""Gumby". The nickname started during Alan's high school days while running for the track and field team, though it got resurrected when Marques picked up jiu jitsu later in life. Alan was very flexible, and used his flexibility to slip out the many submissions that were thrown his way. In one particular rolling session, Alan got the entire academy watching the action, but being relatively new to the gym, many didn't know his name. While cheering, his teammates yelled out names such as "Mr. Fantastic", "Plastic-Man", "Springerman" (which was what Ralph Gracie called Alan at the time), but it was Gumby really stuck to the crowd. From then on, he became known as Gumby."