FORT BENNING, Ga., (Nov. 26, 2014) -- For most, Thanksgiving is a day to spend with Family and take part in a plate-filled dinner.
But, for mixed martial artist Sable McCulley, Army spouse and mother of two, her plate is overflowing with the day-to-day challenges of being separated from her spouse, being a mother and MMA training.
McCulley won't spend Thanksgiving with her husband, Sgt. Donovan McCulley, formerly with 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, here and now assigned to 1st Battalion, 72nd Armor Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, at Camp Casey, Korea, but will take a one-day break from mixed martial arts training to spend it with her children and mother, who helps her with the children while her husband is away.
Since her husband left in October, McCulley's grueling schedule includes her MMA training, which began about a year ago, and taking online classes with Ashford University to earn a bachelor's degree in psychology.
"I joined Mixed Martial Arts school to attend the boot camp class, and I really liked it, so I joined their kickboxing fitness class," McCulley said. "Both were women's only, then they opened up a women's only Brazilian jiu jitsu class and I really liked it so I continued with it. Then kickboxing became less than a challenge, so I started Muay Thai and I am still doing both (Brazilian jiu jitsu)."
McCulley said she goes to the MMA school six days a week and trains for two to three hours a day.
In addition to the self-defense aspect and physical fitness side of MMA, McCulley said she wanted to see exactly how far she could push her body and see what it could do.
"It's really good to know I can defend myself in a situation, but I really liked learning how to throw people and learning things like arm bars and the chokes, it's just really cool," she said.
Although McCulley said she is still learning the ropes, she has competed in two Atlanta competitions in the past year, finishing second in both tournaments, which were broken down by age and weight class.
McCulley said she eventually wants to earn her black belt.
She has earned the respect and the eye of the instructors; so much so, she was selected to be on the leadership team.
"I started as a white belt doing it for fun and now I am part of the leadership team," she said. "Now, I get to help not only other students, but the kids' classes and their training. I am learning a lot more about leadership now."
Simon Chang, head instructor at the Mixed Martial Arts School, said McCulley is really dedicated to learning martial arts.
"Even with two kids at home, one who is highly autistic, a husband in the Army overseas and her going to school shows her commitment," he said. "Our leadership is based on commitment ... she is definitely one of those people."
Chang said after McCulley lost her first two tournaments, she came back and started training harder and harder.
Between 2,000 to 3,000 students started training at the school over the past couple of years, but only a handful remain.
"We call them the freaks of martial arts because they have the determination they are going to get their black belts even as difficult as it is," he said. "She is one of those who is determined; she is not going to quit no matter what ... even if she fails multiple times, she gets back up. That is a huge leadership characteristic.
"We call it the three percenters because that's the percentage of people who are willing to train to black belt and commit and not quit. She has that determination. If you apply that to real life, millionaires make up about three to four percent. In any realm the top three percent are those who don't stop and understand the principles of success, no matter what obstacle they face they continue on to make their goals. ... Sable has overcome a lot of obstacles to be committed to this. With her workload, that is impressive ... it shows her real dedication."
It is that dedication and the confidence of the leadership that got her placed on the leadership team where she works with kids.
Michael Stokes, head instructor for the Tiny Warrior Program, Little Warrior Orientation and Black Belt Club Program, said McCulley is very energetic with the children and she is an idol for women who come in and try Brazilian jiu jitsu.
"She is very involved with the school and is very Family oriented," he said. "She has shown her dedication and is on the mats everyday training. In a sport that is so hard, it's rare to see a woman stick with it like she has."
As a part of the leadership team, McCulley is the assistant coach for the Little Warrior Orientation Program and Black Belt Club Program.
"We have a great kids' program," she said. "I help with the Little Warriors, ... the youngest is 3 and the oldest is 7 ... they're so cute. We do small groups and teach them what they need to learn, then we go back into the larger group and go live and help them with their movements and what they need to learn."
McCulley said instructors don't teach kids to go out looking for a fight or to beat anyone up, but teach the kids discipline, self-defense, how to not be bullied and leadership.
"You'd be surprised how well they listen and how they really want to learn," she said. "They are really disciplined."
After attending MMA training six days a week, McCulley goes home and figuratively cracks the books for her online classes.
She said although her husband is stationed overseas, her mother helps a lot with the children to allow her to attend MMA classes and do her nightly studies.
"I'm not completely on my own, my mom lives with me while (my husband) is gone to help out some, which is awesome," she said. "Without that I wouldn't be able to train. And, as far as school goes, I do it when I get home. Studies are 'go at your own pace,' I have assignments due on Mondays and Thursdays."
With MMA and school studies, McCulley said she still has time for hobbies, friends and Family.
"I enjoy sewing and crafting," she said. "On my husband's last deployment to Kuwait, a friend taught me how to sew and crochet ... I have little crafty projects here and there. I like to fish and I still make time for friends, Family and kids."
McCulley said her typical day begins with her two children, Harley, 6, who attends Hannan Academy, in Columbus and Aiden, 3, who stays at home.
"I get Harley ready to go to school and get him on the bus," she said. "I'm really still kinda tired from the night before, so Aiden and I spend time together watching cartoons."
But, that is just where the day begins. McCulley's son Harley, is severely autistic.
"Depending on the day, I have to pick up Harley and take him to the Autism Learning Center for therapy, or take him to speech (classes)," she said. "If he doesn't have that, sometimes I go to Max Fitness for class or I do weights, then pick Harley up, make dinner and then get ready for MMA class."
Then, the cycle starts all over.
But, more important for McCulley, is making sure Harley's needs are met.
"His longest day is Thursday, "she said. "He gets up about 6:30 and I pick him up about 2 and while going to therapy, we stop for chips and a drink, which is his routine. He goes to the learning center from 2:30 to 5:30. So, I rush to get him and get him to his therapy and still be able to make MMA training."
McCulley said although Harley is severely autistic, he is very bright and gets on the computer every day looking up things such as musical notes and listens to classical music.
"He's come a long way since he was diagnosed at age 3," she said. "It used to be not so easy, but he has gotten progressively a little bit easier.
"There are misconceptions about children with autism, such as they're not smart. Harley can do math problems at a second-grade level ... he's in kindergarten. He is writing music ... he taught himself. He is very much a people person and is very loving."
McCulley said Harley does have his times though.
"The other day, I had to carry him to the bus kicking and screaming," she said. "He didn't want to go to school for whatever reason and he was determined not to go to school ... as soon as he got on the bus he was fine."
She said Harley goes to applied behavior analysis therapy for one-on-one therapy for four hours at the Autism Learning Center. Then, there is speech therapy at Columbus Speech and Hearing.
"He can tell us what he wants, but it won't be a conversation like most conversations," she said."For example, if he got hurt at school, he wouldn't tell me. I wouldn't know unless the teacher told me. That's one reason we are going to speech therapy.
"We were told at one time he would never talk, and obviously he is talking now. He used to scream for everything, then he used shapes, such as saying 'square' for a pop tart, but it has gotten progressively better.
"The hardest part about autism is every child is different. The spectrum is really broad and you can't really base it on the spectrum because everyone is different."
With all that goes on in one week in the household, McCulley makes sure the Family is religiously grounded by attending The Fort Church in Fort Mitchell, Alabama, which she said the children enjoy and do well at.
So what drives McCulley? Some of what drives her, she said, is the knowledge she "has to."
The rest is nothing more than dedication, commitment, drive and maybe a little bit of sass, as Chang termed it, for the things she loves - her Family, her students, MMA and the drive to earn her black belt.
On Thanksgiving, McCulley won't be spending the day with her husband, but her indomitable spirit and resilience will carry her through with the full plate she has until he returns.
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