Mr. Arnebeck,

I thought things went very well…I was confident in what techniques I was going to use due to all that I have learned through your system…having Josh in my corner and help me to prepare was exactly what I needed…he and I went over techniques that I should use from a stand up game to on the ground…he also brought some breathing techniques and mental preparation…Josh was in my ear with encouragement the whole time leading up to the time of my fight…he was there telling me to relax…then all of sudden I heard my entrance music…and I started to get very excited…only have Josh there in my ear again telling me that it was time to show them what I got…I also would like to thank all of the guys from the Cove that came out to support me…if I forget anyone I am sorry…Kevin, Eric M., Tom B., Chris C., Kelly, Jason,  and Jeremiah…I would also like to give a couple special thanks to Eric Herman, Eric Minor and Bob…those three guys really pushed in me in turns of grappling thanks guys…ok…back to the fight…we got into the cage…and soon as the door shut…every thing slowed down…I was focused…I saw my opponent across from me…a little background on him…5’10…195…our fight was at 205…he was a college wrestler at Saint Cloud State… he went to the national tourney his senior year but did not place…he also had two previous NHB fights that he won both with knockouts…the ref asked if we were ready and we both nodded….we came to the center and touch glove…now this where things got interesting as I noticed that he touched gloves with his right hand in lead position…in my head a bulb went off…circle away from his left…it is too bad that after I threw a jab…I forgot which way to circle…as I went right into a left hand solid to my mouth…this woke up a little…and rushed in for a clinch…secured a head and arm…waited for him too push into me…and threw him with headlock/ hip-toss…he slammed hard to the ground and did a good job of getting to guard…then I started to drive him headfirst towards the cage and as we reached the cage his corner was screaming for him to clamp down on me so I don’t raise up or pass his guard…then after about 20 seconds…the ref decided to stand us back up on our feet…this time I made sure that I circled away from his left…and worked this time…he came in with a looping left cross and side stepped and threw a good right hook to his body…grabbed a Muay-Thai clinch on his head...threw a couple of knees to his body…broke free threw a left right 1-2…and a left front kick to his body that just grazed him…he changed levels to drop for a shot at my legs…this where I planned for the fight to go since he was a good wrestler…I kept a knee between him and I like you showed me to do in that position…and as he was trying to punch I would switch my hips and hands back and forth…well this hip switching kind of lead him to fall perfect into a triangle choke…one arm forward to punch and one arm back from the last punch…I locked my leg…and clamped it on tight…to his credit he held on for about 20 seconds…then he tried to punch with his trapped arm…so as I moved into an arm bar position and clamped a little tighter with the choke he tapped…all in all it was great experience…this something I have been slowly working towards the last couple of years...with Rickson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and your Shinbudo techniques being the final pieces to my puzzle…THANK YOU so much for helping me to realize a dream. 

Forever Grateful,

Shane DeZee