High School and Middle School students had a lesson in resiliency on Jan. 30 from former UFC fighter and motivational speaker Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman, part of both schools’ ongoing character education curriculum.
During four “Lessons from the Cage” assemblies, Mr. Brenneman — who took the nickname “The Spaniard” from his time as a junior high/high school Spanish teacher before entering the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) world — reminded students that resilience isn’t about how many hits someone can take before falling, but about the ability to recover and rise again. He told students that he lives by the “life is a fight” mantra popularized in the Rocky Balboa movie series.
“The Spaniard” opened up about his past, sharing stories of being bullied as a child and admitting that he never imagined he would become the person he is today. He described how those early struggles fueled his determination and ultimately inspired him to pursue wrestling in school.
But wrestling taught Mr. Brenneman that there was something more important than just winning medals.
“The biggest thing is loss,” The Spaniard said. “You will lose. It’s guaranteed. Wrestling taught me how to fail, how to feel absolute worthlessness. But, you’re not a ‘loser.’ You need to get back up…every time… put one foot in front of the other, and move forward.”
That lesson stayed with him into adulthood, even after he believed his time in sports had ended. After college, he became a Spanish teacher. Although the job provided stability, Mr. Brenneman eventually realized he was still searching for greater challenges.
That eventually led to a chance opportunity to compete and win on former Spike TV’s reality show “Pros vs. Joes” and later, UFC fighting.
Fighting in the UFC, against super tough competitors, he said, definitely reinforced “life is a fight.”
“You get knocked out on television, you can’t hide,” said The Spaniard, who shared video highlights of his career successes. But, it was more important for him to share video “lowlights” of his career...and they weren't pleasant.
“Your life will ‘ebb and flow’ and evolve,” he told students. “It isn’t about how you failed. If you’re at the worst of your worst, the one belief that matters is your belief in yourself. Fighting taught me how to lose on a big scale. There’s a freedom that comes with losing big, because you move forward with strength and resilience to persevere. You never quit, even if you’re at your lowest. Open up and be honest with people who care is one of the most valuable things you can do to help you get through anything.”
After setbacks and ultimately retiring from professional fighting, Mr. Brenneman turned to writing and speaking, sharing his story and lessons learned along the way in schools and prisons nationwide.
“Choices determine where you’ll go in your life,” The Spaniard said. “It’s important in life to find kind people and surround yourself with people who lift you up. You have a choice to be kind. You have a choice to be mean.”
Failure is unavoidable, he told them. Growth is a choice and everyone is capable of recognizing the strength they have from within to rise again. In other words: Resiliency is an important life skill that must be consistently used in everything one does. .
As a final example of resiliency, perseverance and determination, Mr. Brenneman shared the story of his brother Scott, who continues to fight glioblastoma after being diagnosed seven years ago.
“After seven surgeries, he’s made the choice to continue to move forward,” he told students. “Even on the bad days, he ‘keeps on keeping on.’ Life is a fight. How you fight that fight determines where you go and what you will do.”
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