Thomas Wimberly

Martial Arts has been a part of my life very recently. After having watched the sport of soccer pass me by, I realized that I might never play another sport again as the walls of academic pressure closed in on me during my junior and senior years in the IB Programme. However, MMA offered a convenient, cheap, and effective alternative to the inconvenient hours of long practices and tournaments/games. For the price of a gym membership, I could be more tired and sore than I have ever been in my life, all in the course of 1-2 hours. I loved it more than anything else in my life. The industrial smell of the gym, the sound of pads crashing against bags, the shouts of the coach- it made me feel at home. Whilst I hope I never have to, it is also a very applicable sport to the real world. The ability to defend yourself at any moment did wonders for my self-confidence, while also consistently humbling me. Furthermore, it also opened a new avenue for watching sports in the recently surging UFC. Watching professional fighting is my favorite and, in my opinion, the most entertaining sport in the world, and coming from an MMA background only enhances the fun.