Fighting the good fight

Hidden beneath his calm exterior and soft voice lies the spirit of a true warrior.

Grant, 36, has practised three different styles of martial arts while attending university in the United States.

He is also the founder of the Southern Warriors of Mixed Martial Arts (SWMMA), one of the Caribbean’s premier mixed martial arts schools.

Recently however, Grant has taken his fight outside the ring, engaging his community through school visits, seminars and after-school programmes in an attempt to reach out to troubled youth spreading the philosophy of humility and discipline through the martial arts.

Newsday spoke with Grant for an insight into his work and how he intends to achieve his goal of saving the nation’s youth.

“It’s more than just teaching persons how to punch and kick, for me it’s about sort of bridging the gap as a father figure for youths where a lot men have failed.

“It’s about reaching out and helping enrich my community however I can.” What sets Grant aside from your standard martial arts coach is his tireless work ethic and larger-than-life personality, which has earned him the admiration of both his students and his community.

Drawing strength from his humble beginnings, his unique leadership style is a testament to his success as a coach, striking a delicate balance between drill sergeant and motivational speaker.

When he is not at his gym, Grant divides his time between his job as a machine engineer, a chartered pilot and family man.

One of his sons, five-year-old Chedon Grant, is a full-fledged member of the Southern Warriors and despite his limited experience, has already competed on a regional scale, taking down opponents several years older than him.

To some this might seem counter-productive, at a time when school violence is a hot topic, however, Grant boasts that his son, despite his extensive training as a fighter, has never been involved in any conflicts at school. Asked his secret, Grant attributes his son’s discipline to old-school parenting.

“I always tell my son that if he is being bullied or picked on by any of the other students, to go and tell a teacher. I never encourage him to go out and start fights with anyone, martial arts training or not, it’s something I take very seriously.” Grant’s interest in martial arts began at the tender age of seven, when his father recommended karate to him. Before long, the young prodigy excelled in the art, taking his interest with him abroad where he was exposed to styles such as judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and eventually mixed martial arts.

“My father always told me if you’re going to do something do it well. It’s something that I take with me even to this day.

It’s all about being the best that you can be and ignoring the boundaries that others set for you. I always tell my students that.

In keeping with the school’s mantra of “producing extraordinary people”, Grant says that he isn’t concerned with merely teaching youngsters how to fight, rather he is interested in the holistic development of troubled youths.

“My role is not to simply produce fighters, it’s to produce outstanding individuals, productive members of society, doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs, people who can go out there and make positive changes in their community.” Grant has made proposals to the Ministry of Education, to partner with the SWMMA in tackling delinquent students.

“What I’ve realised is that students that have been suspended from school often have nowhere else to go but home where they stress their parents or back to the streets.” Addressing the negative stereotypes behind the martial arts and martial artists, as promoting violence, Grant believes that he has the key to getting through to at-risk youths as he has dealt with violent persons on a daily basis in his job as a martial arts coach.

“Martial arts is a rough sport.

There’s no getting around that, but being a rough sport, I believe that I have some insight into dealing with rough people.

Often times we need to change their mindsets and get them outside of their comfort zones in order for them to see what lies ahead for them if they are willing to work for it.” So what lies ahead for the Southern Warriors? Despite enjoying considerable success at home and regionally, Grant says that he is not yet pleased until he achieves his ultimate goal of sending a local fighter to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) which is an American mixed martial arts promotion company.

“We have an enormous amount of potential here in Trinidad and Tobago, the key to unlocking it is to remain consistent in developing the raw talent into skill. Like any other sport, martial arts requires that consistency and I know that we have what it takes to produce a UFC-quality fighter.”