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Jen Aniano Interview

AthenaMedusa e-interviewed mixed martial arts fighter, Jen Aniano in July 2009. We’ve included video from her match in Premier League Fighting Championship 3.

Stats
Name: Jen “Tink” Aniano
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Born: 1986
Height: 5′ 0″
Weight: 115 lbs.
Family: Single with a Boston terrier named Jake, a pit bull named Casey, and a bearded dragon named Willis.

How long have you been training in mixed martial art?
Started wrestling at 15, MMA 2.5 years ago and jiu-jitsu 8 months.

What weight class do you compete in?
I walk around at 115lbs. Amateur I take match-ups mostly much bigger than me. When I turn pro within the next year or so I will be fighting at 105lbs. I am waiting to finish my intensive masters program at UofM before I go pro.

Where do you currently train?
Self Defense Academy of Michigan under Motor City Boxing and Jamel’s Jiu-Jitsu Academy.

What’s an average week’s training schedule for you, including any other type of training you do? (CrossFit, other martial arts, etc.)?
I just started my masters in June; however, when I am training full time I am in the gym 6 days a week. A typical Mon/Wed is BJJ 6-7 MMA 7-9:30. A typical Tues/Thurs is BJJ 7-9. A typical Friday MMA 6-9. Typical Sat is BJJ from 10-12 MMA from 1:30-4. Since I am now living in Ann Arbor and I am in class 9 hours a day I am taking a hiatus from BJJ and concentrating on MMA. I am at the gym Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat. Tues/Thurs/Sun I do rounds in my apartment alternating 5 min on a stationary bike, 5 min ground and pound rounds, 5 min shadow boxing, 5 minutes on a heavy bag, 5 min with resistance bands. I basically do that until I cannot stand it any longer. As you can imagine I do not entertain at my apartment as my living area is pretty much a gym with a tv.

Who influences you most in your training?
My trainer Dom O’grady. He shaped me. I have a wrestling background. Other than that I owe him everything I have accomplished. He is a brilliant fighter and I respect him and trust his training unconditionally.

Have you ever quit or considered quitting? Why/why not?
I have had a bad few weeks. I lost a fight I should not have lost and did not deserve to lose. And I grappled like I left my brain at home this weekend. The last few weeks have been a big adjustment period in my personal life as far as school and some other stuff that has gone on. But I am at this point where I am searching deep to find out what I really want and need. After I lost for a second a thought maybe I was not cut out for this. But then I realized I was born to do it. I could not live without MMA and without my teammates. I love this sport it is my life. I have never quite anything before and I do not ever plan on quitting. As that saying goes “I am a wrestler and I will reap what I sew.”

Would you describe yourself as addicted to training? If yes, what about it is so compelling? If not, why not?
Yes, I just cannot live without it. I need an outlet. Going to the bars and living the “young single life” is not my thing. I need structure.

How often do you compete in mixed martial art? In jiu-jitsu?
As often as possible I have only had 4 MMA fights in 2.5 yrs because of my small size. BJJ I would say three time per year.

What benefits do you see to being one of relatively few women in the community? Disadvantages?
Advantages are the door is wide open disadvantages are I have to knock the door down to get through. There are a lot of people that support us but a lot of people that don’t. Another disadvantage is finding opponents small enough for a fair fight. Also the disparity in talent and technique between amateur and pro is astounding. You have to be very, very, very good to make it as a pro female fighter.

What are your short and long term goals?
Short term to complete this masters program and still train hardcore while also getting a few fights in. Long term goal is to be a pro.

What advice would you give to the women who are at the beginning of their mixed martial arts or jiu-jitsu journey?
Chin up. Everyone has to win and everyone has to lose. Let every experience teach you what you must improve on to move forward.

How do we get more women into this sport?
I believe chicks have this thing where they are very territorial. If you are the only woman on your team often times you do not want other chicks on the team. I don’t know why women get all petty like that but sometimes they do. So if you are a female MMA fighter be good to the women that try to join your team. Mold them and
shape them into good fighters. Training other women really does help your own game so embrace them.

Do you have any nicknames?
My trainer has this theory that you should never give yourself a nickname. It is something that has to happen and cannot be forced. So, “Tink” unfortunately happened to me. :) I have loved Peter Pan since I was a little kid, actually Hook is my second favorite movie too, so I have Tinkerbell attire. I showed up at the gym one day I had to cut some weight for my first MMA fight and I had this fleece Tinkerbell sweatshirt that had been my cutting sweatshirt since high school wrestling. Thus I was dubbed Jen “Tink” Aniano.

Anything else you’d like to add to help our readers get to know you better?
Watch for me out there. I plan on making the big leagues in the next two years.

I Have to get my Head Back into the Game

The only thing preventing me from being a great fighter is my brain. I am going to hit the gym twice as hard now despite this intensive masters program. I will survive this year of school. student teaching and fighting. I will persevere and I will come out on top. I will reap what I sew.

EliteXC

Man... the closing of EliteXC means two different things. As a fight fan I saw it coming and I cannot say I am that mad about it. The fights for the most part were garbage and I might go far enough to say they were fixed. The fighters were protected (Carano and Kimbo). So as a fan who knows and respects the game I cannot be too sad about the folding of EliteXC. I can, however, be sad that EliteXC was the only prime time demonstration of MMA. The organization had the opportunity to bring the MMA game to people who cannot afford to buy paper views, buy tickets to events or run up a tab at the bar, however; they failed miserably to bring an intelligent and well thought out game plan to the public. As a female fighter though, I am uneasy. EliteXC was the only current organization to offer so many women a contract and opportunity. And we all know the UFC will not afford women the same opportunity. First of all there is no sense in arguing with Dana White because he would not listen and he has some valid reasons for not putting women on the card. So, the fact remains is everything is ridding on the AFL to come through and give women the deals that EliteXC did. OR maybe no one will give women the shot they deserve and everyone will blame the amount of women in EliteXC on the folding of the organization.

Digital Journalism Hobby Story

Some people have hobbies they love and enjoy. Some people dislike their jobs and or careers. Why not turn a hobby into a career to love and enjoy?

Twenty-five year old Oakland University business student Jon Aniano has turned his childhood hobby of playing with computers and the Internet into a career. Since 2004 he has worked at Active Media Architects, an Internet design company. His current job title is chief operating officer.

"I was roughly 11 years old when I began working on computers," said Aniano. "Back then, computers weren't so "turn key." They quite frequently "broke" and were costly to fix. I quickly became adept at troubleshooting hardware and software issues, mostly by trial and error with a few costly and explosive mishaps, until I was comfortable tackling larger and larger computer projects."

According to a Monster.com article, there are a few things to decide before turning a hobby into a career path. First and most important is to decide how marketable the hobby is. The hobby has to be researched to see if the revenue it can offer can support the cost of living.

Monster.com also suggests thinking through the idea of your hobby taking over every minute of everyday. They suggest that sometimes hobbies are not as interesting when turned into a full time career.

"I will definitely continue to go to school to grow myself as a person and to add value to myself as an employee," said Aniano. "But, I will definitely strive to keep computers and the Internet a major part of my lifetime employment. I ultimately would like to help make an impact on the way people or businesses use and interact with computers and the Internet - wherever that takes me I will go."

According to Olivia CrosbyÕs "Turn your Hobby into a Career" on Jobjournal.com turning a hobby into a career is often an exercise in critical thinking.

Recent Eastern Michigan University journalism graduate and Specs Howard School of Broadcasting graduate Paul Cicchini, 24, loves listening to sports talk radio and writing. He also loves and knows facts about most sports. Cicchini decided to get his degrees in order to turn his sports obsession into a broadcasting and writing career.

"When I first heard Jim Rome in 2003 I knew I wanted to be on the radio," said Cicchini. "As for writing, I always liked writing, but it wasn't until 2004 that I decided to study journalism."

Cicchini is on his way to turning his dream of sports reporting into a reality.

"I work for Mentor Partners; it's a small radio group," said Cicchini. "One day I hope this radio gig, or one in the future leads to bigger things. I want to write a newspaper column, have a sports talk radio show and be on TV."

Crosby also insists that pursuing a hobby as a career must be looked at as an adventure. Seeking this career path may be a failure, which is why Crosby suggests thoroughly researching the options the hobby presents.

Fists for Freedom

The Olympics provide a stage for the entire world to, not only watch sports, but also fight for beliefs. Yet in recent Olympic history, the world has ignored the true calling of the Olympics.

The 2008 Olympics comes at a time when the first African American is running for the U.S. Presidency, Tibet is fighting for freedom from China, and Iraq is searching for its identity from the coalition, among many other world issues. Why then has the Olympic Committee decided to hold the Olympics in China?

Given the current state of international affairs, many human beings do not respect the decision to hold the Olympics in China.

On the other hand, China may be the perfect place to make a political statement.

Often times, athletes in the Olympics are fighting for rights or freedoms in their home countries. If the world believes that China has violated human rights and freedoms, then what better place is there to bring the world's eyes to the attention of human injustice? And who better to protest than the athletes themselves?

The 1968 Olympics is a perfect example of how a controversial location and an unstable international climate could lead to an everlasting memory of the human spirit and a symbol of rights and freedom for oppressed people across the globe.

Mexico City was a turbulant place when the Olympics moved in. And 1968 was a time of wars and international unrest—America itself was fighting an internal freedom struggle.

The Vietnam war was in full swing entering its ninth year and Martin Luther King Jr. died shortly before the Olympics in April of 1968. The world, alongside of America, would mourn.

Mexico City was plagued with violence. Many young citizens of Mexico believed the Olympics was a waste of social funding and authority. Mexican student protesters were massacred a few days before the Olympics and nearly 300 died.

The world's eyes were on the 1968 Olympics not only for the joy and fuffilment of watching the athletes and believing in passion but also because of the international and political climate of the time.

San Jose University African American track runners, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, understood then that this was an opportunity for them to peacefully protest the injustices of the U.S. racial system and the hopelessness of human rights injustices around the world.

Smith took the gold with an impressive 19.5 second 200 meter run. Carlos finished with a bronze.

The two solemnly walked to the podium where they were adorned with flowers and medals. Both men wore black socks with no shoes and sported human rights badges. They climbed the podium and their black socks clashed with the white boxes beneath their feet.

Slowly the national anthem began to play. Both men bowed their heads and proudly raised a fist encased in a black glove into the air in the black power salute.

These men were good enough to compete for their country but were not good enough to share the liberties that other Americans enjoyed. They understood that.

They used the controversial stage set at the Mexico City Olympics to their advantage.

While they were barred from further competition in the Olympics and were not heroically received in the U.S., Carlos and Smith are looked upon as heroes of the civil rights movements and heroes of human rights around the world.

China, much like Mexico City, is a controversial place to hold the Olympics. The Iraq war, much like the Vietnam War, is a controversial war. The Tibetan Freedom Fight, much like the African American Freedom Fight, is one that the world is watching.

If the actions of two men in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City can be a part of the reason why an African American man can run for the 2008 presidential seat, then China is the perfect stage to set the Olympics.

The world should not boycott the Olympics for its location—instead the world should celebrate the athletes who made the games, and the athletes should use the Olympics to make a small, yet meaningful, difference.

London allotments and the 2012 Olympics

The stage has been set for the 2012 Olympics in London. While many Olympic fans in England are extraordinarily happy to host the Olympics others are upset with the cost.

One side effect of the Olympics is reconstruction. While the reconstruction efforts can add diversity and new life to areas that otherwise are not thriving some areas are essentially being destroyed.

London has a series of land allotments that are a traditional part of society. Many people use these allotments to feed their families and friends and to experience nature.

When the Olympic committee and delegates moved in they deemed these land allotments a destructible part of the reconstruction projects.

Hundreds of allotment holder's lands have been forcibly removed and relocated to unsuitable areas. Many British are out of their land and out of hope.

Some of these allotments have been in families for generations. The Olympics are supposed to be a sine of peace and worldly togetherness so why is it so destructive? Why not use these allotments to the advantage of everyone and display them for the world to see as an integral part of British society?

Has the Olympic Committee and the Olympic games gone too far?

What Would The Founding Fathers Think?

I look at this coming presidential election as both exciting and sad. I do not believe that the founders of this country could have foreseen an African American man winning a presidential candidate nomination nor do I believe they could have foreseen a women coming in at a close second. This is an exciting time for any man, woman or child no matter how you feel about who has been nominated.

Our country is changing and our political structure will surely change too. But I believe some of the changes have been negative ones. The fact that a two-party system exists really ruins the integrity of our "democracy." The fact is this system really is not democratic. I do not want to vote for McCain or Obama yet in November I will be forced to decide between the two.

Yes I have seen a presidential ballot before! And yes I do understand that there are Libertarians and the Green Party with others, but do you know who is running for those parties? Have you seen them debating Obama or McCain? Do you sincerely believe that is a true democracy?

I believe the two-party system is an unfortunate side effect of a divisive American past and that the system has ruined the integrity of America, of freedom, and of the democratic process.