25 years Training 20 Years Coaching Part 1 of 5

2020 is a big milestone year for me. It is 25 years since I started BJJ & Muay Thai Kickboxing training and 20 years since I started coaching. I have written my journey in 5 parts and have found some photos from the archives. Feel free to like, comment and share this post.

Part 1 of 5: 1995-1997

I wanted to do martial arts since I was a teenager. I came from a soccer loving family and I played on the local scene for 15 years before starting martial arts. I wasn’t that good at it. My brother went on to play for Australia in soccer. Instead I loved watching all of Jeff Fenech and Mike Tyson’s boxing matches and also the WWE! I finally did my first martial arts lesson at the age of 22.

I was at uni and need a job so I decided to be a bouncer. I thought I should learn some fight skills. Back in that day there was no internet. I read a lot of books on martial arts and decided I wanted to do Karate, Kickboxing & Jiu-Jitsu. I opened up the big yellow pages and found IMC in Kemps Creek which taught exactly that.

My first class was a BJJ class on a Monday night. I remember learning the Scissor sweep and Stack guard pass. The coach Paul Zadro had John Will teach a seminar at his academy the day before. John Will was a BJJ Brown Belt at the time and the highest rank in Australia at the time. I ended up joining IMC and did Kempo Karate and Thai Kickboxing with him.

I told my friend David Varga of BJJ and we ended up going to a local gym and rolling around on the carpet a few times. Oh the carpet burn! At the end of 1995 we both went to a BJJ seminar held by Carlos Gracie Junior and two of his current World Champion Black Belts Marcio Feitosa and Roberto “Gordo” Correa (Founder of the Half Guard). At the seminar I met Anthony Lange who was a BJJ Blue Belt under John Will.

In January 2006 I started to train at a BJJ academy for the first time with Anthony Lange 2 days per week at his Manly academy. I continued to train Thai Kickboxing with Paul Zadro on two other days per week at Kemps Creek. I lived in Concord which was 45 minutes from each academy! I trained at both places till I left for the USA in August 1997.

Next week is Part 2: 1997 to 2002.

Coach Anthony Perosh

https://teamperoshmma.com.au/

#mma #brazilianjiujitsu #muaythaikickboxing #wrestling #boxing #thegoalistoachievetheperformancerequiredtowin #trainhard #befirst #nochill #believeinyourself #teamwork #loyalty #family #respect #discipline

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