Issue No. 51 June 2014

CAIRO WEST MAGAZINE
FEATURE
protégées with massive potential. With
experience in blending the disciplines
and the right dedication they could
do well. We do enter some regional
competitions, MMA is well established
in locations like Jordan and the UAE.
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The Wolfman on MMA
Dan, can we ask you a few
questions about your life in MMA?
How did you start out?
DT: I was born in the USA, and first
got drawn to martial arts through
watching that iconic children’s film The
Karate Kid. I was only nine years old
and fell into an after-school scuffle. The
defensive moves I had just seen in the
film came instinctively and naturally
to me, and I came out unscathed. That
was the beginning! At university my
friends and I saw a few tapes of UFC
events. I was hooked and took up
training on a serious level.
Where did you train?
I have travelled around the world to
work with some of the top trainers
available: Iowa and California in the
USA, Japan, and Thailand. I have
trained with many of the big names in
the UFC.
What experience did you have in
the actual fight circuit?
I fought only a few times, mainly in the
early stages of my career, first in 1997
in what was then known as NHB (No
Holds Barred) fighting, where literally,
anything goes. I won three MMA
matches by first round submission
holds, and I lost to two famous fighters
that fought for the UFC LHW Title in
Yuki Kondo and Jeremy Horn. I also
fought in two Daidojuku Kudo World
40 39
Championships in Japan, which is
a sort of MMA/Karate/Self-defence
hybrid style. I have trained with many
famous UFC/Bellator Fighters and top
fight teams such as with Dan “The
Beast” Severn, Team Punishment with
Tito Ortiz and “Rampage” Jackson,
“Tank” Abbott, MFS with standouts like
Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler, and
Black House with Lyoto Machida and
Roger Gracie. I also trained with top
grappling/Jiu-jitsu instructors Saulo
Ribeiro, Eddie Bravo, Gokor Chivichyan
and Judo Gene LeBell. I have two
Black Belts and two Brown Belts in
martial arts, though I have trained in
tons of different styles for 28 years and
adapt techniques from all of them for
MMA. I consider my grappling style
to be Real Catch Wrestling, or Catch-
Jitsu, a mix of Catch Wrestling, Jiujitsu,
Judo, and Sambo, ideal for MMA
or self-defence. My MMA instructional
videos and interviews with fighters
can be found at http://www.youtube.
com/DanTheWolfman1 under the
name TheCombatSystem.com, they
have gotten about 17 million views all
combined.
What spin-offs have you had in
your career?
By chance I got my foot in the door in
the film scene quite early in my career,
in both acting and stunt work. I have
done stunt double work for celebrities
like Sylvester Stallone, and appeared
in the film Couples Retreat as well as
the series like Sons of Anarchy and CSI
New York.
What brought you to Egypt?
My passion is teaching, and passing
my knowledge and experience on.
I wanted to reach out on a truly
international level, and was actually on
my way to Thailand again when I was
attracted by the call for an MMA coach
for Fight and Fitness Factory in Cairo.
I was impressed by their professional
approach and enthusiasm, so I came
over. I really look forward to helping
young kids here reach their dreams.
What is your personal training
schedule?
By teaching five days a week with each
session ranging from three to three
and a half hours I get plenty of exercise.
I start the class with a 10 minute warm
up and stretching. We might do 40
minutes of shadow boxing, footwork
and technique practise, or hitting Thai
pads during punch training. In a few
weeks my pupils will wear shin guards
and progress up to defensive training.
What advice and tips do you have
for young fighters?
They need to be open-minded, to
take the sport seriously, and know
how to learn the different techniques
and work on their weak areas. They
also have to be disciplined and train
hard at least five days a week. They
also should know that the top fighters
tend to be highly intelligent and well
educated, with strong will power and
self-discipline. You need to develop to
be a well-balanced individual.
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