Disability not a factor for mixed martial artist

Despite having no hands Kyle Maynard, right, 23, of Atlanta use both of his remaining arms to hold a pen to autograph his book "No Excuses" for students at Lee-Scott Academy after speaking to students in third through 12th-grade Tuesday, April 21, 2009, in Auburn.

By: Donathan Prater Staff Writer | Opelika Auburn News
Published: April 22, 2009

He might make his opponent tap out. He may even make a little history along the way while doing it.

But the one thing you’ll never find Kyle Maynard making is an excuse.

That was the point Maynard, 23, shared with third through 12th-grade students at Lee-Scott Academy Tuesday morning.

Maynard, a native of Suwanee, Ga., was born with a rare condition called congenital amputation and as a result has no elbows or knees.

Despite that fact, Maynard has gone on to enjoy an athletic career in high school participating in both football and wrestling, even competing in the 2004 Georgia High School Wrestling Championships and later receiving the ESPN Espy Award that same year.

Life lessons about perseverance and determination were instilled in Maynard from the time he was 2 years-old.

“My parents (Scott and Anita Maynard) always raised me to believe that I was capable of doing anything anyone else could,” Maynard said as he spoke to the full gymnasium of students. “They taught me not to make excuses for what I couldn’t do, but reasons for all the things I could do.”

What Maynard, who has also authored a memoir titled “No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life,” will be doing Saturday night at the Auburn Covered Arena is making his MMA (mixed martial arts) fighting debut, something he has been training rigorously for the past few years.

Having reached a number of athletic and personal milestones already, a common question he gets concerning his decision to compete in mixed martial arts is “why”?

“Some people don’t want to see this happen. They think I’m doing this just to get attention,” said Maynard. “But I’m doing this to test myself. To me this is the ultimate physical and spiritual test.”

If his past performances in competition are any indicator, it should be a test he passes with flying colors.

“I just want these students to understand that in life, the things we want the most and are most valuable are often the hardest to obtain,” he said. “You have to fight for those things and not allow the doubt of others to creep into your dreams.”