Photo By Erin Sherwood | Staff Sgt. Tyrone Henderson, noncommissioned officer in charge of the 45th Special...... read more read more
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII — It was 10:30 a.m. at the 45th Sustainment Brigade’s gym. Staff Sgt. Tyrone Henderson finished up his combatives level one class with an encouraging speech. His students looked exhausted but happy. A few went up to him to ask questions about their technique or joke about the last roll. He laughed and joked back, then and pulled out a bag of sour Jolly Ranchers before settling on a workout bench.
His easygoing manner may deceive you, but as the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 45th Sust. Bde., 8th Theater Sustainment Command’s combatives program, Henderson is certainly the expert of the brigade. When asked about the BJ Penn tournament he fought in, his face lit up.
“There was this tournament at Fort Shafter sponsored by BJ Penn,” he said. “They saw me fight, and I won! I was given a free pass to their gym to start fighting with the UFC. Next thing you know, they wanted to fly me out to the tournament.”
BJ Penn, a UFC sponsored tournament named after the MMA champion himself, draws fighters like Conrado Martin and Andrew Sanchis, legends in the fighting community. The tournament is an annual event on the island of Maui. Henderson says the selection was a welcome surprise.
“There were four people ahead of me that had more fights. But the fight team thought I was more ready and more confident.”
Proud to declare that he is Army trained in fighting techniques, Henderson’s first formal introduction to fighting was at his first unit.
“There was an [organization] day,” he said. “They were having a combatives tournament. They threw me in the tournament and I ended up winning!”
After that experience, his interest in combatives quickly became a passion. He went on to compete in many Army sponsored tournaments in places like Korea and Fort Hood. He was eager to emphasize Army combatives and its role in his success as a fighter.
“I look at being in the military as an advantage. The other competitors, they don’t live the Army values, they aren’t familiar with Army discipline.”
Unlike most fighters, he refuses to take any supplements or enhancers.
“I look at fighting like war,” he said “I can’t say, ‘Time out, let me pop a pill.’ When I fight, I want to know that’s all me.”
His “his back to basics” approach on the mat is evident when you ask him about his strategy for winning the fight.
“The things that mess you up are elementary: tuck your chin, keep your elbows in, keep good breath control.”
When asked whether he was nervous about the tournament, Henderson was quick to answer with true words of wisdom.
“You’re only nervous if you’re not properly prepared.”
Although Henderson did not win BJ Penn, he doesn’t regret the experience.
“Even though I lost, I gained a lot of recognition from the locals for this fight,” he said “I got my name out there, and I’m taking the loss as motivation to move forward and do better next time. I feel sorry for the next person I fight.”
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2013 17:56 |
| Story ID: | 108004 |
| Location: | SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 531 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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