Last Updated on January 17, 2014.
Brooklyn MMA Gives Woman Courage
We cannot change our past. Our Sensei has changed our future. My daddy was the first bully who ever hit me. My ex-husband was the last. I was a victim of physical abuse and domestic violence.
I didn’t want the girls I love to ever be scared of men like I used to be. My older daughter was overweight. My younger daughter became a bully herself. Something had to be done.
With the intention of bringing them and my nieces for some fitness classes along with anti-bullying discipline mixed in, I joined Tiger Schulmann’s just weeks after Hurricane Sandy flooded our home. I only expected we would exercise together and let off some steam. What my family received instead has been life changing.”
Strength From MMA Leads To Life Changes
In the best sense of the word, I am a quitter. After 25+ years of smoking, I finally put out my last cigarette.
Goals have always been for “other” people. Being a full time working single parent of teenagers is stressful and many years have passed me by without a thought to my own physical or mental health.
Not anymore. In the year since training with Sensei Nolan at the new Midwood location, we have all been affected in profound, but different ways.
Being promoted is just the “atta girl” we never thought we’d strive for, but now work very hard to achieve. For me, being on the mat is exactly what I need at times when everything around me seems overwhelming. As hard as it was to learn to empty my cup before each class, I now look forward to the release.”
Learning MMA Not Only Benefit For Brooklyn Family
“The benefits we’ve discovered are not just self-defense, weight loss or letting our aggression out on a bag. Although these are great reasons to train, they go beyond that for me.
I have gone to the ‘gym’ without any feelings of loyalty or accomplishment. I found that at Tiger Schulmann’s because it is not a gym, it is a school, I am a student again!
I am learning a new language, new moves that improve my body, new ways to improve my mood, even reasons to do the food shopping differently. I am doing this alongside the most important young ladies in my life.
My daughter recently made a post on Facebook that she “wants to thank Tiger Schulmann’s for helping me overcome what has been bothering me my whole life, I was never comfortable with my lifestyle and the way I looked.
My girls and I are training to become victors, not victims. Thanks to Sensei Nolan at Tiger Schulmann’s MMA Midwood for showing me the best way to teach my girls that strength is important to both our bodies and our minds. As women, we have learned we can overcome anything if we just give a few hours a week to being on the mat. I was never so motivated to change my family tree and will never forget or regret our first trial class 12 months ago.”
Osu!
Brandi Hoffman – TSMMA Midwood