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Sam Hoger Interview
by Tanner Rhoden (Team IronLife.com Writer)
Tanner Rhoden/IronLife.com: Sam, thanks for sitting down with me today to conduct this interview.
Sam Hoger: No sweat bro. It's good to finally get a good second to breathe with the pace that life has taken. Man I have to say that the only time we seem to talk is when it is about the craziness of this side of life....Man what's up though?
TR/IL: Since you started training you've been all over the place. I was wondering if you would give us the rundown of where and who you've trained with starting in Alaska?
SH: Well, In Alaska was not where I began training. I began like most people watching a Ralph Machio flick in Panama right before the Just Cause Invasion, and After seeing a crane kick one too many times I decided to wrap a shoe lace around my head and chase my parents trying to crane kick them in the behind. My dad got annoyed and my mom got happy. Happy I was taking an interest in something other than raiding the fridge, and so they suited me up in some pajamas without the zipper and the feet covers and I went to my first Karate class. When I first walked in there I saw two black senseis, Rick and Johnathan. Man, they began trying to make me stand some stance that felt more funny than normal and I wasn't having it. But in Panama beating a kid is OK by the standards of their government, and man I got beat for the first time. After that I decided these guys weren't playing with me like, Myagi did. After "THE MIRACLE BEATING" I took these guys seriously and from there. We moved to Alaska about 6 years later and man going from burning ass hot to sub arctic freezing ass cold is a huge change. In Panama I was doing Karate sweating like a slave and when I got to Alaska there was almost nothing to do with the darkness for the majority of 6 months and the whip of discipline being cracked on my back by my folks, Karate was my only real outlet.
I got my black belt from Okamotos Karate, who helped me develop my kicks and my punches, to a relatively decent degree. I will say if there is anything that Tom Okomoto taught me it was to look at other fighters and try to read them while your in the midst of battling with them. He also had a very clear way of teaching the epitomoly behind fighting. I can say, every time I KO someone with a kick to the head, I thank Tom and Jennifer Okomoto for the basic roots they instilled in me.
I saw the UFC like most of the people who have taken to this sport, and I was not impressed with what Royce had done. I thought in the back of my head man I can beat that guy. Being under the age of 15 and trying to get into the UFC with two parents who were trying to mold a lawyer, I looked in the Phone book for somewhere that taught BJJ so I could prove that my Karate was better than ground fighting. I still think I can beat Royce's ass. hahaha.
However I literally walked to the school behind us that was offering BJJ classes, the man who opened my eyes was named Ted Stickel, the first tie I walked into his class I saw exactly what I saw in the UFC a bunch of guys on their backs messing with each others legs. So I saw them pass the guard and I interrupted class like a kid farting school and told them I can do that. So Ted nods his head and I get in his guard, while I was there I freaked out trying to stand up and push and shove his legs left and right then he smirked loosened up his guard and I got out.
It didn't take long for them to decide to prove their style by making me say uncle by tapping out more than woody wood pecker hits trees, at that point I was more than sold. I could kick 1000 times and punch 1000 times more and I would still fall victim to this style. So like a whore in church who is sweating, I converted. 15 years old and my eyes were wide ass open.
Anyways, BJJ became an everyday thing for me, I had an old man who trained with us named Oscar who helped me learn on the side while I was going to Ted's Classes. I would grab Alea Hunter, my girl friend at the time, and try to show her the new moves I had learned, from Oscar, Ted and the tapes, and then she would try to wrestle back. I thought I was more slick than oil on black ice because with ease I would catch her in a submission hold and then we would laugh, and go at it again. This would last for hours on end, to be completely honest she was tougher to grapple with than a lot of the guys in class because she learned how to counter a lot of the stuff I did. She is a treasure.
So back to the Hogerian real world here......
BJJ everyday...then I went to LSU and trained under Roni Salas who is a Carlson Gracie Blackbelt. The guy directly in charge of the guys in Baton Rouge was Chris Seifert who taught me a lot of what I know now, and gave me the tools to become a well rounded BJJ guy in terms of technique and instinct. Chris spent countless hours upon me showing me what to do, how to work from certain positions, what the best way to make an opening is, Chris Seifert is by far one of the most solid and well rounded BJJ instructors I've know of to date. No one has been that deep with me other than Carlson, Pat, and Jeremy Horn. in terms of teaching Chris Seifert is on another level.
I got promoted to purple which I still am today and I need to go test for my brown under Carlson next year so I'm busting my ass trying to improve my technique daily. Wish me luck with that.
TR/IL: What's your current record in MMA?
SH: My amateur MMA record is huge, but like I was told when I came to camp at MFS, amateur work doesn't count. The way the amateur ranks are looked at out made me feel like a calf still waiting to be a bull. So I respected that and still do so my Pro MMA record is 3-0 hopefully I will beat Ricksons record if I stay on track. hahahaha
TR/IL: While you were teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu at LSU how many students were under you on any given day?
SH: I had a lot of experience in leadership positions and teaching people from my Karate days and Boy scout days so having to manage 30 hungry college kids with a desire to learn was not all that tough. I have to say the LSU BJJ club started on an interesting note though, I had a teacher named Gazorouski in political science who reminds me of Mr. Rogers from Mr. Rogers neighborhood, with a touch of Jay Leno. I had two students in my class Jason and Seth Holton who wanted to learn BJJ, so in exchange for their notes I promised I would teach them some basics.
Next thing you know the word travels around campus, Seth and Jason start kicking ass in some tournaments, and I have these guys that are more hard core than navy seals looking to learn and so the club was started.....I would put them through a 12 hour initiation with a friend of mine named Jeff Cox who would run them into the ground. We had people who were in ROTC falling out because they couldn't hack it. The ones who made it were tough ass guys. Running 10 miles, technique, fighting, pushups....it was insane.
There were a lot of guys who stood out and competed and are still at the club running it everyday such as Ke Hwang, Seth, Jason, Brett the boa...hahahaha......Yeah those guys are good people.
TR/IL: What was it like teaching so many people at such a young age? Do you feel that you benefited from it?
SH: Like I said teaching came pretty naturally to me. Leadership roles are real easy for me to take over and do. I benefited from teaching to a great degree. It gave me a chance to share with others what I had learned.
TR/IL: Last year you moved to Iowa to train with Team Miletich. That's a drastic change for anyone. How has training with Pat and the rest of the great fighters on that team helped complete your game? Do you feel that any other fight team could do for you what they've done in this amount of time?
SH: Training with Pat and MFS has completely given me a shift of perspective on the necessities of the fight game. I came up here during the spring break of my senior year, and I can say they, took what I knew and enhanced it beyond belief. I never looked back because it was so real out here, it is so real I find my self doubting the reality of what I have come in to. It's like a dream, where the only time you wake up is from it is when the water is falling on your face after getting KO'ed in training.
I don't think there is a fight team in the world that can give someone a more complete view of the reality of the MMA world, with the knowledge and vast depth of experience of those that surround me in this camp I know I have a lot of growing to do. In truth this is just a sport and the point of any sport is to learn as much about yourself through your experiences within that sport. This sport, this camp, and all the people that I have met along the way I can say have made me a more solid, intelligently accepting, and understanding person.
TR/IL: What was it like in camp after everything happened with Tim?
SH: The environment here has been a very supportive one in which we hold our teammate accountable for what he did, but at the same time we respect the fact, he handled it like an honorable man. Which in all honesty his choice to give up the title will live on in the minds of those of us who surround, train, and respect Tim. He did what few people would do, he gave up the title, and fame, to get it again and leave no doubts in the minds of those who could question the integrity of his accomplishments. Tim truly stands out as a figure of respect and exemplifies honor through his actions of accepting when he was wrong and being willing to do what it takes to prove to the world the value of his achievements within any circumstance. Tim is human and we recognize that humans make mistakes, but few accept what they did wrong, and even less of them do what it takes to truly, rectify what they did wrong. To put it simply Tim is an honorable man, and I respect him. After giving up the title and saying the UFC title will be won on honorable conditions, even if I have to give it up, says a lot, a lot about what a man is. I hope to have that much honor in my decisions and actions.
TR/IL: Are there any other up and coming fighters in the Miletich camp we should keep our eyes on?
SH: Yeah we have quite a few people circulating through here but the ones that are up and coming are Justin "Crazy Canadian" Brown, Bryan Bressler, Rory Markum, and Brandon Adamson. Crazy Canadian had a fight not to long ago where he was matched up with a pro boxer that had some wrestling experience. Man those two went back and forth. Finally it clicked for Crazy to get this dude on the ground and when he did it was only a matter of seconds before he had the guy singing the uncle song. Justin is doing well and coming up fast. Bryan Just came off a head shaking, boot to the head, knock out of this walking art piece, due to his tattoos in the last Extreme Challenge. Brandon was supposed to fight at the Extreme Challenge but there was all the confusion about the venue so he didn't get to showcase his stuff. Joe Jordan has also come to train with us and man that guy has got some fundamentals when it comes to striking which are getting more refocused to the MMA world as opposed to boxing daily. But to be completely honest with you I'm waiting for Jason Black to Get his shot in the UFC that guy is awesome 13-0 against some serious competition. If most people could go 8-5 against the people Jason has faced they would be in the UFC or Pride, I'm waiting for the day Jason gets his shot at the big show he deserves it. But the thing about Jason is that he is one of truest embodiments of a warrior, he has the power to crush his opponents, he is humble enough to make a monk look proud, and he is such a soft spoken low tone guy....Until he is let loose in the cage. Jason is an awesome guy who I can't wait to see get his chance in the big show. I'm also waiting for the day that Spencer "the King" Fischer gets his shot at the big show. Spence is a hard nose fighter who goes blow for blow with anyone he fights, the funny thing is he hit like a ton of bricks, and will take shots to deliver the knock out punches. I mean if you look at his record it speaks for itself 8-0. I mean that is a clean slate of good healthy ass whipping power that that has put grown ass men to sleep. Pro boxers come in and have trouble standing with Spence. There was this Kid from Des Moines who was supposed to be some awesome striker, his whole camp was talking crap, So what did Spence do. He fought the guy under the rules that would favor this kids style.....boxing....I can't remember this kids name he was supposed to be 100-0 they talk about him on the under ground a lot......Josh something.......well Spence beat his ass and in the process told this guy to quit running, fight him, and then in the middle of the fight did the crane stance and a wind mill before he continued to lay it to this kid. His performance was reminiscent of a Roy Jones Jr. with a touch of Ralph Machio....hahahahaha Spence is another awesome fighter who I'm waiting to see in the UFC soon, but man when these guys come I think other camps are going to run and hide, because they are bringing more than just your typical dose of ass whipping medicine.
TR/IL: Anybody out there you want to fight Sam?
SH: I want to fight the best in the world that are not on this team. I want my UFC title, and I want to be the best, the best I can be. But since time fly's I have to get back into the gym and keep carving the way to pound out all who come my way, to represent this team and all the people who have built the history of MFS. A lot of pressure rests on my shoulders to represent this name, and myself, when I fight.
TR/IL: Any last words you want to add?
SH: Yeah, I want to say thanks to God, My parents, Pat Miletich, Ted Stickel, Chris Seifert, The Okamoto, Carlson, Pena all my teammates here at MFS, my girl, my bros, Alberto, and one of the guys who I owe a lot to Collin Carney, who to tell you the truth is the man behind the MMA scene with a plan that is amazing. Also to all fighters out there I will let the word out now, I hope Pat doesn't beat my ass for this, but the MECCA of MMA is being built in Davenport. Pat Miletich and supporters are building a Million dollar plus facility for our training to put together the most amazing fighting facility known to MMA to date. It is shocking to see where this sport is going. I want to thank all my fans, sponsors, and supporters out there, and the Alaskan Assassin will continue to dominate. Cody Cochs legacy won't die. To all my Alaskan lets keep taking over.
TR/IL: Sam, once again, thank you for sitting down with me today to conduct this interview. I hope to see you at UFC 46....first beer's on me.
* Article by Tanner Rhoden (Team IronLife.com Writer).
* Back to Issue #5 Frontpage
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