I met Cyrus briefly at Blood and Steel this September when he came up with the Dallas Warlords for melee and duel competition. This past ACS Nationals Cyrus had merc with the New England Executioners and I was lucky to be able to catch a glimpse at his fights before I went out to fight with my team. For only participating in this sport for a few months, Cyrus has been showing great progress from his trainings according to his teammates and trainers. Even in the short amount of time I’ve got to see him fight, I noticed his growth as well and I see so much potential for him as an addition for his Warlords team.
| REGION/TEAM: | Dallas Warlords |
| NOTABLE WINS: | Silver medal Sword and Shield at Blood and Steel IV Silver medal Men’s 5v5 (supporting The New England Executioners at ACS Nationals 2020) Knight Fight at ACS Nationals 2020 |
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TRAINING FOR ARMORED COMBAT?
7 months, started 2 weeks before Covid and resumed after lockdown.
DO YOU HAVE ANY BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE IN MARTIAL ARTS OR OTHER SPORTS?
6 years of wrestling, 1 year Muay Thai boxing. Also 8 years of football; the footwork skills come in handy as well as the checking drills.
HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT ARMORED COMBAT AND WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO JOIN?
I went to see a doctor and found I was pre-diabetic and pre-hypertension. I was 273 lbs and my doctor said I was heading down a dangerous path. I knew I was lazy and needed something extreme to jump start me and literally saw repeated ads on Facebook for Warlord Combat Academy the same day. I took a tour and a short grappling class, took some time to think it over and the next chance I got I signed up.
DO YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU FELT IN YOUR FIRST FIGHT? CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCE?
Absolutely! The Warlords had joined the San Jacinto Knights for an exhibition/fundraiser event outdoors in June. It was super hot and my heart was pounding so hard I could barely concentrate. I dropped my weapon and forgot all my training during my first grapple, and all I could feel was the clagging as some was hitting me. I was so nervous and nauseated but it was great.
WHAT IS YOUR PREFERED WEAPON? DO YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR FAVORITE?
I prefer a short axe. Since I’m tall it allows for me to better reach; use strategic strikes to assist team mates and distract multiple people on the rail. It also frees up a hand for intense grapples and provides more leverage control during a grapple.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE SOME POSITIVE ASPECTS THAT COME FROM THE SPORT?
The Warlord provided me a great community of people to workout with as well as being trained by great coaches from the academy. Through this I found people who were into some of the same things as me and made many friends – I even invited a bunch of them to be on my Podcast to share a beer and stories.
WHAT IS YOUR FIGHTING STYLE – IF YOU HAVE ONE?
I think I prefer to be a support striker and grappler on rail and off rail. I also like to be a duels competitor with growing tactical sword skills and a great grappling base.
DO YOU THINK FIGHTING CHANGES WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON? HOW HAS IT AFFECTED YOU PERSONALLY?
I think it does change you. It brings out the person you feel like has been waiting on the inside and it helps you focus on what makes you happy in all aspects of your life to cherish it or change it. For me, I was inspired to focus on my health, build an emerging business to help me get my name out there as a competitor and bring awareness to my Podcast to share a beer with someone new be it over a fight or a random topic and agree to disagree. But really I just wanted to finally take a moment to earn something and work towards some and one day look back and say “Yea, I did that and I got to travel all over the world fighting and drinking beer!” Ha ha!
WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE FOR NEW PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE SPORT?
Buy a groin protector cup regardless if you are a man or woman! Trust me, I know the pain. Ha ha! Other than that, all I can say is you get back what effort you put in. Train hard, fight hard, have fun and don’t be afraid of what people may think. It’s all about what you want.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO FOR THE FUTURE OF ARMORED COMBAT SPORTS?
I’m hoping that after Covid ends we can all do our part to help grow the audience and teams. Maybe we will be able to do 150 vs 150 battles right here in the US! That would be dope!
ANY FINAL WORDS YOU WANTED TO MENTION?
Thanks to everyone at the Warlord Academy for supporting a brotha and the plentiful shenanigans. Brett and Brennon for cornering for me during my duel fights, and Adam for his crazy and irritating fitness classes. Also, shout out to the Knights of Wakanda for the encouragement to keep going and support as well!
Beer Battered Thoughts is a podcast hosted by Cyrus that discusses life topics with friends and family. Follow the podcast today!
