Very few times in life am I privileged enough to be part of an experience so truly humbling, that it takes my brain time to process everything that went down. As any of you who read my blog know, I am a huge advocate for mental health care, and I wanted to shine a light on the military personnel of our country, who have a staggering high number of suicide rates (averaging 20-22 per day) especially among young Veterans who have served or are still serving. This past Veteran’s Day Weekend, I was honored to take part in refereeing, competing, and interviewing several esteemed people at the first annual Ranger Up tournament that took place in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I spoke with those who ran nonprofits, those who endured hardships in battle overseas, a decorated WWII Vet, and former UFC & MMA fighter & Green Beret Tim Kennedy. Ranger Up worked tirelessly to put this event together and I look forward to partaking in it every year.
Ranger Up was founded in 2006 by Nick Palmisciano. A former US Army infantry officer, he began creating apparel to stay connected to the military community. If anyone knows Nick, I doubt they would be surprised by the level of success he has reached. His charismatic personality, creativity, and sense of humor left him destined to achieve greatness, (although I still like his wife, Suzy more, but that’s because she’s pretty awesome) and it helps that the content they put out is incredible. Just check out this video Nick put out with Ranger Up bossman Matt Phinney on the rules for the tournament and let the hilarity ensue. As you can see, rules were meant to heavily favor the aggressor with (gasp) guard pulling coming at a cost. My absolute favorite rule set for a competition to date.
First off, I got to interview Tim freaking Kennedy. Easily one of the proudest moments I’ve accumulated (even tops me organizing my spice rack alphabetically) and although I was sweating profusely every time he spoke to me, I was able to get great insight on lots of work the legendary fighter has achieved. Tim told me he walked straight into the recruiting office on September 11th, 2001 and officially joined the Army in 2014; and if that isn’t a “grab life by the balls” type of attitude then I don’t know what is. He’s the kind of person who dictates his own destiny and sets out for it guns (literally) blazing. He went into the Special Forces and took the Green Beret Qualification course where he told me there was something exciting about knowing you would be heading off to war almost immediately afterwards. And sure enough, 3 months after graduating, he went overseas where he did tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, South America, South Africa, and Europe. Tim called his time in the military one of those “perfect careers” where he got to do everything he wanted, including going to sniper school, ranger school, specialized courses on how to combat terrorism, and training in hostage/rescue scenarios.
As if all of this didn’t make him seem terrifyingly dangerous enough, Tim was also actively fighting while still being enlisted in the Army. He turned pro at the age of 17 and competed in the Army Combatives tournament 3 times, winning all 3 instances at light heavyweight. Once was immediately after graduating the ‘Q’ course, once was 2 weeks after returning from Iraq, and the third time he competed, won, and then immediately walked on over to Ranger school, so basically Tim is the definition of wasting zero time in the pursuit of his career. He hilariously told me about getting involved in Ranger Up when they required a “model” and hired him to pose with gorgeous girls on the back of a motorcycle and Nick had laid into him the whole time about having something so nice between his legs for once while straddling the bike. He knew then that these were the people he wanted to do business with and ended up becoming a co-owner of Ranger Up.
After his incredible military career (including his time with the Texas Army National Guard), Tim really took off in the Mixed Martial Arts World. Most recognize him from his incredible bouts back in the days of StrikeForce and then with his decorated career in the UFC once they disbanded, earning fight of the night bonuses and knockout of the night bonuses, where he told me his knockout against Rafael Natal in the Fight for the Troops event was his most rewarding. Not because he had 4 prior opponents that had backed out (totally no idea what that’s like by the way) but he ran into people he had served with, including a medic who helped his wounded and partially blown apart friend during the war and then said hi to him as he made his way into the cage that night. Tim said something that stuck with me particularly, about how no one he was with on any of his tours got seriously hurt but he had been surrounded by a lot of pain, and when he left the military, he almost felt as if he had abandoned his brothers. So when he fought that particular night, it was the most unreal experience and significant instance where he felt he was truly doing the right thing. I got to listen to Tim describe how if a terrorist walked into the room at that moment it would be pretty cool because he would spike double him into the wall through the concrete and I have never felt safer in my entire life and I am honestly surprised I didn’t hear the sound of a hundred panties dropping to the floor right then. Whatever Tim said, I knew to be true because that is one bad man and watching him compete in the gi and for no gi on Saturday was a surreal experience. I will go into more detail on my interview with Tim in a separate article, as I want to highlight some other people I spoke with at the event, but what an amazing experience this was and I’ll leave this one with his final piece of advice that “there’s no excuse not to train. Ever.”
Everett “Bud” Hampton was a Major in the United States Marine Corps and served in both World War II and Korea. He enlisted in 1942 where his whole family was involved in the military. Bud climbed the ranks at a remarkably rapid pace. I’ve never been speechless before, but I was listening to this heroic man’s stories. First of all, his memory is absolutely incredible, ranging from the details he provided when they stormed Iwo Jima for 11 days with 10 officers and he was the only one that remained by day 9 and was wounded in the ordeal, to his time as commander in Korea immediately after his college graduation in 1950. He retired from the military in 1965 where worked for the University, first as a loan officer for 6 years and then as a business manager for the department of surgery for another 18 years. Bud proudly told me of the time when movie director Darryl. F. Zanuck came aboard their ship and asked them if they would film the landing sequence for his movie, ‘The Longest Day.’ He told me with glee how when filming wrapped, he asked Zanuck for his director’s chair and he still has it to this day and it is one of his most prized possessions. Bud and his wife adopted their son and daughter in the 50’s and watching him beam with pride swelled my heart. What a hero this man is and speaking to him was a huge honor.
I also got to speak with Jennifer Woods, the Director of Development for the US Veterans Corps who also sang an absolutely beautiful rendition of the National Anthem to kick things off. She told me about the various programs their nonprofit offers, including: 1) Toys for Little Troops- providing toy drives for low income families of deployed soldiers, which is how they became involved with Ranger Up 2) Rescue Ruck- providing food to needy veterans, especially those in transition, and bringing food on base as well.They work closely with the Raleigh Veteran Center and even broke the Guinness world record in 2011 for amount of food donated 3) Rescue Response Team- providing disaster relief by collecting and dispersing supplies to affected areas such as with the recent Hurricanes. They have flown, driven, and dispersed over 10,000 pounds of supplies to areas in need 4) Operation Coming Home- headed by fonder and president Andrew Ladner, they provide housing to Vets on their return to civilian life. They just finished their 18th home and are currently working on numbers 19 & 20 where everything is done Pro Bono and the Veteran is only responsible for insurance and property taxes 5) Tactical Caisson Unit- military funeral teams that aid in transfer from the deceased’s funeral home to their final resting place. They want to make sure the Veteran receives the honor and respect they deserve for their service with a proper funeral proceeding.
Jennifer is doing absolutely outstanding work with Veterans in need and their families and this type of work has all my respect and appreciation. While the majority of their work is done on the East Coast, they have traveled all over the country to help, including Texas. They also broke the record for most amount of toys donated in a 24 hour period back in 2016. You can read more about all the wonderful programs they are involved in here.
I spoke with a friend, local competitor, and volunteer at this event Will Phillips. I thought it was important to highlight the “everyday” person involved in the military. Will served for the National Guard for the state of Tennessee in 2004 as a way to fund his way through college and is grateful for the smart route the military provides to kids today looking to fulfill their education without drowning in debt. As someone suffering with a copious amount of student loans for degrees not even applicable to my profession, I concur wholeheartedly with his statement. He began training BJJ in 2010 at Forged Fitness in Raleigh under black belt Billy Dowey after being a lifetime wrestler. Now a purple belt, Will wanted me to emphasize how BJJ truly saved his life. As his closing statement, he wished the Marines a Happy Birthday with a loud battle cry of “oorah!”
Elijah Sacra is a newly minted blue belt (received from Royce Gracie himself) under black belt Seth Shamp for Triangle Jiu Jitsu in Durham, and the 2009 founder of the nonprofit organization, Warrior Wellness Solutions, which deal with empowering the mental, physical, and spiritual health of our nation’s warriors and their families. They are also partnered with the We Defy Foundation which sole mission is to get service disabled veterans involved in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu headlined by triple amputee Joey Bozik. Elijah served in the USMC from 91-95 and sustained a very serious injury to his neck in a Humvee accident, permanently damaging his C5 & C6 vertebrae. While in the military, he began pursing fitness by helping his fellow marines get in shape and always was interested in martial arts as he began lightly studying with an Okinawan Grand Master of karate. After his injury, Elijah began the more than decade long journey to try and heal his body and reach a level of homeostasis. It wasn’t until his brother, who has 7 spinal fusions from jumping out of planes in the 82nd airborne, that he was introduced to BJJ. He had adapted his body to where he could move with Jiu Jitsu and Elijah was amazed that his brother so easily fought him (he is now a purple belt at American Top Team in Florida) that Elijah began seriously looking into BJJ.
Elijah describes his home as a BJJ family, allowing them to strengthen their bond and build their camaraderie. He calls BJJ his moving meditation that enables him to reach his zen. While before he was operating from a fear based place, he now says BJJ has helped heal his neck by adapting his movements and being okay with putting his body into different places and positions. While he will always deal with some form of pain due to the severity of his injury, BJJ has allowed him to overcome what he previously thought was impossible. He likens the BJJ community to the bonds formed in the military, and wants to use his newfound love of Jiu Jitsu to help Veterans start their BJJ journey and has introduced several people to the art already. He says watching the warrior ethos and spark come back to the hearts of these people as they begin the path of “struggle snuggles” and “involuntary yoga” has been incredibly rewarding.
My last interview of the day is with new BJJ athlete and 8 year USMC veteran, Michael Frazier. Michael trains at 621 Combat Club in Jacksonville, NC and was involved in an IED incident on May 20th, 2011. He lost both legs in the explosion (one just above the knee, and the other just below) and also has partial paralysis in one of his hands. I had the pleasure of watching him compete in his first tournament this past Saturday. He became involved in Jiu Jitsu because he wanted to strengthen himself physically and mentally, and confided in me that after his initial injury, was worried about how he would be able to do things again. He was worried it would impede on his fathering abilities, and after watching him with his toddler running around, I can tell you that his parenting isn’t effected in the slightest. I watched this man double leg someone standing over him who was well over 6 feet tall, rotate him perfectly in the air, and set him on his back. As diligent as I am with my writing, I am far less eloquent in person, and when I saw this I proceeded to loudly exclaim “holy shit” because it was just that awesome. Clearly some wrestling experience in his background. Michael tells me that the only thing stopping someone from doing anything is themselves, and after watching him compete on Saturday, I know that to be true.
I sincerely thank everyone who took the time to read the stories from all these incredible people, the amazing individuals who spoke with me at the tournament, Ranger Up for putting on such a fantastic event that gave me the experience of a lifetime, and all the men and women, past and present, who put on a uniform and fought for our country. What a privilege to be surrounded by such heroes and what a shame so many don’t receive the recognition or the health care they deserve. I am proud to know such strong people through Jiu Jitsu and the amazing Veterans who bring honor to our land. Our star spangled banner emblazoned with the colors red, white, and blue are an excellent reminder of the sacrifice and bravery you all emulate and Americans everywhere are proud to hold you in our heart.
