Semper Fi San Jose
Jul 29, 2008
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- After traveling the world in the military for
four years, Jeff
Quinlan (Pictures) found his home in San Jose,
Calif. -- and inside the Shamrock Martial Arts Academy.
Two hundred fifty dollars in his pocket and a friend’s couch had prompted Quinlan to leave the cold of his native Chicago for the sun of San Jose. He brought a backpack and nothing more.
“No matter what you’re gonna do, if you’re gonna move and start a
new life, it’s the same deal,” says the Navy veteran.
After being stationed in Rota, Spain, for the majority of his service doing “geek stuff,” returning to civilian life was less than ideal. Alcohol-loving friends compelled Quinlan to stay in his basement and lift weights. He worked at a warehouse. He tried school. But freedom from structure alongside the daily grind created disdain.
In fact, he was set to go until he got in touch with Frank Shamrock (Pictures) again. They had met at a seminar, and the former King of Pancrase’s trademark inviting personality prompted Quinlan to think twice.
“I didn’t want to leave again. I was like, ‘Either I’m gonna be a psycho for my whole life or I’ll do this fighting thing.’ Blow s--- up or fight. I figured I’d fight,” says Quinlan in his self-described chipmunk voice. “If I could do both, that’d be wonderful.”
The Chicagoan came to the Shamrock Martial Arts Academy in October 2005. He was a natural fit in the gym: a mellow hard worker who listened to instructions well as the result of his time in the service. Within five months, he was teaching and fighting. His professional debut came with Shamrock’s San Jose Razorclaws in the IFL.
Despite posting an 0-2 record and bouncing from middleweight to light heavyweight, the IFL veteran brought something more valuable than another fighter to Shamrock’s school. Bored on the Internet and sifting through the GI Bill Web site, he discovered that on-the-job training programs were not just for contractors. They were for martial artists too.
He brought the idea of a training program for veterans to gym manager Ralph King. A former Marine, King took to it quickly. After two years of contacting various people and developing the program under Shamrock, the military men had carved a unique position for people like themselves in a time of perpetual war.
Logistics entrenched the program. It was just officially completed within the month. Now with a realistic timeline and rank structure to certify instructors, the program is ready to serve.
Eight veteran prospects are already surveying a move to San Jose to begin the program. But King reiterates the same point tirelessly -- it is not just about fighting.
“What happens when you get hurt?” he asks.
Understanding the nature of MMA competition, he aims to emphasize the teaching and business aspects of the program. Veterans don’t have to fight. They can simply teach or learn how to operate a gym. It is an opportunity for people who may not have it otherwise, which Quinlan knows well.
In his last fight, he entered the Gladiator Challenge cage with an injured ankle. Throwing a leg kick in the first round, he shattered it. Urgency forced the light heavyweight to knock out his opponent, but still he has been sidelined for five months. Despite eyeing a fight within the next two months thanks to forward thinking, the injury could persist.
As a damaged prizefighter, purses are nonexistent. But as an instructor, Quinlan has a safety net.
As a recipient of the on-the-job program he cultivated, he picks up a second paycheck through the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. While it is on a sliding scale, it’s still a monetary plus. More importantly, it is further payment for his dedication to his country.
Quinlan is the first to receive this under the martial arts program. King is the second. And they even get retroactive pay.
King calls Quinlan a natural leader. With a detail-oriented, quiet-but-assertive style, Quinlan perpetuates the Shamrock vision of including traditional martial arts philosophy of physical and mental empowerment in modern packages to the masses.
King explains the overlap between military and MMA: “The biggest thing is, I think … just a person’s heart. Whether it’s a tryout or a student, you can see a different approach in the mentality of the guys in the military, you know?
“In a fight team tryout, when we’re going through the conditioning portion, it’s always the military guys who go over, puke in a bucket, get right back on the mat and keep going at it. Nothing against civilians, but regular guys might just stop.”
He believes it is because training in a gym -- as arduous as it can be -- is simply a matter of pushing past levels of discomfort and surpassing one’s own expectations. That’s what the armed forces are all about. The mental and physical health benefits of MMA can also help veterans cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. Organization and dedication breeds camaraderie -- “a brotherhood” -- and that’s exactly what many veterans miss when they come home. Like Quinlan, they can rise and reap the rewards of teaching.
As a gym manager, King sees the program booming in the future. “It’s huge,” he states.
The ever-increasing popularity of MMA could naturally relay to the program. Frank Shamrock (Pictures) now has a network television platform to talk about it on CBS. And although the Shamrock Martial Arts Academy is the first MMA gym to offer the program, more will likely follow in the future. Traditional martial arts schools, attempting to keep up with the rise of MMA, can adopt the program easily, which teaches what Shamrock has been honing for the past 14 years.
That’s the strength of the program. Those who complete it will know how to replicate it and run it anywhere. It’s the expansion of the Shamrock franchise but also the opening of larger windows of opportunity for veterans.
“I think it’s just a natural fit for a military guy who wants to get out and do something he enjoys, not what you’re supposed to do,” King says.
He extends that to women as well, explaining that female MMA is growing and women can fight too. In the teaching department, it would encourage enrollment if female instructors taught other females since ground work can be intimidating with males due to the close contact. And King reiterates the fact that sometimes the best instructors are not fighters.
Quinlan likes the idea of students who are programmed to keep their mouths shut and learn. Today he sweeps mats after instructing a class. He’s supposed to be gone by 11, but he’s stayed nearly two hours more helping Jeremy Tavares prepare for an upcoming fight. They don’t get much gym time together, so the 29-year-old trains the 135-pounder in his garage whenever they can. This is the program coming to fruition. It’s giving back to Quinlan. Now he’s giving back to anyone who needs it.
Gym owner Frank Shamrock (Pictures) is excited that an influx of military people will have a trickle-down effect in developing the MMA world and related social programs. He’s training an army, so to speak.
“It’s kind of a way to give back to the military for all the service they’ve done, but it’s also a way for us to create instructors, and enthusiasts, and professionals in martial arts,” says Shamrock. “We’ll develop people and we’ll enhance all those other programs.”
With small wrist tattoos reflecting fighting traits that read “Courage” and “Strength,” overshadowed by massive black and white arm pieces, King points to coming to work in shorts and flip flops as a perk for someone who spent his life in uniform. He describes the military and MMA as a match much superior to other options: “From that world to a desk, it would drive most of us crazy.”
He knows first hand. King became miserable after returning from a four-year stint in the Middle East to working behind a desk in real estate. He had felt like a loner since 1998, when he went off of active duty. Making good money at a law firm was not enough to satiate him either. He even enlisted as a reserve for two years -- stuck between his world and the real world.
But when he began working in the MMA world in 2006 -- sporting remnants of a flat military haircut -- he found a place he now proudly calls home. Quinlan echoes the same sentiment. The Shamrock logo tattooed on his back is a needled reminder of his home in San Jose.
With a brotherhood in Shamrock and King among others at the Shamrock Martial Arts Academy, in a city he loves more than his hometown, Quinlan inadvertently reminds civilians -- whether they are training to fight or not -- of how lucky they are to have never seen war. To have a real home.
“I’ve seen people talk about bad days, and it’s like, ‘Really? It’s not that bad.’”
His final words before returning to the mats may best summarize why the veterans program at Shamrock’s gym works well.
“The biggest thing about the military, I think, is you can’t say f--- you or no to your boss. What they say goes, and no matter how much it sucks, you have to do it,” Quinlan says. “I guess that translates to the gym.”
Two hundred fifty dollars in his pocket and a friend’s couch had prompted Quinlan to leave the cold of his native Chicago for the sun of San Jose. He brought a backpack and nothing more.
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After being stationed in Rota, Spain, for the majority of his service doing “geek stuff,” returning to civilian life was less than ideal. Alcohol-loving friends compelled Quinlan to stay in his basement and lift weights. He worked at a warehouse. He tried school. But freedom from structure alongside the daily grind created disdain.
“I actually wanted to go back into the military. I wanted to join
the Army. I wanted to go to Afghanistan and do that whole trip,” he
says.
In fact, he was set to go until he got in touch with Frank Shamrock (Pictures) again. They had met at a seminar, and the former King of Pancrase’s trademark inviting personality prompted Quinlan to think twice.
“I didn’t want to leave again. I was like, ‘Either I’m gonna be a psycho for my whole life or I’ll do this fighting thing.’ Blow s--- up or fight. I figured I’d fight,” says Quinlan in his self-described chipmunk voice. “If I could do both, that’d be wonderful.”
The Chicagoan came to the Shamrock Martial Arts Academy in October 2005. He was a natural fit in the gym: a mellow hard worker who listened to instructions well as the result of his time in the service. Within five months, he was teaching and fighting. His professional debut came with Shamrock’s San Jose Razorclaws in the IFL.
Despite posting an 0-2 record and bouncing from middleweight to light heavyweight, the IFL veteran brought something more valuable than another fighter to Shamrock’s school. Bored on the Internet and sifting through the GI Bill Web site, he discovered that on-the-job training programs were not just for contractors. They were for martial artists too.
He brought the idea of a training program for veterans to gym manager Ralph King. A former Marine, King took to it quickly. After two years of contacting various people and developing the program under Shamrock, the military men had carved a unique position for people like themselves in a time of perpetual war.
Logistics entrenched the program. It was just officially completed within the month. Now with a realistic timeline and rank structure to certify instructors, the program is ready to serve.
Eight veteran prospects are already surveying a move to San Jose to begin the program. But King reiterates the same point tirelessly -- it is not just about fighting.
“What happens when you get hurt?” he asks.
Understanding the nature of MMA competition, he aims to emphasize the teaching and business aspects of the program. Veterans don’t have to fight. They can simply teach or learn how to operate a gym. It is an opportunity for people who may not have it otherwise, which Quinlan knows well.
In his last fight, he entered the Gladiator Challenge cage with an injured ankle. Throwing a leg kick in the first round, he shattered it. Urgency forced the light heavyweight to knock out his opponent, but still he has been sidelined for five months. Despite eyeing a fight within the next two months thanks to forward thinking, the injury could persist.
As a damaged prizefighter, purses are nonexistent. But as an instructor, Quinlan has a safety net.
As a recipient of the on-the-job program he cultivated, he picks up a second paycheck through the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. While it is on a sliding scale, it’s still a monetary plus. More importantly, it is further payment for his dedication to his country.
Quinlan is the first to receive this under the martial arts program. King is the second. And they even get retroactive pay.
King calls Quinlan a natural leader. With a detail-oriented, quiet-but-assertive style, Quinlan perpetuates the Shamrock vision of including traditional martial arts philosophy of physical and mental empowerment in modern packages to the masses.
King explains the overlap between military and MMA: “The biggest thing is, I think … just a person’s heart. Whether it’s a tryout or a student, you can see a different approach in the mentality of the guys in the military, you know?
“In a fight team tryout, when we’re going through the conditioning portion, it’s always the military guys who go over, puke in a bucket, get right back on the mat and keep going at it. Nothing against civilians, but regular guys might just stop.”
He believes it is because training in a gym -- as arduous as it can be -- is simply a matter of pushing past levels of discomfort and surpassing one’s own expectations. That’s what the armed forces are all about. The mental and physical health benefits of MMA can also help veterans cope with post-traumatic stress disorder. Organization and dedication breeds camaraderie -- “a brotherhood” -- and that’s exactly what many veterans miss when they come home. Like Quinlan, they can rise and reap the rewards of teaching.
As a gym manager, King sees the program booming in the future. “It’s huge,” he states.
The ever-increasing popularity of MMA could naturally relay to the program. Frank Shamrock (Pictures) now has a network television platform to talk about it on CBS. And although the Shamrock Martial Arts Academy is the first MMA gym to offer the program, more will likely follow in the future. Traditional martial arts schools, attempting to keep up with the rise of MMA, can adopt the program easily, which teaches what Shamrock has been honing for the past 14 years.
That’s the strength of the program. Those who complete it will know how to replicate it and run it anywhere. It’s the expansion of the Shamrock franchise but also the opening of larger windows of opportunity for veterans.
“I think it’s just a natural fit for a military guy who wants to get out and do something he enjoys, not what you’re supposed to do,” King says.
He extends that to women as well, explaining that female MMA is growing and women can fight too. In the teaching department, it would encourage enrollment if female instructors taught other females since ground work can be intimidating with males due to the close contact. And King reiterates the fact that sometimes the best instructors are not fighters.
Quinlan likes the idea of students who are programmed to keep their mouths shut and learn. Today he sweeps mats after instructing a class. He’s supposed to be gone by 11, but he’s stayed nearly two hours more helping Jeremy Tavares prepare for an upcoming fight. They don’t get much gym time together, so the 29-year-old trains the 135-pounder in his garage whenever they can. This is the program coming to fruition. It’s giving back to Quinlan. Now he’s giving back to anyone who needs it.
Gym owner Frank Shamrock (Pictures) is excited that an influx of military people will have a trickle-down effect in developing the MMA world and related social programs. He’s training an army, so to speak.
“It’s kind of a way to give back to the military for all the service they’ve done, but it’s also a way for us to create instructors, and enthusiasts, and professionals in martial arts,” says Shamrock. “We’ll develop people and we’ll enhance all those other programs.”
With small wrist tattoos reflecting fighting traits that read “Courage” and “Strength,” overshadowed by massive black and white arm pieces, King points to coming to work in shorts and flip flops as a perk for someone who spent his life in uniform. He describes the military and MMA as a match much superior to other options: “From that world to a desk, it would drive most of us crazy.”
He knows first hand. King became miserable after returning from a four-year stint in the Middle East to working behind a desk in real estate. He had felt like a loner since 1998, when he went off of active duty. Making good money at a law firm was not enough to satiate him either. He even enlisted as a reserve for two years -- stuck between his world and the real world.
But when he began working in the MMA world in 2006 -- sporting remnants of a flat military haircut -- he found a place he now proudly calls home. Quinlan echoes the same sentiment. The Shamrock logo tattooed on his back is a needled reminder of his home in San Jose.
With a brotherhood in Shamrock and King among others at the Shamrock Martial Arts Academy, in a city he loves more than his hometown, Quinlan inadvertently reminds civilians -- whether they are training to fight or not -- of how lucky they are to have never seen war. To have a real home.
“I’ve seen people talk about bad days, and it’s like, ‘Really? It’s not that bad.’”
His final words before returning to the mats may best summarize why the veterans program at Shamrock’s gym works well.
“The biggest thing about the military, I think, is you can’t say f--- you or no to your boss. What they say goes, and no matter how much it sucks, you have to do it,” Quinlan says. “I guess that translates to the gym.”
