Metro Roundup: Homewood’s David Clark starts as pro MMA fighter

When he wasn’t reading manga, studying or drawing in the library at his middle school, David Clark could be found reading about martial arts.

Clark trains and coaches at Spartan Fitness, a martial arts and fitness gym in Homewood that teaches various fighting styles, including muay thai, boxing and jiu jitsu.

He started learning everything he could about martial arts while in middle school, starting with “The Tao of Jeet Kune Do” by Bruce Lee, which outlines the first mixed martial art created by Lee.

“I was the type of guy in school who, if we didn’t finish the textbook or the lesson, I’d read the whole textbook,” Clark said. “I did the same thing when it came to martial arts.”

The library at his middle school had several books on different fighting styles that piqued his interest, including judo, karate and boxing, he said.

After years of training and amateur fights, Clark made his debut as a professional fighter, defeating fellow featherweight fighter Rae Thomas in the B2 Fighting Series on Aug. 28.

Clark won the fight in the first round with a finishing time of 2:23. He said he was able to take advantage of Thomas’ weak ground game and get him on the floor, where Clark was able to attack and get the referee to stop the fight.

While in school, Clark’s newfound interest in martial arts gave him an opportunity to learn to defend himself, he said. He said he struggled with bullying from an early age, but martial arts taught him not only to defend himself but also not to care about how other people perceive him.

He said there was one bully in particular who picked on him mercilessly in school. When Clark was prepared to fight his bully, he asked him why he always picked on him, he said.

He discovered that the bully was threatened by his demeanor, accusing Clark of thinking he was better than everyone else, he said. He learned, through martial arts, not to care about how other people perceive him and also how to express his “freedom,” he said.

Clark said he learned from Lee that the most difficult thing for people to do is to express themselves freely at that moment, without worrying about impressing people, as well as being mindful.

“The more freedom you have, the more conflict you’ll have in life,” Clark said. “To learn how to master conflict and be comfortable with it is learning how to master your freedom.”

Conflict is inevitable and permeates every part of life, he said. Martial arts is being comfortable with threats, not just physically but also through identity — such as racism, Clark said.

“That’s what martial arts is all about and what solving problems is about,” Clark said. “To be aware of your surroundings and to implement yourself accordingly.”

Clark’s passion transferred from the library to his local boxing gym in his hometown of Gadsden, where he was also able to practice his karate footwork he learned from watching YouTube videos, he said.

“With the Tao of Jeet Kune Do, you have to be aware of the pitfalls of each style,” Clark said. “In karate, you don’t have any hands. In boxing, you have hands.”

Martial arts, to me, is a way to show people that if you give yourself time and effort to master yourself, you can do all kinds of things.

DAVID CLARK

Soon after, he was competing in boxing, wrestling and jiu jitsu, all at the same time, he said.

Clark said he is fascinated by the world by and large and sees martial arts as a way to see the world differently.

It has exposed him to different Eastern philosophies as well as different schools of thinking from different cultures and how they are expressed, he said.

For example, a principle of jiu jutsu is to “bend but not break,” he said. Another is from Tibetan Buddhism and its three levels of generosity: material generosity, time and fearlessness.

Fearlessness is a way of giving people a different view of how to “obtain the world,” Clark said.

“People will come to me and tell me that they’re not strong enough to do martial arts, don’t have the mental fortitude to defend themselves, make themselves fit or learn new things,” Clark said. “Fearlessness is teaching people that through their actions and their time, they can do that.”

Martial arts teaches people to be in command of their thoughts when they are under threat, and this can’t be done alone, which is what makes it “beautiful,” Clark said.

“It’s been around for thousands of years,” he said. “The things I’ve learned have been passed down from generation to generation from other people. You have to open your mind and accept that you don’t know things. When you accept that you don’t know things, you can’t be a jerk.”

Clark is currently preparing for his next fight and to launch his new program, the Blue Belt Initiative, he said. The Blue Belt Initiative will teach personnel from different police departments in Jefferson County the fundamentals of jiu jitsu with the general populace at Spartan Fitness, he said.

“Martial arts, to me, is a way to show people that if you give yourself time and effort to master yourself, you can do all kinds of things,” Clark said. “Martial arts is like a thermostat to show you that principle.”