Written by Brian Ebersole, Monday 21st May 2012
Sprinting hurts..just say’in

Athlete:
Brian Ebersole

Current Training Location:
Springfield, Illinois USA
w/ Coach Marc Fiore

Competition Countdown:
4 training weeks + fight week = June 22 Competition

This week’s list of goals:
Do not get submitted more than once per round
Do not get clinched and thrown on my head
Do not get concussed
Do not quit
Smile

Last week, I spent my training time in Bradley, Illinois and Chicago. I made the goal of working toward peak fitness, and began sprints last week. It hurt! I hadn’t sprinted in a while, and my hamstrings reminded me of that for the entire week.

I also made a goal of finding comfort in each range of combat. I went alright, there. I spent a lot of time on mitts/pads, and had three sparring sessions. Takedown practices went very well, as I was able to work alongside former Eastern Illinois University Wrestler – Kyle Bracey. Together, we were able to get through a massive amount of repetitions in a short period of time. Technique and cardio meshed to make for one intense session. And truth be told, I did not get submitted this week! Awesome news for me, considering I fight a submission specialist on June 22.

The upcoming week will find me training with Marc Fiore and a talented group of amateur and pro MMA’ers in Springfield, Illinois. Marc was a former wrestler, has cornered Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler more than a few times, and now has his very own facility in the Capital City of my home state.

Attached to a state of the art health club, his MMA school will provide a great setting for a serious week of training. Whilst there, I will also be training alongside TJ Waldburger’s previous UFC opponent, Jake Hecht. I’ll be able to pick his brain about how he prepared, strategically, for the fight. And Australian Welterweight Benny Alloway will also make his way to Springfield, where we’ll resume a fantastic training relationship that now spans three continents. I last saw Ben in Thailand, and am hoping he hasn’t gotten too fit or too fat for me to train with.

The travelling training camp continues. I will speak with you guys, next week, about how Springfield treated me. Hopefully I’ll meet each of my training goals, listed above. If not, I’ll be speaking with a stutter!