know, I’m falling like a tree. The funny thing is, Brian didn’t hit me that hard. It was just a clean hit to the chin. Props to him.
I ended up having to bow out and getting 2nd place.
Even though, I lost, I still had a good showing at the Southern American. Unfortunately, though, I was unable to defend my Grand Champion title from the previous year.
I’ve had quite a bit of videos uploaded recently of Karate tournaments I competed in back in my professional fighting days.
These next series of fights are from the Southern American 2001 in Nashville, TN. I was a product of the David Deaton Karate Studios in Hermitage, TN and the previous year, I had actually won my division and the Grand Champion title, which was a big deal.
The Southern American Nationals was one of the biggest tournaments in the south that was hosted by World Champion David Deaton.
Going back to Tennessee to compete in this tournament was always fun because I was able to catch up with friends, but more importantly, show that my training and skills have gone to the next level.
In my opinion, in order to get better and grow, we must leave our small pond and venture into the ocean. I did exactly that by moving to Colorado and training with other, world caliber martial artists.
Anyways, below is one of my first fights at the 2001 Southern American.
