MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Most Hawaiian Saturday■s are spent relaxing, doing chores, or going to the beach. But that was not the case for one Kaneohe based Marine. His day consisted of weighing-in, fighting six people, consuming seven bottles of water and in the end receiving two medals.
Steven J. Byrnes, a martial arts instructor trainer at the Regimental Schools, was a competitive wrestler throughout high school, then after joining the Marine Corps became a black belt instructor in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.
Growing up in Brunswick, Ohio, as early as age 14, Byrnes■ friends told him he had talent in wrestling and he should try-out for his school■s wrestling team.
He made the team, as well as a name for himself in the sport. The first two years he competed, eighth-and-ninth grade, he won both his conference championships.
Throughout high school, Byrnes fought on the varsity level, receiving a wrestling letter each year in the 171 and189 pound weight classes.
Some athletes don■t take their sports as seriously once they graduate high school, but Byrnes has taken his zeal for fighting to totally new levels since he joined the Marine Corps shortly after graduation.
Although he still practices wrestling and martial arts, his most recent sports passion is grappling.
As a MCMAP instructor in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Byrnes ran into a Lieutenant who had studied submission fighting and saw talent in the eager young Marine. They began to practice grappling in the All Marine Corps Boxing Gym, and Byrnes quickly found himself enjoying the sport more and more.
Because of its complexity and combination of fighting techniques, grappling is one of the most intricate styles of martial arts.
Byrnes studied Ju Jitsu, free-style wrestling and kick boxing before competing in his first grappling tournament, Rumble in the Park, Greenville, North Carolina in 2002, where he placed second in his weight division.
His most recent accomplishment occurred Saturday, at the Hawaiian State Grappling Championship, sponsored by the North American Grappling Association and held at Wallace Rider Farrington High School.
Byrnes said he had three goals going into this tournament. He wanted to make it into the light-heavy weight class, place in the top three in the expert division and place first in the intermediate division.
Early in the morning his first goal was achieved, weigh-in was completed and he entered himself into the expert and intermediate divisions in the light-heavy weight class.
The day began with opening ceremonies and a brief about the styles and techniques that fighters would be able to perform during the championships. Once that was completed, the rumbles began.
Byrnes competed in three fights for both divisions, a total of six fights in one day. His first bout lasted less than one minute before his opponent submitted. Putting Byrnes in the semi-finals in the intermediate division. His next fight was less than 30 minutes later in the expert division. Although his opponent was more skilled than the last, in the end Byrnes walked away with the win.
He was now in position in the semi-finals in both divisions.
Shortly after his second fight, his name was called to the mat again. Six minutes later, the standard time for a submission-grappling match, Byrnes was congratulated on qualifying for the finals in the intermediate division.
But his luck ran out in the expert division. The day■s exhausting efforts began to show as he fought one of the tournaments most skilled athletes. Six grueling minutes later Byrnes walked away with his first defeat.
Byrnes explained he sees grappling as a test of ones own will.
■There are no other variables, just you and your opponent,■ he said. ■You can■t blame anyone else if you do bad. It shows you what your training has done for you and how good you as an individual are at the sport.■
Coming back into the intermediate finals with his friends and son Logan watching on the sidelines, Byrnes used his aggression from his previous loss to put on a good show for everyone. Although he was intense and precise with his techniques, when the time-towel was thrown, signifying the end of a match, his opponent■s hand was raised high in victory. The final score of the match was 7-6.
■I fell short of one of my goals■by one point,■ said Byrnes with a sigh, ■I should have won the intermediates.■
After being called to the mat one final time, Byrnes, and the opponent he just fought against in the intermediates, flipped a coin to decide which one of them would get third place in the expert category.
The day was over, two of three goals were achieved and Byrnes walked away with two medals. Second place in the intermediates and third in the expert.
■I am satisfied with my accomplishments,■ Byrnes explained. ■I do feel as though I could have done better, but I am happy with how it turned out.■
Byrnes plans on continuing to train and sharpen his skills for any upcoming tournaments. He believes he has a second place curse because he has a history of being runner-up. Only time will tell if he can overcome it, but he intends on fighting until he does.