Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremiah Garber.
Hi Jeremiah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began wrestling a year before pre-k. Wrestling clubs in Iowa are like daycare at that age. We would learn through games and it was a very playful way to come to combat sports. In elementary, the practices become more technical and the competitions, more serious. Wrestling is understood amongst fighters to be a great base. I believe this is because it is normal to stay late or come early to practices to assist the younger wrestlers. We, wrestlers, often help teaching the clubs as soon as we age out. It was a fantastic community to invest my time in and helped me to understand that athletes are role-models in tangent with our own ambitions.
I understood as a teenager that I was interested in the wider range of martial arts and began boxing. I had my first MMA fight when I was 18, though I did not know much about mixing martial arts. I could wrestle and brawl. A few months after graduating high school I joined the Air Force. Over the next six years on active duty I had three MMA fights, reached my purple belt in Jiu Jitsu (the middle of five belts), and continued to box.
Today, I’ve been out of the military for seven years. I’ve reached the rank of black belt and I proudly teach jiu jitsu under the 10th Planet banner at MRG MMA and also at The Yard. I still train as a kickboxer and compete in both kickboxing and jiu jitsu. I would like to return to MMA at the professional level but my knee health hinders my training and I am awaiting minor surgery. I’m hopeful to have my debut soon.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think not. It is not an easy lifestyle. My hands have been broken, I’ve had many cortisone injections, and there’s been a lot of stitches. Sometimes even winning takes a toll. The struggles inherent to being a martial artists do not detract from the joy and peace it brings me. I encourage people to try martial arts even with the hazards, so long as they find the kind of solace that I do in this journey. You can train safe and avoid many of the injuries I’ve faced, if that is part of your plan. But for me, coming to MMA with a wrestling background, I embrace the grind. Not everyone who trains jiu jitsu, boxing, or any martial art, has to grind like most wrestlers choose to. It’s a rough ride.
There have also been obstacles outside of my control that could have slowed my journey, like two deployments. But you can always find a way. When I had no mats, on those deployments, I’d find interested battle buddies and we’d practice our pummeling, footwork, or carefully light-spar. When there were mats, I’d organize practices and create clubs. I have fond memories of training in tents, we’d gather the yoga mats and do what we could with what we had. It’s important not to quit just because of, “the struggle”. Military culture is like that and so is fight culture. On those deployments, because we’d keep up programs and post fliers around base with the information I was able to meet so many other martial artists! Like Italian judokas, Dutch kickboxers, and many other coalition forces. It was an amazing opportunity that began as a struggle.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Professionally, I am a martial artist. But I also have a B.S. in Psychology, I’m pursuing a Masters in Nursing, and eventually, I will have a Doctorate in Psychiatry. My experiences, I feel, are preparing me to become someone who can help treat those who are struggling with their mental health and also have violent outbursts. I want to keep patients and myself from being harmed. For some people, getting to the roots of their problem incites their fight response. I’ll be more capable of handling those people with care and not abandoning them. That’s a beautiful thing about grappling arts compared to striking, safety holds are about returning people to calm. Don’t get me wrong, I am not looking for a fight. But I suppose there is a shortage of psychiatrists with the skills, and the cauliflower ear, I already have. I want to fit into that niche. I am broadening my education, always, and want to work with the people who many psychiatrists, understandable, cannot deal with. This will probably be in state hospitals and prisons. I won’t give up on those people and I will try in all cases to keep us both safe.
This is my plan beyond 5 years. I’ll be passing my prime in martial arts and will retire to managing an academy and working in Psychiatry.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My dad and mom have been so supportive. There were many early mornings in those wrestling days and they both still mentor me with intention. They both believe in me and keep me from doubting myself.
Master Eddie Bravo, founder of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in DTLA, has been both an incredible resource in jiu jitsu but also an example of how to build a community that is tolerant and supportive. He’s inspired so many outlets for both jiu jitsu and socially by being a magnificent person. It’s very inspirational how there is no greed in the dynasty he created because of his giving way of being. Some organizations in martial arts feel like cults, but not 10th Planet. The culture he is responsible for cultivating is incredible.
Also, David and Daniel Moon at MRG MMA have invited me into their gym family and we’ve created a wonderful culture there as well. We are all growing together and the attitude in every class resonates beyond the gym. I think that we’ve created an environment that benefits our members in ways greater than learning martial arts. We have watch parties and we go out together as a gym family. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of.
I also appreciate The Yard Muay Thai for allowing me to have a jiu jitsu program there for over five years. I’m the “jiu jitsu guy” in that gym and I love rousing the interest of their strikers to learn the grappling aspects of fighting. It’s so fun to show the other side of the spectrum to that amazing group of strikers. So thank you Joe, Mark, and Yoshi at The Yard for supporting my program.
I’d also like to thank 10th Planet Torrance, Marvin and Kay. Marvin Castelle is another of Master Eddies black belts who helped bring me into the upper belts with his technical, tactical, and tenacious training. It was a very formative time for me and I appreciate the effort he put into helping me. God bless you both and baby Sahale.
Pricing:
- $120 per 90min private session, schedule through Cal link on IG
- only $20 to drop into my classes at The Yard
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaygarber?igsh=aHgyY254bW9jc2U4
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiah-garber-846476279/
- Other: https://cal.com/jay1garber
