Jason Dooms Day
As a kid, it seemed barbaric, to be honest, and
I didn’t see any thrill in it. My interest
changed when the UFC began to adopt rules and
got away from the ‘anything goes’ concept of its
early days.
I've been training MMA since 2001. I took a
couple years off - wasn't clear that I wanted to
be a fighter but in Dec 2005 I got a new thirst
for it and I decided to take it seriously - to
the top.
Hard work pays off. Learned early that to be
the best you have to work harder than the rest.
My high school basketball coach drove that into
me.
Got into fighting by working at the bar. I was
a bartender/manager and Lee, the head bouncer,
asked me to come try some Jiu Jitsu so I did.
Excelled right away winning some tournaments so
I decided to step up to MMA. I learn a lot from
my losses - they reveal my weaknesses. Each
loss has me take steps to become stronger.
Grew up on a small farm and went to a tiny high
school in Fort Macleod Alberta. Moved to
Lethbridge where I have worked construction most
of my life and still build houses with my
parents.
I am self trained. I was known as a ground and
pound guy as I got a lot of TKO and submissions
on the ground. I got by as a ground fighter, but
I realized that to get were I wanted to be I
needed to be a complete fighter. I learn fast -
it makes it easy for my coaches so we can build
quickly.
I like to build a champion team - surround
myself with people I think will do a good job.
Lee Mein is my Corner Man and former Jiu Jitsu
coach - the guy who gave me a thirst for it
all. I
hired Eric Deguzman as my boxing coach in
Calgary who developed my hands, feet and head
movement. I added Justin Tavernini as my Muay
Thai coach to improve my clinch, my kicks and
counter attacks. Then I topped off the
team with Brian Bird and his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
skills to optimize my ground game. I realized I was not getting
full potential out of my body/energy so I
contacted Tanya Lee to oversee my nutrition,
power alignment and overall training plan.
I feel now like I have the total package as a
complete fighter. Every aspect of my game is
handled.
I believe the sky is the limit. I stay busy and
keep looking at new projects and expanding on my
abilities and ideas. I love the spotlight and
being in charge of situations. I thrive on
stress.
Borrowing from each of my coaches and combining
what works best, my ultimate aim is to create my
own complete MMA training system and studio. I
want to teach and show people my ideas.
I love the sport because it is the ultimate
test. It's raw where one champion goes against
another. Nobody else can do the work for you. No
one can learn or train for you. No one can get
in the cage for you. When it comes down to it,
the fight goes to the champ who wants it more
and pushes himself to the limit.
When you are in the cage
Every fight is a defining moment
And every moment defines who wins.