By David Mayeda, PhD, FightTicker.com Social Issues Contributor

Media entities frequently distort what truly goes on in various organizations by only profiling the established stars. It is understandable since interviews with bigger athletic celebrities generate more buzz, and I am guilty of this as well. However, the reality is the more famous athletes are a small and unique subpopulation within sporting circles, who do not represent the general experiences of those who hope to become future superstars or those who compete on the smaller scale for any number of reasons.

Furthermore, simply because an athlete has made it to a top level does not by any means make him or her an authority on different sports-related issues. Consequently, we miss out on hearing the important stories and opinions of those just getting started, who may have other goals, priorities, or pathways in life. Hence, Tim “The Machine” Cook will be the first individual to be put “Into the Spotlight” here on Fight Ticker. (Thanks to MMABrat for also doing something similar to this with many of the female MMA fighters!) And thank you Tim for taking the time to answer my questions so thoroughly and thoughtfully!

BACKGROUND

Tim “The Machine” Cook is a 24-year-old amateur MMA lightweight fighter living in Indiana. He is the single father of a daughter and works as a corrections officer. Cook is also a member of the Corrections Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.), meaning he is one of the officers who has to deal with things when they get hairy, such as riots and ultra combative inmates. Perhaps not surprisingly, Cook is also the C.E.R.T. team’s physical tactics instructor. Some inmates have actually seen Cook compete and have said things like, "Hey don't mess with Officer Cook, he’s a great guy and will kick your ass if you step out of line." Perhaps not surprisingly, some of the inmates ask him how to get into MMA, which Tim hopes can turn their lives around for the better once they are released.

Tim’s current MMA record is 3-2, and it’s only an “amateur” record because he has not gotten paid for any of his fights. However, his fights are full MMA, with regular MMA gloves, no headgear and no shin guards, and they take place inside a cage. Cook competes in the Revolution Fight League. Despite only holding amateur status, he has already been featured on Inside MMA, and has his next competition this coming Saturday night (June 28, 2008)!!! Show “The Machine” some love here: http://www.myspace.com/tim529.

What follows are Tim's thoughts on a number of issues in his own words.

ON “THE MACHINE’S” PATHWAY TO MMA:

"I was always an active kid growing up. I used to box with my dad and uncles before I was out of grade school so a black eye and an occasional nose bleed were nothing to fear as a little kid. I got into Tae Kwon Do with my cousins when I was twelve and didn't really take hold of it too well. I went to Clarksville High School in Clarksville, Indiana and played football all four years. Our school didn't have a wrestling team so I spent the off season lifting weights and staying conditioned for football. My junior and senior years I started inside linebacker and stood 5'7" and weighed 160, so I was a smaller guy but pretty tough. My coach often referred to me as his little Kamikaze.

"After high school I started working in law enforcement. I also started training in a form of Okinawan Kempo Karate and was introduced to jiu-jitsu two years later by a lanky dispatcher. At the time I weighed about 190 lbs and was really into power lifting. Even with all my boxing and karate experience through the years, he used to submit me all the time in my back yard. After that I was set on getting as knowledgeable in jiu-jitsu as possible. I started training in jiu-jitsu in Louisville, Kentucky in October of 2006, which is coincidentally the same month I split up with my girlfriend of five years, so I had a little pent up frustration from that. About four months into training jiu-jitsu, the Louisville MMA coach, Jason Weihe, asked me to try out the team and see if I had what it took to fight. That’s who I fight for now – Louisville MMA. My first fight was December 1st, 2007 at Revolution Fight League 1 in Louisville, Kentucky - a show that brought about 2000 fans, so it was a bigger show for a first time fighter."

ON BALANCING MULTIPLE RESPONSIBILITIES:

"My fight schedule is about as rigorous as any that I have heard of. On June 28th in New Albany, Indiana I will have had my 6th fight in seven months. The hardest part of being a serious amateur fighter - and setting yourself apart from the redneck kid of your area that has gotten into two bar fights in his life and thinks he is Mike Tyson and doesn't have to train - is fitting in a serious training schedule to fit around your everyday life. It’s a high stress environment where I work. I am on call at all hours and scheduled to work from 6am to 2pm Saturday through Wednesday, plus I work a ton of overtime.

"Every day after I get off work I religiously lift weights Olympic style from 2:30pm to 3:30pm, sometimes until 4:00pm. Then I run a minimum of two miles a day except on weekends. I take a quick nap and then get up at 6pm and head to the gym, which is a 30 to 45 minute drive. The training varies from day to day, but my evening training schedule pretty much looks like this:

• Mondays: 7pm-9pm in MMA intermediate class
• Tuesdays: 7pm-8pm in jiu-jitsu; 8pm-9pm in Muay Thai
• Wednesdays: 7pm-9pm in MMA technique class
• Thursdays: 7pm-8pm in jiu-jitsu class; 8pm-9pm in Muay Thai class
• Fridays: 7pm-9pm in advanced MMA class with the fight team (we usually do hard sparring sessions all night)

"Then I have my daughter on the weekends, and unfortunately, I’m going through a custody battle with her mother. I try to spend the weekends with my daughter as soon as I get off work and have a little fun when I can. No joke, I usually jump rope in the house when she is watching Disney movies or Nickelodeon on the television. That is my schedule and I follow it religiously – wake up, work, lift, run, sleep, and repeat it every freakin’ day!"

(Now you don't have to wonder how he got his nickname.)

ON TRAINING FACILITIES AND MMA IN THE SOUTHERN INDIANA AREA:

"The MMA scene in the Louisville, Kentucky metro area is starting to really take off. With the popularity of mixed martial arts at an all time high we are starting to see a lot of smaller shows pop up in the area and in Southern Indiana. With the major training camps in the region consisting of UFC legend Pat Militech's Miletich Fighting Systems out of Iowa, producing martial arts legends such as Matt Hughes, Jeremy Horn, and Tim Silvia. A little north in Indianapolis you have current UFC welterweight contender Chris Lytle's camp. And in Cincinnati, Ohio you have Rich Franklin and George Gurgel's camp, and finally, in Cold Water, Michigan you have Dan Severn's gym. So with the Louisville and Southern Indiana area being a pretty green area as far as mixed martial arts is involved, I'm pretty excited to have my name in the mix. There are always new shows popping up in the Southern Indiana and Louisville metro areas.

"The facilities at Derby City Martial Arts (DCMA) are great! In my honest opinion we have the best equipment and training partners in the area. We have a full size cage (the only gym in the area that does so far) where we spar, multiple heavy bags, a full size weight room, and enough mat space to comfortably hold a class of 50 students at a time. DCMA has standard MMA classes, Muay Thai, Capeoira, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, and even Tae Kwon Do for kids. The training partners that I have are well versed in all forms of fighting and are definitely skilled enough to help any fighter make it to the very top of MMA."

ON DEALING WITH PROMOTIONAL ISSUES:

"The boxing commission is taking over the athletic commission and dealing with all MMA shows. They are cracking down on last second fights thrown together to fill cards and the mismatches that I have seen and have been involved in, with me always being on the short end of the mismatch, mainly having to fight several pounds out of my weight class. MMA in the Southern Indiana and Louisville metro areas (Lexington and Kentucky included) thrives on amateur fights and the guys who bust their asses to fight for free which enables these shows to be thrown together. With this in mind, the boxing commission is doing all they can to get amateur fighters all the respect and safety they can to keep MMA alive in this area. I have Aflac and basic health care coverage provided by the Sheriff's department. The boxing commission is making it mandatory that all fighters have health insurance and are regularly blood tested for disease before their shows."

ON COOK’S ATTITUDE ON PAY AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER:

"I am an amateur fighter, which in Indiana and Kentucky means I don't get paid to fight! From what I understand, in California shows, like KING OF THE CAGE, all fighters are paid, whether amateur or pro (it’s just a lot more are pro.) But in this area, I am more well-known than most pro fighters due to the frequency of my fights and that I train like a pro. But as everyone knows in this area, we all have to PAY OUR DUES!!! The average pro fighter in the area has had anywhere from 5 to 12 amateur fights before they go pro.

"After my last fight, which I won, the ring announcer came into the cage for my live interview and asked me, 'Wow Tim! How many fans did you bring?!' I took the microphone and looked at the crowd and responded, 'I don't know guys, how many fans did I bring?' There were about 3,500 people in attendance, and it seemed like everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs. Ken Shamrock was a special guest at that card, and he came to the cage and said, 'Let’s give it up for these two fighters! That was one hell of a fight!' So once I go pro, I really hope to be one of the up-and-comers from Louisville.

"As of now, I am planning on turning pro by the end of the year, so this will be my only year fighting as an amateur. And it’s a quick switch to fight for only about nine months and go pro, but I've had a lot of fights in that short time and have already proven that I sell tickets. My long term goal is to fight in the big shows - EliteXC, DREAM, Strikeforce, or maybe even the UFC! There is no 'Plan B' in my game plan in life, no room for failure. I'm that confident."

ON TIM’S PAYDAYS AS AN AMATEUR:

"A lot of young guys will write me online, 'Hey, I've seen all your fights and I’m a big fan. How do you get into MMA?', and that is definitely the biggest reward right there! That is my payday, not because I have a new fan but because I honestly know I can make a difference in somebody's life by being an honest-to-God role model. But it’s not just online that I get discovered. I have inmates who have seen the respect that I give them and have been to my fights and spread word throughout the jail, and a lot of them ask me how to get into MMA. I know that if they love the sport as I do, it will change their lives! But there was an incident when I dyed my hair red for my fight on the reality show at Hook-n-Shoot in Evansville, and my bosses weren't too happy about one of their C.E.R.T. guys walkin’ around with bright red hair!"

Again, Tim “The Machine” Cook is fighting this coming Saturday, June 28, 2008. FightTickers, send this hard working amateur fighter some Takeo Power!

http://www.myspace.com/tim529

David Mayeda, PhD, is author of Fighting for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Artists and Violence in American Society