Intro and Thanks for T-Nation

Training
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Hi everyone,

I’ve been lurking here for quite a while and have decided to start getting more involved.

I’ve just turned 24. About 7 years ago I started training MMA in the States. I branched out and spent some time purely on BJJ and Muay Thai, (2008 I moved to Australia) and in 2011 I boxed for a year. In 2012 I started out at a new Judo club.

I teach massage therapy for a living and treat on the side. In one of the courses I was teaching I had a student named Lapeka Nanai, who is a world ranked, blind, powerlifter.

Pex convinced me to start training in powerlifting in early 2012 (April I think). Prior to this I had been doing stronglifts 5x5 for about 6 months. I competed 3 times in 2012. I also stopped all martial arts training to focus on powerlifting. Prior to this I had been doing stronglifts 5x5 for about 6 months.

In the last year I went from learning to lift to pulling (Comp Nov 2012):

Squat: 147.5kg

Bench: 90kg

Deadlift: 200kg

At 175cm (5’9’') and 69kg (151.8lbs)

Lifts I am proud of, but working to beat.

I felt like an introduction would be a good way to start getting involved with the community here on T-Nation.

Really though, I just wanted to say thanks to all the people who contribute to this site, and make it such a great place to share information.

Cheers.

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Welcome aboard, man.

An almost-3x bodyweight deadlift is legit. Nice work so far. Sounds like you’ve got a pretty good background with martial arts too. Did you ever compete or teach? The crew that hangs around the Combat forum here has a few competitors.

Just wondering though, any reason you totally dropped martial arts for powerlifting after training for so long? Was it just to focus 100% on the PL?

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Thanks Chris!

I competed in a couple tournaments for BJJ and I taught Adult Beginner’s MMA and Kids BJJ for a little while.

I just dropped the MA because I really wanted to focus on the PL and because I couldn’t find a club near me that made me want to spend the money to stick with them. Also, I got tired of getting hit in the face and getting big mat-burns on my neck that I had to explain to people :slight_smile:

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Thanks Chris!

I have competed a few times in BJJ tournaments, winning one and pulling 3rd (nationally) in another. I also taught adult beginners MMA and Childrens BJJ for a little bit.

There are a few reasons:

  1. I couldn’t find a gym near me that was worth the money they were asking and I didn’t have a lot of money anyway.

  2. I couldn’t do both PL and MA and recover.

  3. I suppose I just got tired of being hit in the face and having to explain why I always had bit gi-burns and bruises on my neck.

Beside powerlifting is hella fun! So, that’s what I’m focusing on.