Marines compete in mixed martial arts tournaments on Okinawa
Keeping true to the Corps’ warrior spirit, five Okinawa-based Marines joined together to participate in local martial arts competitions.
The five mixed martial artists who specialize in boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai kickboxing created team One Mind and have been competing in local Okinawa Martial Arts Association fights since January.
In the team’s short lifespan, two members of One Mind – John Brown and Chasen Madyun – have climbed the rankings of the OMAA to place in the top five of their weight class. There are 20-30 competitors in each weight class, except for the heavyweight class which has 10-15 fighters, according to Brown.
Competitions featuring about 15 fights are held every third Sunday of the month at Wild-Seasar Tenkaichi Stadium, which is located at the intersection of Highway 58 and Route 130. Team One Mind typically sends at least one fighter every month.
Brown and Kieran Carrington represented One Mind Sept. 16 in mixed martial arts and kickboxing competitions at the stadium. Carrington fought a hard match, and although he did not win, he showed that team One Mind trains tough fighters who don’t go down easily.
Brown fared better in his match against Yuma Uehara, defeating him by decision after four hard-fought rounds. The win advanced Brown into the top five of the middleweight rankings.
“It was definitely the best fight of the night because the skill of the two fighters in the ring was so high, and they both had excellent moments,” said Andrew Ojeda, a Marine spectator. “The intensity was so high, and you could tell the whole crowd enjoyed it because it was never quiet.”
The judges thought the fighters were so evenly matched that, at the end of the scheduled three rounds, the fight was called a draw. The draw forced the match into a fourth round, in which Brown landed several hard hits that knocked Uehara back and joggled his head, sending spit and sweat flying.
With every hit Brown landed, the Marines in the crowd let out a loud cheer to encourage him to keep going and keep the upper hand.
“I haven’t seen all of the One Mind fighters in the ring, but I know if they all fight with the same intensity as Brown, we will be seeing a lot of good fights every third Sunday,” said Colt Crosby, a Marine spectator.
The tenacity and toughness One Mind fighters display in the ring is the same way they train, Brown said. They give 100 percent during training, and when they step into the ring, they take that same level of intensity with them.
“We train with the mindset of ‘the more I sweat now, the less I bleed later,’” Brown said. “We train longer and harder than a fight will be so we can be prepared physically and mentally for the fight.”
Team One Mind meets at Gunner’s Fitness Center Field House Monday through Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. for training and welcomes any service member to come and train with them regardless of experience.
U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific policy requires that Marines who intend to compete in mixed martial arts receive permission from their commanding officer.
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