Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Santos Verdinez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Santos, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I started training MMA back in 2014. most of my training at the time had a heavy emphasis on BJJ. While having a small advantage in my training from my short time in wrestling I quickly learned that BJJ was the counter part of that. BJJ taught me to be soft and flow. Everyone develops their own style of grappling and mine started to become a slower heavy style that seemed to fit my body type. My first introduction to striking consisted of a karate style. That form of striking was what I trained in for first 6 years then around covid lockdown time I have a lot time to explore different striking arts. first, I started to expand into boxing which opened up a whole new level for me. The footwork, head movement, combinations, concepts, and positioning aided me on this part of my journey. Following shortly after I started to learn Muay Thai, and this is where my ability of striking grew explosively. Now, to my bias I do believe I have the best Muay Thai instruction in Minnesota, but the slower pace, knees, elbows, good base, structure and Thai style clinch all collectively came together for what is it today.

Santos, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into MMA for that fact that I woke up one day and just wanted more out of myself. After high school I wanted to get back into shape again, to have goals, and be able to defend myself as well. I hopped on google looked up “mma near me” and found a gym then signed up for classes that same day. Eventually I got more curious about the competitions and started doing some BJJ tournaments and falling in love with the feelings of competition after each match. Then one of my coaches asked me if I wanted to try a kickboxing fight and this is where I became obsessed with it ever since. So now fast forward 4 years, I am currently a 3-1 Professional MMA fighter with my background being 5-1 Amateur MMA, 1-1 kickboxing, and 5 first place medals from local tournaments. My services would be available for $100 1-hour private sessions I help beginners with MMA, boxing, BJJ, wrestling, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and Self-defense. For intermediate and Pro level people if you’re not exactly looking for new technique but a good training partner then I specialize in this as well. I have travelled to big gyms in the country and have worked several high-level athletes in MMA so I can give you experienced sparring round that are beneficial for you and not just another hard sparring day.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I’m sure anyone who is chasing a dream or big goal will relate to this whether you’re an artist, fighter, or starting a business. Non-creatives, or so we’ll name them, should heed to criticism before speaking it. We dream chasers already know that what we are doing may already be risky, dangerous, odd, and expensive. We have already heard the questions “are you sure that’s what you want to do?”, “you’re not making money doing this why would you do that?”, “there’s no security with this, what if it doesn’t work out?”. Yes, we’ve probably heard those things at least a million times. If you know us personally and we invite you to a show, event, or seminar and there’s a fee or admission pay to come support us, don’t say “that’s too expensive”, or “that seems like too money much for that”. Just try to think about how much money and time we had to put into our passion to get to the point of being in and/or having an event. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we’d rather you just say that’s it’s out of your budget, you can’t afford it or you can’t make it. Lastly, if you do know someone who’s pursuing a passion then throw some love our way. It’s always nice to have someone even if it’s a stranger give us positivity and encouragement.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It’s really hard to pick just one story. In my line of work there’s always little and big moments that will make you feel like you’re at a low. feeling slow, getting worked by others that you normally beat, having off days, you don’t feel like you’re performing quite like you need to be, feel alone in your journey, the weight cut is awful, you miss weight, you’re tired as hell, body feels beat up, and you lose in front of everyone you know. All of these things I’ve experienced sometimes all of them within one fight camp. I think the resilience is constant within the whole journey, but for sure the big moments like losses and hard fights will really test your will and resilience.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: sensei_sanman
• Facebook: Santos Verdinez
• Linkedin: Santos Verdinez
• Youtube: Santos Verdinez
• Other: TikTok: sensei_sanman

Image Credits
hubcap productions