Already enthralled with all martial arts from the time he was 4, Paul Byars had a flash-bulb moment watching the very first UFC back in 1993.
Royce Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend now but a name few knew when the first tournament started, dominated the event, winning three straight matches by submission as grapplers world wide watched on. That was when Byars knew he had to learn jiu-jitsu.
Thirty years later, Byars is now a third-degree black belt as he was recently honored at a end-of-year ceremony in Vero Beach, Fla. With sixth-degree black belt Renato Tavares doing the honors, Byars was one of a 42 black belts gathered last month to get recognized for decades of dedication to the art.
Even now, where he's moved on from being a newcomer to a person who trains people daily in jiu-jitsu, Byars can vividly remembered when he knew he would be pursuing another discipline to master.
"At the time of the first UFC, I was already teaching karate. Those in the martial arts world, whenever they saw UFC 1, either went in two directions: They thought, 'that stuff wouldn't work on me' or 'I have to learn that.' I knew I had to have that ability," said Byars.
Learning jiu-jitsu in Middle Tennessee in the 1990s wouldn't be an easy task. Byars traveled to every seminar he could find, learned from videos - "there wasn't much online back then," said Byars - and did everything he could to learn the craft.
Things got much easier when Byars met Tavares in Murfreesboro over a decade ago. From there, Byars as able to start racking up black belts. When he got his latest black belt, he noticed just how much the popularity of jiu-jitsu has risen in the United States.
"We had 42 black belts there, which is pretty unheard of. Just being around that many years of knowledge is incredible," said Byars. "Now at our studio, we have four jiu-jitsu black belts as instructors. That would also have been unheard of even 10 years ago, but the growth has been tremendous."
Byars, who is also a seventh-degree black belt in karate, a black belt in judo and highly trained in Muay Thai as well, noticed the public shares his love for jiu-jitsu. He noted that classes for kids can start at ages 6-7, while adults classes bring in professionals from all walks of life.
It hasn't been a shock to Byars, who continues to train and learn the craft for his own personal gain.
"In jiu-jitsu, it can encompass your whole life. It teaches discipline, determination, self-control and - obviously - fitness and self-defense. It’s one of those things where when you get into it, you take it home with you," said Byars. "For me personally, there can be stress relief. It puts you present focused and in the moment. The rest of the world doesn’t matter. And when nothing else matters and there aren’t 100 different things going on in your mind, there’s peace in it. It’s really amazing and my main focus in it, personally."
Those looking to learn from Byars and the other black belt trainers at Gary Steele Karate Studio can call 473-KICK (5425). Classes are offered throughout the week in jiu-jitsu, karate, Muay Thai, judo and wrestling.
