Kris is 28-years-old and born in the Philippines. He’s been training with Professor Rob at GTA for all 10 years of his martial arts career. Currently, Coach Kris is an amateur MMA fighter holding a 3-1 record and actively competes in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments as a first degree brown belt. Prior to getting his brown belt, he won a couple tournaments at purple belt level. He has aspirations of becoming a professional MMA fighter.
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When he first started coaching, he was a white belt and had just started training only a few months prior. Professor Rob saw something in Coach Kris when he asked him to start coaching. Coach Kris tells us that at first, he felt just as lost as most students. With time and more experience, he was able to teach his students to defend themselves, get fit, and evolve in their martial arts journey.
However, unbeknownst to him, he learned something more valuable; he learned that he was able to make a difference in peoples lives. Having the ability to make a difference in an individual’s life, is the most gratifying part of coaching to him. That alone is Coach Kris’ reason for coaching.
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His favorite part of martial arts is the Jiu-Jitsu aspect. He has always been a competitor at heart, making a competition out of everything: sports, gaming, and even cleaning. Ask him to clean, he will make sure he’s the best cleaner out of everyone in the house. He gets inspiration from his dad who once told him, “if you ever do anything, you make sure you do it the best compared to everybody.” Jiu-Jitsu takes that saying to the extreme. “If you ever think you’re the biggest shark, Jiu-Jitsu will humble you.” The infinite amount of being able to gown in martial arts is what keeps Coach Kris from coming back and being a lifelong student.
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Coach Kris’ mission and goals in martial arts is to be able to make an impact in peoples lives as their coach, whether in martial arts or in life. To him, that’s the bigger goal. “Belts and medals are awesome and all that, but to leave a legacy and make a difference in their life would last a lifetime.”
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We asked Coach Kris: if you can tell your younger self something regarding martial arts, what would you say?
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“Bro, bro, bro! Haha! Martial arts is crazy! You’ll meet many different people, have thousands of interactions, but in the end, martial arts brings everybody together. It’s the one thing that makes everyone different. Enjoy the process...Enjoy the ride...It’s not a race, but one long, awesome, and crazy journey that will change your life."