AN INTERVIEW WITH THE MMA PROFESSOR

Posted on | May 18, 2007 | 10 Comments

CHARLIE WARD: THE MMA PROFESSOR

By: Rich Bergeron

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Charlie Ward has been fighting for 33 of his 37 years—starting at the ripe age of four by learning how to box. It’s no surprise that he is now running a groundbreaking new MMA training programming offering students at Arizona State University college credit to learn the history, principles and practice of mixed martial arts.

“I got into Martial Arts at a really early age,” said Ward. “My father and brother were always teaching me how to box when I was four, and I got into kickboxing when I was six.” Next came Thai boxing, and since then he’s cross-trained in a wide variety of different martial arts.

Ward is now a Chief Master Instructor and Trainer, a Fifth Degree Black Belt in Taikor (close quarters combat), and is also a Certified Athletic Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Coach.

The Polytechnic Campus of Arizona State University hosts what Ward believes is the first of its kind: a program he designed himself to give college students class credit for learning how to fight. “I’ve done a full year of MMA for college credit so far,” he explained. “During one semester, I taught an introduction to Muay Thai and Western boxing and an intro to submission grappling. The last part of the semester involves tying all the disciplines together, and teaching the students how to move from standing up to the ground in a smooth transition. Then we get into interactive practice, sparring, and the students get a chance to apply everything they’ve learned.”

Although MMA and other Martial Arts programs have been offered at a wide variety of other universities, Ward knows of none who have provided students actual credits toward graduation for participating in other programs. Since he had no precedent to rely on in designing the course structure, he had to undergo a long process to get approval to run the program. “I had to submit a proposal to the department heads of exercise science and basically show that MMA was very deserving of academic credit, and that it deserved academic study,” he said. “The exciting thing to watch about a mixed martial arts fight is everything that goes into it. There’s just so many different disciplines. Beyond that we touch on the cultural awareness behind what art form we’re studying and even some of the language of where each discipline came from.”

The structure of the course also includes a significant fitness aspect focusing on exercise science. The training it takes to master mixed martial arts is never ending and often extremely rigorous. “We teach the physical side of it besides the obvious lessons of how to kick, punch and grapple,” said Ward.

The benefits of Ward’s course goes way beyond just developing and practicing a method of self-defense. Ward also manages to pass on to students the personal lessons he’s learned by practicing and competing in Martial Arts since his youth and MMA from the period of its modern inception to a few post retirement comebacks. “On a personal level, one thing martial arts has always done for me is to give me a boost of self confidence and self esteem. It also teaches leadership and morality—provided you have good teachers who care about the history of the art form, not just the physicality of it,” said Ward. “What I enjoy most about teaching is how rewarding it is on a personal level. It’s very rewarding to pass lessons on to students eager to learn, and you can see when they give themselves over to it how it changes them. They start to behave and move and see things differently because of what MMA does for them. Kids, young adults, and especially women see a definite increase in empowerment and self-confidence.”

The repetition of teaching and training the next generation of mixed martial artists also keeps Ward in shape and makes him more well rounded as a fighter himself, though he insists he’s officially retired from competition now. “Having to keep doing those lessons inside and out makes you all the more competent in your own performance,” he explained.

Ward was a professional fighter for 12 years, and after he retired in 1998 he came back for two more years for different challenges issued to him. “I haven’t fought since, and I will not fight again,” he asserted. “I have had multiple injuries, and I’m perfectly happy continuing to train and maintaining fighting fitness. I get much more out of teaching and coaching now, and I’m fine with that.”

Looking back he does have some fond memories of days when he was fully involved in the fighting circuit as a professional. He reminisced a bit about 1993 when he won the world title in his division. “I retained that and retired with that title, so I successfully defended it for a number of years,” he recalled. “The toughest fight I ever had was in 1993, the year that I won the title. Getting the title from the previous champion was probably one of the toughest fights I’ve ever had. Just because at the time he was a very well established champion. I was just up and coming at the time. He had a lot more experience. That makes a big difference. When you’re going against someone that well-rounded and you’re the one without any real experience, no matter how talented you are, it can be intimidating, and the fight was a bloody mess for both of us. When it was over I was very glad it was over. I knocked him out.”

Later on came a much quicker and more rewarding fight against a guy who had a serious grudge against him. Seeking a rematch, his opponent goaded Ward out of retirement for one more crack at the former champ. “He wanted a rematch,” Ward explained. “It was one of the fastest fights I’ve ever had. It went just a few seconds into the first round. He fell for a fake, and then I hit him with an overhand right, and as soon as that punch connected, I knew it was over, and that was that.”

It’s no wonder Ward favors the standup game when it comes to fighting himself. “Although I am very comfortable on the ground, I do prefer stand up,” he said. “Muay Thai is by far my favorite, but I do have ground experience, and for the ground program in the course I teach Greco-Roman, Jiu Jitsu, and Pankration, and I like all that. Boxing and Muay Thai are my first arts, though. If I can keep the fight standing up and finish it standing, that’s how I like to do it. I don’t make the mistake of making my students fight like me, though. I adapt the training to each individual’s strengths and preferences. If someone’s more comfortable on the ground, I focus on that, and I teach them that. I don’t try to make everybody fight like I fought.”

As far as his best punch, he loves the bread and butter overhand right or the right hook. “Usually that was a knockout move for me,” he said.

As someone who has seen the true evolution of the sport, Ward finds the recent resurgence in popularity surrounding MMA to be an exciting development. “It’s the fastest growing sport in the world today, and that makes me happy,” he said. “The more recognition it gets, and the more familiar it becomes to the public, the better. When I was doing it, it was looked by so many as an underground thing, as human cockfighting, and it was in the shadows, and that’s not where it belongs. It’s the purest form of sport combat.”

One aspect of the new look of the sport that intrigues him is the way the fighters of today use their new expertise to keep each fight so active. During the more distant days of the sport fighters relied on wrestling and boxing, and not much else. Now, the bulk of the best fighters utilize multiple martial arts, wrestling, boxing, and submission grappling. Whereas boxers tend to use clinches to rest, the principles of Muay Thai mandates continuous striking and grappling within clinches. Ward said he is amazed “how quickly fighters have adapted to putting all the stuff together.”

The attention garnered by the best MMA athletes today impacts martial arts in a positive manner as well, Ward realizes. “It’s done a lot for Martial Arts awareness, and it’s proven that there’s not one style that is the ultimate style. You have to be well-rounded and versed in all areas to even be considered a competent competitor, let alone a true fighter,” he said.

Still, there is always room for improvement. Ward would like to see some major changes when it comes to some of the smaller, less organized fighting outfits. “Where I would like to see it go, is the market is really saturated with fighters, and as a result, some of the fights that take place in some circuits, the people aren’t that qualified to fight yet,” he said. “These people are taking very little money to fight, and we’re not seeing good fights come out of that. If those circuits start to raise the bar, and if they have to have fighters attain a certain level of qualification to step into the cage, we’re gonna see much better competitors come out of that.”

Looking ahead at Arizona State University’s MMA course, Ward wants to see a four-year degree offering in MMA eventually. “This course is the first step along that path, and from here I will try and offer more advanced courses, then a minor, then a four year degree major,” he explained. “Whether it will happen, I don’t know, but I’m very excited and honored to be pioneering this program for ASU.”

Outside of the sport, Ward’s father and brother are his role models. “They’re the first ones who taught me anything, and just my family in general were all very supportive of my career,” he explained. “Although they disliked me being in so many competitions, they were always there to show me their support, and they were very patient with me while I was training and going to competitions.”

Inside MMA, he gives inspirational credit to one of his colleagues: Mick Doyle. “He’s by far one of the best Thai Boxers I know,” said Ward.

Doyle helps out with the course, which has a roster of about 50-55 students, and there is also a competition team of about 8 people who want to or have fought and want to continue competing and fighting. Ward also teaches privately, and his private clients include professional fighters, aspiring fighters, and “the average person who wants to take advantage of a fighter’s conditioning to get into much better shape.”

Touching for a moment on conditioning, Ward emphasized the two Ls. “You gotta have the legs, and you’ve gotta have the lungs to last,” he said. “Really that’s just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s one thing people are consistently falling short on, getting gassed too early in a fight. For any fighter preparation is huge.”

Given the chance to offer a few thanks to those who helped him get this far, he pointed to his students first. “As always I’d like to thank my students, because whether they know it or not, everyday they make me a better instructor, and they inspire me in ways they can’t even imagine. I’d also like to thank ASU for giving me the opportunity to teach there, and also my family and friends who have supported me in my study of martial arts throughout my life. Sometimes when you’re competing professionally, everything else takes a back seat, and their patience is very much appreciated.”

To find out more about Charlie, visit his MySpace page at:

CHARLIE’S MYSPACE

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