5. Colton Smith Article- Writing Send Off ( taking a break from writing) : Although helping people with articles has been a great feeling for me, there are some things that comes with being a writer that can prove quiet stressful. 2 years deep of writing on a weekly basis I yearned for a break from writing to refresh my mind and build myself as an individual. Around August through September of this year a few a birds chirped me in the form of MMA instructor Jarrod Clontz, Army Personnel, and even his wife talking about this guy name Colton Smith. Reading his story I knew this was the way I should go out this year as a writer and boyyyy did I ever. Not only did the article get a lot of attention it really helped get another amazing story out to let everyone know WHO Colton smith really is ( there are Internet blogger who attack his character for what he did on the show). In the end Colton took a bunch of weight off my back and he went on to become the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Show that season.
Thx Colton and best wishes…don’t be a stranger K.I.T brother !!!
4. Academy Special Guest ( people I did articles on coming down to train at my academy) : There is one thing I ask for from the majority of the people I write about and that is simply to one day train with them. This year my academy had a lot of top stars stop by. Amongst this stars were also great guest I did articles on. Although they are not big yet having Ricky Johnson, Kyle Stewart, Jarrod CLontz, Tom Barlow, and Brock Gorang was super exciting for me on many levels. Every personality offered something different and training with each of them was off the hook!! I put this in the top 5 mainly cause it really gave me the opportunity to interact with the individuals I spent sleepiness nights writing articles on while also them getting to know the mystery man behind it all..
Thanks for coming down guys…...wonder who will be # 6?!
3. Getting Promoted by Xande from Blue to 4 stripe Blue Belt : When I became a blue belt 5 years ago it was a great moment for me. But during that 5 year journey ( due to me living in different parts of the city and unfortunately having to switch school except for the last one) I never got anything. For years I stopped caring about getting anything and just focused on my growth in skill which helped me in the long run. Then along came the night on November 13th when Xande gave me 4 stripes in one night on my blue. As crazy as it may sound I was shocked a person at his level thought that much of me (to be honest I thought I wasn’t gonna get anything at all). Overall I felt vindicated for all those years I didn’t get any plus it gave me a since of that feeling “my instructor appreciates me as his student”.
2. Northwest Adventure (trip to Portland and Seattle) : One trip symbolized a dream come true. The other one can be considered a Revelation. A couple of years ago I saw this post card of a Space Needle and told myself “one day I will visit that place and be on top of that tower. Flash-forward to 2012 I found myself traveling to Seattle, Washington were my lifelong dream came true. While there I got a chance to do some great sightseeing which consist of Saceo Filed, the waterfront, and stand on top of the space needle. In addition I also got some training down there that took my game to the next level courtesy of the Foster BJJ team, everyone at Ivan Salaverry’s, and the best unknown grappler around Andrew Perkins.
Now on the other side of the coin you have Portland, Oregon. I never really made any intention or interest in going there, however with so many friends I did articles making the countless statement “Let’s Train” I figured it be a cool idea to go down there to see what’s up. To be perfectly honest I didn’t know what to expect when I went up there to visit Portland. While Seattle I was excited Portland I was more nervous if anything. I quickly found out that that nervousness I had was more curiosity which was revealed in the following 3 days I was there. Meeting those people like 10th planet Oregon Peeps, Brent Primus, and Tommy Leisman pretty much changed my life forever, it was almost like meeting long lost brothers (from an interaction standpoint). It really put into perspective and made me realize the impact my articles have on people. At times as a writer it can be hard but through meeting them it really motivated me to continue what I do and helping others.
1. My Return to Competition : Carrying over 5 years of baggage and demons to due past competition experience. With a little bit of motivation I finally decided to step out and give competition one more try. If you read my 2 part blog on this you know the details of my story on this matter......
http://monta-wiley.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-return-to-competition-war-from.html
http://monta-wiley.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-return-to-competition-war-from_9.html
Writing the 2 part blog was the toughest thing I ever had to do because for the 1st time I was letting everyone know who Monta was. To say the least I was scared because I didn’t know how people were going to react. Thankfully it was not only well received but other related to it. Through this it allowed me to launch as series of blogs and even Facebook wall post helping to motivate people concerning this matter and even life in general. I feel this is the # 1 moment of the year because in one moment it built me to become a stronger individual capable to tackles anything the world throws at me with no fear…while also inspiring other to do the same.
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