Coach Daniel Howard is a former Royal Marine Commando and a Muay Thai practitioner with a record of 8 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw with 2 bouts fought in Thailand. Unfortunately for us, this Englishman has recently secured his permanent residency, so we are stuck with him. Jokes aside, Dan is a well recognised S&C coach, and is highly experienced and qualified, holding a Cert III in Fitness, Cert IV in Personal Training, Cert IV in Marital Arts Coaching, as well as being a registered Muay Thai trainer with the Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board (also holding a Master Trainer Level 1). He has recently completed a Bachelors of Exercise and Sports Science.
Dan takes genuine pleasure in hurting training our fight team to reach their peak levels of performance and we are lucky to have him. Read on to find out more about Dan!
Nicknames & Fight Names?
Nickname- God. (We would like to attest that no one calls Dan this.)
Mantra/Quote to live by?
The last set is the easiest.
Tell us about your life growing up, what is your favourite memory from when you were younger?
Sleeping.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
It would be nice to get some sleep, so hopefully in 5 years time I will be able to have a nap.
Who is an inspiration to you, and why?
Randy Gardner- he currently holds the record for longest time without sleep.
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Pizza.
If you weren’t working in the Martial Arts industry, what would you be doing?
Sleeping.
What do you like to do to relax besides training?
Train other people.
If you were going to be an animal, what would you be and why?
A drop Bear- have you seen those things!!
What is your favourite travel destination? Why?
Japan- it’s awesome.
Besides martial arts, what else are you passionate about and why?
Strength and Conditioning- getting athletes to perform at their absolute peak is awesome!
Who are the kind of people that you look up to and why?
Anyone taller than 5ft8- Because i’m 5ft8.
When was the last time you did something new for the first time and what was it?
Last week I was wrong about something. That’s the first time that’s ever happened.
Have you done other sports besides martial art and which teams/athletes are your favourite? Any funny stories?
Judo (when I was 7). Still to this day Thiago and Nathan are actually scared of my junior Orange belt capabilities.
Have you ever worked a job not in the fitness/martial arts industry? What were the highlights and lessons you learned?
Don’t do it.
Is there a book you’ve read that has influenced your outlook on life or the way you approach certain situations or people?
Supertraining- The Strength and Conditioning bible.
During an Absolute MMA staff retreat a zombie apocalypse breaks out. You get separated with 3 AMMA team members. Who would be part your dream team and why?
Thiago, because we need some bait for the zombies. Herbertson, because we need someone organised and Darren, because he just walked past me and I couldn’t think of anyone else.
“Always has something sarcastic to say, but as an S&C coach he’s good and well informed.“ – Kyle Leung
“Never believe Dan when he tells you an exercise is “nice and easy” …. coz you know it’s a lie.” – Lisa Yu
“Great mate! Knowledgeable coach! Passionate about his work and craft! A massive supporter of the all blacks! And New Zealand pies! Brothers for life ?” – Moses Bentley
“Howard is probably the most knowledgeable teenager I’ve ever met. Always full of nothing but kind words and encouragement! Honestly, one of my cherished moments in life has quickly become the time he was smashed and telling me how much he appreciated me at the Christmas party. A memory I will keep forever… And keep reminding him of forever…”- Amit Narayan
“He makes you lift stuff even when you really don’t want to. I’ve never known anyone to motivate me as much as this guy… I’ve trained with him for over 4 years and he’s probably hands down the best S&C coach I’ve ever had. This guy is going places!” – Stephanie Scipione
“I guess he knows a little bit about exercise science. Not bad.” – Carmen He
“He’s alright.” – Chisaki Akiyama
“If you don’t know Dan, you might be inclined to believe he is constantly sleepy. Which he is, just a high functioning, sleepy individual. When you get to know Dan, he talks a lot of sh*t…just so you know…never take his word as gospel. It’s most likely a troll.” – Apryl Eppinger
“Dedicated trainer, who is always working overtime to ensure his fighters are in peak condition for their fights. On top of this, he is constantly completing new courses in strength and conditioning to expand his skill set.”- Liam McNeill