Meet Corey Williams | Mixed Martial Arts Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Corey Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Corey, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
People walk into the school looking for a lot of different things. Some want to be able to protect themselves, some appreciate the sport and want to learn it, and some just want their kids to be more confident or listen better. Those things all get accomplished, but the subtle, underlying value in martial arts is that it grounds people. When you are sparring or grappling, your mind is focused in a way that is hard to describe. Training makes you present. I mean, it makes you truly present. The connection to your mind, body, and the moment you are in is unique. That presence helps people. It has helped me. Life wears people down in many different ways. We all struggle and we all deal. Training pulls you away from all that. Fighting is my meditation. Stepping away from the rest of the world and getting to work and grow with a team helps us get through it all. I always feel better mentally stronger and clearer after training.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
There are a lot of martial arts schools out there. Mine is in Fountain Valley, CA and it is dense with competition. I have always felt that I offer the community a balanced style of education and training. See, on one end of the martial arts spectrum, there is the cage fighting focused, competition schools. On the other end, there are the arts focused schools that do katas and drills over actual sparring. My place lies in the middle. We are hands on. You would have a hard time coming to a class where we don’t work our freestyle fighting. The thing is, we look out for each other. We get hit but we are not breaking one another. Our goal is to build each other up as a team and give anyone the opportunity, regardless of athleticism, age, gender, or experience. Everyone can come in and learn applicable martial arts without having to worry about getting hurt. I had a lot of help getting to where I am. When I purchased the school from my old instructor, it was in a decent spot for a new business owner. It was at zero money. I was able to cover rent but I wasn’t turning a profit. This gave me a lot opportunity to push hard without the anxiety of mounting debt. I had a desk job that I worked mornings and early afternoons that kept me fed. I taught MMA late afternoons into the evening. It was a tough few years, but it made me stronger and hungry to not lose any progress I made. Eventually I was able to leave my second job and live off and focus on my business. That was a dream come true. The recipe for focus always seemed to be to keep going. Every time I lost students or had some kind of unforeseen hurdle, it hurt. The only response was to keep doing the best I could and wait for it to pay off. The perseverance got me past the hard months and into the better ones. My brand is about people having accessibility to good training. I think MMA can is intimidating, but if you walk into my school you can feel the energy is good. Anyone with a good attitude and good intent can come in and learn and better themselves.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The textbook recommendation for anyone visiting Orange County is Disneyland. I am not a fan, but I don’t like crowds and went enough as a kid. I do think anyone touring SoCal for the first time needs to go and see the mouse. Besides that, my focus is on food. We have a ton a diversity and deliciousness to choose from. There is Tacu Tacu, my go to Peruvian place that has the best Lomo Saltado. If you enjoy Thai food, Lemon Thai in Huntington Beach has the best curry I have tried. If you are into sushi, there is a small place with killer chefs called Gesshin.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shout out goes to Rob Spencer with Venture the Wild. Rob has been my friend and mentor since I was seven years old. He was my first martial arts instructor, later my employer, and eventually my business partner. He gave me the opportunity grow and train and carry on the legacy of the school he started back in ’97. Now, he is retired from MMA, but runs an outdoor/adventure website as well a non-profit called Heal the Land. He has always worked to bring people in the community together with the purpose of making his small corner of the planet a little bit better.

Website: www.williamsmma.com

Instagram: @williams_MMA

Facebook: @williamsmma

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/williams-academy-of-mma-fountain-valley