Mr. International: Who is Shonie Carter?

Well where do I start when it comes to talking about myself? In my early years of any type of competition of consequence, I was just an average high school wrestler that was always determined to do things my way against the grain.

I never placed in state, so no scholarships came my way, so without my family’s knowledge I enlisted in the U.S. Marines. It wasn’t til after a few years I then enrolled at Triton Community College and it was there when I finally tasted the success of hard work.

I ended up placing 4th in the nation as a wrestler and being honored to compete on the U.S. College world team in Olympic level competition in Greco Roman wrestling overseas once in Budapest, Hungary placing 4th and then the Grand Prix of Austria placing 6th.

It was from there I ended up placing 4th in nationals my sophomore year. I kept pursuing the dream by earning a scholarship to wrestle at Carson-Newman College. While in attendance there I took up judo to try to complete myself as a competitor.

While enrolled in college there I also took up Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and it was from there I also competed in my 1st tournament for the state title in Judo competing in the white belt to green, brown belt and won state titles there and runner-up in the black belt division.

I was immediately addicted to this new form of competition so I decided to try a street fight tournament in Morristown, Tennessee. It was my first taste of real violence in a an organized no rules event where I made it to the finals and I became permanently addicted.

It was after college I met Master Bob Schirmer of the All-American Academy and the Combat-Do system where I attained a black belt under his tutelage and I refined my basics in jiu-jitsu and my Greco-Roman wrestling combination.

I then shortly did my first cage fight in which I lost to a future UFC veteran Laverne Clark in just 9 seconds. I remember how I got TKO’d. In realizing I needed the stand up portion of martial arts afterwards took up american kickboxing for a brief stint then discovered a Mexican night club that held underground fights every Tuesday night for money.

I got invited to try it by a Cook County sheriff friend of mine and so I tried it and began fighting there regularly after my first fight lasted 45 minutes! It was after the initial introduction of this I then realized that I needed more training, so I sought out the help of the Chicago Police Officer/ Master Instructor Shihan Eddie Yoshimura of the Shidokan Karate organization.

I was intensely introduced to the very brutal execution of leg kicks and the Muay Thai method and the “old ways”. It was then I started to compete in the strange rules of the Shidokan. I learned bare knuckle karate, Thai boxing, and MMA.

The fight consisted of three rounds of the karate, then Muay Thai the next three rounds, then the last three rounds of MMA. The format was in an eight man tournament, with the potential of doing 27 rounds in one night!

It was time to win and lose in this type of venue. I lost my first tournament in the semi finals. The second tournament I was involved in was to be held right after my first UFC appearance vs. Brad Gumm. I was to be flown from Louisiana to Florida to compete and from that point I made it there just in time to get undressed in the cab and run up on stage to shortly after enter the ring to fight.

I fought three times the very next morning in Ft. Lauderdale at the War Memorial. I went from winning in the UFC the night before to fighting and making it to the finals of the Team USA Shidokan tournament. I lost the in the finals by TKO.

I just became so addicted to competition in trying to be the best and not losing. I was immersed in this type of lifestyle. I even tried to get involved in another underground fight in Miami in a bar while in Florida. The story of me can go on into detail for years, but the truth in absolute brevity, I went on to win multiple organizational world titles from across the country to around the world.

If you want more, help me publish the book to quench your thirst for MMA in the time of B.Z. and A.Z. (before Zuffa, After Zuffa). My name is Shonie Carter and these are my stories that go beyond the typical cage and family. Do you want more?

P.S. there is footage of my underground fights that are available for sale!

The “Mr. International” blog by Shonie Carter is part of ProMMAnow.com‘s ongoing series of exclusive content written by individuals involved in the mixed martial arts industry. Check back regularly for new blogs from Shonie. If you have a question for Shonie use the comment section below or send it to [email protected]. Follow Shonie on Twitter @ShonieCarter or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/shoniemrinternationalcarter.