Poem: Survival of the Fittest
Survival of the Fittest.
Born to Survive.
Made to Thrive.
Failure forced me to Learn;
Life Equated to Pain.
Loneliness Promised Sanctuary.
Weakness became My Adversary.
Strength became My Bounty.
Fighting became My Remedy.
Jesus Christ became My Therapy.
Quitting became a Theory.
Evolving became My Final Option.
Survival of the Fittest.
Author: Brittany Taylor (B.T.) Sims
Biography
Braud and
Anderson (1998) summarize the importance of breadth and
plurality of approaches, as well as depth and intensity of
approach, to appreciate or access the abundance of life’s yet
sometimes hidden, treasures in connection to a modern saying,
“If you wish to find water, it is better to dig one 60-foot well
than to dig six 10-foot wells” (p.35). This could have a strong
translation to telling seekers of knowledge to not give up,
explore all options, and keep searching until the object or
objective being sought after has been found.
I am that
seeker of knowledge.
Hi everyone!
My name is B.T.
is short for my first and middle name Brittany Taylor. I am a
1-0 pro MMA fighter, 1-0 pro Boxer. I thought I’d do something
different in my biograph. I will conduct a narrative or
interview on myself so you, the audience, can learn about me in
a fun and different way.
Key:
·
Interview questions
are in bold.
·
Answers are not.
Narrative/Interview: B.T. “Eagle
Flex” Sims
Q1: So
what’s up with your fight record and why are you so….you?
There is a
reason why my boxing record doesn’t have many fights. This is
based off of what was given to me by matchmakers, managers, etc.
Out of all my proposed fights that were booked, all except 2
opponents backed out. One of the 2 fights in question had some
politics get in the way from different levels within the
industry. The other fight went through with minimal
disturbance. Hence my pro boxing record. Meaning, I would have
at least 10 fights under my belt by now if it had not been for
the bumps in the road previously described.
Q2: What
significant titles have you won as an amateur?
|
State |
Award |
Year |
|
Oregon |
Golden
Gloves Champion//Sanction #:17-50-15335 |
2017 |
|
Oregon |
Golden Girl |
2017 |
|
New Mexico |
National
Qualifier (Runner-Up) |
2017 |
|
Florida |
National
Golden Gloves Champion/Sanction#: 17-37-14856 |
2017 |
|
Missouri |
Ringside
World Champion |
2017 |
|
Utah |
National
Boxing Championship (Semi-Finalist) |
2017 |
What is cool
about these titles is the National Golden Gloves (NGG)
Championship and the Ringside World Championship (RWC) had only
a week of rest in between them.
If you don’t
appreciate this then I will explain.
In amateur
boxing, to win the title hopefuls /participants/ boxers/
fighters must fight in these tournaments that last all week.
Many hopefuls could likely compete every day of competition.
Some could be given a pass on one or two of the competition days
because anything can happen in boxing. Others could become
automatic champions because there are no other boxers registered
to compete at that weight. In this case, many coaches would talk
to their fighter(s) to see if they wanted to compete in the
tournament by fighting against another boxer who fell in similar
circumstances in a weight class higher or lower. Lastly, since
anything could happen in boxing, fighters could go to
tournaments by themselves with-out their coach and will be just
fine because other coaches step in to help in that boxer’s
corner. It’s a supportive environment.
I can say I
have experienced all of these descriptions. However, I feel that
experiences such as these help mold amateur boxers young and old
to always expect the unexpected and rise to the challenge even
when unprepared inside and outside the of ring.
Q3: Cool,
what else is cool about you?
Let’s see… I’ve
been trying to teach myself Spanish for some time now. I’m
finally starting to be able to understand and speak Spanglish
without fear, and I appreciate those who are helping me learn.
Como estan
ustedes!
Mucho Gusto! Yo
voy hablo/a (? No se) en Spanglish. Me llama B. T. “Eagle Flex”
Sims. Estoy aprendiendo espanol aun pero yo trabajando dura.
Gracias a todo quien ayudarme con muchas palabras!estoy
aprendiendo mucho.
Me gusta ver
los videos de boxeo con los boxers como Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.,
Hector Camacho, Mike Tyson, Jackie Nava, Lucia Rijker, and Ann
Wolfe to say a few. Me gusta boxeo y me gusta a pelear.
Q4: Do you
have a motto?
Yes,
“Failure is not always the destination.
Aim for the stars, float through the universe, and experience
the galaxies. But, before you do, get your education first”(BT
Sims)
Q5: Why is
education so important to you?
I hated school.
In high school, I thought I could make it just by my athletic
abilities. I took a computer class from a teacher who, rumor had
it, changed grades especially for athletes. To make a long story
short, I skipped the class and was about to fail the class when
track season started.
Q6: So??
Oh so….Did I do
it? Did I ask for a grade change? You bet I did!
Did I run that
season my 12th grade year? Absolutely!
Did I care? No,
but subconsciously that action of asking for a grade I did not
deserve did something detrimental to my cognitive educational
development in the years to come.
Q7: Well? Do
Tell.
I only
went to college because my Dad challenged me:
“You can be whatever you want to be and go where
ever you want to go, but get your education first” (Gary Sims,
Sr.)
I only got into
college because of my running abilities in track and field
because my grades where so bad.
This meant I
had to beg for a chance.
The colleges
that did take me, I flunked out. No teacher felt sorry for me.
Some didn’t even care. Soon, neither did I. I had no more
excuses to why I kept flunking out or being on academic
probation. I just didn’t want to go to school” I dropped out. My
decision to go back and how I got back in school is for a
different story at a different time.
My point is, my
Dad challenged me to get my Bachelor degree when I just needed 2
more classes to get my Associate Degree (btw nothing is wrong
with the Associate degree if that’s what you want. No judgment
from me. You worked hard). I took this challenge and it took me
8 years to get my Bachelor degree.
He challenged
me again to reach higher saying the same thing: “I don’t care
what you do; I don’t care where you go. Get your education
first” (Gary Sims, Sr.). This meant he challenged me to get
my Master Degree in Business Administration (MBA). I was
officially irritated, But challenge accepted. So, I
simultaneously went to school, boxed in tournaments, became a
homeschool tutor for two children who were taking virtual
homeschool lessons, and became a fitness instructor for boxing.
Was that stressful in my world? Yes. Did I complain? Yes. Did
anyone care? No.
I went from the
Dean’s list to the Academic Probation list and soon dropped out.
After sometime out of school, I saw the importance of school. I
once again accepted my Dad’s challenge and plunged forward. It
took me almost 4 years to get my Master degree, but I got it.
This is another story that you may like but for a different
time.
I finally got
it, no more educational challenges. I decided to take a much
welcomed a year off to think and enjoy life without a computer
or a book to lug around when I went to my boxing competitions.
It was a year too many because my Dad didn’t challenge me. I no
longer had a drive to beat something. I accomplished the goals
that were challenged but like Alexander Hamilton the play “I’m
never satisfied”. However, I did still felt like I had to resort
to begging as a female boxer in the industry of boxing. Though I
was desperate for a fight, I got tired of asking and being
rejected. I got tired of not being seen for the fighter I am. I
got tired of being skipped over.
A lady once
told me that nobody can ever take her degree from her no matter
how much she was in debt from school. She was never desperate.
She no longer had to beg.
My father and
mother fought systemic racism and discrimination by going back
to school until they could no longer be told “no” from a
position they were fully qualified for.
I made my own
challenges.
Q8: What
were the challenges?
·
I will stay hungry but
I will always work to have food on my table. Meaning, if I want
something and am unable to attain it, I will wait my turn.”
·
I will no longer
settle to be desperate. Meaning, I will not settle to beg
someone to change my grade if I didn’t deserve it.
Q9: Wow
that’s very intriguing. What other challenge did you make?
I enrolled in
the Doctorate of Business Administration from the same school I
got my MBA in, the University of Phoenix (UoP).
Q10: What, I
thought you hated school, why would you do that?
Because George
Washington Carver said, “education is the key to unlocking the
golden door of freedom”. I needed to figure out why my boxing
journey moved so slow or had hidden opportunities. I needed to
figure out why finding this potential boxing career was like
finding a needle in a haystack.
Q11: Yeah,
almost impossible. You’d need a metal detector, or a really
strong magnet! Right?
True, but those
attract almost everything that is magnetic. Have you ever gone
hunting for hidden treasure?
Q12: Sure,
but what are you getting at?
Okay. Let’s say
we are going on a hunt for a hidden treasure. One that has a
certain type of metal that no one has ever attempted to get
because that certain metal is considered a myth. People laugh at
you for even trying to find it because that metal is considered
a myth. A story passed down and changed through the generations
of storytelling.
Q13:
Okaaayyy???
Stay with me
because it will all make sense. A meatal detector is helpful,
but detects everything that is metal. Since I am getting all
this metal, it is tiring because it’s not the metal I want.
Instead of getting rid of the metal I found, I’m going to take
it home because it can be useful. I realize that I needed to
study about that specific type of metal. I need to know if there
are certain areas or locations that would allow it to be more
prone for discovery.
Q14: So now
what?
I ask the
locals of the area, but no one talks unless you know someone. It
may take some time to acquire the information. So, I make a
living off of what I sell. I also study to become an expert on
how metal detectors could have a program built in to have the
ability to detect specific metals the seeker demands. I create
proposals and send them up the chain of commands until someone
takes interest and puts me in front of a person who has taken
myth seekers on successful excursions of other precious metals.
Q15: Then
what?
I haven’t
gotten to the next part yet to tell you.
Q16: Who are
you again?
My name is B.T.
“Eagle Flex” Sims. I am a scholar. I am a practitioner. I am a
learner.
Q17: Where
are you from and where do you live now?
I am from
Columbus, Ohio (614- Eastmoor Middle//Eastmoor Academy-Class of
08’)
I currently
live in Salem, Oregon but started out in Woodburn, Oregon.
Q18: What
are the differences that you noticed when you first moved?
Well first,
people out here in Oregon don’t care if it rains and don’t use
umbrellas. I thought it was odd at first and laughed at people
who didn’t carry and umbrella. Now look at me after almost 11
years, I know don’t use an umbrella and laugh at people who do.
Secondly,
Mountains
I went to
Eastern Oregon University (EOU) for undergrad when I moved out
here to Oregon. I enjoyed my time out there when I attended
because of the friends I gained. They are now living their life
the best they can, and I am happy for their accomplishments.
Anyway, I was
on the track team. After practice we would go to the athletic
trainer’s room to go through therapy for our muscles, get in the
ice bath, or just hang out. One day, while I’m about to get my
shins massaged to decrease inflammation caused by shin splints,
the trainer was talking about the foothills in the area.
I got irritated
a bit and said in a cool, quiet, but sure tone, “You mean
Mountains”.
The whole room
got quiet and looked at me for a second then burst out with
laughter.
“No”, the
trainer said as he began to chuckle and his face cooled from the
redness of his joy he had just shared with the rest of the room.
“Those are called foothills. Mountains are Mountains”. A shy
embarrassment filled my thoughts as I laughed at the realization
that the state I had lived in and called home for almost 20
years had no real landscape.
Q19: What is
your current pro fight record?
I currently
have a record of 1-0 pro MMA and 1-0 Boxing.
Q20: Which
fight came first?
MMA did. I was
training to go back to the USA National Boxing Championship
tournament to hopefully get a spot to fight for Olympic Gold.
The debate was if I’d turn pro in boxing, would I still be able
to fight for a spot to be on the Olympic team. This thought
process came forward because I read an article about how pro
boxers were allowed to go through the tournament to fight for
gold. None of the pros made it that year so I assumed they’d
still have the option open if I took a MMA pro fight at 3 days-
notice. Through it all, it felt good to be back in the cage.
You can
actually see that fight on UFC Fight Pass.
Q21: What
fight is that and is that the only fight of you in UFC Fight
Pass?
There are two:
King of the
Cage (KOTC): Grand Finale
·
This one was my pro
debut.
KOTC: Rouge
Wave
·
This one was an
amateur fight.
o
KOTC Ammy World
Championship Belt
o
Opponent: Kalyn
“50-KAL” //Invicta Championship Fighter
Q22: Are you
a Boxer or an MMA fighter?
Lol I’m a
hybrid.
I meant to go
back to MMA, but I have been enjoying boxing so I didn’t go
back.
Q23: Would
you go back to MMA?
No Comment
Q24: What
are the differences in MMA and Boxing?
Well, here is
the thing, my Dad always told me that a person cannot tell a
person what apple pie truly taste like unless both parties have
tasted apple pie before.
With respect to
the two very respected disciplines of combat, both have the
possibility to be used as a very cunning game of chess.
Look at boxers
like Roberto Duran, Lucia Rijker, Mike Tyson, Tommy Morrison,
Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson,
Marvin Hagler, etc.
Look at MMA
Fighters: Valentina Schevchenko, Rose Namajunes, Ronda Rousey
(arm-bars), Wanderli Silva, the Diaz Brothers, Jorge Masvidal,
Kamaru Usman, Andersen “The Spider” Silva, JJ, and Weili etc.
In each of
their respected sports they were/are dominant. More importantly,
if they did not utilize their strategies or play the cunning
game of chess then they met defeat. All except Lucia Rijker and
Weili because their record was/is undefeated.
With that being
said, I cannot tell you the differences if one hasn’t competed
in both. I can say both disciplines demand hard work,
motivation, drive, and passion so when one falls short the other
3 will carry it until it’s ready to work with the team again at
full capacity.
Q25: Why am
I boxing?
Answer 1:
·
To continue to develop
and achieve goals in my professional life.
·
To gain knowledge of
how the industry functions at its core.
·
To help bridge the gap
for the full achievement of equality and equity for women
working in the industry.
Answer 2:
I enjoy
fighting. Fighting is My Remedy.
Q26: Who are
you at your core?
I took a
personality test
My Results:
INTJ
Here is my
reflection on it.
My results of
the Personality test resulted in me having 44% introversion over
extroversion, 28% intuition over sensing, 38% thinking over
feeling, and 19% judging over perceiving.
I think the
results were accurate in regard to how I function. I did chuckle
to myself about INTJs appearing to display an aura of
"definiteness", of self-confidence to outsiders (Humanmetrics,
2020). This is because in my reflection of experiences, I have
seemed to rub people the wrong way due to this self-confidence.
There was one
instance when I first started working at one of my previous
jobs, I told my superiors that I was there to “make them look
good” to their superiors and to our clients. My meaning behind
it was I wanted their superiors and clients to be impressed with
them as leaders from the results of the work I produced.
Instead, they took it as me being there to “out-shine” them. My
experience at that job was very interesting to say the least,
but when I was preparing to move on to my next career path they,
those who were “rubbed” the wrong way finally understood what I
meant.
Another
accuracy I noticed in the Personality test was about how when
INTJs considers someone to be slacking on the job, that person
who is slacking will lose the respect the INTJ has for them,
which includes superiors (Humanmetrics, 2020).
There was one
job I had where I lost respect for a superior, and they became
aware of it. I began to notice that the “busy” work my superior
always claimed to have, was not “busy” work at all. This was
discovered when the superior went on their first vacation from
the job after working there since the start of the company.
During the week of their absence we, my remaining co-workers and
I, were prepared to take on the many tasks the superior was
always complaining about.
As the week
went by, we determined that the expected increase of work did
not have a significant increase; instead, it remained the same
as when the superior was present. As a result, my respect for
the superior quickly declined.
Unfortunately,
the steps I would take to accommodate the stress levels of the
superior and the backup work I would readily take when they
began to complain about the amount of work they had to do, was
discontinued. The superior was also respectfully made aware of
this.
The result of
this personality test has changed my perspectives in a positive
way mainly because I have secretly been second guessing myself.
As a result, I would lighten my words that would make my
messages less assertive or definite. Now, have no indignity in
regard to displaying my self-confidence accurately and
unapologetically. I can also stand by views of small talk and
flirtation which I do not find a use for or understand at all.
It’s awkward for me to say the least and I do not like it.
Q27: Where
did you come from?
I came from
shooting my shot like the considered founding fathers of
America, Alexander Hamilton. I came from learning how to detect
and know the differences about if someone is there to cheat,
use, or mooch off in regard to the relationship (personal and
professional). I came from being happy when a person gets their
blessing while I’m in line waiting to get mine with strong
faith. I came from humble beginnings, trusting Jesus Christ, and
being kind. I came from challenges and defeats. I came from
rejections and failures.
Q29: Wow
that’s a lot to take in, do you have any goals?
There are a lot
of layers. It would take a life time to tell you, but I can’t
because I am too busy living in each moment like it’s my last.
So, let me give you a few goals that I have as a future Champion
of Boxing.
My Goals:
·
Being a woman who has
respect for herself and other women, and continuing to push to
challenge us to be the best we can be.
·
Gain your respect by
doing “My Homework” which could be considered as
training/practices at 100%. Because the victory of the battle is
won in practices and trainings.
·
Gain your respect by
executing “my homework” at precise and well thought out chess
moves.
·
To give back and help
those who are coming behind me to contribute to the prevention
and avoidance of the pitfalls of this sport and industry.
·
Be a part of the team.
I will contribute to the battle against inequality and the lack
of equity for women within the boxing industry by forming
innovative ideas and brainstorming with the pioneers of women
boxing and other women boxers. I will also contribute by gaining
knowledge from my fellow contributors to share, inspire,
educate, and to unlock the golden door of freedom and George
Washington Carver said.
Q30:
Anything else?
No, not really.
That is all for now. Thank you to everyone who is a part of this
journey!
#
# # #
The following
are the references:
Braud, W., Anderson, R. (1998). Transpersonal research methods
for the social sciences . Sage Publications.
Humanmetrics, Inc. (2020). Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test.
http://www.humanmetrics.com/personality/intj.
UFC Fight Pass
Sims, Sr. Gary. (2008).
Sims, B.T. (2020).
Photo
Credits:
Brittany Taylor
Emerald Queen Casino, Battle at the Boat
Gregory Dean Photography
KOTC
West Coast Action Photos.com
