Ring Girl: 6/20/14
Dale Carnegie has been credited with the quote: “The successful man will profit from his mistakes.” This is one mentality that James Blair III takes seriously. Blair currently is training in Missouri and fights out of HQMMA and MMA Development in Hawaii. While in Missouri, he plans on training at American Top Team Evolution under Tyron Woodley. He credits a number of notable fighters for molding him into the man he is today: Brandon Wolfe, Rob Hesiau, Brad Tavares, Randy Lueder, Thomas Ako, Sale Sproat (out of Molokai, where Blair also is from), and Jake Thornton of Missouri. Blair’s interest in martial arts started in Molokai when watching “Blood Sport” and “Rocky.” He started wrestling in ninth grade and started training with Kendal Grove on Maui and Sproat on Molokai. “(It) led me to Oahu for a college education and more opportunity to train with the best teams in the state,” he explains. “The competition has kept me interested.” Blair, whose record stands at 6-1 amateur and 1-0 pro, has dreams of becoming a world champion for the UFC, Bellator or WSOF. In the mean time, he enjoys seeing others grow in the sport, as well as seeing how far he has come despite trials and tribulations. “I love to see how martial arts can help people to live healthier lives,” he says. While he trains in wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai, and more, Blair also has embraced eating organically and says yoga has been a big part of keeping his body healthy. Submission grappling and ground and pound are Blair’s specialties, but he says he will focus on his stand up over the next few years. “I want to be an exciting fighter that is dangerous in all aspects,” he says, also noting that another goal is to be a successful person in all areas of his life. “I’ll always remember where I came from and the people that have impacted my life in a positive and negative way.”
