Near the end of his nine-year stay, Brian asked leave of Master Choe to participate in the earth-wide Earth Kickboxing Federation as an amateur. He was granted leave, and he went on the circuit as an unpaid amateur. He knocked out his first three opponents in under 45 seconds each, and soon managers were swarming around him with offers of going pro. However, part of his deal with Master Choe was that he would accept no pay. He skyrocketed to the upper echelons of the EKF and soon he was lined up for a title shot. Him, the undefeated amateur in a pro's world, with a 16-0-0 record, against the current champion, a young man and a member of one of the most elite fighting families in the galaxy, 44-1-1 Scott Shamrock. He walked in an unknown with no money and no supporters. He walked out the undisputed and undefeated World Junior Kickboxing Champion. A marine recruiter who happened to see the match accosted him afterwards and Brian jumped at the chance to be in the marines. He took his final leave of Master Choe and leaving the Academy, the Kickboxing Federation, and the title "World Champion" behind, he went straight into Marine Boot Camp. He knew he would specialize in hand-to-hand combat and of course excelled at it. He left a huge impression on instructors even where his reputation preceded him. But he knew enough of fighting; he breezed through the one-year camp, and he went out of the training camp and straight onto the USS Avenger, a small-time patrol ship in systems near earth, that spent it's time chasing down small time pirates. She had little use for marines. He worked his way up to Staff Sargeant through diligence in carrying out orders and through excellence in the small combats they engaged in. But he realized, while he loved the thrill of fighting, he knew he had more talents than your average career warrior. He thought he knew what he wanted to be, and there was only one way to be sure. He went back to Earth and enrolled in Starfleet Academy. He billed it as a leave of absence from the Marines, after all, he had no need to burn his bridges; but by the time he was a semester into the Academy, he was sure. He went through the academy, centering his studies around tactical. It was here where he was exposed to many of his more intellectual traits; all three of his instruments, and his interest in literature. He graduated, hardly with honors but with decent grades, in early 2376. Technically, he is still a marine as he has two years left on his required tour of duty but he considers himself solely a Starfleet officer now.

Brian loves to fight. He has ever since he was a small child. He is proficient in Kendo, Kyudo, Judo, Muay Thai Kickboxing, and Bak Fu Pai Flying Tiger System Kung Fu. He is a former World Junior Kickboxing Champion on Earth, and he considers himself, quite arrogantly, to be among the greatest human hand-to-hand fighters in the galaxy. Outside of fighting, however, the arrogant airs drop. And many of his interests do indeed lay outside of fighting, as he is quite intellectual for an ex-marine. He plays the violin, the piano, and the bass guitar. He is also interested in literature, particularly a wide range of novels from 1930-2100. He is similarly very interested in music from this era, especially in a very obscure variety of rhythmic music from the late 20th century he calls "hip-hop." He insists it was a relatively short-lived fad in music between the years 1979 and 2030. Such claims are hard to verify. He will, however, perform an example of this unique brand of music for anyone who asks. It is quite disparate from any modern music. He also enjoys chess. He is a decent 3D chess player but his strength lies in the more obscure ancient earth game of standard chess that is played on a two-dimensional board, at which he considers himself a master. While in a technical sense, more moves and strategies are possible on a 3D board, he insists the original game is much deeper not only in the sense of the psychological engrossment of the players but in the conception and execution of strategy.