Meet Ice

Fighter profile of Vanilla Ice Cold by Aylib 2.0

And so we begin our series of profiles of California Martial Arts Academy fighters. It is fitting that we start out by zeroing in on the club's most prominent member--"Ice" Vanilla Ice Cold.

Ice Cold was born in Jacksonville, Florida, where he grew up in idolizing Manny Pacquiao. Ice was introduced to the fighting game by his cousin, who competed on the local boxing circuit. Ice would often tag along and hit the bags at the gym, occasionally getting into light contact sparring with a willing adult. Jabs, feints, and overhand rights that were observed at the gym would later be practiced at home, as Ice found himself bored with schoolwork. As his visits to the gym became more frequent he began to build relationships with the regulars, who took time to tutor and fine tune the youngsters skillset. After several amateur bouts Ice Cold successfulyl graduated to professional boxing, but handful of fights in he found the sport lacking. "At this time MMA was getting really big, and watching those fights I thought that I could definitely make a run at it. I knew several guys from the gym that were also rolling at other gyms and it was just a matter of finding partners and coaching."

After graduating high school Ice moved to Coconut Creek, Florida and began to train at American Top Team. Already a solid striker, he was advised to concentrate heavily on wrestling and Brazilian jiu Jitsu. In 5 years since starting there Ice has earned a brown belt in BJJ and competed in several no-gi tournaments. Ice stated that he loves experimenting with styles that are not used heavily in today's MMA: "I think that the more stuff I can throw at my opponent the better off I am...there are couple of guys here at the gym that teach me things from Sambo and Judo."

With grappling being attended to, Ice's managers thought it would benefit their opupil to learn the brutal art of 8 limbs. Ice has been visiting Thailand as often as his schedule permitted, staying there for months and sharpening his kicking, elbowing, kneeing and clinching techniqued. Young Thai fighters, perhaps fascinated with American culture and "hip hop" thought that their visiting import resembled Robert Van Winkle, giving him the nickname Ice Cold.

After several Muay Thai camps and several years of grappling experience Ice's managers felt it was time to pair up their protege against another rookie. Ice's debut was took place against Paynding Nemo, whom he dispatched of in 5 seconds. With a burst of confidence and desire for more of the exhiliration that comes with raising his hand to the sound of his name, Ice Cold asked the management to schedule another fight ASAP. His next bout Ice Cold faced a formiddable opponent, a Hall of Famer Slick Rick. Many predicted Ice would fall a victim to Slick's experience, only to see Ice take his youthful exuberance to second round TKO victory. Several fights intio his career Ice began to draw attention with his undeniable style of tenacity and aggression. As hype and popularity swelled, fight offers against heavy hitters started to pop up. Pleasantly surprised, Ice's management was concrned by the sudden success and there being a possibility of too much too soon. Reluctantly accepting these offers, the management was rewarded time and time again by Ice, who showed his heart and desire to prevail over anything that an opponent would task him with.

As of August 6th, 2012, Ice's record has only one blemish-- a submission loss to Tom Jones, an opponent that Ice greatly respects. Ice states that he is very honored having to face Tom Jones on multiple occasion inside the cage, and that the two are friends. In fact, Ice states that Jones often gives him pointers and suggestions as Ice continues to improve as a martial artist. Jones predicts that Ice Cold might be very successful if he approaches his training right: "It seems that he has the right attitude for this sport, as he is a fighter's fighter, meaning he not only possesses the athletic aptitude, but his brain is wired for this...he goes in there to finish guys, and I think that the fans love him for that. I know I enjoy watching him." We agree with Jones and think that Ice brings much excitement with his fighting style and the tought of Ice realizing his potential.

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