"Heart of a Lion"

I guess you just had to have been there to fully comprehend exactly what Jason Scott Johnson had just accomplished.

As a former member of the Marine Corps' Elite Force Recon Unit, Johnson, 26, visited many unique and diverse lands - Haiti, England, Mexico, Scotland - but never experienced anything like Bangkok, Thailand.

It's Saturday, December 11, 1999 and Johnson is in Thailand as a member of the prestigious US Amateur Muaythai Kickboxing Team. As the International Kickboxing Federation's (I.K.F.) 1999 U.S. National Amateur Heavyweight Champion, Johnson qualified to represent America at the top amateur Muaythai event in the world - the International Federation Muaythai Amateur (I.F.M.A.) World Championships. Johnson, who had only been training for a year and a half, solidly beat his semifinal opponent and was now in the finals, battling for the I.F.M.A. World Amateur Super Heavyweight Championship.

Johnson's career as a competitive Kickboxer was about to become one of those classic defining moments serious athletes often have to contend with.

Muaythai, a 700 year old fighting style that developed out of combat reality, is the national sport of Thailand. Often referred to as the "Science of eight limbs," Muaythai means "Thai Boxing." It involves use of the shins, knees, fists and elbows. It is a highly respected form of standup fighting that is quickly becoming the style of choice for many "Kickboxers," "No Holds Barred," "Submission" and "Extreme" type fighters worldwide.

As odd as it may sound, the fighters safety in the ring is paramount to anything else. Knockout blows are more often delivered to a fighters legs than to their heads, with the referee playing a large role in guaranteeing the fighters safety every second of the way. Also interesting - sportsmanship amongst Muaythai fighters is extremely high. It's hard not to respect someone who "gets in the ring," especially if its Muaythai.

Johnson remembers the moment. As the first round of the finals began, Johnson's Ukrainian opponent jumped all over him. "I've fought some pretty tough opponents as an amateur before this. Some of the best heavyweights in North America. But nothing like this. Not even close." remembers Johnson.

The Ukrainian wins the first round. Johnson has a battle on his hands. Attitude adjustment. The bell rings loudly to start round two. The moment arrives - and Johnson is more than ready.

In a pure demonstration of will and determination, Johnson used his brains (and brawn!) to put together well crafted combinations and an impenetrable defensive brick wall. Now the Ukrainian had a battle on his hands. Johnson is on a warpath, and he has his once confident opponent centered clearly in his sights. Johnson knew he had the skills to turn things around. He just had to calm down, think, think harder and, as Johnson says, "Take the fight to a level higher than he took it to me. I was more than ready for round three to start. I was excited, but I was also under control. I felt I gained an additional mental edge between rounds two and three just getting energized by thinking about my performance in the second round."

Johnson so dominated the next two rounds - stopping the more experienced Ukrainian by TKO 1:58 into the fourth round with a barrage of expertly placed leg kicks, knees and punches - his opponent's coach proclaimed to the huge crowd assembled, "The American showed the heart of a lion!" as Johnson accepted the highly respected I.F.M.A. World Championship Gold Medal.

Page 2
"Heart of a Lion"

So goes the life of Professional Kickboxer Jason "Gladiator" Johnson. His record is 14 wins and 1 defeat, with 9 victories coming by knockout. Johnson is considered one of the sports top, up-and-coming young stars. It's a role Johnson handles quite well, naturally.

A 1993 graduate of Martin Luther High School in Greenfield, Wisconsin, Johnson is on track to receive his degree from Mount Scenario College in Ladysmith, WI. In his senior year of high school, Johnson was the 1993 Wisconsin State Wrestling Champion at 189 lbs. In his professional Kickboxing debut in January 2000, Johnson earned a thrilling victory over a talented hometown favorite named Wade Irwin in Winnipeg, Canada.

Johnson is trained by 4-Time World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion Duke RUOFUS at his gym, the Duke RUOFUS Gym, in Milwaukee, WI. The highly respected gym is ranked number one in North America and RUOFUS is considered one of Kickboxing top fighters and trainers in the world. Johnson appears with RUOFUS on RUOFUS' highly acclaimed video series on Kickboxing and Standup fighting produced and recently distributed by World Martial Arts of New York.

Johnson also benefits from specialized training with RUOFUS' older brother, 6-Time World Kickboxing Champion, Rick "The Jet" RUOFUS. Rick is considered one of the world's best Kickboxers of all-time. He is also the former World Boxing Association's Continental America's Cruiserweight Champion and was managed by boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard.

For Johnson, hard, consistent training is the key to success in the ring. Making a comparison to kickboxing, Johnson recalls a popular quote to emphasize his point, "The more you sweat in training, the less you sweat in war."

"The important thing to remember about training is that you must train how you want to fight. Therefore, most of our drills are done on a "round system," continues Johnson. "In a fight, our rounds go up to five rounds of three minutes each with a minute rest between rounds. So we often train for three minutes and give ourselves only 30 seconds rest (which is often used for pushups). This strategy works wonders in a fight because after a round is over, your body is ready to go after 30 seconds, when the opponent is often huffing and puffing still after the break ends and the next round is beginning."

A typical workout in the gym may include a warm-up followed by bag work, Thai pad work, sparring and/or clinching, then finishing up with conditioning.

For a warm-up, Johnson usually starts out with 15 minutes of jumping rope, incorporating various footwork exercises to improve the warm-up and agility. After the warm-up period, Johnson stretches for 10 minutes minimum, putting emphasis on taking his time to stretch properly to avoid any unnecessary injury. This is followed by 4 rounds of shadow boxing, where the goal is to get warm and concentrate on proper technique, while getting primed for the next stage - bag work.

The objective of bag work is to work on techniques in combinations that the fighters will use in the ring. The bags are also great for developing power. One can get a plyometric effect when you punch or kick a bag that is swinging into you. Bag work can go anywhere from 5 to 12 rounds, and don't forget - rest time between rounds is used for pushups so the heart never stops bumping.

The third stage of Johnson's regimen is Thai pad work. This is truly the heart of Johnson's kickboxing training. A good Thai pad holder can separate the "wanna-bees" from the real athletes. This element of training allows Johnson to practice punching, kicking and kneeing moving targets, defending and hitting back, and utilizing fluid combinations. "It is vital to have an apt pad holder that will push you and make you dig down deep and give it your all, because that is what you'll need to do in a fight," comments Johnson.

Page 3
"Heart of a Lion"

The next part of Johnson's training consists of sparring and clinching. Sparring is done with plenty of padding to further protect against unnecessary injuries. When sparring, Johnson works on exchanging offensive and defensive techniques with an equally padded partner. Both fighters practice punching, kicking and kneeing, with emphasis on "practicing" with one another, not delivering punishment to each other. A good sparring partner is one who understands restraint.

Clinching is the practice of close quarters grappling with knee strikes. Clinching is an awesome tool for improving strength and stamina in the whole body. Sparring and clinching can last up to 12 rounds.

Johnson finishes up his training with a variety of drills. He may use the heavy bags for working nonstop kicking and kneeing drills (talk about a calf burn). Or Johnson may do nonstop punching drills that, he says, "can set your shoulders and back on fire."

To capitalize on his training day, Johnson finishes up with core exercises focusing on his abdominals, obliques and lower back. For the core exercises, Johnson does a variety of stations for various sit-ups, crunches, leg raises, and medicine ball twists and throws. "Having strong abs is important not only for performance, but it also works as a protective armor against someone who is trying to dent your body in the ring," adds Johnson.

That is just Johnson's in-house training. He also does resistance exercise, plyometrics and running. Running is vital to Johnson's training program, with his routines including a mix of long runs, shorter faster runs, interval or fartlek runs and sprints.

With all of the stress Johnson puts on his body, it is extremely important for him to rest and eat well. Johnson aims for at least eight hours of sleep a night, and he takes frequent cat naps whenever he gets the chance.

Johnson follows a high protein, moderate carbohydrate and low-fat diet, with protein coming mainly from fish, chicken, egg whites and protein powders. Johnson gets most of his carbs from oatmeal, rice, fruit and energy bars. Fats come mainly from nuts and peanut butter. Johnson eats several small meals over the course of the day, instead of the usual three big meals a day. Johnson recommends the ideal time to eat the majority of your calories is when your metabolism is the highest, which would be the first thing in the morning and within the hour after your workout.

To be a competitive athlete, one needs to take advantage of the various supplements that are now available. "But remember," Johnson cautions, "supplements will not be able to work effectively if you don't first have your basic diet in order. There is no miracle pill that will take the place of proper diet, hard work and ample rest."

Johnson uses the Apex/Ergogen line and, as he says, "has seen and experienced great success with their products. I know I am getting exactly what I need to perform my best. When it comes to supplements, you have to be careful to avoid poor quality companies because you can end up wasting valuable time and money."

Being a professional fighter is not only very physical, but it also requires emotional and mental toughness as well. One has to be first mentally tough to be physically tough. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. At the Duke RUOFUS Gym, it is up to Johnson's coaches (Duke and Rick RUOFUS) to motivate him in whatever manner it takes to make him achieve a higher level. They stress Johnson to the breaking point, which in turn, strengthens his heart, mind and body. It is the same idea used by various military organizations to turn civilians into trained warriors.

Page 4
"Heart of a Lion"

In the fight game, as in many other sports, the pressure can build up to very uncomfortable levels. Johnson uses prayer, visualization and comedy to help relieve the stress.

Being a Christian, prayer has always been a key source of strength for Johnson. When it comes to visualization, Johnson practices seeing through his mind's eye the event as he wants it to unfold, practicing the sport in his mind so that when it happens in real life, he has already experienced it many times and can react appropriately. Finally, Johnson has learned that humor can be a great stress reliever. "It is hard to be anxious and be laughing at the same time. I try to watch funny movies and hang around funny people in my off time to help ease the pressure," says Johnson.

One thing Johnson won't do is cheat. His approach to life is the same as his approach to health and fitness - natural. He attributes his lean, muscular build to an attitude of hard work and determination in the gym, a strict diet and continual focus. "I enjoy what I do. I like the combination of physical activities I am involved in. Kickboxing is very different, of course, than weight training. When I first started, I was actually bigger, more muscular. But since I've started working with Duke, I realized I needed to adjust the weight training I do to complement a fighter's body, not a weight lifter's body - which in my case has actually worked out fine for me."

Johnson adds, "I know I needed to become a faster puncher and kicker. Adding more muscle wasn't the answer. I was already in pretty good shape, and if I had any hope of going anywhere as a Kickboxer, I knew I needed to get the moves down correctly and let proper technique and speed work for me versus sheer brute strength. Once that all came together for me, I was able to focus on my reworked training schedule. I'm really happy with how everything's been turning out for me."

In England, Johnson trained with the prestigious British Royal Marines. With experience overseeing peacekeeping efforts in Port au Prince, Haiti and with the U.S. Border Patrol's Joint Task Force in Mexico, Johnson has his sights set on a career in Federal law enforcement, possibly with the F.B.I., Secret Service or as a U.S. Marshall. His short term goals are realistic - graduate college as planned, stay active and competitive in Kickboxing for as long as possible, enjoy what he is doing everyday and always, always thank God, first-and-foremost.

Success in kickboxing and in life can be attributed to many things, but Johnson thinks the great Vince Lombardi summed it up best when he stated, "The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work."

The heart of a lion. The will of a gladiator. This is Jason Johnson, and you will not beat him.