The Project Blogs: “Writer to Fighter”

Posted on | May 6, 2009 | No Comments

The Rebirth of The Project

(Editor’s Note: Jeremy Luchau has been a journalist for 10 years and over the last four years wrote a column chronicling his training to become a mixed martial artist. This is the fourth Volume of the Writer to Fighter series)

By Jeremy Luchau

It’s been nearly a year since I’ve written a blog.

And what a year it’s been for me.

Last time I wrote I was supposed to fight at Gladiator Challenge in Porterville, Calif., but was forced to pull out when my wife Priscilla needed two surgeries in two weeks. I made the right choice and I don’t regret anything.

Since then, though, my life has taken so many twist and turns I pushed competing in mixed martial arts to the back of my mind.

After all, there are things in life more important than MMA. And it’s not exactly like MMA is the most forgiving sport in the world.

I mean, sure it taxes the body much like any other sports like football for example, but where MMA really takes it’s toll, in my opinion, is on the mind.

And I can honestly say, a big majority of my life struggles, heartache and stresses this last year have come from this sport that I truly love… go figure!

But with the struggles and solitude, I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted to do. If MMA was really for me. If I was just a fan or if I wanted to compete.

First things first, though, you’re going to have to know a little about the bumpy road I traveled this last year to know where I’m going to be come July.

The big changes in my life occurred right towards the end of 2008, as my wife and I separated and now go through a divorce and custody battle over my 2-year-old daughter. I’m not going to sit here and drag my soon-to-be ex-wife through the mud, but it’s important to note that many of our “fights” and or “struggles” were directly or indirectly related to MMA.

Then I lost my Muay Thai coach Richard Batin.

Coach no longer wants to train me, because somehow I’m to blame for one of his other fighters losing in a boxing match.

According to Batin I’m part to blame, because I now work full time at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino as an Entertainment Coordinator and if I work some place I should know everything that goes on there.

I tipped Palace Fighting Championship founder and president Christian Printup about this up-and-comer named Justin Wines. I helped get Justin a fight, get his medicals paid in full, and take home a paycheck… as a debuter with no amateur experience.

Do you know very many organizations that do that?

But in a fight there’s such thing as an opponent. After one opponent fell out the matchmaker (Mr. Repo Rick) found some one new and the new guy ended up knocking out Justin, who I might add was putting on a great show ‘til he was stopped.

So the whole situation gets turned my direction, because somehow I didn’t take care of my coach’s boxer. Because I work at the Palace I must be in the loop to the conspiracy. Justin should have had an easier fight they tell me and I must have wanted him to lose.

So much for trying to do the right thing and help a friend.

I mean in reality, Christian was more impressed with Justin in the loss and wanted to have him fight again. He asked to have a meeting with Justin where he told him to keep his head up and to seek out some sparring in other gyms from L.A. to Watsonville.

That backfired, too, as somehow Batin believes that Christian was asking Justin to get rid of Batin, which was not the case.

And right around the same time that this is all going down a longtime friend of mine Paulina Ramirez, which I helped advise, was trying to get another fight in the PFC.

After a big win for her in November, she was scheduled to fight in February at the PFC. It was slim pickings to try and find her a suitable opponent because of her weight 110 pounds.

Christian sent me name after name after name of possible opponents, which I would turn down. I didn’t want my friend fighting some 7-1 girl.

I thought we could try and build her up. I mean, Paulina is a local and has a pretty big following.

I think she is fierce, tenacious and through hard work some day could be a big-time type talent.

Well finally Christian starts to get frustrated and we find an opponent that’s like 2-2 or something, but she had some amateur experience – to what extent I really didn’t know.

I sent over the info to Paulina and she was going to pass it on to her coaches. Then all the sudden I’m getting text like “You trying to get me beat up”.

She tells Christian she doesn’t trust me and that I’m not looking out for her best interest. She tells me that all her coaches and friends are telling her that I’m not looking out for her either.

So in the end, we part ways. It kind of sucks, because she was like a sister to me. Now we don’t even talk and the funny thing is, she talks more to my soon-to-be ex-wife.

Christian instructs me to have Paulina fight in some other organizations and then come back to us when she is ready to fight some tougher competition.

That of course, somehow, is all my fault as well. Like I’m the one that doesn’t want her in the show or something.

See, I’m telling you this sport is a mind breaker. I deal with it everyday now in taking a more active role with the PFC.

Suddenly I’m one of the most hated figures in the Valley and all I’ve ever done is try to get local fighters in my area what they deserve… exposure in this sport.

Instead I lost a marriage, a coach who I looked at as a father and a best friend.

Still in my heart-of-hearts I believe MMA isn’t all bad.

And that’s why I’m here now, writing this, waking up at 5 a.m. to run and train, working with the PFC and trying to forgive and forget.

Starting over… A rebirth one might call it.

I love this sport and most all the people in it and I need to give back and tell the stories that no one else dare tell.

Everyone loves to see a train wreck or watch on the news about shootouts etc. People love the mayhem and gore. The stories of evil and chaos.

Rarely are you going to read or hear about the good in life.

And the same is true for MMA. Even as MMA is growing in leaps and bounds and is plastered all over the world, it’s still thought of as barbaric or just some thugs fighting.

When in reality, I know very few thugs in this sport.

I think I know more fighters that have master’s degrees then fighters that are in gangs and have pulled drive by shootings.

And I’m back to put my body on the line over the course of the next 10 weeks. I will train for the biggest fight of my life, my comeback at WarFair, which will be a J-Live Entertainment and Cage Combat event at the Kings Fair in Hanford, Calif. on Friday, July 10.

This is where I shock the world and show everyone that I’m serious about MMA and that no matter what life throws at you, you can overcome.

The first part of my training was just to get my body back into shape and that all started with my strength and conditioning coach Steve Novencido at VQ Fitness in Hanford. Novencido once again is transforming my body through non-conventional training methods.

And now after nearly a month of hard work with the “Mad Scientist”, I’m starting to feel strong again and have my wind back and my weight is down nearly 18 pounds.

I’m now walking around at about 170 pounds and I will fight this summer at lightweight (155).

I’ve continued to work my wrestling and cardio with the Lemoore High wrestling team and Farmboyz wrestling club and I will do all my MMA training with Team Ochoa… thank you Jacob Jeff for sticking by me through thick and thin.

Hopefully I will be able to cross-train at some other gyms throughout this journey.

I’m sure I will head out to Las Vegas once or twice to train with Mr. Ulysses Gomez, who believe it or not is probably one of the nicest guys I’ve met in the sport. He might come off a little arrogant or like a total jokester at times, but last July when I got my face pounded in and lost to Juan Lopez on television, he was the first guy to offer help.

Gomez is kind of like my MMA physiologist. I hit him up for any and all questions I may have that’s MMA related.

I will close this blog out with an answer to a question that will be asked 100 times over the next week; No, I don’t know who I’m fighting yet.

Well I take that back, I know who I’m fighting.

I’m going to be fighting… ME!

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