A new chapter in the life of P.O.W. unfolds this year with the promotion of Benjamin Garcia to the role of Head Coach. Garcia, a Marine Corps veteran, served as Assistant Coach for many years. Benjamin brings to P.O.W. MMA-style fitness skill, leadership capabilities and an empathy and deep commitment to veterans and active military. According to P.O.W.’s Founding Head Coach, Todd Vance, Benjamin “started as a beginner student. A couple years later, and a lot of hard rounds, he’s an experienced coach and mentor”.

Benjamin was profiled in 2014 by ABC News Channel 10 for the Salute to Military Heroes Award: Benjamin Garcia. Click the link to watch the video now.

Meanwhile, Todd Vance has joined U.S. Vets, a national non-profit organization that provides housing, employment and counseling services to veterans while maintaining his role as CEO of P.O.W.  In Arizona, Vance is “putting the feelers out and assessing the possibility for a new P.O.W. chapter”. Thus far, Vance has received overwhelmingly positive feed back from the veteran and MMA communities there.

When P.O.W. was first launched in 2012, the concept was so out-of-the box that non-veterans weren’t sure what to think. MMA-style fitness for combat veterans…isn’t that counter-intuitive?

PTSD was not the topic of the day, like it is now. In fact, we had a hard time getting folks to listen when we said that post 9/11 veterans were different than their predecessors, and that more and varied treatment options were needed. We said prescriptions drugs were not an answer – that physical fitness, mental health and peer support were.

It’s been a tough battle, but we may now be seeing a tipping point in the way Americans perceive PTSD. The fact that CNN called us to weigh in on the debate around American Sniper is just one indication, and a big one at that.

To watch the interview on CNN click here.

The full transcript of this interview, courtesy of CNN, follows:

I’m Whitney Meyers from Austin, Texas. At 19 I joined the Army as an 88 Mike (Motor Transport Operator) to make my dear old dad proud. I wanted to be able to go and protect my country. In 2003 I was deployed to Iraq with 123rd Main Support Battalion out of Dexheim Germany with First Armored Division. It was just before the surge and my first deployment. I deployed again in 2006, this time with the 96th Trans Unit out of Ft. Hood, Texas.

In 2007, my active military duty ended (ETS date) and I joined the Reserves. In 2011, I completed my military service all together. In total, I spent 8 years of my life in the U.S. Army. When I got out, I felt so happy; finally, I could do whatever I wanted.

Time went by and in 2010 I moved to San Diego, California with my husband. At this time we were both going through a lot of different things due to our time on the military. I realized that I was having problems with PTSD and was in denial (like a lot of other veterans). A buddy told my husband and I about P.O.W.

We meet Todd Vance, P.O.W.’s founder and head coach, through a friend and went and checked P.O.W out when they were still at the gym in North Park Gym. Instantly I was hooked. One of the things that really helped me was that Todd’s coaching reminded me so much of my squad leader and I just wanted to make him happy (and of course, myself). Meeting all of the people within the group made me feel as if I were back in a Platoon again. For me, this was very significant because I was having trouble not having the people whom I loved the most there for me anymore, i.e. military people. It’s very, very hard getting out and not having a ‘military family’ there anymore.

I started P.O.W while I was going through treatment for PTSD and going to school full-time. P.O.W. came along and I began feeling like I was back again, but with a lot more good times. Now, I am getting my head straight, getting all of my anger out and learning to make myself better. P.O.W. helped me get a sense of what I needed to do, and why, to stay on track. Doing that was amazing. I wish that I was still an active participant of P.O.W.

NOTE: Whitney Meyers is not related to Jordan Myers, subject of P.O.W. profile #2

In March 2013 I was honorably discharged from active duty Army after almost 9 years of service as an Infantryman. During that time I deployed once to Afghanistan and twice to Iraq for a totally of 36 months. I progressed to the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6).

I found myself being extremely anti-social my first year out of the Army. The culture shock of leaving military life and starting civilian life was overwhelming. I really didn’t know anyone in San Diego and I found it extremely difficult to even just be around people and crowds, let alone have a conversation with them. I basically had an identity crisis and fell into a deep depression. I stayed home and drank heavily. It effected my grades and my relationships with others. Even my dog started to become aggressive because he was feeding off my negative energy.

I joined P.O.W. nearly two years ago. I hoped to gain back my physical strength, release that built-up aggression I was holding onto, and honestly, just to get out of the apartment I had been secluded to for so long.

What I found was that I was not alone in my personal struggles. These guys and girls where exactly like me. Through the training I found that brotherhood that I had previously only shared with people I deployed with. I found my strength again, both psychically and mentally. I got my confidence back. I got a better job. I got better grades at school. I was back on my feet.

I’m no saint, and I’m not completely better, but I now know who I am and what I need to do to accomplish my goals. I really don’t want to think about where or who I would be if I didn’t have the P.O.W. program and the individuals within it by my side. They mean the world to me. P.O.W. means the world to me. I would do anything to help my ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ and they would do the same for me.

I am currently attending San Diego City College as an undergraduate to complete the prerequisites required for a degree in food science with an emphasis on brewing and malting.

PROFILE 1: Jaimie Guarnieri, US Army Veteran

My name is Jaimie Guarnieri and I was born and raised in Milford, Connecticut. I joined the Army at the age of 18 in 2004 and went to Fort Benning, GA for basic training and Fort Gordon, GA for advanced individual training. I spent five years of active duty stationed at Fort Drum, NY. I was deployed to Iraq twice with 2-22 INF, 1BCT, 10th Mountain Division (Baghdad 2005-06, Kirkuk 2007-2008). I ETS’ed in 2009 and joined the Connecticut National Guard, where I deployed to Afghanistan (Mehtar Lam, 2010).

Shortly after my deployment to Afghanistan, I began having severe depression and anxiety issues. I had frequent emotional breakdowns and great difficulty managing personal relationships. I sought help at the local Vet Center and VA hospital, where I was encouraged to immerse myself in new hobbies to make new friends, develop a sense of belonging and better utilize my free time. I was a high school wrestler, and I had enjoyed training combative and Jiu Jitsu in the Army, so I decided that joining a gym could help. I began attending some classes at a Renzo Gracie academy in Connecticut, but found it very impersonal, hard to follow, and difficult to stick with.

In June of 2011 I decided to move with some friends out to San Diego, CA to start fresh. I loved San Diego right from the beginning, but my friends didn’t. A month after we all picked up and moved out here with everything we had, the only three people I knew in California told me they were moving home. The next day they were gone, and I was left by myself, one month into a year lease. Again I felt alone and had depression clouding my mind and my judgment. I was drinking heavily and rarely leaving the apartment.

Then one day in July I made my way into Undisputed Gym in North Park. After one trial class I was hooked. I started coming every day. At first I could barely last 15 minutes into an hour class a few times a week. By the end of the month I was coming for 2-3 hours a day for Jiu Jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, and MMA classes. I stopped drinking altogether so I could train more often and I began feeling much better. I knew one of my former roommates had a cousin that was living in town, and when I contacted him he just happened to be looking for a new place. He was another Army vet and we had a lot in common, so he moved in and things started looking up.

Then in August, I heard about a group of people from my gym taking a trip a few hours upstate to support some of Undisputed’s fighters at an MMA event. I decided to tag along. One of the guys fighting for our gym was Todd Vance, and he fought a very impressive fight. I asked one of the guys who he was, and he told me the story of how this guy had organized a team of veterans who trained MMA together at the gym a few times a week. The next week I decided to try it out. The training was great, tailored to people of all fitness levels. But even better was the camaraderie. They were all very welcoming, and the group emphasized peer support above all else. I started bringing my roommate to classes and before long, he was a regular, too.

After being part of POW for two years now, I can say with certainty that my life is better as a result of POW. It’s good to have support and a network of friends who’ve been through some of the same things that I have. Everyone is accountable to the rest of the group and members are encouraged to look after one another, which keeps everyone out of trouble and on the straightened arrow. Because of POW, I’m in great physical condition, but more importantly it makes me a more complete person.

INSTALLMENT #2 NOVEMBER 2014

POW and Positive Mental Attitude: A Lifestyle Choice

You may have seen ‘PMA’ or Positive Mental Attitude on the POW website and in POW social media. Because people often ask what PMA is all about, and how it relates to the POW program, this installment of Gamechangers focuses on just that.

For POW, ‘PMA’ (Positive Mental Attitude) is an organizational philosophy, a mindset, a mantra and a lifestyle choice.

Each day, we are faced with a myriad of challenges – mental, emotional and physical – and we have to make a choice: How are we going to address these challenges? PMA is incredibly empowering because we choose optimism and hope over negativity, defeatism and hopelessness. We actively choose a positive disposition toward every situation, and in turn, that optimism attracts positive changes and increases achievement.

So where does the PMA concept come from?

Simple answer: Our shared history and culture.

Far more interesting answer:

As early as 170 b.c.e. Marcus Aurelius wrote about replacing the victim mentality with accountability to oneself and those who rely on them. If you’ve heard the quote, “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts”, then you’re already familiar with Aurelius.

Two thousand years later, in 1937, the concept appears again in the writing of Napoleon Hill. In Think and Grow Rich, Hill outlines the principles for PMA, though it’s still not codified as a phrase or mantra.

In 1982, the punk band Bad Brains takes the concept of PMA to a whole new level with the lyrics for “Attitude”:

Don’t care what they may say
we got that attitude.
Don’t care what they may do
we got that attitude.
Hey, we got that PMA (positive mental attitude).
Hey we got the PMA.

(“Attitude”, Bad Brains, 1982)

Fast forward a few decades you have John Joseph of the hardcore NYC band the Cro-Mags (one of my favorites since high school) advocating for making PMA a lifestyle choice. Here at POW, we appreciate that he walks the walk and only preaches what he practices – a great example of Aurelius’s accountability.

Today, the concept of PMA is used widely in medicine and professional sports. A number of medical studies over the years have pointed to a marked correlation between positive thinking and improved health. Cancer patients are often encouraged to embrace the PMA mindset in their battle for wellness.

Studies conducted in sports medicine have also proven PMA to be invaluable: Research shows that athletes who maintain a positive train of thought and practice positive visualization have been shown to exhibit a significant improvement in overall performance.

All told, PMA is simple, direct, to the point and can fit ANY situation. At POW, PMA is typically the first tool crew members employ in overcoming the challenges life throws at them, and peer-to-peer support and fitness back that up. At POW, we recognize that the road to recovery is a life-long journey. The general state of happiness that PMA brings makes it a no-brainer.

Namaste,

Todd

INSTALLMENT #1. SEPTEMBER 2014.

Better Breathing is the Foundation for Workout Success

Over the next few months I’m going to be sharing tips and tricks I picked up in the Army and through competitive MMA training which should help you improve your workouts, boost endurance, and burn more fat. It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran, active military or a civilian: If you’re active and love a good workout, these tips are for you.

While we may not know it, failure to reach our fitness goals is often the result of poor habits and not a lack of effort or commitment. In my experience, improper breathing belongs at the top of the “poor habits” list.

Most of us breathe in a way that leaves a lot of room for improvement. Some examples would be over-breathing, holding our breath and shallow breathing. These breathing patterns are very stressful for the body – particularly when working out – and lead to a shortage of oxygen and energy. When you breathe properly during exercise you’re far less likely to run out of breath, experience dizziness or suffer from lung fatigue. You’ll also see improved athletic performance and much faster gains in training. Good breathing technique will take you to the next level.

Proper breathing looks different depending on the exercise you’re doing. Some tips for improving your breathing technique, regardless of the activity:

• Pay more attention to your breathing and to the parts of the body involved in the process. Your breathing muscles consist of the diaphragm and muscles in the abdomen, chest, neck and shoulders.
• Breathe through the nose, rather than through the mouth. The nose delivers a smoother stream of air that doesn’t trigger the survival response and more easily reaches the critical lower part of the lungs.
• Breathe intentionally and deeply. When you take deeper breaths, you use more air sacs in your lungs, which allows you to take in much more oxygen to feed your muscles.
• Breathe from your diaphragm. The air you breathe in through your nose should go all the way down to your belly.
• Extend your exhales. The time it takes to exhale should be about twice what it is to inhale.
• Practice rhythmic breathing. Rhythmic breathing can decrease your heart rate, decrease lactic acid production and helps to regulate the flow of oxygen and CO2.
• Be sure to keep hydrated. Keeping up your water intake will rehydrate you and enable the body to burn more fat.

If this is all new to you, practice breathing techniques first, then apply what you’ve learned to your workouts later. Experiment with breathing rhythms and patterns. And if you’re not already a belly breather, start there. Try the following:

1. Lie down on your back.
2. Keep your upper chest and shoulders still.
3. Focus on raising your belly as you inhale.
4. Lower your belly as you exhale.
5. Inhale and exhale through both your nose and mouth.

We think about training our hearts, legs and core, but we rarely think about training our lungs. I think this is a big mistake. Focus on your respiratory system: Once you start breathing properly and exhaling fully, you will be able to perform better and have more energy to finish. Focus on proper breathing all the time – during workouts and in your daily activities. I think you’ll find that the benefits extend beyond the gym. You’ll have more energy, less anxiety, improved health and a feeling of control you didn’t have before.

Namaste,

Todd

Earl Winston
Army, 12B/Combat Engineer
Deployed to Afghanistan twice: 2011-2012, and Sept 2013-Jan 2013

I moved to San Diego and eventually connected with Todd Vance and started participating regularly with P.O.W. Things didn’t happen overnight. But I have learned and progressed so much over the three years that I have been in the program. During that time, I have encountered challenges with school, jobs, and very recently, the loss of my father. The love and support that I received from the P.O.W. crew felt great when I came back. Such a feeling is hard to come by; these people care about the well-being of others and have always been there for me. P.O.W. has helped me realize my potential as a person and as a whole, and be proud of who I am. It is way more than a group that just works out with each other a couple times a week. We invest in each other’s lives, we look after each other and we genuinely care about each and every member.

Aaron Espinoza
Marines, (7041) Aviation Operation Specialist
Deployments – Iraq twice

Turk Escalada
USMC, 1316 Welder
Deployed to Afghanistan 2009-2010