Martial Arts
Since I was a kid I’ve wanted to ‘fight’ – I always wanted to be a ninja. Some of my earliest memories are wishing I could train Karate and be a ninja; I would play for hours outside by myself or with my cousin playing a game that we invented that we appropriately called “Whoever you want to be.”. As you can imagine, we reinvented ourselves by pretending to be some fictional character from video games, books, movies – whatever you wanted. Heck, a lot of times we would just create our own character; choosing what kind of “special powers” we wanted to play with that day.
Then the role playing would begin.
We would fantasize and pretend and create these elaborate stories in our mind – almost like a play. Sometimes we would “pause” the action to discuss how we wanted things to go down in the story of our game and other times we would just let form organically allow the story to play out.
There were times where we had been playing outside for so long that we decided to pause the game and resume the following day – sometimes the following week if it were on a weekend.
But almost always, I was some kind character that involved being a ninja. It was something both of us always wanted to do really – to train a martial art and be a ninja. It’s so funny how a kid’s imagination can run wild and play off what you see on TV and in the movies – media shapes our thought processes so much.
The martial arts were simply something I have always been drawn to. I remember as a kid I was always wanting to play wrestle – I was enthralled with the idea of competing with another person but it was mostly just fun. Traditionally, wrestling is not categorized as a martial art, but in many ways I disagree with those who believe this. I was introduced to actual wrestling at the age of 12 and immediately fell in love. I’m not sure what it was because practice was fucking HARD. I had played a season of soccer once as younger kid, I think I was like 6, and I quit after the season because apparently, I didn’t like all the running – might have been something to do with my bad hips.
The irony is this, my FIRST day of wrestling we ran 3 miles as a warm-up. This was a random Wednesday afternoon over the summer. I had never before run long distance like that – I was in no way, shape, or form ready for that. Then we started practice and they taught me a wrestling stance and a double leg. That’s all I worked on for the two and half hours of practice. The last 30 minutes consisted of me royally getting my ass kicked by the kids on the team.
I wrestled all through high school and then joined the USF club team my freshman year of college but decided to quit the team because the copious amount of time it absorbed and there being no scholarship opportunities. After that, I trained off and on in Jiu Jitsu for the next couple of years – I didn’t click with Jits community where I was at as much as I did to my wrestling family and so the dedication just wasn’t there because it wasn’t as enjoyable.
I have constantly craved to fill that void wrestling left in my life. For almost 10 years of my life I had something to learn, dedicate myself to, and had a reason to hold myself to a higher standard. The years that followed with that void left me with a lack of direction and also a lack of comradery – not just in friendship but the push of training and battling for your life. I missed that.
The day I found out Duane “BANG” Ludwig was opening his martial arts academy, I was all in. To learn a martial art from a real genuine master is something I have literally dreamed about since I was a kid. It was never afforded then but I knew now I was in control.
Being a fight fan, I had been following his coaching success quite adamantly and just genuinely felt a connection with his coaching style – from what you could get through media at least. Plus I think Bang Muay Thai was the coolest shit ever. On top of the fact that when he was working with Team Alpha Male he was working with a bunch of wrestlers and you could just see the connection to work ethic that the each possess. So, I made my mind up. I knew that by going to learn Bang Muay Thai under Duane, that the void wrestling left would finally be filled. I would finally get to be the ninja I dreamed about and I would undoubtedly create a new family and have that since of comradery once again.
I had a layover in Denver for 23hrs in December 2015 on my way to Vegas for a Dolce Diet seminar – this was perfect. I had enough time to run around the Denver area and do some short site seeing, but most importantly, I got to see Ludwig Martial Arts, meet Duane, and train a class! Training was near impossible – my nerves were through the roof while I was trying not to be a total fan boy haha!
That night waiting at the airport after being awake for 30hrs I decided I was moving to Colorado to train. I said I would move to Colorado in the summer – 6 months away. I moved on May 31st.
Ludwig Martial Arts is probably the best thing to ever happen to me. Training Bang Muay Thai has completely changed my life. This of course is because of Sensei Ludwig being a legitimate martial artist that embraces the lifestyle and wants to teach and share the way. It really is a place of family and belonging. A reason to be better. To hold yourself to a higher standard. A place of love.
It is a funny turn of events that have happened with me being injured and unable to train. I have wanted to train since I was kid and dreamt about being a ninja and now I am the one teaching kids to embrace their inner ninja.
Getting to work with the kids at Ludwig Martial Arts for our Lil’ Ninjas program is one of the most rewarding things I have ever gotten to do. It’s the coolest thing in the world to me to get to share Bang Muay Thai with the kids and help pass along the martial arts. It’s even more special that even though I may have missed my dream as a child to train – I am now in the position and have the opportunity to help all of our Lil’ ninjas accomplish their own dreams of being a ninja. It’s amazing how the universe can work and I love it.
I really can’t express how special it is to me to get called ‘Coach Kenny’ and to be teaching Bang Muay Thai.
Bang Muay Thai has given me a deep since of appreciation for my life and the opportunities that come way. They have also given me a reason to hold myself to a higher standard and to have a sense of purpose. It has given me confidence and courage. It gives me direction.
But most importantly, it has given me family.
OSU Ninjas!
With love,
KS