The professional kickboxer and Willow Glen resident moved slowly, back and forth, sizing up his opponent, Mike Baldwin. Then Owens struck, with a knee to the stomach. Baldwin's body winced, a visible moment of breathlessness. Baldwin stepped to regroup.

When the fight was over, Owens won by unanimous decision. But it didn't come easy on that October night.

"I had really bad anxiety before the fight," he says. "It's harder fighting at home than on the road. Family is constantly calling you and they all want the knockout."

This was the first time Owens didn't win by a knockout. He now has five wins under his belt. He hasn't lost a match yet. In 2000 he was crowned Northern California Golden Gloves Champ.

Owens turned professional kickboxer three years ago, so he knows the ropes. Yet during his most recent fight on Oct. 21 confusion reigned.

His regular corner in the ring was switched and there were changes made to the length of the rounds, from three to two minutes.

"We had been training for three-minute rounds," says Owens' coach, Derek "TNT" Yuen.

The extra time allows Owens to strategize, to analyze his opponent and determine how much energy he should conserve for the next round.

"We didn't find out until a couple hours before the fight that the rounds were going to be two minutes rather than three, so we had to scramble to improvise," Yuen says.

Owens' teammate and longtime friend Travis Johnson was one of the individuals in his corner during the fight.

"Gary usually breaks down his opponents," Johnson says. "He took a few punches but in the end, he took the fight."

"I came in slow, but by the third round, I was alive," Owens says.

This is not the first time Owens' adaptability has been put to the test. Owens' life outside the ring has been equally challenging.

Family tradition

Owens was introduced to boxing by his family. His cousins were part of the Romero family boxers who became local favorites in the 1980s.

"Dropping their names helped open many doors for me," he says. "The name made people take notice. Boxing was already in my blood."

Owens says that he always wanted to box but there weren't any quality boxing gyms in the early 1990s so he took tae kwon do classes at West Coast World Martial Arts School to keep in shape after high school. This led to an interest in kickboxing or Muay Thai as it is known in Thailand.

"With kickboxing, you use your hands as well as your knee and elbow," Owens says. "Kickboxing is more versatile. You have more weapons to choose from. With boxing, I feel suffocated."

He was introduced to Javier Mendez, a professional kickboxer who had started his own gym. Owens left West Coast to begin his training as both a boxer and kickboxer with Mendez at his American Kickboxing Academy in 1993. In 2000, he met Yuen, who is his coach.

Owens is Yuen's first fighter in California. Owens is also Yuen's first exclusive fighter.

"Through the coach-fighter relationship, we became good friends," Yuen says.

Yuen, originally from Milwaukee, was primarily a kickboxer. Now, the kickboxer-turned-coach works with 20 kickboxers in addition to Owens.

He points out that when he began working with Owens, he was a strong boxer, but his kicking lagged.

"I helped him through that," he says. "He's a pretty athletic guy; quick learner. He has a quick response to coaching, which is very important in the sport."

Yuen says that although they have two relationships, in the gym Owens is always respectful.

This respect was apparent from the beginning.

"In one of my first conversations with Gary, he told me that he had a job, worked out at the gym, had four kids and taught kickboxing. I asked how he dealt with all that and his answer was, 'It's not easy; I do the best I can, but at the end of the day, I feel it's going to make me a better man.' That really struck me. That was the first thing that told me he's a good man," Yuen says.

That dedication was also apparent to Mendez, whom Owens sees as a father figure. Owens came to him in 1993 when he was only 18.

"Gary was the type of kid that felt there's no challenge he can't beat," Mendez says. "What he didn't have in natural talent, he made up for with his work ethic."

Owens' dedication and focus to both his family and career are great examples of his prioritizing his time, Mendez says. "Other kickboxers can learn from him."

Mendez adds, "Gary is a perfect student that takes the fight to a new level without causing headaches to his coach. He's self-sufficient. He gives 100 percent all the time, and he doesn't bring his baggage to the ring."

Teammate Johnson, who has known him since the start of his career, agrees with Mendez.

"He's a great teammate," Johnson says. "He's supportive and pushes all of us at the gym. We train about five to six days a week for two to three hours a day."

Johnson describes Gary as "strong for his size."

Work and family

Being tough was an early lesson for Owens. At the age of 5, he had to deal with his father's suicide and help his mother, who was seven months pregnant. Suddenly, the 5-year-old Owens was the man of the house.

"He carried many responsibilities on his shoulders since he was 5," says Owens' mother Louise Owens, who was widowed at 23.

"After his father died, kids at school and family members were telling him that he would have to take care of his sister and me."

Suddenly, the boy had many responsibilities. After the birth of his sister, Mary Tomasine Owens, he helped raise her while his mother worked.

"He was more of a father to her than a brother," Louise Owens says.

At the age of 7, Owens was telling his mother that he needed to get a job, that he wanted to be an army man.

"He worried about that all the time," his mother says. " Finally, he said to me, 'Mom, I can't do it anymore, I'm just a kid. I'm not old enough to go to the army and I'm too little to drive to get to work.' It tore me apart."

At age 13 Owens had his first paying job at a 7-Eleven.

He concedes it was tough growing up without his father.

"After school or after football practice, it was difficult seeing my friends with their dads and realizing I didn't have one," Owens says.

Seeing everything that he and his sister didn't have convinced Owens never to allow that to happen when he became a father.

"It sits in my mind," he says, "the fear of leaving my children. I don't want to be absent like that."

Those early life lessons are why he "devotes" myself to his children.

"Gary is a great father," his mother says. "He tries to provide them with everything he didn't have as a kid growing up. It's important for him to know that they will not have to go through what he did."

That sense of loyalty and commitment also extends to his teammates and friends as well.

"He's a very determined and focused, whether as a fighter or a father," Johnson says.

Into the future

As he looks to the future, Owens wants to get back into the gym as a kickboxing instructor. He recently took a hiatus from teaching to spend more time with his children.

"Gary had been a kickboxing instructor for 10 years at my gym," Mendez says. "He's one of our more popular instructors. His classes are always full."

Owens taught self-defense, fitness training and kickboxing classes to both children and adults at the American Kickboxing Academy.

"I've seen him teach," Johnson says. "He applies that great technique he has perfected on his students."

"He's an amazing instructor," says teammate Valerie Evans. Owens was her instructor when she first started. "His students love him."

She appreciates the way Owens instructs. He is consistent, pointing out the mistakes made, Evans says.

"Many other gym instructors don't correct you," she says. "He enjoys helping people learn."

Owens also has reflected on his future dreams.

"When I'm done, I want to have my own gym with a strong kids' program," he says. "I'm 32 years old and relatively healthy but I won't be fighting forever."

Owens envisions a place where children can come and train their bodies as well as their minds.

"I've even thought about having tutors at the gym to help the kids out with their schoolwork," he says. "I want kids to leave my gym being well rounded athletes, both physically and mentally."

Training new fighters, however, is not something Owens plans to include in his gym.

"I could be a starting point for amateurs, but I will direct them to a coach."