We had a chance to do a short Q&A with Kunk and reflect on his jiujitsu journey over the years. Kunk has been a “big” part of edh jiujitsu. Not only does he train regularly 2-3 sessions a week but also he has contributed to the peewee, kids, and jiujitsu classes as a volunteer coach. Kunk is an open book of grappling knowledge and finds every opportunity to share with his team what he knows and what he is developing in his game.

When & how did you get started:

I started doing Jiu Jitsu in 2010ish.

I began doing Jiu Jitsu because I loved wrestling in high school and college, but when I stopped I didn’t have a physical outlet I enjoyed, got out of shape and gained weight. After wrestling was over, I fell into the old man trap of eating and drinking whatever I wanted, with the mindset that I would just work it off at practice. I continued to work out but nowhere near enough to counteract some of the unhealthy habits and I ended up weighing over 330lbs.

One day a friend of mine told me he had started going to EDHBJJ. I had watched MMA and the UFC shows and always thought that Jiu Jitsu would be fun to try. So I got permission from my girlfriend/ now wife, to join my friend in a trial class. The first thing I noticed was how much hard work people were putting into learning Jiu Jitsu. A few classes into starting at EDHBJJ, I finally got to roll with Eliot. During this roll I had turtled, turned into him grabbing his inside leg and did a sit out. In wrestling I would have scored five points and possibly a pin. In Jiu Jistu, Eliot having a wealth of knowledge, took advantage of this position and did a crucifix choke. I was forced to tap. This was the first time I was submitted by anyone in the school and I instantly fell in love with Jiu Jitsu from that moment forward.

What are your goals?

My goals in Jiu Jitsu are to keep learning new ways to improve my technique, help people learn, be the best training partner I can be, and most importantly have fun.

What are some quotes or phrases you like?

– Winners never quit and quitters never win.
– If it was easy everyone would do it.
– Embrace the grind.