It’s Wednesday at 6:30pm and the W4R team has just finished hard rounds on a day they affectionately call ‘Murder Wednesday.’ Upon breaching the mat, you see Rainn Guerrero sitting on the bench with her back turned to the cage, a light steam radiating from her shoulders, the love of her life, Gypsy, sitting on her lap and satisfied exhaustion glaring on her face.
It’s the exhaustion you only feel in camp. Beyond the definition of tired, but simultaneously excited that today’s schedule is almost complete.
Padwork and/or miles still left to finish, but done with the only energy that’s derivative of devotion to the game and the aspiration for greatness. But what is greatness?
I remember meeting Rainn Guerrero for the first time in person at W4R Training Center. She walked up to me and my dog, Pua, and said “I’m Rainn” while her hands motioned like the rain drops (that of which can be referred to in her social media handles). I watched her train every day sculpting herself to the Rainn of today. 4-1 as a professional and now officially a flyweight. I specifically remember a social media post cerca summer 2020 saying “Rainn 2.0 coming soon.”
And the world met Rainn 2.0 soon thereafter.
Years ago, she was a 230 pound softball player in San Antonio and as of today, her weigh-in weight of 126 pounds makes her weigh loss at a 104 pounds. But more than that, was the discipline and the belief in herself and her team to become the Rainn of 2022.
When asked why she moved to Houston it was simple for her. “I knew I wanted to become a more well-round fighter and I had heard about W4R Training Center with this stable of women they were building, so I packed up my dogs and drove here.”
Making a life decision for a vision only foreseen in the mind takes a reckless, yet strategic abandonment for the comfort of average which then bleeds the character of bravery.
But even the bravest woman and find themselves in situations beyond their own recognition. 8 years ago, Guerrero found herself in a Netflix “You” situation at the mercy of jealous ex-boyfriend. Her intuition telling her the day seemed to be a day unlike any other, she asked a friend to stay with her for safety. As the both slept they woke to the commotion of someone entering through an open window. Her friend and ex tussle in an attempt to keep Rainn safe, but her friend was then grazed by a bullet to the face and now the barrel of the gun pointed directly in Rainn’s face. In the moments between thinking she was going to die and wanting to live, she grabbed the barrel from her face then he proceeded with 2 gunshots to the floor and 1 thru her leg.
He left her and her friend bleeding and he ran away on foot. He’s now serving 20 plus years in prison thanks to Rainn’s testimony.
A lot of weigh-loss journeys begin with wanting to be a healthier person, but being able to witness to the transformation of Rainn aesthetically and mentally has been like a Greek statue come to life;
all that has been imagined, sculpted, chiseled and thoroughly executed is now the reality of today.
In the Mixed Martial Arts journey, everyone’s road to and from is different, but with the same aspirations of greatness
But greatness is nothing more than a human hero doing things mortals only imagine. Structuring your life to fit not only your training schedule, but in many cases, to fit your dietary habits all while promoting your next battle and constantly sharpening your tools. Heroes are who we usually wait on to save the day, but sometimes, heroes truly don’t wear capes. When Rainn saved her own life, made the decision to move to a strange city for a dream and the consistency of her weigh-loss journey are all moments of her greatness. Greatness is making it thru every bad day you never thought you would and making it to the other side.
Sometimes, they wear a dry-fit uniform, braids and 4 oz gloves. Much like Rainn, the hero we’re waiting on is ourselves.
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