Veteran Marine, MMA Champion Saved By Christ

Former MMA Champion Shares How Christ Saved Him From PTSD, Suicide, Infidelity
Christian Post
BY ANUGRAH KUMAR
CHRISTIAN POST CONTRIBUTOR
May 25, 2016

In a new "I Am Second" video, a former U.S. Marine and Pro MMA champion Chad Robichaux speaks honestly about his struggle with anger, hatred, brokenness, adultery and being suicidal as a result of a post-traumatic stress disorder, and how his wife's prayers in church led him to Christ and founding Mighty Oaks Warrior Program.

The video begins with Robichaux narrating an incident when he was working as a New Orleans police officer. After a domestic violence call, he had to deal with a gun-wielding offender, who was reported to be homicidal and suicidal. Robichaux and his associate ended up shooting him to death. Though cleared by a grand jury later, he struggled with his conscience.

"I had just blood everywhere on me and felt like I couldn't get it off me. I just wanted someone to tell me, you know, that it was okay, because I had just killed this guy in front of his family," he recalls. "And it was something I never thought I would have a hard time with, but it did."

Robichaux began his military career as a Force Recon Marine before spending time as a police officer in New Orleans, where he earned a medal of valor. After the 9/11 terror attacks, he was selected to join a Joint Special Operations Command task force where he was deployed to Afghanistan in the global war on terror.
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Veterans Fight Out of Dark Places Mixed Martial Arts

First Rule Of This Fight Club: You Must Be A Veteran
NPR
by QUIL LAWRENCE
August 22, 2014

Iraq veteran Todd Vance is the founder of P.O.W. — or Pugilistic Offensive Warrior — mixed martial arts training for veterans in San Diego.
David Gilkey/NPR

About a dozen military veterans have locked themselves inside a caged boxing ring, in a rough part of San Diego, and they're starting to throw punches. It's therapeutic, they say.

"A lot of people say, 'You guys are punching each other in the face. How is that helpful?' " says Aaron Espinoza, a former Marine. "But it's a respect thing, it's mutual. I have to push him, he has to push me to get better."

Espinoza is a regular at P.O.W., which stands for Pugilistic Offensive Warrior, a mixed martial arts training session that's free for veterans. Iraq veteran Todd Vance founded the group after his own struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

"I was in a dark place for a long time and I personally used mixed martial arts to get myself back on track," says Vance. "Once I got back on track I went to school — studying social work."
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Marine vet finds purpose in the cage

MMA: Marine vet finds purpose in the cage
UT San Diego
By Dennis Lin
DEC. 2, 2013

It might seem an unusual pairing: PTSD and MMA.

Yet both have become part of Shane Kruchten's reality, their indelible connection written in ink.

On the Marine Corps veteran's back are the names of 19 fallen soldiers. Fifteen of them died in 2004, during the battle for Fallujah, Iraq. Every time Kruchten steps into the cage, he is a walking, fighting memorial.

"I deal with a lot of survivor's guilt," Kruchten said, "so I wanted them to know, they had my back, I'll always have theirs. I never want people to forget the price of freedom."

Kruchten, 29, discovered the cost of war more than a decade ago. The Oshkosh, Wis., native graduated high school early and, acting on a lifelong sense of duty, enlisted in the Marines at 17. Stationed at Camp Pendleton, he dreamed of serving for 20 years.

That dream was cut short at three. In 2004, an IED blast left him with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Beneath the headline another Marine ended his own life

Beneath the headline came this.

"One of the things he would say to the family is that that MMA fighting was helpful to him," said Ricci, "and he was managing anger and frustration best when he was training and in the gym."

Mixed Martial Arts can be a part of healing but it cannot be the only thing they do. I am sorry but as good of a story at this is about an aunt doing what she can so that other veterans do not take their own lives instead of heal, it shows more about families not having a clue what PTSD is or why the veterans suffer so much.

Wasn't that supposed to be what all the "training" the military has been doing all these years with their "resilience" training? How could this Marine not get the help he needed and why was this family not given what they needed to understand it?

It is because the "program" isn't even close to doing what the military brass told us it would and one of the biggest reasons suicides, as well as attempted suicides, have gone up among the troops and our veterans.

MMA vs. PTSD fundraiser Saturday at Chaifetz Arena
KSDK News
By Art Holliday
October 21, 2013

ST. LOUIS (KSDK) - Linda Ricci misses her nephew, Adam Muffler.

"I knew him as the kid who rolled around on grandma's floor with my kids," said Ricci.

Muffler graduated from Webster Groves High School. As a Marine corporal, Muffler saw tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"After the second deployment he was a different kid and he struggled with anger and frustration," said Ricci. "Handling everyday complications became difficult for him."

Ricci says one of the ways Muffler coped was competing in mixed martial arts, one of his passions.

"One of the things he would say to the family is that that MMA fighting was helpful to him," said Ricci, "and he was managing anger and frustration best when he was training and in the gym."

At the age of 24, whatever Muffler was struggling with became too much. He took his own life November 4, 2012.

"It was the darkest winter for most of us," said Ricci. "It was the call you never ever want to get and I think everybody's constantly reflecting on things they would've done or would've said or would have urged him to do."
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One Armed Mixed Martial Arts Fighter Gets Inspired by Camp Pendleton Marines

ONE-ARMED FIGHTER GETS INSPIRATION FROM VETS
UT San Diego
By Dennis Lin
AUG. 18, 2013

Born with a rare condition, Nick Newell is one in about 2,000.

In the arena of mixed martial arts, he is one of a kind.

Earlier this month, before the 27-year-old remained undefeated in what has been an unlikely career, Newell took a break from training to visit military veteran amputees at Camp Pendleton.

“Those guys are my heroes,” the New England native said by phone this week. “What they do is as brave as you can get. That’s the highest right there, sacrificing, risking your life for your country. What I do isn’t really that dangerous. You just get in a fight and a ref will break it up. In fighting there’s a lot of glitz and glamour and attention. When they go out there, no one’s paying attention. We don’t know 99.9 percent of the stuff that goes on out there.”
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Camp Lejeune Marine and Son with Cancer Meets UFC Fighter

Marine Son with Cancer Meets UFC Fighter
DVIDS
by Lance Cpl. Shawn Valosin
Aug 13, 2013

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines here were greeted by two special guests the morning of Aug. 2. Although one was an easily recognizable Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter, he was not the guest of honor.

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson was welcomed aboard Camp Lejeune not to teach Marines about mix martial arts, but for a much higher purpose.

Like Marines and cage fighters, Austin Saxton has endured beatings and come back with a smile fit for a champion. At the age of 14, while most kids would be out playing, or possibly getting in trouble for petty things, he was diagnosed with cancer in both his pancreas and liver.

He spent most of last Christmas vacation in the hospital, and almost had his 15th birthday there as well.

The uniqueness of his situation required that the cancer be treated differently than usual. Chemo therapy wreaked havoc on Austin’s body, causing ulcers to form in his mouth, throat and nose. His immune system would deplete, he needed transfusions, and lost weight.

Austin had two dreams in life: to be a Marine like his father, and to meet a real UFC fighter. Through efforts by Marine Capt. Lee Stuckey, the company commander for Transportation and Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, A HERO Foundation, Stephen Thompson, and many others, Austin was able to make those dreams a reality.
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HBO's 'Real Sports' examines MMA and PTSD tonight

Video: HBO's 'Real Sports' examines MMA and PTSD tonight
by MMAjunkie.com
Staff
Jun 25, 2013

HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" tonight examines how some military veterans are combatting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with a seemingly unlikely activity: MMA training.
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There are no "one size fits all" treatment for PTSD so keep trying until you find what works for you.

Airman Strives to Become Pro Fighter

Airman Strives to Become Pro Fighter
Jan 04, 2013
Air Force News
by Senior Airman Micaiah Anthony

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Most people dream of getting rich, or houses with white picket fences, but one Airman's dream is to be locked in a blood-stained steel cage with a professional mixed martial artist.

For most, this would be a nightmare. However, for Staff Sgt. Jeremy Caudillo, the 2nd Force Support Squadron fitness center supervisor here, his dream of becoming a professional MMA fighter is about to become reality.

"This has been a big dream of mine," said Caudillo. "My goal is to be the Ultimate Fighting Championship champion. I feel like MMA is my destiny."

Caudillo began his fighting career as a wrestler in high school and college. It wasn't until one of his deployments that he decided to pursue a career in MMA.

"I got interested in MMA when I was deployed to Afghanistan," said Caudillo. "I saw a few Soldiers and some other guys doing combatives and Jiu-jitsu, so I asked if I could partake. I started training with them and it really started my career in MMA."

After Caudillo returned from his deployment, he joined an MMA gym and started competing in local amateur fights. His success in the ring attracted the attention of MTV's reality show 'Caged.'
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