I like to encourage people to give locally. It's easy to find and call a local no-kill shelter and see what specific things they need, and believe me, all of them are always in need of something.

Good cardio helps in any athletic practice, but in jujitsu, it has been very helpful late in a sparring session where a long roll starts to take its toll on your cardio.

Going vegan was a little tougher for me. The final push came from watching Gary Yourofsky's lecture at Georgia Tech in person. The video is now on YouTube. I constantly show it to people interested in learning about why I choose to live the way I do.

I've seen a big gain in cardio since I went vegetarian and even gained a little more going vegan.

It was not until months after going vegetarian that I started really learning about all of the health benefits.

The choice to become vegetarian was purely for ethical reasons. Like most meat eaters, I was a little concerned with removing meat from my diet. Also, like most meat eaters, I was blind to the horrible ways animals are treated.

There will always be haters out there, but my haters motivate me to push harder and kick more ass.