10 Questions With Tuan Pham (10/3/2010)

[DarrickPatrick]

10 Questions With Tuan Pham (by Darrick Patrick)

Tuan "Kid Thunder" Pham is a professional mixed martial artist who has competed in organizations such as Ring of Combat, Extreme Challenge, Combat Sports Championships, Adrenaline MMA, and Titan Fighting Championships. At the time of this interview, his next scheduled match is against Nick Cottone in Bellator Fighting Championships at BFC 33 on October 21st, 2010.

Darrick: How did you end up competing professionally in mixed martial arts?

Tuan: Hmmm...that's too long of a story to get into all of the details. In short, I had interest in MMA since the first UFC when Royce Gracie introduced BJJ to the masses. Since then I have trained with Mac Danzig while at Pitt, learned Muay Thai from Rigel Balsamico at Pitt in 2003, and won the east coast championships in Muay Thai. I trained at Daddis when Fight Factory was there and was training partners with Wilson Reis for about a year until I opened up my own gym. That's pretty much how I got to where I am now.

Darrick: Who are a few of the people in the sport that you highly respect?

Tuan: There are so many fighters that I respect in the game. The ones I love to watch are the people that push the pace and never stop working. A lot of my favorite fighters are in the WEC. They are way more exciting and explosive.

Darrick: What brings you the most fulfillment out of martial arts?

Tuan: Winning. Winning makes it all worth it.

Darrick: Your next scheduled fight is against Nick Cottone on October 21st. What are your thoughts about this upcoming match?

Tuan: Nick has no stand-up and all he wants to do is take you down, lay on you, and win by decision. I'm very good at getting up. I don't play the Jiu-Jitsu style of laying on my back while trying for submissions. I focus solely on getting up when I'm on my back, so I'm not worried. I will get up if he takes me down and I will destroy him either striking on our feet or with ground-and-pound.

Darrick: Do you have any words of advice for other individuals looking to train in MMA?

Tuan: Conditioning, conditioning, conditioning. Keep in mind that the time it takes to develop a certain skill varies drastically between each individual. For some people it may take five years and for others it could be a couple of weeks, but one thing that doesn't change and is the same for everyone is the conditioning. It is a slow crawl. It takes years of training to get your body ready for the top level. If you enjoy training, then you aren't training hard enough.

Darrick: Who are some of the people that greatly influenced you while growing up?

Tuan: My parents. They taught how to be disciplined and the meaning of hard work.

Darrick: Outside of MMA, what are your other interests?

Tuan: I have a B.S. in computer science, so I'm a computer nerd. I dabble in website stuff, programming, and digital designs.

Darrick: What is your oldest memory?

Tuan: I was standing by the door when I was a baby and a gust of wind slammed the door on me. It cut my big toe practically off, which was saved by a doctor who stitched it back on.

Darrick: Tell us something about you that most people don't know.

Tuan: I'm deathly afraid of heights and I can't swim.

Darrick: If you had superpowers, what would they be?

Tuan: I'd like to have the powers of Superman because he can do whatever and go wherever the hell he wants.

FOR OTHER EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS BY DARRICK PATRICK:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=4974388&blogID=343519835

You can also check out Tuan Pham in the following places:

Official Tuan Pham MySpace Profile:

http://www.myspace.com/nhbboy

Official Tuan Pham Facebook Site:

http://www.facebook.com/NHBboy

Official Fight Firm Website:

http://www.fightfirm.com

Tuan Pham on Fight Finder:

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Tuan-Pham-42259