Iolan takes pastime to extremes

Jacob Browning, Iola, has found a way to mix business with pleasure: mixed martial arts.
Browning, 23, will be in Kansas City, Mo., Friday for his second career MMA bout.
He is on the slate for Friday’s Ultimate Blue Corner Battles at VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino. Browning, who won his first career match last August, is unsure of who his opponent will be.
Mixed martial arts, for the uninitiated is just what it sounds like. Two combatants utilize a number of techniques to either knock the opponent out or force him into submission.
Browning, at 135 pounds, fights in the bantamweight division.
“It’s exciting,” said Browning, who compared mixed martial arts fighters to Roman gladiators of eons past. “To me, this is the ultimate challenge. Only one of two things will happen. You either compete, or you’re going to get beat.”
Browning grew up an active athlete at Iola High School — he’s a 2008 graduate — but found his interest in athletics waning as he grew older.
Instead, he was more apt to be at a party than a ball field.
“I really wasted a lot of time,” he admitted.

THAT changed shortly after high school, when Browning’s wife, Jayme, found out she was pregnant with the couple’s first child.
“That really settled me down more than anything,” he said. “I knew I had to start taking things more seriously. To show some responsibility.”
Browning enrolled in an online college, where he earned an associates degree in occupational studies, with his emphasis on becoming a personal trainer.
He and Jayme returned to Iola in December from Kansas City, just prior to the birth of the couple’s second child.
“We wanted to be closer to family,” he said.
In addition to MMA training, Browning oversees training on a regular basis basis with a group at Iola’s Fellowship Regional Church, as well as individually with clients at Cedarbrook Fitness Center, where he also trains extensively.
His company, Adrenaline Performance & Fitness, is geared to prospective athletes of all types. For more information, check out his company’s Facebook page.
“It’s primarily for people who want to drop some weight, or who have a physical issue of some kind because of an illness or accident,” he said.
Surprisingly, his clientele is almost primarily women.
“It’s really hard to get the guys off the counch,” he said with a laugh.
His dreams are two-fold.
First, Browning hopes to eventually open a gym of his own to work with his clients.
“It’d be something else for kids to do,” he said. “And selfishly, I grew up wanting to be a professional athlete. I figured MMA was the best route for me to take.”

THE MMA training appeals because of its solitary nature, he said.
“I’m just not big on team sports,” Browning said. “Here, you have to rely upon yourself. There’s nobody else to pick up the slack for you.”
As the name suggests, Browning utilizes a combination of fighting techniques from jiu jitsu, boxing and muay thai, a specialized form of striking and kicking developed in Thailand.

IN ADDITION TO the mental training is the physical effort to gear up for a bout.
“I was fortunate because a lot of the guys I trained with in Kansas City have gone onto UFC,” he said. Ultimate Fighting Challenge — UFC — is a type of MMA competition.
Browning began training for Friday’s match about eight months ago. His early work is on strength training, then on cardio work and building stamina, and now on fighting technique as the bout nears.
He hopes his second match is as successful as his first, when he defeated James Baker in Kansas City, last August. The match ended about 2 1/2 minutes into the first round when Browning used an “armbar” maneuver to make Baker immobile.
Browning had little time for nerves. His father, Tom Browning, died in the days prior to the bout.
“That just made me more focused,” he said. “My parents were very supportive because I had set my mind on a goal and was working toward it. I told them I was going back to school, and I did it. Now I’m working toward this.”
Regardless of who he faces on Friday, Browning is “confident, but not over-confident,” he said. “I’ve had enough time to train properly. I’m either going to show up ready to go, or I’m going to get beat.”