Dr. John Williams: 70-Yr-Old MMA Fighter Setting Guinness World Records
By James Ryan
(Featured Columnist) on July 23, 2010
"Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow so.”—Tryon Edwards
To the amazement of many, Dr. John Williams, a 70-year-old Mixed Martial Arts fighter, has willingly scheduled himself to take on Larry Brubaker (age 49) as part of the “Wild Card” event for Elite 1 MMA Productions at the Casino New-Nouveau Brunswick in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, on July 24th.
Dr. Williams, a current Guinness world record holder, will attempt to break two new Guinness world records with the assistance from Mr. Brubaker, as the oldest fighter to ever compete inside of an MMA cage, as well as the oldest combined age for any two fighters in the history of MMA.
All of this begs the question—is age really just a number?
Well, Dr. Williams certainly thinks so.
In fact, despite certain criticisms, this 34th generation Gunshi, in Saigo Ha Daito-Ryu Aiki Bujutsu (a 1200-year-old Samurai Art) is out to prove it.
In researching Dr. Williams, I have quickly come to the realization that it is near impossible to condense this man’s entire life into a few simple paragraphs that will in any way do justice to his amazing and unique life experiences.
Nevertheless, I will try…
Dr. John J. Williams (a.k.a. Gray Wolf) was born on March 7th, 1940, in a small town in Eastern Canada. His parents were both French-speaking Native American Indians of the Wabenaki tribal nation and he is the direct bloodline descendant of the Wabanaki War Chief, Madockaweando.
Dr. Williams began training in martial arts and boxing back in 1947 at the age of 7.
By the age of 16, Dr. Williams had already been introduced to Olympic-style weightlifting, Kodokan Judo and Tani-Ha Jiu-Jitsu.
By the time he was 23-years-old, Dr. Williams was giving strongman demonstrations such as bending spikes, tearing phonebooks and licenses plates in half, and holding two jeeps from going in the opposite directions. His most impressive feat of strength however, was a one hand dead-lift with 500 pounds.
In later years, Dr. Williams also went on to study Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Kyokushinkai Karate.
As fate would have it, Dr. Williams eventually became the inheritor of Saigo Ha Daito-Ryu in 1972 after his master, Pok Shen, was diagnosed with lung cancer. Since there were no other senior students studying under Master Shen, Dr. Williams was asked to become the successor.
In 1987, Dr. Williams set his first Guinness world record for breaking multiple blocks of ice with a single punch (11 inches thick, by 22 inches wide, by 42 inches long, and 10 stacks high).
Fast forward to 23 years later and amazingly, this record still stands today (although his son Tim is the only other man to tie the record).
Throughout his years of travelling and living in the USA, Dr. Williams participated in several university courses, such as psychology, philosophy, hypnotism, and eventually, he became a legally ordained Baptist minister.
He was later awarded a Doctorate in Theology and eventually taught as a professor at Holland College and Success College, as well as the Julian College of Arts & Sciences.
In 1989, Dr. Williams completed a course in Hypnotherapy and he began treating clients for various ailments. By 1995, Dr. Williams had completed his course in EFT (based on Chinese acupuncture), which he combined with hypnotism to treat sexual assault victims.
In 1996, Dr. Williams was awarded a Doctorate in Linguistics from the Cyber College out of Japan for his work teaching the English language to Japanese high school students over the internet.
By the year 2000, Dr. Williams was acknowledged by the Canadian Court System as an expert on the Eastern Woodland Indians and their treaty rights.
Currently, Dr. Williams is the site coordinator for Elite 1 MMA Productions.
Wow.
I am truly honoured to have been granted an interview by such as esteemed and accomplished martial artist.
Please enjoy.
James Ryan: Hi there John, how are you today?
Dr. John Williams: Fantastic, James! And yourself?
James Ryan: I’m doing great! Thank you for agreeing to share your amazing story with me.
Dr. John Williams: My pleasure.
James Ryan: Before we begin, let me just start by saying that I have a lot of respect for what you are about to do, and as such, I have designed my questions to help address some of the potential concerns that I think some people may be having about your upcoming fight.
Dr. John Williams: I understand that there are concerns. But to me, life is about living, not just surviving or existing, but living life to its fullest and taking risks.
The risk takers are the ones who understand that the meaning of life is simple—you live!
James Ryan: I like that—‘you live!’ Very well put.
What has the overall reaction been to this fight by the media and the public?
Dr. John Williams: The reaction has been mixed. Mostly positive so far, but a few negatives as well.
It’s been kind of a curiosity thing—lots of questions. Why do it? When is it going down? Can we do it? What if? Etc.
But I really don’t give a rat’s ass what a lot of other people think. In the end, these critics will be living their dreams through me like everyone else, which is what sports are all about.
James Ryan: [Laughs] Very true.
It’s rare that any martial artist would fight because he or she has anything to prove to anyone but themselves. What is your personal motivation for this fight?
Dr. John Williams: I really have nothing to prove here. It’s not about beating my opponent or feeding my ego. Plus, this will be the 3rd Guinness record that I will be trying to set.
My life has always been about reaching my goals. I doubt that many other people out there have achieved as much as I have or have accomplished so many different life experiences. But still, it's more than that.
I’m 70 years old—that's a fact. But I'm not dead yet. I run my wind sprints like I always have and I’m just as strong as I was 40 years ago. I’m still pretty fast too, so for me, it’s too soon to give up on life like a lot of others my age and younger have already.
As you know, men usually peak physically in or around their mid 40's, or sometimes even sooner.
I am not just another man. I have been training all of my life—since 1947—day after day, running, lifting, and learning. I haven’t lost it yet.
Will I win the fight? In reality, I win by walking into that cage Saturday night. Even if he knocks me out, I still win, and so does he.
But with that being said, I do plan on beating him, by submission if possible, because the fans expect it to happen. Each degree of pain that I inflict on him is part of my statement—age is just a number!
James Ryan: That’s awesome John, but I’m curious—in what way does this fight add legitimacy to the sport of Mixed Martial Arts?
Dr. John Williams: Personally, I have a real problem with the use of the words ‘martial arts’ in the term MMA.
These fighters are athletes who train in a gym under coaches, not in a dojo, kwoon, or dojang under a teacher.
They are not usually martial artists—they are athletes who compete in a sport, under strict safety rule.
My bout is not an exhibition—it is a test of my martial arts skills under safer rules because I am a martial artist.
Remember, MMA bouts are not real fights—they are just contests. Nobody thinks that they are in a real fight. They all know that it’s just sport. There are rules—no groin attacks, no ear pulling, eye gouging, spine or throat attacks—it’s just a game—nothing more, nothing less.
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Sorry, couldn't resist. Awesome story and great to hear our "senior citizens" are not all prune loving, bad driving, wrinkled up hags.
