Hi, fight friends. I am raising money to create a high quality footwork instructional video to be used by trainees and trainers all over the world in the sports of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts.

I have been an amateur and professional fighter across multiple disciplines, from wrestling to mixed martial arts, and I have always been praised for my footwork, win or lose; it became a point of pride for me that carried forward into my coaching when I started working with others on their journey. And as a coach, while everyone else is worried about punching a bag, I have my athletes learn how to move their feet first; it always pays off for them in a more graceful, skills-based approach to learning the art and a longer lasting impression on the athlete. Waking up their feet improves almost all their sporting endeavors, in or out of the ring.

Most fighters live in their fists. My goal is to move them into their feet with intelligently designed drills and layered complexity that brings out the best in the learner. I believe that footwork makes everything the fighter wants to do better, both offensively and defensively, and I believe it can be done simply and without overwhelming the athlete with esoteric concepts.

I also want coaches to have the information to teach their fighters how to have "smart feet" because the better our athletes move as fighters, the safer the sport becomes overall. Improved footwork fosters respect for sports combatives and breaks down the perception that fighting is just a product of who the tougher person is or who is the bigger thug; there is as much skill and technique to ringcraft and generalship as anything that happens on a court, pitch, or gridiron anywhere in the world.

The money you donate to this effort will create a video that will take you through each level of drilling that I have created and perfected through over 30 years of personal experience, both as a competitor and a trainer. I will use the funds to hire a professional videographer who can help me format and produce a video that you will be proud to own, utilize, and learn from for years to come.

I want to share this knowledge because I not only want to enhance fighter safety in every arena I can influence, but because sports combatives are beautiful to watch when informed with skill and deliberate practice. There is a fluidity and beauty to using the human body as a weapon, but it needs to be taught properly for that to be achieved in a dynamic, alive setting.

I could definitely do videos with my smart phone or GoPro for next to nothing and throw them up on YouTube, but I feel like what I am teaching deserves better than that, as do the people I am hoping will support this project and use the final product. Quality instruction is difficult to find—you most certainly get what you pay for in many cases—and I feel what I am offering is of a high enough quality to deserve professional treatment.

I want to be proud of the finished product so that if—
let's be honest, when—it does show up on YouTube, it will look like the people who made it cared, that the content mattered to them, and it wasn't just tossed on the internet for no other reason than to be seen. This isn't about achieving 15 minutes online fame—it's about professionalizing our chosen fight sports through a high quality coaching filter when we can, which is exactly what this project will create if the funding goal can be reached.

Your financial aid will make that happen. If you can help me achieve that end, you will have my respect and thanks, as well as access to the absolute best information I have to offer on the matter of fight footwork. I can't wait to share what I have learned over the years with you in the completed video.

Thank you for your time and interest.

- Ryan