JUSTIN RYAN HECKEL
Using Martial Arts to connect with God & Man.
Build your life. Build your community.
BOOKS
NEW BOOK LAUNCH - November 1
The Spiritual Warrior - NEW 2nd Edition
Most of my friends and activities were doing nothing toAs Jesus gave parables about farmers, “The Spiritual Warrior” references fighting as a picture to connect the natural and the spiritual.
This is a tool to be used on multiple levels. It reveals the link between truth in the natural realm and spiritual realm. The Spiritual Warrior is a devotional for fighters to get to know God in their everyday lives. It is a resource to be able to reach people in the fight world and to awaken them to the deeper truths behind warfare and martial arts. Often, participants in these events get known for being brutes, but they have skills and God given attributes far beyond the physical that can be proven to be gifts to serve God and our society.
Just as David, Israel’s greatest warrior, king, and the one whom God called “a man after His own heart”, used the strength that God gave him, so can you when you awaken the warrior spirit that is within us all. Learn to appreciate the gifts of the natural warriors, and let God reveal Himself through the life He has placed you in, as well as use your natural gifts to influence others for the better.
May God awaken the warrior spirit within you, for if we join in His sufferings we will surely share in His joys.
The Spiritual Warrior - Edition 1
ISBN-978-0-9831102-2-4
About eight years ago, I was in college and going through a bout
of depression. Most of my friends and activities were doing nothing to
build me up or push me forward. On top of that, all the activities I had
invested my energy in as a high schooler were non-existent at my
college, at least in forms that interested me.
I had a friend, Shayna, who knew what was going on. We had
grown up competing against each other in Bible quizzing, we would
write goofy songs and skits to do at church camp, and she had just
moved home from being at the same college. But one day she called me
and spoke about something that really caught my interest. “I know you
really miss wrestling,” she said, “and the fact that you have nowhere to
put that talent is probably half the reason you're depressed.” I knew she
was right, but the mention of that sparked something inside of me that
brought up a well of rage behind it. “I think I've got a place for you to put
that talent,” she continued. “It's called mixed martial arts.” She
proceeded to tell me about mixed martial arts, especially jujitsu because
it pertained to my wrestling. I recalled all the old Ultimate Fighting
Championships my buddies and I used to watch the nights before
wrestling matches. But Shayna ended with a very intriguing statement I
will never forget. “Justin,” she said, “this may sound weird, and you may
not believe me. But it's absolutely true. I have learned more about God
through fighting than anywhere else.” Part of me was very skeptical, but
I was hooked and had to find out.
The next break I had, I went to visit Shayna, and she started
teaching me some jujitsu. I was still skeptical about the God thing, but
my interest of being able to compete in something physical again really
peaked my excitement. I went back down to college and began looking
for teams, but apparently God was already using fighting to draw me to
Him.
The very first weekend I was back at college, I was working at a
boat show. Some local fights were being promoted; they had a ring set up
and some guys were doing some sparring and grappling. As I watched, I
critiqued. The guy in the booth next to mine was ex-military, so I asked
him if he knew anything about mixed martial arts. He started telling me
about the team he was with, that they were good, held most of the local
belts, and that his trainer was considered the best trainer for the city.
Over the next few weeks, he and I started hanging out more, but
truthfully my heart longed for him to invite me to training. It finally
happened, and from then on I was completely hooked. I would go to
training every chance I got, take in every video and book I could get my 10
hands on, and it was constantly on my mind. But the truly great part was
my team. I made friends quickly there, but joy was found in finding out
that it was a largely Christian bunch of guys who saw fighting as a
ministry to bond with one another and to pull others out of bad situations
like drugs and gang life. Many were also social workers. So this was like
a family where you could rough-house, get advice, and share life. But
even training was family oriented as the wives would come hang out and
a lot of their children would be running around. It was an honor and
pleasure to know, train with, and serve these guys.
During this time, God was also drawing me back to Himself
outside of training. I started spending multiple hours a day in God's Word
and prayer. I began knowing Him like I had never known Him. He
started waking me up in the middle of the night to pray or just dwell on
Him. Shayna's comment about God showing Himself through fighting
started ringing in my head again. And one day as I was getting ready for
training, I felt like He gave me a strange invitation, “Come train with
Me.” In retrospect, I see it is much like the way He dealt with His
apostles in the New Testament. He went out fishing with them before He
asked them to come with Him. From then on, He constantly revealed
Himself through training, techniques, relationships with trainers and
training partners, and books pertaining to the values of Martial Arts. He
has also used Mixed Martial Arts to build relationships in order to bring
people to Him. This may sound weird, and you may not believe me, but
it's absolutely true. God has taught me more about Himself through
fighting than anything else.
