Danny Daniels Interview

SL: First of all, tell us about your academy. Where is it located and what martial arts do you teach?

DD: East Coast Submissions Academy operates out of Fitness World at 105 West Hwy NC 54 in Durham. It's a good location on the opposite side of I-40 from South Point Mall. I teach Shito-Ryu Karate plus, to kids. When I say plus I mean I add things to the program from my other martial arts training where I see necessary. I teach Shamrock Submission Fighting to adults.

SL: How long have you been coaching?

DD: 10 years

SL: What is your martial arts background? How did you get started?

DD: I have a second degree black belt in Karate and a first degree black belt in Hakko-Ryu Jujitsu. I mention Hakko-Ryu as that it is a Japanese style of jujitsu. Obviously, my biggest passion is the Submission Fighting I learned from Frank Shamrock. I started in an Americanized version of Karate when I was in high school. It didn't fulfill what I was looking for. Meanwhile, I took up TKD which didn't quite do it for me either. Then, I got into kickboxing and that's where I found more of what I wanted. During this period, I also studied some Wing Chun which I enjoyed but didn't like the way the instructor was portraying it. All the students were told it was the most effective fighting system that could beat all others, so I had to call bull and leave. Around that time is when the UFC hit. That's when I started jujitsu and eventually with Frank Shamrock, who in my opinion is still the most well balanced fighter to date.

SL: Tell us a bit about your competition background.

DD: Won the NC amateur kickboxing title and beat the Tennessee champ along the way. I wish my MMA career was more exciting but it never came to fruition. While in California I had a couple of matches that fell through and didn't happen. I was scheduled to fight in the first Bushido when my father died about 2 weeks before the fight and I had to leave training to come home for the funeral and help put everything in order. I competed in the second Bushido and won but because of last minute rule changes all the fighters agreed to compete as long as it didn't go on their records. I came back to NC and tried to get fights in the ISCF in Georgia, Excalibur in VA, and a few others. ISCF made no return contact after many attempts; no one else wanted to pay me to fight. I am 34 years old with nothing to prove to anybody, if you want to see me fight it's gonna cost. I offered to do it for $200 for the first fight. It wasn't like I was asking for the world. Finally, I agreed to fight for free for 1 time at the Excal in VA. Sept. 14th was the date. I trained hard for 6 weeks and got there for a no show from my opponent with no alternate. That was the last straw for me. I could be coaxed out of retirement if someone out there wants to talk about the funds but other than that forget it. The one fighter I have trained since I have been back lost his first match. Got a one punch KO put on him at the end of round one after dominating the round. That sucked but that's how it goes sometimes. He won his next 3 decisively with the last victory in less than 2 minutes that all started with a suplex followed by the beat down and an armbar.

SL: How did you become involved with Frank Shamrock?

DD: The kickboxing career was going nowhere fast with a lack of qualified trainers and promoters in the area. I definitely thought the UFC was the real deal and more of why I started martial arts to begin with. I saw Frank's first 2 UFC fights and was like wow! During the second show they mentioned he had a team going. I called him on the phone and asked about the tryouts and everything else went from there.

SL: What was it like to train with Frank and his team?

DD: I trained with Frank while he lived in LA. The rest of the team was in San Jose under the direction of "Crazy" Bob Cook. I got to San Jose a couple of times and look forward to going back soon. LA is a Mecca of Martial Arts. Our school operated inside the RAW gym. Just in this one school you had the RAW team with Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko and Frank Trigg. Eric Paulson was in and out with the Inosanto Academy about 3 miles up the road. Fernando, who was a top BJJ black belt and Abu Dhabi competitor, was teaching there. So besides this school there were the Gracies, Tito Ortiz, Marco Ruas, and the Machados, etc. all within an hours drive. That is one thing I really miss.

SL: Do you have any funny or interesting stories you could share about your experience?

DD: The best story I have is about a gym I worked at a block from the beach. It had serious upscale clients. A really wacked lady came in one day and found out that Tiger Woods worked out there. She said she would join the gym if we would introduce her to Tiger because they were destined to meet. She came equipped with her very own magic 76 ball. You know like the magic 8 ball, but this puppy was a 76 ball from the gas station.

SL: What do you believe are the main differences between your system of submission fighting and the other martial arts available in the area?

DD: I believe this is the most developed MMA system around. There are some awesome BJJ guys around and a lot of them are incorporating things like Muay Thai and so on, which is great. I think this system blends all aspects of fighting into one seamless flow. The great thing is if you can learn the theories and principles of the system you can apply them to any style of martial art you are interested in learning.

SL: Do you follow any specific type of training regimen?

DD: I do a good amount of cross training. Cardio, weights, plyos, sparring, wrestling, etc.

SL: What is a typical daily training routine like for you?

DD: Eat at Burger King, play video games, and download internet porn. Just kidding…I have officially retired from competition and I assume the question was about training for fights. My daily routine hasn't changed that much besides a little less cardio and the intensity level is not as high. I usually get up and do cardio and weights in the morning. In the evening I do drills and some form of sparring or wrestling every night. Also sport specific conditioning drills.

SL: Tell our readers a bit about your team. How did that come about?

DD: The team was on my mind before I joined Frank's team and one of the reasons I did it. I started martial arts back in 85-86. I was always being progressive in trying to be a total fighter. The thing was there were no top notch trainers in the area. I went to Frank so I could come back and give some of the guys in the southeast a chance at that level of training, hence the name East Coast Submissions Academy.

SL: If someone were interested in trying out for the team, what should they expect? What type of skills should they work on?

DD: Anything to do with conditioning, I will take a person with no fighting experience at all if they can pass the test. The thing is most people want to be a fighter but they don't want to train like one. Fighting MMA is a different game than going out and rolling in a tournament on the weekend. I look for someone that is in great shape that I don't have to play babysitter to get them to train. You won't pass my test if you're not in great shape. I also look for someone that won't quit. It's my job to teach them to fight. That's the easy part.

SL: What are your thoughts on the current crop of MMA fighters in our area? Do you believe that the fighters from this area are on par with those from other areas?

DD: I definitely think there is some talent in the area. I have seen a couple of things that that the local fighters don't seem to have a handle on that I can fix. I think the fighters in our area are competitive with most. It really sucks we all have to travel so much to get experience. I think the fighters in California are a notch above everyone else. It's no mystery because that is where most of the top fighters and trainers live and a lot of them train together off and on.

SL: What is your basic philosophy on MMA?

DD: Get as well rounded as possible and have a good time. Nothing but the beat down. Give my fighters 100%, strengthen their weaknesses, help them find their potential, and keep them safe and healthy.

SL: Who are some of your favorite fighters? What is their appeal to you?

DD: Frank Shamrock and Eric Paulson because they have a super well rounded game. Both of those guys are really down to earth as well. Jens Pulver because he has the coolest nickname, "Little Evil". Tito Ortiz is very impressive in the way he just beats people down. Matt Serra for his continuous submission combos. If that guys striking was 75% of his grappling there would be no one at his weight that would beat him. Cung Le is as awesome a striker as I have seen and has great takedowns. If you have never seen this guy go to Cungle.com and check out some of his video clips. Bas Rutten in his prime was a well rounded bad mo fo.

SL: How was Frank's Seminar?

DD: Frank's seminar was awesome and we plan on having him back in August or September.

SL: Anything thing else you would like to add?

DD: Because I know it will come up. I know someone will find something in this interview to talk smack about. I ask these people to spend this negative energy in a more positive manner. If martial artists would come together as a community and stop bickering about whose style is the best there is no telling what we could accomplish as a collective. One of my biggest goals is to see the so called traditionalists and non traditionalists come together. I see it on both sides. The traditionalists hide behind their so called traditions and their black belts so they don't have to be bested. It's hard for a guy that has been doing a martial art for ten or twenty years to lose to a guy that has had 6 months of MMA training. This is where ego stops progress. For the MMA guys that say that traditional stuff doesn't work I ask you this. What do you think MMA came from? Some people think the Gracies pulled it out of there butt one day, etc. They were taught from a traditional style of jujitsu that they added their own flare to. This is basically what we all should be doing with every art we train in. We need to learn how to make it work for ourselves. There is no useless style, maybe only useless instructors passing along methods of training that they possibly never understood or were shown and the domino effect begins. I'm quite sure there is some TKD instructor rolling in his grave today looking at the way the system is mainly taught today. Sorry TKD guys, it was just the easiest system to use as an example. Go out and learn everything you can, make it work for you and most importantly let it help you live a fun and healthy lifestyle.

SL: Thanks for your time, Danny. I wish you continued success.

DD: Thanks for the questions, Steve. My doors are open so come on in and train sometime.

Interview conducted by Steve Loftin (18Mar03)

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