Heart For The Fight
There have been a few Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters that have written books over the years. Some funny in nature. Some more serious about the sport and business of MMA. And I’m the first one to say I barely have 15 minutes a day to spare to read another book written by a MMA fighter. But when I read the overview of Brian Stann’s “Heart For The Fight” something was going to be different about this book.
The overview it gave of Stann’s early years growing up in a tough neighborhood and the struggles he endured were heart wrenching. And the hurdles he overcame at the Naval Academy were early indicators of his determination.
Stann also wrote about his experience as a commander in Iraq and the emotions he encountered while losing many friends to combat as well as being accused of something that could have been career ending, not to mention mentally and emotionally devastating for the average person.
In addition to how he got started in MMA, the highs of winning and the experience of winning the WEC Championship to meeting his now wife Teressa.
I started reading the book and found myself trying to hurry to get life’s day to day stuff done so I had more time to read more pages. Everyone takes away something different from every story. But for me, I saw how his early life’s struggles directly impacted him as an adult and how he dealt with the situations he faced. This wasn’t a book written about an athlete but rather the heroic spirit of a man that is going to accomplish a lot in his life. It made me appreciate the men and women that serve our country much more than I did before. I will admit to being more of an ostrich with my head in the sand when it comes to war. The news does a good job of not showing the lows of war, however Brian gave enough detail to get the visualization you can’t ignore or deny. After seeing and experiencing what he did in Iraq, I can’t even imagine how a person can see the good in anything. Yet he had a way of talking about Teressa that made me see his heart is made of gold and not damaged by prior experiences. An accomplishment of its own if you ask me.
I’ve been a huge fan of Brian’s since his early days in the WEC. But after reading this book, I’m an even bigger fan of his. The soldier. The fighter and the inspiring person he is.
I highly recommend this book! And I wish Brian the best of luck as he makes his middleweight debut tomorrow night against Mike Massenzio in San Diego at UFC on Versus.
And for Brian, "your heart is unbeatable. Bring that to every fight and you'll never lose..."
(anticipated release date of book is Sept 15, 2010)
Please follow him on twitter if you're not currently - and read more about his honorable charity work with Hire Heros USA.
