BY Jill Cousins
Physical fitness and competition have always intrigued Lake Mary resident Ryan Badran. So when he noticed a martial arts studio had opened up next to the gym where he lifted weights, Ryan couldn’t resist taking a peek inside.
Ryan liked what he saw. He signed up that day, back in 2005, and started training right away.
“As soon as I started training, my instructor said that I was meant to do this,” says Ryan, 25. “I just loved it. I’ve always been interested in physical fitness, and I’ve always been very active. And there’s no better workout.“
After training in kung fu with Master Jimmy Wilson for three years, Ryan decided to step it up a notch and start training for competition. Just two years ago, he had his first fight in the combat sport of Muay Thai.
An injury knocked Ryan out of competition for 10 months, but he bounced back this summer in a big way. In a span of about five weeks, he won the U.S. Muay Thai Association Florida welterweight championship and the International Kickboxing Federation World Classic Muay Thai amateur championship, and earned a spot on the USA World Kickboxing Federation’s Sanshou team that was scheduled to compete in the World Wushu Championships in Turkey last month.
At the event in Turkey, Ryan was attempting to become the first American to win a gold medal. He won all 12 of his previous martial arts bouts – 10 in Muay Thai and two in Sanshou. Muay Thai primarily involves punching and kicking, with no takedowns. In Sanshou, competitors try to take down their opponents.
Ryan’s goal is to add jiu-jitsu, a Brazilian form of martial arts that focuses on ground fighting, so that he can eventually compete professionally in mixed martial arts – a full-contact combat sport that incorporates Muay Thai, Sanshou and jiu-jitsu.
Ryan, who owns a construction business with childhood friend Cole Engel, says he would probably be in the military if it weren’t for his discovery of competitive martial arts. He had his share of trouble in high school and was actually encouraged to take up martial arts by a psychologist.
“I was constantly getting in trouble in school,” Ryan says, “and I had a lot of anger issues. This has really helped me. Punching people in the face keeps me sane! Hard work makes you a stronger person, physically, mentally, and ultimately spiritually. It pulls everything together. It did for me.”
All that fighting does come at a price. Ryan’s face almost always bears the scars of his sport (“If I don’t have at least one black eye, I haven’t been training,” he says). And in June of last year he sustained a sternum injury while training that knocked him out of competition for almost a year.
His return to the ring was somewhat of a fluke. In March, Ryan accompanied his friend and business partner Cole to a fight in Daytona Beach. Cole was competing, and Ryan volunteered to provide support in his corner. But when the event’s promoter told him that he needed a 155-pound fighter, Ryan jumped at the chance. Just two hours later, Ryan posted a first-round victory.
His next fight earned Ryan his first shot at a state title (which he won in Daytona on June 26). He is hoping that this summer’s success is only the beginning.
“My goal is to pursue a professional career,” Ryan says. “To get paid to do what I love to do – it’s chasing a dream.”
