Revolution Mixed Martial Arts Blog

2009-11-23T18:32:00.004-06:00

MMA WARRIOR!

CHAMPION'S PARTY AT NOVA HQ IN RIO

NOVA UNIAO'S DEMENTE WINS ABSOLUTE AT SUL AMERICANO!

2009-11-20T18:33:00.001-06:00

Aldo gives back to the community.......

Nova Uniao Black Belt Jose Aldo, WEC Featherweight World Champion

2009-11-19T09:22:00.003-06:00

ALDO DETHRONES BROWN FOR THE WEC FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE!

LAS VEGAS -- Jose Aldo looked almost invincible in his two-round dismantling of World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown in the WEC 44 “Brown vs. Aldo” main event on Wednesday at the Palms Casino Resort.

Brown, gunning for his third successful title defense, ran into a Brazilian buzzsaw and simply never got in gear.

Aldo used perfect distance, coupled with powerful leg kicks and laser-like punches, to keep Brown guessing from the outset. The Nova Uniao standout executed at will. Brown attempted a few takedowns early, but Aldo sprawled effectively. When the two featherweights drew close, Aldo either slammed the American’s legs with vicious kicks or ripped crunching knees into his midsection.

Just before the end of the first round, a knee to the stomach appeared to steal Brown’s breath, but the defending champion dropped to his knees and clinched onto the challenger’s legs until the horn sounded. Although Brown escaped, he was far from out of the woods, and Aldo’s firepower wilted the defending 145-pound titleholder early in the following stanza.

Aldo stuffed a takedown, and during a scramble, Brown lost his balance, allowing the Brazilian to move into a dominant position. Brown tried to return to his feet, but Aldo was relentless and immediately seized his back. In the blink of an eye, Aldo had Brown flattened and trapped, turning him into an easy target. Aldo left nothing in the hands of the judges and unloaded a furious assault to the sides of Brown’s head. Dozens of punches -- some of them clean, some of them blocked -- rained down, and referee Steve Mazzagatti had no choice but to step in and end the mugging. The end came 1:20 into the second round.

JOSE'S LAST TRAINING SESSIONS

2009-11-17T22:43:00.004-06:00

PANTHER WRESTLING
We're proud of the Panther's Wrestling Team tonight. These guys have come a long way from when they first stepped on the mats six weeks ago. We had a good weight assessment at the Arkansas Wrestling Academy tonight and most the guys are within just a few pounds of their minimum weight class for the season. The work threshold we've been training day in and day out and focus on a healthy lifestyle as paid off and the guys know they can overcome any adversity. Abby and I also got assessed. We'd never have anyone go through something we wouldn't do ourselves. We found out we're dead on with the weight classes we've been competing at. My minimum wrestling weight was my exact competition weight dead on. I have faith in our method and we're gearing up and fine tuning for our first meet of the season Dec 17th. Be sure and support the team. They deserve it and I hope everyone can find a little inspiration from them.

CLASS
Chris, Wes and David worked to cover things at the academy while we were at the assessment. We've got some exciting new sequences we begun this week, which really emphasize some important tactics and concepts you don't want to be without. Be sure to take advantage of every possible opportunity to get on the mats this week. This is the only way to success and ultimately you have to take the step to overcome the obstacles in your way.

EXTRA SATURDAY TRAINING
For this Saturday's training session, we'll be taking a trip to one of our affiliate academies to get some extra mat time in with a different group of athletes. This can be a great tool to improve your game and should be taken advantage of at every opportunity! The guys you train with day in and day out know your game and you know theirs. A lot of times some different guys can help you really test your game and sharpen your overall skill. We'll be announcing all the details for the remainder of the week in class and expect as many team members to get involved as possible.

NEW TEAM SITE
I wanted to turn everyone on to the new team site that's up and running. There you'll find the history of the team, the latest news, interviews and upcoming events for the team!

NOVA UNIAO USA

2009-10-26T01:10:00.007-05:00

It's been a great weekend. We had a great time at the Benton Fights October 24. Grant and Wes won their superfights. Brandon won his Muay Thai Fight. We were really glad to see Justin Wolff step up and fight Brandon. Brandon's the 2007 Amateur Muay Thai World Champion and at the 2009 Arnold Classic he picked up 3 titles: San Shou, Muay Thai and International Rules Kickboxing. His last 3 opponents have backed out of the fight the day of, but Justin from Prathet Muay Thai showed up to fight and both of those guys put on a great show. It' was a great main event and thanks to all fighters, sponsors and friends.
Keep up the good work everyone.

Revolution was proud to host Robson Moura 7 x World BJJ Champion in for a seminar. We had grapplers in attendance from over 8 gyms all over Arkansas and Louisiana along with the Benton Panthers Wresters for the Takedown series. He taught a great wrestling series along with some guard passes and he spent time grappling with every student.

Congrats to those who received rank:

Tony and Lewis from Hot Springs moved to 4th Degree White Belt. These guys have been training hard but have also served as fixtures and leaders in our Hot Springs Gym. We are proud of their progress.

In Benton,
Charlie moved on to a 3rd Degree White Belt.
Grant moved to 1st Degree Blue Belt
David Moved to 2nd Degree Blue Belt
Bobby was promoted to Blue Belt

Bobby stood out as the most dedicated student for his fight. He trained every day and lost 25 lbs for his fight. After being promoted to 4th Degree White Belt some time ago, Bobby has stepped up his training and prepared himself for blue belt. We are proud of him for showing dedication in his training and for showing an example for others to follow.

Congratulations to all on your hard work.

Robson is down with our furry friends.

Finally, I am most excited to announce that our new custom cage wall project has finally arrived. We should be installing it this week along with the new heavy bags and then we will further upgrade the kickboxing equipment to finish my "master plan".
Also some other equipment is coming for the Muay Thai and BJJ people, but I'm not telling!

Finally, Our kids classes are growing like crazy. I'd like to recognize all of you on your hard work. I've seen quite a few of you kids improve your grades, confidence and skill here lately as well as make progress in other areas. Keep up the good work as we work hard for this next testing.

See you in class.

2009-10-18T21:52:00.000-05:00

2009-10-09T22:40:00.002-05:00

It's been a great week everyone, and I've really enjoyed our training. I've ordered something special for the KB class and it should be here this upcoming week!!! Can't wait! When it gets in we'll probably need your help with installation!

We also have new T-shirts coming. They will be like the last charcoal grey full color shirts we had which were very popular. Also on the order will be track jackets in limited quantities so pre order yours today.

Fighters, keep up the good work and stay focused this week. It's also important to mention that we appreciate everyone who has come to class this week and helped the fighters. This is a team effort and training partners are very important in the success of the team. Thanks everyone.

Finally I'd like to recognize the following people who have lost considerable amounts of weight using their Revolution diets and training programs and also gotten in great shape:

Scott has lost 40
Bobby has lost 25 lbs
Austin has lost 20 lbs

Great job guys keep it up.

2009-10-06T22:48:00.002-05:00

I ordered something really special for the gym today and I can't wait. It should be here in a week or 2!

Stephen looked good sparring tonight and Scott said we had a great class in HS.

Remember the Benton fights are getting close and I'm very excited about this card.

See you in class!

2009-09-23T22:18:00.002-05:00

It's been hard to blog because my hand is so injured....but I am so stoked about the fights. Everyone's been training hard, we're adding more classes at Revolution and all students look great!

We should also have a very special announcement for the fights coming soon! I can't wait.
Don't forget, train hard the rest of this week.

Kickboxing test Saturday at 12 in Benton and eats after!

2009-09-19T10:51:00.002-05:00

Remember rally tonight at the Judge's place. Email, call or txt us to let us know you're coming so we have enough seats.

2009-09-16T00:33:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited about this upcoming show. We'll have a lot of new and seasoned fighters showing off their skills.
Come support your local fighters, gyms and Wrestling!

In class we've announced some upcoming Kickboxing workshops. We'll have some MMA stuff coming soon.
We've got more gear order and equipment orders coming soon.
Don't forget our Saturday Eats!

Everyone's training hard this week so far, keep it up and eat healthy and stay clean so you don't get the swine flu!
Stephen and Brandon looked awesome sparring today!

Welcome the new folks to the team as you see them.

2009-09-12T21:17:00.003-05:00

Everyone looked good at the BJJ workshop today. Congrats to those who earned Rank:

Joe 1st Degree White
Ward 2nd Degree White
Bobby 4th Degree White

Remember:
Monday extra Early BJJ class in Benton!

Nice to see the fighters training hard, keep up the good work!

2009-09-10T22:45:00.003-05:00

Keep up the hard work everyone. Remember Starting Monday in Benton we have an extra BJJ class! It will be just like our Wednesday Class format, and the same time. We will also keep our evening class after Kickboxing, giving you 2 opportunities to train that evening.

BJJ Testing and Seminar this weekend, Saturday at 12. See you there.
Obviously Noon class is cancelled due to seminar.

2009-09-02T23:22:00.001-05:00

I have ordered something very special for the Kickboxers! I hope it's as awesome as I expect it to be.

Also Congratulations to Jory for Earning his 3rd Degree Black belt in Japanese Jujutsu!
Congratulate him by grabbing his wrist!

Remember
No Class in HS Friday or Monday
There WILL be class in Benton Saturday but NOT on Monday!

2009-08-31T22:02:00.005-05:00

Well, we trained hard last week. Sorry for the lack of updates the fan on the computer went out and I neglected to do some updating while at the school.

Kids had a fun time learning Japanese Jiu Jitsu during their awards ceremony.
Adults are training hard. Our next big event will be our MMA Fights and we have a great group of fighters training hard. Everyone's getting in a lot of work in advanced class and the extra grappling classes are giving more mat time as well.
Remember starting in September we'll have more classes in Benton for Kids and Adult BJJ. Also beginning this week we've added more days in Hot Springs. See you in class!

Grant was kind enough to go to Memphis this weekend and do an exhibition. He did a great job.

We have some upcoming seminars within the next few months. Dates are being announced in class.

** Remember **
We are closed in Hot Springs this FRIDAY AND MONDAY!
We are closed in Benton MONDAY!

Keep training hard everyone!

2009-08-20T22:41:00.003-05:00

Great kids testing today. Everyone's technique looked sharp! We'll have our awards next Thursday in class at 5:00. I will also plan a Japanese Jiu Jitsu day next week. I am glad that all of you kids enjoy cross training. Being a well versed Martial Artist is important as the lessons you learn from one style, along with the concepts carry over in to other aspects of your training.

Sparring was good today in advanced class. We did a lot of situational drills to help everyone work on different aspects of sparring. Grappling was great as well.

Saturday training at 12:00. See you there!

2009-08-19T22:43:00.004-05:00

Great news everyone. We'll soon be adding another night of classes in Hot Springs to accommodate our expanding program. We'll be adding a Tuesday Kickboxing, Sparring and BJJ session. The date of the new class will be announced soon along with details. I'm very pleased to be adding these classes. While our school is relatively new in HS, It continues to grow. Wes has been doing a great job on Mondays.
Please remember proper equipment is required for attendance to your classes.

Please also do not forget after Labor Day we are adding another BJJ class in Benton to accommodate that growth.
We're also training this Saturday in Benton.

Everyone did great in classes tonight. The Kids in Benton worked hard on takedowns and drills along with the adults.
Wes did a great job in the Kickboxing class. It's good to see all of the old and new faces back in!
In Hot Springs we worked on some different takedowns as well as some other essential techniques.

Keep up the good work as we prepare for our next events.

2009-08-18T21:02:00.004-05:00

Got a lot of information to pass on for those of you that don't follow our tweets. Remember Jason's Band is playing Friday night in Hot Springs. We're training at the school and then heading over. We've got some of the Benton guys coming down too.

We've got class this Saturday at noon. We'll be doing training for upcoming events and getting with everyone on their blueprint. We've also got some other training sessions in the works for this weekend.

Starting after Labor Day, we'll be adding an extra BJJ class on Mondays (Please come to class for details) The class is for extra skills and drills. We'll still be having the 7:00 class also. Also be watching for some more additions to the night schedule and also keep in mind we have day training and weekend sessions happening.

Brandon and the guys have been sparring for a hour and a half straight now! Scott and Wes looked great sparring tonight and are improving quickly. Everyone else is equally looking great. We worked on some footwork, head movement and basics tonight. We're working on combinations this week and will continue on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday in HS. Look for some changes/ additions to the KB program soon.

Kids are doing a great job in class..keep up the good work until testing. Jake and Ty had some really great punches today, as did everyone else.

Classes overall continue to grow and we couldnt be more excited with the new talent and training partners coming to the team!

2009-08-08T16:31:00.009-05:00

Well, we brought home I think 26 Medals today. Great job everyone. We are proud of everyone who came out to compete, whether you won or lost. Everyone did their best and performed well. Special thanks to those who did not compete but who came to support the team and help ensure the event ran smoothly. We had a few folks out with injuries or for various things, but we appreciate you coming to help and support your team regardless. Many people might tell you BJJ is an individual sport, but in fact it is very much a team support. Those who help train and coach those who compete are vital members to the team's overall success. Chris competed despite his ankle injury and also did a great job helping with the kids and teens. David, Grant, Bobby, Charlie, and the rest all did a great job helping coach.

Andy from Hot Springs did a great job winning the largest Gi division the Men's White Belt Middle Weight. He's doing a great job in training and performed well today. Wes did a great job competing as well as coaching the team members. Scott won his division and the No Gi absolute. It's good to have him back after a long tour serving our country in Iraq. Stephen, Neil, Austin and the new white belts all did great. Dylan went up to the teens division from the kids this time and did great. Our new teens all did an awesome job as well: Jake, Jessica, Dalton, Harley, and Patrick. Nick and Brandon represented our Kids program very well as well.

Keep up the good work everyone, we are proud of you.

Gi Results:
Brandon 2nd Kids 9-10 y/o Gi *
Nick 2nd Kids 11-12 y/o Gi *
Jessica 1st Teen Girls Gi
Dalton 1st Teen Rooster Gi
Dylan 2nd Teen Rooster Gi *
Harley 1st Teen Feather Gi
Patrick 2nd Teen Feather Gi
Jake 1st Teen Middle Gi
Stephen 1st Men's Novice Middle White Belt Gi
Neil 3rd Men's Feather/ Light White Belt Gi
Andy 1st Men's Middle White Belt Gi
Ward 3rd Mens Med Heavy White Belt Gi *
Chris 2nd Men's Feather Blue Belt Gi *
Wes 1st Men's Heavy Blue Belt Gi

No Gi Results:
Jessica 2nd Teen Girls No Gi
Harley 2nd Teens No Gi Feather
Dalton 1st Teens No Gi Rooster
Dylan 1st Teens No Gi Rooster *
Michael 2nd Men's Novice Lt. Feather No Gi *
Stephen 2nd Men's Novice Middle No Gi
Ward 3rd Mens Med Heavy No Gi*
Wes 1st Men's Heavy No Gi
Scott 1st Men's Super Heavy No Gi
Scott 1st Men's No Gi Absolute
Austin 3rd Men's No Gi Absolute

And of course our No Gi Absolute Winners

Some of our Benton team...

2009-08-05T14:42:00.003-05:00

As a reminder:
Our kids Striking testing has been rescheduled (pushed back 2 weeks) so that you all do not have to do a testing and tournament on the same week.
All of the kids have been working hard and doing a great job. We have something exciting in the works for the kids program that will be announced soon. I'm very excited for this further direction of the program. Please keep up the good work kids and keep training towards your goals.

Adult Kickboxers are doing well. Classes will be a little light this week as most of the fighters prepare for the tournament. Those who are not preparing for the BJJ tournament are working hard on skill work. Next week we will change our focus and pick up the sparring again after a short break as we train for our next MMA and Kickboxing fights.

Last week was our last hard week of training in BJJ for the competition. This week we are working hard on skill work, game plans and making final preparations for the competition. It's great to see the new folks who will be participating with our team this time, including the teens! We also have a lot of the regular team members competing. Bobby has been doing a great job helping coach the team this time. Thank you Bobby!

Finally, no class in Hot Springs on Friday due to the tournament!

2009-07-30T13:18:00.009-05:00

Please read the great article on Nova Uniao below if you haven't already.

A few reminders:

Don't forget the tournament is August 8 and registration ends August 3. We've been training very hard in class for this event.
Bobby worked very hard and made a really nice podium! Thanks.

Our long awaited social event will be August 21! Please come to class to get the details!

BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU
I wanted to thank everyone for their hard work while we were gone. All the assistant coaches did a great job and everyone worked as a team to get things done. Preparing for a competition as a team is one thing that helps unite everyone and help them see the value of serving something greater than one's self. Tonight was our last hard session of GPP and we had a lot of teammates taking full use of their mat time tonight and also helping their teammates prepare. Unit integrity and team work are the keys to success. You can only go so far by your self. It takes a team to ensure you're fully prepared and generally victory is directly proportional to preparedness. No where else will you find a team of people from all walks of life working together to overcome their adversities. Next week we finalize and bring everything together.

SPECIAL THANKS
I wanted to give a special thanks to Master Dring for helping prepare the team for the IKF. He continues to produce champions from scratch every single year. Also a thanks to all the other coaches from the team. They put in a lot of work this past weekend and in the preparations leading up to the competition.

I wanted to thank Robinho and Anthony for all the support they've provided to the team. They've always gone out of their way to line up training sessions, places to stay or whatever else the team needed. They've demonstrated a profound passion and commitment for what they do. On a personal note, Robinho has never ceased to amaze me with the innovations he's brought to the game. Robinho on the mats is like Mozart on the piano. He's not just a phenom with great attributes but a genius that understands his methods. The transitions and techniques we trained from the Robinho No-Gi Cross Guard are another dimension of Jiu Jitsu. Nova Unaio continues to be the greatest team of individuals in the sport.

2009-07-29T12:29:00.005-05:00

Well, we've finally returned from the IKF and training.
Grant lost a decision in his final bout, but looked great in the fight. It was unfortunate to see Abby come down with the flu on the way down there after such a long training camp and the doctors in Orlando are not so great. Eli from Cabot and Mariea from NC brought home titles, so congratulations to them.

After the IKF we went spent a couple of days training hard with Robson Moura where we had some gi and no-gi sessions. We always pick up some important details and cutting edge techniques to make our Jiu Jitsu even more effective. We made a very brief detour to the beach and of course we could not pass on some post training chicago style pizza.

Finally, please take the time to read the following Article regarding Nova Uniao. For those unfamiliar, Nova Uniao is our BJJ/ MMA affiliation. Andre Pederneiras (quoted in the article) is one of the founders of Nova Uniao.

When Pride Fighting Championships met its end, the value of mixed martial arts teams seemed to diminish, too, as athletes were emphasized more for their own value, independent of the team they represented.

This trend has increased even more in Brazil, as Brazilian Top Team and the Chute Boxe Academy suffered several cuts and stars such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Paulo Filho, Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua left their respective training camps. The only team not to suffer any major losses during this period was Nova Uniao. Names like Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro, Thales Leites, Wagnney Fabiano and Jose Aldo -- born and raised on a team led by Andre Pederneiras -- continue to shine in international events.

According to Pederneiras, Nova Uniao has about 50 professional athletes on its roster, including Ribeiro and the young Eduardo Dantas, who fought Masakatsu Ueda for the Shooto 132-pound championship last weekend.

Made famous in the 1990s by the brilliant showings of its lighter weight athletes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitions, the team made a seamless transition to MMA, winning titles in major events like Shooto (Ribeiro), Cage Rage (Ribeiro), the International Fight League (Fabiano) and Pancrase (Marlon Sandro).

"Our team went from BJJ to MMA," Pederneiras said. "As we already had a very strong team in the lighter weights, basically my BJJ team migrated with the same success to MMA, so we just continued the work. But we've also proven that we can do it with heavier guys. Thales Leites is an example. The more that come here, the more we'll do it."

Although the recognition has come only in recent years, the team began to take its first steps more than a decade ago, with Pederneiras himself fighting in international events and Rafael Carino emerging victorious at UFC 9 in 1996.

"Rafael Carino was my first athlete who fought in MMA, then Joao Roque and some others," Pederneiras said. "Even when I fought, I did not have an MMA team. I called some people for training, but most of them had never fought MMA before. Only when Shaolin began fighting MMA could I bring in more people. Then we really had a team."

While drama surrounds other Brazilian teams, the same cannot be said for Nova Uniao, which has grown strong globally. Pederneiras explained how his team remained cohesive during the turbulent times in Brazil.

"The unity here is great," he said. "I think I have a bit of voice control here. I try not to take anything more than they think is right. I have no interest in exploring. Everyone knows how much I have invested in this team, and I keep investing. I'm here to help my team grow. My happiness comes from training champions and knowing they are making some money and changing their lives, especially the poor ones."

However, training athletes at such a high level has created an unusual situation for the team. Only a few MMA events exist in Brazil. The queue to participate in competitions on home soil has grown so long that it has discouraged fighters, perhaps even potential future champions, from trying to compete.

"We get desperate here in Brazil when the events crack; to me, it's terrible," Pederneiras said. "Many athletes come here with the dream of fighting in big events, but when the small events crack, I often lose those athletes who have that dream and help others to reach a higher level."

Complications are many.

"First, it involves exchange," Pederneiras said. "If a guy calls and gives me $200 for putting someone in the UFC, I don't have to put 'Shaolin' there. If a guy offers me a price in Shaolin's level of payment, he probably will be the first choice in his category. If the guy offers me a price for Jose Aldo to fight in Affliction, I'll tell him, 'No, because he does have a contract with WEC, but I have other athletes in this weight.' What I do is send a list of the athletes that I have. When it doesn't come with a pre-determined name, they look at the record and choose who they want."

Because the aforementioned teams have lost some of their luster, camp affiliation no longer serves as the main factor in a fighter being selected by a promotion. Belonging to the same team as Ribeiro or Aldo does not carry the same weight it did at the beginning of the decade, with the teammates of the Nogueiras or "The Axe Murderer."

"In the past, you used to see an athlete who didn't have all this potential, but he was from a great school, such as Brazilian Top Team or Chute Boxe, and sometimes he didn't have what it takes to be a great fighter," Pederneiras said. "The guy could get in big events, and, in the end, he wasn't good enough to be there. Nowadays, it doesn't happen anymore because just the athlete is important now. Unfortunately, we're at the top with this issue, and we can't put more athletes in other events."

Two stars of the international MMA scene and current UFC champions have their roots at Nova Uniao, including UFC lightweight king B.J. Penn, the first non-Brazilian to win the BJJ world championship as a black belt.

"B.J. is a black belt formed in our academy," Pederneiras said. "He studied with one of my black belts, Renato Verissimo. He trained with us since he was a blue belt, and I gave him the black belt. So his whole ground training came from us. He has his team, with his name, but he remains with us. Renato continues to give him classes."

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre also has links to Nova Uniao. The French Canadian started jiu-jitsu training with Fabiano, one of the most technical athletes on the team. St. Pierre graduated to blue belt under Fabiano, who later moved away from Canada and lost his prized student. However, every time St. Pierre heads to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he visits and trains with his former teacher.

Despite so many athletes falling under the Nova Uniao umbrella, the school maintains a tremendous winning percentage among its fighters. In 2007, its fighters won 17 of their 21 bouts (81 percent). In 2008, they produced 50 wins in 61 fights (nearly 82 percent). Already in 2009, the numbers are even more impressive. In 85 fights, Nova Uniao fighters have posted 72 wins (85 percent).

The second half of the year could bring more success. Aldo and Fabiano are rising quickly in World Extreme Cagefighting. Leandro Silva and Willamy Chiquerim will fight for Shooto belts in October. Sandro has advanced to the semifinals in the Sengoku featherweight grand prix. Leites will return to the UFC cage against Alessio Sakara at UFC 101. Meanwhile, Jussier da Silva, Renan Barao, Chiquerim and Dantas will all defend their South American Shooto titles.

"The expectations are the best possible. Let's see if we can achieve it all and maintain our good percentage, thus ending another year as the best team in Brazil," Pederneiras said. "Nova Uniao is the team that has more athletes who have become champions. They started on the white-belt level here and became champions; they did not come from other teams."

Pederneiras pulls no punches about his team's current standing in Brazil.

"We are the best team in Brazil nowadays; we are a team that has more great athletes in jiu-jitsu and the most number of champions in MMA," he said. "I advise the promoters and managers of the world that if they want top athletes in Brazil, the first place they should look is here."

by Gleidson Venga

2009-07-25T12:47:00.004-05:00

Please follow us on twitter for instant IKF results!

Grant from REVOLUTION won his first match in a dominating fashion. Grant's first two fights on previous shows were against a former champ and experienced opponents. It proved to give him great experience for an event such as this. He was slipping punches, working his combinations and set a pace in his match that his opponent couldn't match.

Here's some of today's Pics.
Thanks to everyone for the support!

Here's a pic of the team:

And here's Grant and his fight:

2009-07-14T22:53:00.002-05:00

Great training today! Thanks to the Hot Springs guys for coming to train.

Kids did a great job. We worked on a lot of kicks today. Jayden did a great job helping and everyone stayed focused. Hunter got the GPP or "Hard Work" camo belt to wear until tomorrow. Who will earn it next, or will Hunter retain his title? Come train in BJJ Tomorrow. We are working hard towards the next tournament in Kids class as well.

In BJJ we had 2 matches of the day today along with hard work towards the next competition. Josh, Wes, Bobby and Stephen all looked great in their matches. This is giving the new folks a great opportunity to understand the scoring and how "it all works". Everyone's doing a great job.

We worked a lot of defense in Kickboxing today. We also had a few folks stay late to do sparring. Everyone's looking better. Most of you all who take both programs will begin to realize how the principles of relaxation, fluid movement, combinations, etc are all the same whether you are doing BJJ, Kickboxing or MMA.

We have quite a few events planned out almost until the end of the year. Be sure to get on the LDMA site to see what's going on. We try to get them out as soon as possible so you can plan accordingly.

We have a few surprises coming not too long from now.
Tshirts are all but gone, we have just a few left. We have some orders (domestic and international) going out here soon so please let me know if you'd like to get in on them.

Got some good pics from last night's sparring.

Have a great day everyone and we'll see you tomorrow.

2009-07-11T19:48:00.001-05:00

We had a really good time at the Kickboxing Camp today.

We worked a lot on defense, attacks, and sparring. Everyone did a great Job!
I got pics of a lot of folks from Revolution but didn't get everyone. Maybe next time. All the fighters got good sparring in, and the recreational folks were able to learn a lot of good techniques and get some sparring in at a comfortable space.

Wes will have some fun new drills for you Hot Springs folks on Monday! Be ready! Wes is doing a great job and we're glad to have him teaching.

Have a great weekend everyone and we'll see you in class Monday!