GRAPPLING Q & A with World double-champion Lisa Ward

Lisa Ward has become one of the stars of the USA Grappling program. She won a gold medal on the first U.S. Grappling World Team, when she captured the title at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. at the World Wrestling Games in Antalya, Turkey in 2007. She returned to the top of the international level in 2008, becoming the only American to win a double-title at the World Grappling Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she won gold medals in No-Gi and Gi Grappling.

Ward was a high school wrestler in Washington State, and competed in women's freestyle wrestling for Missouri Valley College. She has also been a high school wrestling coach. Ward got into Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts in Washington and now owns her own gym.

TheMat.com: What age did you start wrestling and where? Tell us about your high school career.
Ward: I started wrestling in the seventh grade at 13 years old. I was a varsity wrestler on the boy's team from 8th to 12th grades. In my senior year in 2001, I placed second in the Districts and was a 4A State Championships qualifier.

TheMat.com Tell us about when you wrestled for briefly at Missouri Valley College on its women's team.
Ward: I wrestled for Missouri Valley College right out of high school. I placed eighth at U.S. Women's Senior Nationals and earned All-American honors. Then I left school because I wasn't making good decisions or being a good student.

TheMat.com: You said you took a year off and let yourself go. Were you tired of wrestling? Did it take the break to make you realize that you loved it?
Ward: I just lost focus. I had been sheltered my entire life and when high school was over and I was on my own, I didn't know how to balance everything.

TheMat.com What made you want to get back into combat sports?
Ward: I gained about 30-40 pounds and hated it. I started coaching at my little brother's high school, and after the season I started kickboxing and Grappling. I started training at Charlie Pearson's in Everett, Washington.

TheMat.com In the future, women like you will be pioneers in the combat sports world. You were around for the beginning of women's wrestling, Grappling and MMA. What do you hope will be different going forward?
Ward: I just hope the popularity keeps rising and someday Grappling can be in the Olympics. In MMA, I hope women can have a lineup of weight classes full of girls, with an organization like the UFC backing them.

TheMat.com: You have been on both women's Grappling World Teams and have come home with the gold both times. This year you were Team USA's only No-Gi and Gi champ. How did you prepare for this event?
Ward: This year, I have the pleasure of being the Assistant Coach at Capital High School in Olympia, Wash. This allowed me to train with the wrestlers and refine my wrestling techniques. I also grappled regularly with my fight team, United Fight Team, the No. 1 team in the Northwest. I am glad I competed in both styles and pleased I won.

TheMat.com: Do you plan on trying out for the team again?
Ward: Yes… until I can't walk on the mat, I will be around.

TheMat.com Tell us about the gym you opened.
Ward: I own United Training Center with my fiancé Eddy Ellis. We have been open about two and ½ years and started in our 400 square-foot garage. We started as United Fight Team and somehow it ended up as a business. We trained in a 1,800 square-foot warehouse for the first two years and then moved to our current 5,300 square-foot location. We offer Grappling, kickboxing, kids MMA and a conditioning class. We are open six days a week. Eddy and I run everything on our own. We have about 100 members and have a lot of support from the Army and the soldiers at Fort Lewis. Our address is United Training Center, 7619 Martin Way E, Olympia WA 98516

TheMat.com: How does it feel to have your own gym?
Ward: It is a lot of hard work and a lot of uncertainties, which creates a lot of stress. Overall, it is the dream because, in the end, everything will be worth all the sacrifices! Many times Eddy and I wanted to quit but we never gave up on each other and that is truly what makes it rewarding when we have success. We are making it together.

TheMat.com:What are your athletic goals for the future? What's on the horizon for you?
Ward: I want to win the Olympics in Grappling!! My dad wants a Gold medal and I want to give him that. He always wanted me to get one in wrestling so grappling will hopefully be a new sport in the future. I would also like to do a women's Fitness or Figure competition.

TheMat.com: We hear wedding bells are in the future for you and Eddy Ellis. Are there plans for a family or are athletics still the top priority?
Ward:Yes, we are getting married, but we are not sure when. We have family out of the country on both sides, so probably not until 2010. Maybe in the summer? We'll have kids sometime after we are married and have a house. I want to provide the best for my kids, just like my parents did for me. Athletics will always be a top priority in our lives, with or without kids.

TheMat.com: What did you think about Switzerland? What did you think about the World Grappling Championships?
Ward: I thought Switzerland was very pretty. When we arrived, the snow was kind of what I expected. It was so pretty. I was so glad there were more countries competing this year. The production of the event was great. They had us on an elevated floor with three mats. Each mat had a big screen TV with the names of the competitors and the score. I wish they would have played the national anthem of the gold medalists country during the medal ceremony. It was awesome, though. The hotel was very interesting. It was very college dorm-like. My roomie Miesha Tate made it work and we ended up having fun with it. There were no clocks, so the church bells would chime and we would all get quiet and count the number of times it rings to see what time it was. Our rooms had no clocks, TV, radio… nothing but beds and bathroom. Ahhhh… good times!