© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com
May 3, 2007

IFL Razorclaws fighter Brian Foster is in Moreno Valley, California, where he's the proprietor of Inkaholics, and has just finished some body art on a client.

[Before the inquiries start coming in, here are the details: Inkaholics, 24150 Alessandro Boulevard, Moreno Valley, CA, 92553. Ph: (951) 485 4930.]

As with Brian, it seems a lot of other IFL fighters have served in the marines: Josh Odom, Adam Lynn, Mark Miller, Mike Corey… So I asked Brian if the IFL has a carbon-copy contract hidden underneath the marine's enlistment forms for when personnel are eventually discharged.

"It sure looks like it, doesn't it? I think it just goes along with the lifestyle: In the marine corps you become accustomed to training a lot, and hand-to-hand combat is obviously a big issue. When you get out of the marine corps you still want the camaraderie, you still want to train, you still want that hand-to-hand combat, you're still looking for that challenge. And the International Fight League is where you find that," says Foster.

Brian served in the US Marines for five years, with his tasks including some elite duties, before he was discharged in 1997. "I was what they call a grunt – like a ground pounder. I was in a division referred to as the 'Reconnaissance Company', where I basically carried a rifle around. Then I had the opportunity to go to a specialist sniper school, so I got to fulfill some duties as a scout sniper in the marines corps, which was quite a privilege."

Brian, what was your first martial art style?

"I didn't really have what you'd call a style before extreme fighting. I didn't even train or anything, I just got an invitation to fights that were happening at a nearby city. It was a matter of turn up with your mouthpiece and be ready to fight, so that's what I did.

"I fought a jiu jitsu guy, and luckily I won. But, man, he arm-barred the shit out of me. Shortly after that, I started taking a bunch of jiu jitsu classes and kinda began morphing my style from there."

How did you win that fight?

"He had my left arm in an arm bar – at the time I didn't even know what that was – and I hit him with overhand rights to his head. I just kept hitting him with punches until he let my arm go, and he quit."

So willpower defeated skill power.

"Yes, it did."

Brain Foster vs. Dan Molina

 

Can you give a brief rundown of your bout against Dan Molina, please?

"That fight went really well for me. I knew he was going to be more of a ground guy: Most people don't want to stand and kickbox with me, so I knew he was going to come in and take me down, which is what he did. We played the position game on the ground for a while, and I was patient – being careful not to get submitted.

"I just kept the g'n'p game going, and he started getting tired towards the end and I out-positioned him. I got his back to go for a rear naked choke, but Frank Shamrock was yelling at me to keep punching him because I think time was getting short in the round, so I kept punching him. Then the ref broke it up."

How did you come to be an alternate fighter for the Wolfpack?

"I'm a personal friend of Matt Lindland's, and the Wolfpack were on short notice for a fight they had coming up, so they gave me a call and I took the fight on two weeks' notice. I won that fight, and I just did it as a kinda favor for Matt, and he was doing it as a favor for me: He was helping me out to get a fight. >From there, my name got tossed around and I got put on the Razorclaws team. It's been great."

You got your nickname 'Tattoo' due to your being the proprietor of a tattoo shop in California. Have you done any ink work on other MMA fighters?

"No one too famous – some of the guys from the school who come in to train… I tattooed Shawn Tompkins, who's now the coach for the Anacondas."

What is the story with your mini zoo?

"I've just loved animals since I was a kid, and I happened to get a piece of property out here that's known for animals… I guess, long story short, I had a bunch of weeds in my backyard, so I got some goats because they're supposed to eat all the weeds down. And then my neighbors had some horses that needed a home, so I took them in. Somehow I ended up with some sheep, and then my wife brought a pig over, and next thing you know you've got a zoo."

Good things happen to those who are good to animals.

"Yeah, I love it."

Who are your main training partners these days?

"A lot of the guys from Team Quest: Dan Henderson, Thierry Sokoudjou…"

Read the full article on Knucklepit.com.