It’s 1:00 on Friday, January 29, 2010 and it seems like every media station in the valley is waiting patiently to listen to Kurt Warner announce his retirement plans.  Having been a pretty huge fan when he played for the St. Louis Rams and pretty impressed with what he has accomplished with the AZ Cardinals.
 

Really what this news brings to mind is that Attitude First unfortunately has a similar announcement.   One of our “core” team members has gone through the same struggle that Mr. Warner has.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) it has gone without a similar media frenzy but we can’t just let it go without any notice.
  

This past week Omur Cor quietly told us that he has decided to end his MMA training and competing.  It was obvious that it wasn’t an easy choice but one he needed to make for himself and his family. Omur joined our team back in the beginning of its true inception right at five years ago.   Although he had some experience in boxing he was pretty green and according to him about 45 lbs overweight (220+lbs) he developed into a 176 lb training machine. After a few years of training, he decided to test his abilities in the competition aspect of MMA.   He competed in several “Jits” Tournaments and a few “Pancration” events more importantly he made a noticeable impact in the regional cage fighting arena.   He amassed a 5-4 record and was a highly sought after competitor by local promoters because his fights have always been some of the most exciting of all the fight cards he was listed on. 
 

Without a doubt one thing Omur brought to his teammates was a work ethics that was unsurpassed.   Although he is approaching 40 years old, his training regiment would be difficult for fighters in their prime to maintain.   He brought to the training mat an excitement and enthusiasm that will be missed.
 

Although Omur is hanging up his “gloves & shorts,” happily it’s not the end for him as he is going to focus on Jui Jitsu and competing in some tournaments.   Without a doubt we truly appreciate and respect Omur’s recognition that although Attitude First offers MMA and grappling that our true focus is on MMA and not pure “Jits.”  He has decided to meet his needs and new goals that he has to focus his training, which we couldn’t agree more. 
 

Without a doubt we will miss him as he’s not going to be in his usual 2-4 nights a week. What’s more important though is why we will really miss him. To understand here’s the  real Omur; First he serves all of us as a City of Phoenix police officer.  He is a great husband to his beautiful wife, Trisha and has been a true leader/mentor to all of his teammates.  On a personal note, he is a great friend and inspiration.   Watching him grow and improve has been a true honor.  Because of him we are a better team and school but because of him I am a better coach and I know, a better person.  
 

I won’t be surprised that although we won’t see him in the cage, we will see him on the mat more than we expect…..