FORT RILEY, Kan. -- The Fort Riley Combatives Team is gearing up for the Army-wide competition later this summer and they got some help May 9 from the "All American."
Brian Stann is known as the "All American" in Ultimate Fighting Championship. He's a 31-year-old, 185-pound fighter who stands at 6 feet, 1 inch tall, according to information from the UFC. He has a 12-4-0 record and he fights out of Scranton, Pa.
Stann is also a veteran. He's a 2003 U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served twice in Iraq as an infantry officer. He received the Silver Star in March 2006 for actions during Operation Matador. He got out at the rank of captain.
Athletes, actors and politicians aren't his heroes, he said last week at Fort Riley. His heroes are Marines who died fighting with him: Lance Cpl. James Brown, Lance Cpl. William Koprince, Lance Cpl. Rene Martinez and Lance Cpl. Douglas Champlin. His heroes are the men and women who enlist in the armed forces.
Stann spent his day at Fort Riley meeting with Soldiers at the Warrior Zone and giving instruction and guidance to the post's best combatives fighters.
"It's just an awesome opportunity to get to work with a guy with a lot more experience than us," said Sgt. Justin Overton, a member of the team and a combatives instructor at Fort Riley.
The team has great coaches, but Stann sees things a little differently and has the military background to relate to the Soldiers, Overton said.
"Oh yeah, it's huge," Overton said of Stann's experience. "Because he's understanding exactly where we're coming from and what's going on."
It's important to Stann to continue work with members of the military even though he hasn't worn the uniform in four years.
"It's my roots," he said. "It's what's given me all the intangible qualities that have led to my success outside the military."
He keeps that in mind when visiting installations, which he does regularly. Sometimes, athletes visit troops and act like celebrities, he said.
"They're acting like celebrities around true warriors who have really accomplished and done things that are much more important and much more difficult than the athlete or celebrity could ever even imagine," he added.
Overton appreciated Stann's willingness to work with the Soldiers. It says a lot about the fighter that he chooses to do this, Overton said.
Stann likes to come back and see how the sport of combatives and mixed martial arts has evolved in the military. When he left, the combatives program was just starting to come together and gain popularity. He impressed at the big competitions installations host and the level at which the military fighters train. Combatives focuses on more than just the sport. It teaches Soldiers skills they would need if faced with a life-and-death situation.
It's more important than just techniques and just building fighters, Stann said. It's about building a well-rounded warrior. That includes heart and mental and physical toughness.
"But that's exactly what they're getting and that's what I'm seeing when these guys train," Stann said.
"Look, these guys are physically and mentally tougher than everybody in the UFC. You know, these UFC guys are my peers and it's a tough job. It's an amazing sport and they're amazing athletes and they are very, very tough. But I have no idea how they'd react to being shot at or blown up. Alright, we already know that about these guys."
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