Fightaholic

Ailments and Injuries

Tom Nguyen — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:13:02 +0000

The last few months haven’t been so kind to me. Since my last grappling tournament, I’ve been suffering from neck pain. I also had an infection in my leg for a couple of weeks. The infection in my leg is gone, but the neck pain is still there. The neck pain started out as a small tingling in my arm. I figured I would see a local chiropractor and that would knock it out. Unfortunately, my condition got worse.

I decided to go see my old chiropractor in Marietta, GA, Dr. Jason Weeks. I know Dr. Weeks from my old gym I used to train at in Marietta. Over the next few weeks, he laid me on his spinal decompression table and did some electrical stimulation to my neck. About a week ago, I felt like my neck condition was almost healed until I was stacked on my neck during BJJ training. I re-aggravated the injury, and now I’m going to have to go back for more therapy.

I’m hoping I’ll take care of my condition once and for all this time. Stay tuned.

HDNet’s Inside MMA Appearance

Tom Nguyen — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:28:07 +0000

This aired the week after my loss to Rhomez Brower. Herschel Walker and Bas Rutten both commented on my fight.

Kurt Caselli Testimonial

Tom Nguyen — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:02:28 +0000

Kurt Caselli was a champion dirt bike racer and came to me as a referral from a friend. He wanted to cross-train with MMA. For about a month, we did live sparring and grappling.

A Miracle Happened

Tom Nguyen — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:38:25 +0000

The guy that I worked with did well in his boxing match over the weekend. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out my last blog post. From what he told me, he was robbed in the boxing match. His opponent was a bloody mess, gassed himself out, and never really landed a good shot. It’s good to know that what I teach works.

I’ve had to take some time off training over the last couple of weeks due to a pinched nerve in my neck and an infection in my leg, but I’m still giving lessons. I’m looking to overcome these two ailments soon.

Despite the fact that I haven’t been able to work out as much as I’d like, I’m still eating reasonably healthy. You can see what I’ve eaten this past weekend right here.

Oneil Bell ESPN Plug

Tom Nguyen — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:37:24 +0000

Oneil Bell asked me to spar with him for his upcoming fight against a southpaw opponent. Our sparring sessions were like fights. I threw everything but the kitchen sink at him. Bell is a hard puncher, and his cardio is one of his strongest points. He ends up winning this fight and giving me a plug on national television. Little did I know that I would be on ESPN a few years later.

Comcast Inside Punch Interview by Kyle Maynard

Tom Nguyen — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:23:22 +0000

Inside Punch is a local show that covers the Atlanta fight scene. It was an honor to be interviewed by Kyle Maynard. I was supposed to fight Rhomez Brower for the third time, and Kyle asks me questions regarding the fight and my MMA career.

UPN Atlanta Tonight Appearance

Tom Nguyen — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 04:54:27 +0000

After three professional fights, I was asked to appear on UPN’s Atlanta Tonight Show to talk about my upcoming main event fight versus Lafarrell Bunting. My brother, Nhan Nguyen who was my cornerman for many of my fights, assisted me by sparring with me and holding some focus mitts. Bunting gave me my only loss as a professional boxer and went on to fight on Showtime.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller Plug

Tom Nguyen — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:48:56 +0000

This was before he was known as “Mayhem”. My brother, Nhan Nguyen, helped Jason train for his rubber match with Todd Carney.

A Bizarre Lesson

Tom Nguyen — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 02:51:31 +0000

Saturday is usually a busy day for private lessons for me. I gave three lessons today, and they were great. There was one lesson that stood out from the rest though.

A couple of days ago, someone contacted me by going to this website and asked me to get him ready for an amateur boxing match NEXT WEEK. He accepted the challenge by responding to a post on Facebook. I told him that I couldn’t work miracles, but I would make him better than he was before he came in.

Boxing isn’t something you learn in a week let alone a day. One big obstacle that a person has to get over is to not be afraid to get hit in the face. All of the proper punching technique in the world will do you no good if you’re scared of someone tapping your noggin. That’s only one aspect that must be learned. Footwork, angles, proper punching technique, and defense are other import aspects of boxing.

I agreed to give him a lesson today. The young gentleman came in and we reviewed the video of his opponent that he was fighting. The opponent is a southpaw, so I could emulate his stance since I’m a southpaw. Check out the video below:

I asked him why he wanted to do this, and he told me he’s doing it for the rush more than anything. I gave him a cram session of punch mitts drills, combination punching drills, defense drills, and sparring. Sparring was definitely needed because he has never sparred. I was shocked to find out that he wasn’t afraid to get hit. I showed him some techniques he could use against southpaws, and I gave him a chance to apply some of them in sparring.

My brother, Nhan Nguyen, just happened to drop by and showed him more techniques. I wish him the best of luck, and I would be ecstatic if he gets the win.

On another note, I’ve eaten mostly healthy meals this week:

3/23/12
Breakfast – OJ, Water, Oatmeal, Honey, Strawberries, Eggs, Soy Sausage Patties
Lunch – Water, Sushi Buffet, Miso Soup
Snack – Banana, Fruit Smoothie Juice, Beer
Dinner – Pasta, Rotisserie Chicken, Peas, Water, Beer

3/24/12
Breakfast – Oatmeal, Honey, Strawberries, OJ, Water, Egg Beaters, Soy Sausage
Lunch – Thai Fried Rice, Coke, Water
Dinner – Sushi, Water
Snack – Chocolate Covered Banana, Water, Diet Coke

Exhausted after Jiu-Jitsu Training

Tom Nguyen — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:25:10 +0000

I felt a little better grappling today, but I was still whooped after practice. Roberto Traven’s BJJ Program is the toughest I’ve ever encountered. I’ve been to a few instructors, but Traven takes the cake. The warmups are tough, but they are nothing compared to the live training that follows. If you’re in the Atlanta area, and you want to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, go to Unit 2 Fitness. The training is for the weak though. I felt as if I were going to mentally break tonight. I made it through practice. The training is not enjoyable to go through, but I’m always happy afterwards.

A couple of weeks ago, I competed at the Lutador Grappling Tournament. In my division, I went up against a former teammate from my old gym, X3 Sports. I barely squeezed out the win. There were only two people in the division, so I took first place. In the absolute division, I was beat on points by the guy who won it. Was a big guy? Nah. He was around 150 lbs. Thanks to my sponsor, Red Dawn, for all of the support.

Back to the present, I just finished up my dinner. I’m still eating reasonably healthy. This is what I had today:

Breakfast – Publix Almonds & Oats Cereal with Lowfat Milk, Eggs, Water, Grapefruit Juice
Lunch – Rotisserie Chicken, Pasta, Broccoli, Tomatoes, Peas, Water
Dinner – Ground Chicken Patty, Salad with Apples and Various Nuts, Water

Did I say I was exhausted? What a day!