For those of you that don’t know my father Big T he is an amazing and enlightening person to be around. He was a top Louisiana Chef for most of my life and I grew up inside restaurants as long as I could remember. The other day he came into my Academy and we had a talk about the things he felt made me successful in my martial arts journey. We both cried a little, not because we were sad but because looking back at my life I realized it all started with Big T! This is a story about how my father viewed my career, my struggle and the things he saw in me that he believes sustained me over the years and eventually lead to my success as a fighter, martial artist and instructor. Please enjoy!
1.) DESIRE
The story goes back to my childhood. I remember many afternoons as a child watching my Dad and his friends box at the Lafayette Boxing Club, I remember the sounds of the bags, the smell of the leather and the musty smell of sweat everywhere. As a child he and I worked the bag and the basics in the garage. I trained in various martial arts as a child over the years but we travelled a lot and I never really got settled anywhere until I found Joe Ancona. Joe is a legendary Kickboxer and Martial Artist in New Orleans. I was fascinated with this crazy martial arts master. He taught me so much and was so patient. I just loved training with him. One night he asked my father if we would like to come watch him fight at the Landmark Hotel. I was eight. We arrived and watched about 5 fights and I was fascinated. Then Joe Ancona came out to a bunch of music and lights and I was so excited I was standing on my seat screaming. He knocked his opponent out with a head kick in 20 seconds. The place went crazy. Later that night in the car on the way home Big T asked me what I thought I responded with “I am gonna be a fighter one day Dad, but I want to knock them out in the first round because more people stand up and cheer that way!”. My father laughed but never told me I could not. In my entire life my father has never told me that there was anything that I could not do. I attribute this as one of the most important factors to my unwavering believe in myself. As a child I chose a dream and I never had people around telling me I could not do things. My family supported me and told me that I could do whatever I wanted to do. So I did. Desire was lit inside me very early but my Father and Mother’s steadfast support of my life and dreams, no matter how crazy they were, were the real secret to turning my desire into something tangible later on.
2.) Determination
I kept training in martial arts over the years and eventually switched to team sports in junior high and got addicted to football. I never wanted to touch the ball but I was amazed that I could just stand on one side and wait until I saw a guy with a ball and then run smash him. I played only defense. I loved smashing people, go figure. At about 14 years old my father and I saw the very first UFC in his apartment. To say I was addicted is a gross understatement. I watched the fights 10,000 times and mimicked the moves of Royce Gracie on my sisters, pets and anyone else that would let me try this jiu-jitsu stuff on them. I was 14 years old. I made up my mind and stuck with it. I watched every single fight I could find and worked on every move I could find. I joined the Navy at 17 to get to California to find the Gracie’s. I found the Carlson Gracie Academy and my instructor Rodrigo Medeiros and began training. When I got out of the military I stayed in Los Angeles in a very poor neighborhood, eating ramen noodles and trained 3 times a day every day. My father says I was so determined that no one could talk me out of it. I thought I was in heaven. I began fighting in some very risqué shows in parking towers, bullfighting rings and Mexico. I just had to be apart of the sport. I was Determined to be a Jiu-Jitsu master no matter what the cost.
3.) Will
Many years into my mixed martial arts career and jiu-jitsu training I got an offer to fight in the Main Event of the first ever MMA show in Lafayette at Ray’s Sports Bar and Grill. I trained so hard because I just knew Big T was going to watch me fight for the very first time. He was in the front row. The fight started and I knocked my opponent completely out in about 20 seconds, everyone was on their feet going crazy. Big T was in the front row but this time I was not next to him, I was in the ring. He looks back at this and says that he was so proud not because of the knockout but because he watched what it took me to get there. He watched me struggle for years and toil with this martial art. He knew my Will to succeed at any cost was what had made my desire and determination come to fruition.
Years later I called him about an hour before I entered the ring for my first UFC fight and he said “Son I have watched you for over 15 years make sacrifices that people will never know, you got into this because you loved it so go out there and have fun. You have done what you said your going to do, but remember you love this so go in that cage and show everyone what you love to do Son.” I cried a little because only Big T had been around for the whole story and he never stopped believing in me, not for a second. I composed myself and went out there and Knocked out out Cale Yarborough in about 2 min of the very first round at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. I looked around after my fight and all the people were on their feet, I even saw a couple of kids standing on their chairs.
“Crazy” Tim Credeur
Tags: "Crazy" Tim Blog
