Like many of the martial artists of my generation, I was inspired in the early stages by Bruce Lee. When I was thirteen, I began studying taekwondo, and continued to practice that art for nearly 8 years, attaining a second degree black belt. A few years after beginning TKD, I met a friend who practiced Isshinryu Karate, so I studied that for about six months after that. Then I happened to see the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and from watching Royce Gracie I was inspired to learn grappling. Because my taekwondo school also offered judo, I got my start in grappling with judo which I stuck with for 2 years. After that I got my start in Brazilian jiujitsu, training off and on. I also played around in boxing as well, at Knoxville's Golden Gloves Gym.

In Japan I trained at a muay thai gym in Shinjuku for my first year, then switched to a Brazilian Jiujitsu/Muay Thai gym called Crosspoint. I also trained with my university's shooto club.

Upon returning to the US, I found Knoxville Brazilian Jiujitsu in Knoxville, TN. I trained there for about a year until I graduated college and moved to Atlanta. I'm still training in Brazilian Jiujitsu at Alliance Martial Arts in Atlanta. I received my blue belt in December of 2005.