It’s safe to say Alan Marques is an old school Jiu Jitsu legend. A co-founder of On The Mat (OTM), Gumby has been around supporting the sport domestically basically since its’ infancy. Ever since the 90’s, he’s always been around – promoting jiujitsu through his brands, website, as a school owner, and in all kinds of ways.
Gumby is the man!
He’ll be taking on Fresno’s Tom Knox (Elite Team) in a 180 lbs. black belt gi match at Fight 2 Win 96.
Read on before Gumby vs. Knox takes center stage in Fresno tonight!
Tell us a little about yourself and your story.
I’m Gumby damnit.
Training since 1996, I’m a black belt under Ralph Gracie and I am co-founder of OntheMat. I have my own studio in downtown San Jose called Heroes Martial Arts where I’m trying to pass on what I learned to the next generation. I still love “this” today as much as I did when I discovered this over 20 years ago.
What does jiujitsu mean to you personally?
Simply put Jiu Jitsu is my way of expressing myself personally and my way of connecting with others. It’s been a huge part of my life for a long time now.
Tell us something about your training. What’s it like? Who influences you?
I teach A LOT, and teaching can help refine your technique because it really strips things down to the important essence when you have to explain you art to someone else. I still get my rounds in because I just love it and don’t know what I would do without it. The price to be paid for continuing to train is bigger emphasis of strength and conditioning -not to be a better competitor mind you, just to protect myself on the mat.
Biggest influencer will always be Ralph Gracie. Aside from sharing with us high level “real” jiu jitsu from the very beginning, I think he also instilled in us (me) a strong belief in the self. I’ll forever be grateful to him for that.
What do you when you’re NOT training? What’s the rest of life like for you?
There’s life outside of Jiu Jitsu? A few years ago that wouldn’t have been a joke statement. I am increasing aware of the importance of ppending time with family and friends. I like playing video games (still) and reading everything I can about space, quantum physics, astronomy, black holes and the like. In terms of scientific endeavor we really are living in the most exciting time in history.
What are some of the things you want to achieve in the future?
I hope to continue to contribute to Jiu Jitsu, both directly in the success of my students, and globally with projects like the soon to be resurrected OntheMat. I’m in a pretty good place where I think I have a lot to contribute, and a lot to learn still.
What’s one difficult thing you’ve had to overcome so far?
I’ve been pretty fortunate, and although I think getting here is the product of hard work and there have been bumps in the road, no kind of hardship that you could make a Lifetime Movie about. My “Old School Stories” on reddit were popular for a long time but i needed a bit of a break lest it all degenerate into drinking stories. But honestly I consider myself among the most fortunate people in all of Jiu Jitsu. Heck, the fact I can still compete, let alone walk after training for so long is a big deal I do not take for granted, believe me.
This match at F2W 96 – why did you decide to compete?
Seth contacted me and said there were local Black Belts that needed matches. I know that feeling of fighting in front of your home crowd and students and wouldn’t deny anyone that, so I told him if anyone needed to be on the card I’d take the opposite slot. Plus it’s the first big grappling card for Central California. To be fair, people think of Northern and Southern California a lot when it comes to Jiu Jitsu and actually the people in general, so it’s nice to help put a spotlight on the Center, where I can tell you first hand there are some tough competitors coming from there.
Your opponent at F2W 95, what do you expect out?
Tom Knox has hometown advantage, so I expect he’ll come out fired up and we’ll hopefully put on a great match for the audience. I know he’s also a pro skateboarder, so I think it would be cool if he rode down the ramp.
How have you prepared for this match? Any predictions?
I really wasn’t planning on competing again for awhile, but I love F2W so much i couldn’t say no when Seth called. But you never really take days off in Jiu Jitsu, I’m always training, so hopefully it’s just another day at the office. I don’t have to cut weight for this match which is nice (I’m not even able to weigh in until day of actually). I’m not one to make predictions, but I’m hoping for a fun match where we both showcase the art at the biggest party in grappling.
Do you have any message for your fans?
I have “fans?” One thing I’ve learned over the years is to take nothing and no one for granted. Literally every day you have, and every day you have on the mat is a blessing and I’ll take full advantage of it as long as I can.
Any last words before the match?
This is going to sound like me being a kiss ass, but this really is coming from someone who has been around the world and worked with numerous organizations, but I want to say Fight2Win and Team NoSleep are the absolute tops and I REALLY appreciate what they are doing for the art of Jiu Jitsu. As cool as it looks on the stream (minus the crappy commentary from me, lol) it’s 10x better in person. WHEN they roll to your town you have to experience there show and if you compete you have to compete on their card. Thanks so much!
