Eric Tschanz, a student at George McGinnis’ York Mixed Martial Arts Academy, recently competed at the Grapplers Quest Beast of the East tournament. He waited something like 12 hours for one match.
George then posted this on Eric’s FB page: “Its ironic is it not? You drive 3 plus hours, pay a decent penny at the door to fight to get one match, two if your lucky, wait hours upon hours, fight you way threw the ridiculous crowds, your adrenaline and emotions rise on numerous occasions as you try to anticipate your division, you warm up repeatedly and the whole thing seems like a big hassle.”
“Then it happens. Your name is called, your heart starts pounding, you step onto the mats as hundreds, some times thousands of people are watching and waiting to see “what this dude got”. You could almost collapse from the torment. You touch hands, circle and finally you lock horns with another person who has been going through the same. Time becomes irrelevant, the crowd fades, your emotions ease and it peacefully dawns on you that you are in the moment and have just shared the battle field with many before you and you are now apart of the family of decent size competitions.”
“Its easy for people to train at home. Its easy to be the man at your school or to pop into another local academy and potentially have your way with a lot of their students as well, but stepping onto the mat with some of the best competition in that region, coast, the U.S. or even the world is an honor that is not secured in victory nor denied you in a loss. Having the heart to get out there is one of the most rewarding experiences I have endured…”
