Mixed martial arts is easy for Virgil Zwicker. 

Not easy as in unchallenging, but easy as in less grueling than what he is use to.

Virgil "Rezdog" Zwicker is a heavyweight currently competing under the Strikeforce banner. He will step in the cage tonight at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley against Brett Albee. Zwicker is a Native American who grew up on the San Pasqual Indian Reservation in Valley Center, California. The life wasn't easy and Zwicker knows that he didn't make it any easier on himself.

"The trials and tribulations I went through, were basically, I did it to myself," Zwicker told FiveKnuckles.com. "I was hanging out with older guys when I was kid."

His matters at home didn't help much either.

"For me, I came from a family of 12," Zwicker said. "I had five older brothers and six sisters. My father was a truck driver and my mother a homemaker, so it was very rough in the beginning. We were very, very poverty stricken. We had no running water, we lived in a little shack with all 12 of us in one room. We had to use porta-potties or go out back for the bathroom and boil hot water to take a hot shower. We really didn't take showers, we poured the water over our heads."

The tough times couldn't deter the beauty of the reservation though. Zwicker always loved the scenery out there, devoid of most city life. The family orientated life style present on the Indian Reservation appealed to Zwicker growing up. 

"It was great man," Zwicker said. "I wouldn't change it for the world, because it definitely made me who I am. I appreciate my family and my love for my family more than any materialistic thing in the world. Now I'm actually able to see life in a different perspective compared to some of the kids that are growing up now a days. They have everything on the table and a lot of opportunities. There was no opportunity for me growing up. The only thing I had to do was play basketball or football on the rez [reservation] and hang out with the bros. It was definitely an experience that I was glad I went through."

Most kids don't grow up like Zwicker did, they have opportunities to grow and thrive. They have activities to keep them occupied and out of trouble. Zwicker spent time in and out of jail from ages 11 to 24. Those boring days of nothing leads kids to actively seek out trouble and Zwicker was no different. He readily admits that he made a copious amount of errors growing up, but he still wouldn't change a thing. 

As Zwicker continued to weave in and out of trouble, he got led into mixed martial arts almost by accident. He was constantly fighting for pride or for safety on the streets, while his brother was out trying to make it in mixed martial arts. Fortunately, his brother got hurt a mere week or two before an upcoming fight. With few options available to him, he turned to Zwicker to step in as his replacement. While that one fight has led to a career for Zwicker, he knows it was a stupid decision in hindsight. 

"I didn't think; I did not think at all (when he accepted the fight)," Zwicker said. "At that moment in my life, I was living a crazy life. Fighting to me was fun; I loved to fight. I loved to fight anybody at any...