Interview with MMA trainer, John "Bones" Shaddock.

For part 16 of our ongoing interview series with amateur MMA fighters, coaches and trainers we spoke with John "Bones" Shaddock. John has dedicated most of his life to the combat arts and speaks to us about his fighters and the challenges of finding promising new comers. Check out his site at www.shaddockmma.com. How long have you been training Mixed Martial Artists?

I have been training Mixed Martial Artists for the past three years.

How did you get into training for MMA? Were you a fighter yourself? (If so, what was your record?)

I have been involved in some sort of combat sports my whole life. I started wrestling at age 3. I had 3 older brothers that had wrestled. We even had mats in our garage. As a freshman in High School I took 3rd place in the NYSPS wrestling tourney. At age 15 I began boxing. I was a 2 time finalist in the Vermont Golden Gloves and the New England Diamond Belt Boxing Champion. Along the way I had trained in Shorin Ryu karate and Aikido. Finally at 38 I began training in Gaijin Ryu Jiu-Jitsu. I won the Battle of Baltimore and Maryland OPEN Jiu-Jitsu tournaments and am currently a purple belt.

Have you had the opportunity to train with any pro fighters? If so, who?

I have worked with Dan Severn, Joe Stevenson, Hermes Franca and most recently WEC phenomenon Kamal Shalorus. My school is going to be one of the few schools in the country to have Kamal’s SICS fighting systems in it.

Are there any up-and-coming guys in your gym that you feel are going to make some noise in the MMA world?

I have some really promising amateurs. Billy “The Kid” Miller, Kyle “War Dog” Nicholson, and Andrew “Tank” Murray, these guys are the core of my MMA fight team.

Have there been any challenges in your personal life that you’ve had to over come to get to where you are now?

I must say that I am very fortunate. Nothing has been handed to me, but when times get hard I seem to pull it out. I attribute it to hard work.

What is your biggest challenge as a trainer?

The biggest challenge I have had was finding real fighters. In an age with video games and computers, it’s hard to find kids that want to work hard anymore. It’s taken three long years and I have gone through a lot of “wanna be’s" until I finally found some hard nose kids who have good work ethic.

What advice do you have for people looking to become MMA fighters?

My advice is to get as well rounded as you can. Always be a student. Learn as much as you can. Try and train in all the disciplines and you will be a champion.