Evan fights
for Kids!

Rumble at the Roseland 66 was a success!! I prevailed over Tim Isakson from Silverback MMA of Klamath Falls, OR in the first round by rear naked choke. Tim is a tough man and took some really good (or so I think) shots. He also hit me with a couple as well. And, he was a true gentleman afterwards as well his coaches were. So, thanks to Tim and his guys for fighting a good fight and being class acts.
For a breakdown of the fight, all I remember is getting taken to the mat by Tim and landing in side control. Tim tried to sweep me over to the cage, but I had good position. Once I felt somewhat comfortable, I got on top with a knee ride (thank you Dave Hagen) and held him under me while I tried to knock him out with a few rights. Tim is tough and so I could not get him to fold under the punches. He did protect himself and gave up his back. I managed to sink a hook in (once again, or so I think) and got under his chin with my right arm. Locked it in and got Tim to tap.
This was the most nervous I have ever been for any type of sporting event. Much more so than my first fight – ignorance is bliss I guess. Waiting in the basement of The Roseland, the pressure mounted since I did not want to embarrass my teammates and coaches at Team Quest, Zanshin and Animal House MMA. The main focus was on a strategy to win the fight. Thoughts of losing did creep into my head and had to be pushed out constantly. Thank God for Santiago (coach, close friend and a fighter himself and, incidentally, much better than I) who kept my head in the game and talked me through my doubts. It was also incredibly helpful to have coaches Tommy Leisman, Scott McQuary, Jamie Huey and Rick Bell there to calm me down and keep my focus. I have to admit, it was hard to keep focus when I watched even my own teammates, Jose Rodriguez and Zane Behrend, warm up. Those guys make me look like I’m playing patty-cake instead of striking. Jose can hit just as hard from either the right or left side and Zane just hits and kicks like a 205 pounder (he fought at 150). I was just flat out embarrassed to warm up next to those guys.
There were a number of friends and family that showed up at the fight as well. I could hear them cheering the whole time – well, not during the fight but before and after. It was truly heart warming to hear the people I care about yell for me. People think that MMA fighters and their fans are classless rednecks akin to NASCAR fanatics. Those people couldn’t be more wrong. I went to see my family and friends after the fight and people shook my hand, congratulated me and wished me well. Other fighters from other teams hugged me and said, “Great job.” And these same fighters told those that lost to keep their heads high and bought them drinks. The crowds are often “colorful” but rarely do drunken fights ensue. I probably won’t convince anyone that MMA fighters and crowds are “wholesome”, but maybe I can persuade some of you readers to check out a fight and give it a chance.
I will sign off for now. I will update my blog when I can grab some video of the fight.

Ladies and gents, I have added Gi Jui Jitsu and some Judo to my training. You’d think after all this time I’d be used to falling and falling hard, but no, not the case. For those of you that do not study martial arts, there is a correct and somewhat painless way to fall. I have not mastered that art. Judo is terrific for learning that very technique (as well as very effective throws). Thanks for Tommy Leisman and Coach McQuary for helping me, and others, learn the fine art of falling. Granted, it’s only my third time in judo, but my falls are becoming smoother and less hard on this old body. Moving to throws, this is an area in which I need quite a bit more time. (It seems like the more I attend classes, the more I realize how little I actually know.) Although we wear gi’s while practicing, this is extremely important to fighting MMA – obviously, you start standing and to get your opponent to the ground (assuming that’s where you want them to be) or to prevent them from taking you to the ground, you must understand throws. Judo is like swing dancing – you must understand your partners/opponents balance and tempo. Concentrate on weight and balance – you must remain balanced and keep your opponent off balance. Once your opponent is off balance, the throw becomes relatively easy. However, if you opponent is balanced and in control of his/her weight, you will probably have to muscle it and will in all likelihood fail with your throw or end up in a not so good position.
Gi jui jitsu is an area I did not want to get into. I just didn’t like the gi – too much holding on and not enough movement. In speaking with Tommy and Ben (both terrific pro MMA fighters at 155), I realized that in working jui jitsu with the gi, I’ll be able to fight through someone’s guard much easier if I can technique through a guard with a gi. In addition, there are many techniques that can be adapted to no gi. Plus, and this is a big plus, the black belt jui jitsu coach is terrific and works us HARD. I need that kind of push with my jits. Unfortunately, I still have difficulty sweeping and being offensive from the bottom. I’ve been very active in developing these skills with Tommy and others – especially, Matt Troy, Ben, Zane Behrend, Santiago Kent, Josh Hittsman and others. It’ll stick I hope before September 29th. If it doesn’t, I intend to continue to fight anyway. I have to generate enough money for those kids…so donate folks!!

Folks, I have no excuse for not posting until now except that I have been very focused on training and getting fights set up. I have bounded back up to about 235 lbs. since my fight in April. However, I feel most of the weight is related to muscle gain and not fat. I am still going to push to get down to 205 lbs. I cannot however fight at that weight – coach McQuary and various other fighters, all of them in fact, feel that fighting at that weight (or even lower) will not be to my advantage. The thought is that the fighters at that weight are faster, younger and have better cardio than those of us fighting at heavyweight. I am still trying to get down to around 220 – 225 for the fight. This weight will allow me to be much quicker and have better cardio without sacrificing much in the strength and power areas. A quick shout out to Enoch Wilson at KO Fitness in Hubbard for his assistance in training for the fights. Enoch, as you may or may not know, is an exceptional jui jitsu guy. (His stand up is not bad at all either.) For those of you reading this and looking for a trainer or instructor for yourself or for your little one, Enoch is excellent. He is well respected in MMA circles and has great respect for the martial arts. In addition, his facility is very clean and easily accessible.

Another shout out to Ken Elmer at Brick House Project – he graciously is keeping this website going for free to support the Doernbechers Children’s Hospital Foundation. He is always around to answer my questions about how to get onto my website and post my comments and everything else. I know I wanted to get pictures and video on the site but I haven’t been able to get anything really good to put on here.

To the fight – I am scheduled to fight a gentleman named, Tim Isakson, on September 29th at the Roseland in Portland. This should be a great fight. Tim is 5’11″, 255 lbs., and from Klamath Falls, OR. That’s all I know about the man. I will wish him the best and believe we’ll both give it our best. I have improved considerably over the last 5 months since my last fight. I will not make the same mistake I made with Brooks. (Just so you are aware, I am seeking a rematch with Brooks some time in the future.) I do not want to say I will beat Romaine Brooks, but I will say our first fight was not a good showing for me and I should have challenged him much, much more. Next time will be very different.

As for the fight with Tim, I will be ready – I am receiving coaching from the very best in the biz: Scott McQuary, Tommy Leisman, Enoch Wilson, Jamie Huey, Clayton Hires, Santiago Kent, Matt Kemmy, Matt Troy, Jose Rodriguez, Zane Behrend, and a load of others. I was very disappointed in myself after the last fight. I thought I should have showed better for these guys and my team. Win or lose, this time I will be in there swinging and will make it a fight. Please keep in mind that the charity is still alive and well and I am looking for donations from anyone!!

Well folks, I have been horribly lacking in writing my blog – it doesn’t seem that many people actually read this blog; however, for those true fans – I will continue to write.  let me update you right up until today.  Last we spoke, I was hoping to fight on April 28th.  I did, in fact, fight on that date at the Armory in Salem.  I fought a gentleman named Romaine German who stands 6’3″ and weighed 238 lbs. the week before the fight.  We had agreed to fight at 220 lbs. and I was at 228 lbs. one week prior to the fight.  Coach Scott was not happy about the match-up (the man is significantly taller – translating to much longer reach – much younger (24 yrs.) and had one fight already – although he lost).  I was somewhat confident in my ability to win the fight until the time the Coach Scott told me to drop this fight and go for the next one.  I told him that could not be done since my friends were coming in from the east coast and the papers already reported that the fight was going forward on April 28th.  He said we’d make the best of it. Tommy Leisman was not able to attend the fight and some of the wind went out of my sails. However, I regained my confidence with the help of Tommy, Coach Scott and mainly due to my friends and fighting partners, Santi and Matt.  They, and the rest of the Team Quest guys were extremely supportive and confidence inspiring. The guys from Team Chaos in Salem were also inspiring and awesome.  So, I worked my ass off to get ready.  I felt pretty good too – my stand-up was coming along and even my jui jitsu was feeling good.  The plan – make him work hard, tire him out and them take him to the ground and either pound him out or submit him.  On Wednesday, my best friend, Kenny, flew in to support me and be by my side during the fight.  He also was a huge push to succeed.  Wednesday, I did a test run at the sauna because I knew I’d need to lose some additional weight.  Little did I know, I would need to lose 9 pounds only one day before weigh-ins.  The day before weigh-ins, I didn’t work to prepare physically and mentally for the fight.  I felt very good actually until I hit the sauna around 3:00.  Weigh-ins were at 6:00 pm at KO fitness in Hubbard.  Enoch Wilson’s gym.  In the sauna, I wore a sweat suit with a hood and a wool hat.  I sat in the sauna initially for 20 minutes, then 12 minutes, then 5 minutes until I lost all the weight.  By the time I finished, I weighed 218 lbs.  I could barely stand in the shower and Kenny was there to make sure I didn’t pass out in the sauna or the shower.  He drove me to weigh-ins with the windows open and by the time I got there, I was high as a kite.  I couldn’t stop talking and laughing with all the fighters.  The other guys were all pissed off and hungry and looked it.  The weigh-ins, which were supposed to be at 6:00 as I mentioned previously, were delayed until 7:00 pm.  Nobody was happy with that.  Once I weighed in, Kenny, Matt, Santi and I headed on over to my place for a pre fight party.  It was nice and cosy and some people came to pat me on the back and tell me good luck.  Got to sleep at a decent hour.  I didn’t have any trouble getting to bed that night which was surprising.  But, like I said I was pretty confident that I could win the fight.  The next day things were kind of a blur.  My wife sewed my “TEAM QUEST” patch on my fight pants and I was ready to go.  I had to be at the Armory for check in at 3:00 and fighter rules at 5:00 and the fights began at 7:00.  I had lots of friends, co workers and family in the crowd and the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint them and my teammates.  All through the previous fights I watched my opponent warm up – he did nothing.  I worked the pads with my coaches (Team Quest teammates), Matt and Santi.  Shortly before I went out to the cage, Scott told me he wanted me to be the first to do anything – punch, take-down, etc.  This went against my plans with Matt and Santi; however, he was my coach and I was going to do what he instructed. Do NOT mistake this for blaming my coach for my loss – it is not.  I should have won that fight anyway.  I went out to the cage to a rousing version of “Ring of Fire” by Social Distortion.  After shaking hands and getting instructions from the ref, we can out to fight.  Romaine came out and wanted to swing – he threw a few punches and I saw the left some and shot under.  The only problem is, when you shoot, you have to shoot, not just drop your head and reach for the opponents legs.  That’s what I did.  Romaine hit me three or four times in the head, got behind me and put me in a standing rear naked choke.  He choked me until I went unconscious.  This I didn’t know until my friend showed me the tape.  If I didn’t feel bad enough immediately after the fight, that did the trick.  I looked horrible and didn’t show all that I had learned from Coach Hagen and McQuary.  I felt like I let down everyone that put up with my training and schedule and everything.  After the fight, everyone, and I mean everyone, came to me and said how proud I should be for just getting in the cage.  This was not enough – I vowed another fight before I even stepped out of the cage that night.  So, back to the drawing board.  I am fighting again hopefully, at the Spirit Mtn Casino on July 14th.  This time the result will be different.  I am training harder and will be much better than I was in April.  In addition, this website will be kept alive and going by THE BRICKHOUSE PROJECT and Ken Elmer for free.  That guy is fantastic – he even attended the fight.  So, I will continue to write and keep those that care apprised of my progress.  Stay with me and donate if you haven’t already!!!

Well, at long last the time of the fight is set.  Although I do not know who I am fighting, I am sure of the date and that it will take place in Salem.  Unfortunately, I still have 30 lbs. to lose.  On the up side, I am in shape and ready to at least be competitive.  With the help of Dave Hagen, Scott McQuary, Tommy Leisman, Enoch Wilson, Matt Kemmy, Santi, Jose and all the rest of the guys at DaJoGen and Quest, I have vastly improved my skills – both Jui Jitsu and striking.  I must admit my striking has improved the most – my JJ has lagged a bit.  My problem lies in my inability to move my hips properly and to keep my arms tight.  I am still trying to develop the muscle memory for that.  I went to see the fights at the Roseland a few weeks ago and felt confident that I could at least compete with the athletes I saw that evening.  I am not saying I would win, but I surely can compete.  This week, the UFC filmed for Chael’s fight against Anderson Silva.  I didn’t even realize that the last time Chael fought Silva Coach McQuary was not Chael’s coach.  With Coach McQuary on Chael’s side, he has a tremendous martial arts mind working with him.  Hopefully, Chael can avoid the problems he has wrestled with (no pun intended) in previous loses.  If it comes down to heart, Chael is winning that fight.  As for me, I am going for the win as well.  Now that I have made the announcement, my friends, family and coworkers are making plans to attend.  This is the most excitement I’ve had since the birth of my daughter.  In a week or so, I’ll know who I am fighting, I’ll have an interview with Steve “the Spaniard” Valentine of NW Sportscene, and hopefully a follow up article in a local newspaper.  I still want to make as much money as humanly possible for the kids at Doernbechers.  Until next time, I’ll keep my hands up and lose some more weight.

Sorry folks for not writing until now – my computer has a virus and didn’t have access to one where I could write my blog.  So since last I wrote, I’ve been training two times per day except for Sunday.  Luck for me, not real injuries with which to deal.  Recently, I developed strains in my Achilles tendons.  I don’t think there’s any real threat of serious injury – it’s from over training – or I would stop for a bit.  My training has definitely taken a turn for the better.  My JJ is stronger as is my standup.  Went to the fights on January 28th and watched some of the guys go at it and Liz McCarthy win the belt.  She’s 5-0 in her amateur MMA career.  She is going pro now.  I must say, the woman she fought was Liz Tracy and McCarthy broke her arm in the first round.  SHE KEPT ON FIGHTING.  Not only did Tracy finish the round, but she fought 2 more rounds.  Kyle Ellsworth fought and won a great fight.  The guy had him in a guillotine for at least a minute and he pulled it out.  I met Chris Toqueiro from United Combat Sports, LLC.  We have since talked about setting a date for the fight – looking at April in Salem.  In addition, The Oregonian, did a follow up article on the fundraiser:

(see http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2012/02/my_workout_martial_arts_drive.html).

Nancy Dow was kind enough to do the write up and the pictures make me realize I’ve lost quite a bit of weight.  Steve “Spaniard” Valentine from NW Fight Scene has agreed to do an on-line interview with me as well.  It should be coming out in the next couple of months.  Now that I have access to a computer, I cacn continue to write the blog.  Stay tuned folks.

This past week was one of the best training weeks  I’ve had in months.  I felt lighter, faster, stronger and had more wind to go longer.  It follows a week that was less than optimum – I felt slow, leg weary and sloppy mentally.  In Salem, I managed to submit one of my training partners two times – one by head and arm choke and one by crucifix.  On the other hand, this same training partner did not arm bar me once (this particular training partner arm barred me quite regularly).  I know, I know, it depends on  how proficient this individual is when deciding whether the advance was truly an advance.  This guy, Matt, is very strong, technically sound and intelligent.  So I was extemely happy to prevail against him.  In addition, there’s a very young guy I sometimes roll with and he’s very, very strong and excellent with his ground game.  While grappling with him, I gained an advantage and rarely did I relinquish it until I decided to change positions to make it more difficult for me.  That’s not to say that I am an excellent or even very good grappler; it just means that I feel like I have improved greatly with the help of Dave Hagen.  After Salem, I went up to Quest in Tualatin and worked out with the team there.  We spar with big gloves (16 oz.) and go anywhere from 50 – 75%.  I got to spar with some excellent fighters like Devin Cole.  Who, by the way, is a very nice guy.  I got my ass kicked.  For some reason, I feel my stand up has also greatly improved, but when I step into a sparring situation, I stop breathing and tense up.  I cannot seem to throw combinations and retain my good fighting stance.  One of my coaches, whose name I do not recall right now. took me aside and gave me some excellent advice and technical suggestions.  Most importantly, he said I must relax and use my weight to my advantage.  Keeping my right hand high and tight, my body more perpendicular to the opponent and staying in MY range would help me greatly.  Well, the next time we sparred – Thursday – I did much better.  Keep in mind, I did not practice for my usual 1.5 hours at Dave Hagen’s in Salem beforehand (I had to go to a family commitment).  I was much faster, able to move better, throw harder/more technical punches and grappled well.  I am now running at lunchtime and making certain to get in at least two “workouts” per day.  My eating habits have changed as well – eating many small meals and/or snacks during the day and not eating after 7:00.   However, I still have 40 lbs to lose before I hit the 205 mark.  It’s somewhat disheartening – I want to make as much money as I can for the children so the weight lose is essential.  I could fight heavy weight but it wouldn’t give me my best chance of winning and it wouldn’t get the most money for the cause.  To increase my lung capacity and increase my fast twitch muscle strength, I have joined my office, Coyote Logistics, basketball league.  I am not a very good basketballer but I do play defense fairly well and pass well.  This should assist me in developing fast twitch muscles and increase my mobility when fighting.  Besides, the guys I play with are pissers.  To those of you that have not donated, my brand spanking new office is donating $500.00 to the cause.  It is also setting me up with some gear: shirts, hats, sweatshirts.  After years in the legal profession, I didn’t think businesses did this kind of thing.  They are also running a fundraiser for St. Judes – hoping to generate at least $100,000.00 in donations.  This week we’ll see whether last week was an aberation or whether I am truly improving and getting stronger.  I’ll let you all know in the very near future.  Til then DONATE to the DCHF NOW!!!

Well folks, I am moving the date of the fight to March.  The reason – gives me more time to lose weight and get the children more money…plus, I can train for the win (I can also make sure my friends and family are there to see it).  I have great friends that live out east – Kenny, Mary – that are coming to watch this fight.  I want to make sure they can get here.  Also, family are going to come in from the great North, Montana, and, again, I want to make sure they can be here.  Let’s talk about the training – I have been training the majority of the time at Quest in Tualatin to save money on gas – started a new job.  While training at Quest, I have been continually getting better both with my stand up (striking as they say in the biz) and jui jitsu.  My wind has also been improving, but I have been unable to lose any real weight.  Let’s stick with the training for a while: Coaches McQuary and Hires work with me each and every training session to make me quicker, more flexible and stronger.  One of the best training tools they employ is called shark drills – this is where four MMA guys fight/grapple with one fighter for 5 minutes.  Each of the four fighters grapple for 30 seconds to one minute at a time with the same one fighter.  This training technique allows the “food” to train with fresh fighters (the sharks) for the whole 5 minutes.  I find this tremendously effective since we all get a chance to be both the shark and the food.  We start in different positions, mount, side control, half guard, etc., which allows us to learn from all different situations.  In order to have any success, one must learn to relax and conserve energy and at the same time remain strong and quick.  It also provides each fighter with the opportunity to fight with those of different skill sets, levels and weights all in one 5 minute round.  I say it’s the best training technique but it is also the most painful and tiring technique.  I took part in my first shark drill last week and I was in the down position up against the wall.  I had to wall walk and try to successfully escape or create an opportunity for me to gain an advantage against my opponent.  By the end, I could barely move much less wall walk.  To their credit, my opponents, which included Tom Leisman, did not abuse the crap out of me.  They were patient and even gave me direction as to how to combat each opponent.   Hell, Tommy even coached me as he fought with me.  There is no way I would have made it through the drill without them all yelling at me and telling me I could make it.  Sparring is another excellent training method.  That’s no real surprise…but sparring really brings out my weaknesses and highlights the things I need to improve.  Boy, does sparring bring to light my weaknesses – I sparred with Devin Cole, of Strike Force, for a bit.  By mistake, Devin hit me with a straight right when I went in for a strike and dropped my hands.  Lucky for me, he pulled his punch some.  I would have been picking up my teeth after waking up had he not.  I’ve learned that no amount of heavy bag training and shadow boxing can take the place of sparring.  That doesn’t mean I will abandon drilling – it just means I am extremely happy to be sparring with experienced and highly skilled fighters.  On that note, I am also very happy to be training with Dave Hagen and the guys at Zanshin.  Different skill levels of different fighters helps with my training there as well.  Matt Kemmy and Santi (don’t know his last name) have been extremely beneficial to me as far as upping my level of jui jitsu.  Matt is about my height (probably an inch or so taller) and weighs around 225 while Santi is probably one inch or so shorter and around 250.  Both men are exceptional athletes and use their skills rather than their strength to grapple.  Both men are also intelligent and savvy.  Matt submits me at least 3 times every evening by arm bar, guiloitine, or some other equally painful move.  Santi does the same thing, although he doesn’t use submissions as much as Matt.  On Tuesday, I was finally able to get Matt into a position from which he could not escape – the crucifix.  I also managed to submit him with a head and arm choke.  This was the first time I was ever able to submit Matt.  Maybe he just had an off night, but I hope I am improving.  In addition, Matt was not able to arm bar me nor was he able to submit me through guillotine.  He did get me with a key lock however…well, you can’t win em all.  As for the diet issue, I can not seem to lose weight – I have changed my eating habits significantly and drink more than one gallon of water a day.  I have put on some muscle weight of that I am sure.  However, it is somewhat discouraging to work my ass off, eat intelligently (without sweets and a lot of pasta) and not lose weight.  Once again, I am looking for those of you who have a kick ass diet to make suggestions.  Hopefully, with Channukah and Christmas coming up, I’ll get Mike Dolce’s diet book – maybe he can help.  Until next time, donate all you can to Doernbechers folks!!!

Folks, last night I went to train with Dave Hagen down in Salem and practice my jui jitsu.  It appeared I had improved significantly. I knew that I had to go to Quest afterwards to spar with Team Quest so I wanted to make sure there was some improvement.  So after practicing for around 90 minutes, I headed back up to Tualatin to train and spar with Team Quest and coach Scott McQuary, Chael Sonnen, Enoch Wilson, Tommy Leisman, and one other very good fighter I know only as Jose (sorry Jose).  The practice started at 8:00 so I did some warm up from about 7:45 to 8:00.  Then, the fun started.  We started with very light stand up striking – 5 minute rounds, 1 minute rest.  I must admit my standup has improved significantly; however, these guys made me feel like I was sparring with ghosts.  I could barely touch them much less hurt them.  In fact, the only time I actually struck someone was when they came in for a strike and I took a swing.  Generally hitting some inconsequential part of there body like an elbow or top of their head.  Idid get to spar with Chael though.  That was rather interesting.  He basically beat the crap out of me - choking me out, making me tap - at will.  The guy is a monster and never stops.  I was impressed by his ability to remain “on” me no matter what I did or where I was.  I know, I know, the man’s a professional fighter and a great one at that, as well as a Division IA champion in wrestling and a men’s olympic alternate for wrestling.  But DAMN, I never thought I could feel so helpless.  He moved when he wanted to and made me move where he wanted me to at ease.  Keep in mind, I weight a good 50-60 lbs. more than he does.  Thankfully, the humiliation lasted only 5 minutes with Chael.  Of course, then I had to face the other fighters.  Those “bouts” didn’t go much better although I could touch Jose.  After four rounds of this (each round getting increasingly more difficult, i.e., heavier striking), we moved to grappling.  I figured this was where I could at least use my weight as an advantage…not so much.  Although I did better, I spent most of the time getting choked out and getting arm barred by Enoch.  That dude is bad.  He’s light, fast, slippery and freaking good.  Every thing I tried, he had an answer and a painful answer at that.  This guy is 145-155 lbs (I’m guessing) and just abused me.  Jose is more my size and slower and less practiced than Chael, Enoch, Coach and Tommy but he is strong as a bull and savvy.  Although I did better against him, I chalk that up to the fact that he was taking it easy with me and that he had just gone through as much sparring as I did.  Then, the last round came – I figured, this will be somewhat easier – it’s coach.  He’ll take it easier on me and tell me what to do.  Right and wrong.  Although he did help me with what to do and what not to do, he also showed me how much I do not know.  And, just so you know, this guy is probably in his early 50′s and man, he is STRONG.  I’m not saying strong for a 50 year old.  I’m saying strong.  I was so impressed with his strength and agility.  He put me in almost as many submission moves as Enoch and just as painful.  All in all, a great (and painful) learning experience.  Not to leave you folks with the wrong impression – all the guys were extremely respectful and careful about braking things.  They all gave great feedback and tips on things to do and not to do.  I will get better.  With the training I’m getting from Dave Hagen at DaGoJen in Salem and the guys at Team Quest Tualatin, I could not be better prepared.

The tentative date for the fight – January 21, 2012.  The place – Salem Fairgrounds.  This is the tentative date.  This week Chael, who won his fight against Brian Stann, will evaluate my “skills” to see whether I am good enough to fight by that date.  Should be fun for Chael, not so much for me.  Maybe I’ve been punched in the head or choked out one too many times but I am pretty excited about the prospect of sparring with Chael.  I know it’ll be like a little leaguer playing in the pros, but still…how can I pass that up?  I will try and get the beating on video and put it on the blog too.  I know I’ve been promising to put pictures and video on the blog since I started and I promise they’re coming.  I recently talked with my website guru, Ken Elmer, from the Brickhouse Project.  He explained the process to me but I must be thick or something because I just don’t get it.  Come hell or high water, I’ll get the video onto this blog.  Additionally, an article came out in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin this month.  I hope it generates more donations from the attorneys of Oregon.  I still need to lose 40, yes 40 lbs.  I have gained some muscle weight but damn, 40?!  I will be extremely happy when the weight comes off.  With some help from my friends at DaJoGen marital arts and Team Quest I hope to lose it fast but safely.  Hey, any tips, send them my way.