Issue 034
February 2008
Harvard-educated productivity guru Tim Ferriss used his smart business sense to escape from the rat race and live life as he always dreamed. When he’s not an internationally acclaimed author, he trains mixed martial arts (MMA) at American Kickboxing Academy.
By Jatinder Dhoot
FACT FILE
Author of Bestselling self-help book ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’
Massively successful serial entrepreneur
Judo Black Belt
Speaks six languages
MMA Fan!
Guess what? You only have four hours to work a week. Perfect – let’s train some MMA. Best selling author Timothy Ferriss went from working 90-hour weeks in Silicon Valley to freeing up his time to pursue his passions, and one of the greatest of those is training MMA.
The California native and author of The 4-Hour Work Week trains at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose. The gym is home to multiple Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veterans including Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Jon Fitch, Josh Thomson and Paul Buentello. “I’ve rolled with them, but Idon’t do the striking,” says Ferriss of his experience with the pro’s at AKA.
And he’s been more than impressed with the MMA stars. The sheer talent and hard work present in the facility has accelerated the learning curve for Ferriss. “Jon Fitch is an incredible teacher,” says the 29-year-old Ferriss. “Koscheck is more technical than people realise and has superhuman strength,” he adds laughing. Fitch himself has much respect for Ferriss personally and as a martial artist. “Tim is a very intelligent person,” comments the UFC welterweight. “He is a very solid blue belt under Dave Camarillo.”
Having shoulder reconstructive surgery has hindered some of Ferriss’s progress, but his quick mind and mental fortitude have allowed him to overcome physical injuries. “He is able to pick up concepts and technique quickly and has a very solid guard game,” explains Fitch. “He is incredibly strong for his size too,” the welterweight adds.
Like Fitch, much of Ferriss’ strength, as well as his foundation for his MMA arsenal, comes from wrestling. With a collegiate wrestling background, Ferriss developed his competitive drive in athletics. Along the way he added judo into his arsenal. “The middle of my sophomore year in high school to the middle of junior year, I was in Japan, and that’s where I did judo”, recalls Ferriss. He worked his way to obtaining a black belt in judo from the Kodokan in Tokyo where he competed from 1992-1993.
During his time in Japan, his interest in MMA developed through the Shooto organisation, the most popular league on the MMA circuit at the time. Ferriss MMA training began at the Kiguchi Dojo, which was home to Takanori Gomi and Rumina Sato. Of the amateur dojo bouts that Ferriss partook in, one was a victory over Sato himself, according to Ferriss. “I actually had my ankle broken by Rumina Sato,” recalls Ferriss. “He popped my ankle and I didn’t tap, and I got out of that, took his back and got a rear naked choke.” There’s still a bone popping out of Ferriss’ ankle as a souvenir from Sato.
But Ferriss loves grappling and hopes to compete in some tournaments in 2008, and wouldn’t rule out dabbling in MMA. “I’ll do amateur MMA but I’m focusing on one thing at a time,” he says. “I’d like to get to the point where I can consistently tap purple and brown belts from others schools before I go into MMA.”
Ferriss has certainly got the time to do it as part of the ‘new rich’ using time and mobility to create the life they want. If only we could all join him and spend less time in the office and more time on the mats.
