Chris Johnson looking to prove traditional martial arts effective in MMA at IMKF 3

HOUSTON, TX, June 11, 2012 – Up next in our interview series for this Saturday’s Immortal Kombat Fighting (IMKF) 3 event, we speak to 24 year old Chris Johnson, a debuting fighter with a lengthy background in traditional martial arts and a military background as part of the National Guard.

According to Chris, his foray into Mixed Martial Arts is motivated largely by a desire to prove that his traditional style can match up with the now-conventional ways people are trained to compete within the sport in this day and age.

“I’m confident in my abilities and how I’ve trained,” Chris says. “Now I want to prove it in the cage.”

IMKF 3 Pre-Fight Interview – Chris Johnson

Tell us a little bit about how you got into MMA? What made you decide this sport was for you?

I started doing martial arts along time ago when I was like 9 years old. I got my black belt in Tae Kwon Do but then I moved over by North Harris College, and stopped for a while. What got me started training again was when I got into an accident in high school, and I was not allowed to be outside in the sun for 9 month. I got tired of being fat, and bored all the time, so I started training with my current instructor, Robert Montifar, in Karate. There was a karate tournament that had kick-boxing at the end. I decided to try it, and even though I won, I felt like there was some things I needed to improve on. I started going to martial arts schools of all different styles all over to see what was all out there, but I could never continuously afford the school fees, so I couldn’t stay at one place for too long. I would get together with some of my other friends that did martial arts and we would fight in the back yard, or in the football field, or behind a building, or at playgrounds, parks, anywhere were we could train and we would try new things and show each other techniques. I would read black belt magazines and watch pride fights on the internet, and next time we would get together, I would just try what I saw, to see if I could do it. I wanted to be a MMA fighter so bad, but after high school, I joined the National Guard instead. I learned basic ground techniques, which I really needed, and started learning how to box. We would box and fight overseas and sometimes we would roll, but never was really too good at it, I would just kinda hold my own. It was till I got home for good in 2010, that I was able to put everything together, and start making things work. I started training in Kung Fu and Vovinam and Filipino martial arts, and occasionally going to jiu-jitsu gyms, boxing gyms, and Muay Thai gyms to roll and spar and see how my techniques would fair against some of the more popular styles for MMA. I started feeling pretty confident about my ability, so now I want to prove it in the cage.

What is your life like outside of training? What do you do for a living?

Well at home I have 3 kids. I work for S.E.A.L. security, and I am a full time student, so I am always trying to balance everything out with training as well. At work we would train sometimes in hand to hand with a guy named Jerry, who was Special Forces in the army, and Crossfit 1525 is right behind our building, so sometimes training for work, would also benefit training for fights.

What’s your training environment like? What’s it like training at your gym and who do you work with?

My training environment is suitable for my training needs. I have a track 3 minutes from the house. I go to fitness connection and 24 hour fitness to swim or lift weights. I train at my Karate dojo most of the week. The experience and talent we have there is very good. Most of the fighters train in multiple locations and is able to spread their knowledge as well. My instructor has an encyclopedia of techniques that he has picked up over the years. He works with me mainly on my stand up. He has his black belt in Karate, Kung Fu, Taekwondo, and Filipino Martial Arts. My ground coach Aaron Glynn was on the Marine Corps boxing team, a brown belt instructor for MCMAP. He also trained in different Jiu-jitsu Styles. 5 minutes from my house is the temple where I go train in Vovinam. It’s very good traditional martial arts training and conditioning. The instructor I train mostly with, Mike, has a Black belt in Judo, and also trained in Muay Thai.

Chris, how would you describe yourself as a fighter? What can fans expect?

As a fighter, I think I would be very unpredictable. Since I’m always one of the smallest fighters when I train, I am already used to being on my back and in tough positions, and have figured a way to use it to my advantage. I have submitted 3 people that had me locked up with a rear naked choke. Yes i know sounds unbelievable, but it’s happened. One time I was wrestling with some buddies from the army and they thought I got choked out so they were giving me some shit, but when the other guy told them what happened, they finally believed me. I have awesome cardio. I fought this one guy named Kevin for like an hour. No breaks or anything. We both were all bloody. Eventually we were like, o.k. we have to end this already its taking too long, and we agreed to let it all out in one last clash. He broke my nose with a solid knee, and slammed me so hard, I couldn’t breathe. He won, but dang, I never thought we could fight that long. I also can take a bunch of hits. I fought with several dudes that hit me way strong, and I would think that they should knock me out easy, but I don’t know what it is that keeps me going, but I won’t stop.

Everyone wants to make it to the UFC but what type of impact do you hope to make locally in the near future?

I want to be well known here in my home town of Houston. I want to spread my knowledge that I picked up over the years. I want to make it big to show that traditional martial arts isn’t dead anymore.

If you couldn’t be a fighter, what else would you be doing with the time you spent training?

More time with the family and school. Maybe I could be in law enforcement, or training more fighters.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Fighting on HDNet. Teaching other people in my own gym. Having a steady job that would allow me to train and work and still make enough money to support my family.

It’s fight week now. What are your thoughts heading into IMKF 3?

I don’t know much about my next opponent. Just that he is tall. He’s older. He has been training just as hard as I have preparing for this fight, so it will be good. I am going to try my hardest to knock him out. I’m pretty sure he’s going to try and take me to the ground. If that’s the case, its ok I already got something ready for that, but if he will stand and bang with me, I have a few things ready that will take him, and my fans, by surprise.

What’s next for you after this, both in the cage and outside of MMA?

I will be training Yonny Osuna for a fight in Canada in August and some of my other fighters for a fight in Dallas in September.

Any last words before the fight?

I would like to thank everyone that’s helped me and has supported me to get this far, Everybody that has pushed me the extra mile because when I step into the cage next Saturday, I am going to let it all out. I am going to take the win by knock out. It’s not going to go to decision.