When the US suffered an assault on Sept. 11, 2001, it was thought-about the darkest day in our nation’s historical past. Over 3,000 lives have been misplaced in whole, and it was being televised stay on each information outlet and in consequence People from all walks of life discovered their local recruiters’ offices and wished to turn out to be part of the answer to assist our nation and the world transfer ahead. A type of People was Tim Kennedy.
“9/11 had a fairly profound influence on me, watching People select between being burned alive or leaping to their demise. So, I truly went in a recruiter’s workplace on 9/11.” He truly didn’t get to talk to a recruiter till in the future later, however Kennedy knew his future was to serve, and he wished to make it occur sooner reasonably than later.
“There was such backlog that it took a number of months that I used to be on inactive reserves till I obtained a boot camp date,” stated Kennedy. As soon as he was known as into motion, Kennedy would instantly be known as as much as Particular Forces Choice.
“I by no means served an everyday day within the navy,” he defined. After finishing Ranger College, Kennedy was assigned to the seventh Particular Forces group. Among the many missions he went on included a number of deployments in help of each Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. After greater than two years of education and coaching, It was on a type of deployments that he had an epiphany about the place he was in each the world and his life.
“I used to be operating in the direction of what’s gunfire. I look to my left and my proper, and I see a bunch of Inexperienced Beret’s operating with me. That was when it actually clicked that I used to be on the proper place. I’m with males like me.”
Those who have been like him have been additionally people who appreciated nice challenges, residing within the second, and doing all they may within the pursuit of defending their homeland and the individuals in it. They embraced all of it, and so they have been all elite athletes as nicely. In response to Kennedy, that was no coincidence.
“The overlap on these is extraordinary. For those who take a look at each particular mission’s unit, the commonality amongst all of them is which are all extraordinarily match. They’re all absolute Adonis-looking mom f*****s,” he acknowledged. “By means of athletics and martial arts, I had achieved so many arduous issues. I felt at house doing arduous issues within the navy. I felt at house.”
Tim Kennedy credited health and athletics for lots of his success. In his eyes, those that have been achieved with their our bodies have been precisely what America wanted within the aftermath of 9/11.
“That technology of put up 9/11 athletes that have been recruited into the identical program I used to be, these have been all school runners, monitor and area, sprinters, wrestlers,” he stated.
Kennedy additionally stated that the group he was part of had the very best choice charges in any class ever within the historical past of Choice. He personally has obtained quite a few honors as nicely. His most notable award is a Bronze Star, however he additionally holds the Military Achievement Medal, the Nationwide Protection Service Medal, and two NATO medals, simply to call a number of. When requested about his private best second, he couldn’t pinpoint only one second, however reasonably a sequence of them the place he related with these he fought alongside on a deeper degree.
“I do know all the things about this human that’s subsequent to me, and it’s probably the most exceptional privilege to have the ability to be a part of a group that is aware of you thru and thru, your faults, your failures, and remains to be proud to be serving with you.”
The stress that he confronted all through his missions and repair got here with different privileges as nicely. Amongst them was the power to remain calm and execute in any scenario, comparable to his MMA fights. Tim Kennedy can also be well-known on the earth of blended martial arts. In 24 skilled fights, he had a document of 18-6 with six wins by knockout and eight by submission. Whereas many athletes could really feel nervous or overwhelmed as they make the stroll into the world, Kennedy would make that very same stroll as if it was another day that led to “y.”
“I might get informed, ‘man, you’re too relaxed. Are you able to simply get amped up for this battle?’ I might say ‘it’s only a battle,’” he stated. “It was simply enjoyable to be on the market preventing.”
Kennedy fought in a number of organizations, together with the now defunct Worldwide Combat League, Strikeforce, and finally, the UFC. He fought up till 2017 when he introduced his retirement from the game. That very same 12 months, he reenlisted within the Military Particular Forces, and he’s nonetheless actively concerned.
“I might attribute most of my success to my constant, disciplined, regimented strategy to health,” he shared proudly. “I carry that over. I do know that sounds very militaristic, however I carry that over into the organizations of my companies.”
Tim Kennedy nonetheless makes use of that very same approach to his fitness today. He’s up coaching early each morning, and he revealed that he has had coaching companions which have give up after one exercise due to how intense he’s throughout coaching.
“I discover the worst thing I can possibly do to my body very first thing, and all the things else in that day is simple,” Kennedy stated. “There’s nothing that anyone else can do to me throughout the day that’s worse than what I already chosen to do to myself.”
His total strategy to health has nothing to do with a glance or visible. Something and all the things he does has a selected objective, and that places him in the very best place to carry out when known as upon.
“I need to have the ability to train so I can go and do one thing, or I wish to train so I can go and be one thing. My exercises actually embody that. They’re actually powerful. You’ll be able to count on to be within the 80-90 p.c coronary heart charge vary for a sustained time period.”
Tim Kennedy is aware of that he’s ready that may assist encourage and educate individuals, which is why he wrote his newest guide, “Scars and Stripes.” Will probably be obtainable on June 7, and it may be pre-ordered now Kennedy shared that penning this was very significant to him.
“That title just isn’t a misnomer. The stripes you get within the navy – they’re in your sleeves for years of service, on your missions abroad, and for years of service. These are earned by years of struggling, and scars are earned the identical means.”
Observe Tim Kennedy on Instagram: @timkennedymma
