New Purple Belts
Brandon Kessinger
Junior Dennis
Mike Baskis

New Blue Belts
Jarrett O'Hearn
Erik Clifford
TJ Barber
Rob Thompson
Laith Henke
Tyler Young
Brandon Harrington
Ron Rountree
Chad Deener

Congrats to these guys. They have worked hard and were overdue for some "color" on their belts.

Josh attended another Crossfit certification on Movement, Mobility, and Maintenance. Reportedly the cert is one of the greatest learning experiences to date. Topics included Injury troubleshooting, mechanically correct positioning, midline stability, trigger point massage, PNF stretching and restoring lost function.

Vandi Vaz
The seminar was spectacular. The world champ covered x guard and taught some great sweeps, armbars, and leg locks from the position. She displayed a wonderul personality and a keen eye for details. Truly a great seminar. Thanks to Vandi and Israel Gomes (former Chute Boxe Fighter and coach of Anderson Silva) for tagging along to help her. And we wish her luck as she moves on to Abu Dhabi to teach Jiu-Jitsu there.

Luiz Palhares
We had two excellent seminars in November. First we had our Professor Luiz Palhares in E-town for a great seminar. Some very good stuff was covered. Thanks to everyone that attended. There were a lot of people! At the beginning of the seminar Josh was awarded the first stripe on his black belt. He just surpassed the 13 year mark training. FYI, as a black belt you get a stripe every 3 years for the first 3 stripes then every 5 years for numbers 4,5,and 6. After that the Confederation of Brasilian Jiu-Jitsu decides.

Tussa Alencar
3 time No Gi World Champion Tussa came to Bowling Green to do a seminar on a Wednesday night. The attendance was wonderful with nearly 30 people. Tussa had a great energy about him. He was enthusiastic and attentive. And the techniques were very solid! He had very good things to say about the academy in Bowling Green and our students in general.

Diablo
Professional kickboxer and mma fighter Dustin “Diablo” Walden was in E-town recently to conduct a striking seminar. He worked through some basic to intermediate techniques. All in attendance were very impressed with the seminar.

Mike Cayo goes 1-1. Cayo recently fought twice in the Wickdagon. Opening up the show with his patented heel hook for a 39 second win, he then decided to take on a second opponent later in the night. He started out strong dominating the positions and securing a number of submission locks throughout the fight. He had two armlocks, a triangle, and a heel hook. His opponent oblivious to what was going on, continued fighting through each submission. Cayo absorbed some good strikes that took their toll. Between rounds 2 and 3 the doctor stopped the fight. It was a great learning experience. And goes to show that MMA is a different beast. Your positions have to be as perfect as possible and you honestly have to be intent on breaking limbs or squeezing people unconscious if you are going to effectively fight in MMA.

Thanksgiving Weekend
Mike Baskis traveled to Dallas/Frisco, Texas to take on Josh Clopton in the SWC. Clopton is undefeated fighting out San Fran with the likes of Jake Shields, Gilbert Melendez, and the Diaz brothers. The fight was very back and forth with Clopton able to secure takedowns in 3 straight rounds with less than 10 seconds left. The last round was clearly dominated by Baskis as he put Clopton against the cage, slammed him and began to dominate him on the ground. However, due to cage control and strategy, Clopton won a split decision. Mike fought a great fight and at 22 years of age and only two years of training will for sure come back stronger for the next one.

We also had 6 others fighting in E-town Thanksgiving Weekend. Here’s the breakdown:
Tyler Young won via tko due to strikes in round 1
Crowd Favorite Matt Martin won via armlock in round 1 (sub of the night)
Karate Dave won via rear naked choke in round 1
TJ Barber won via rear naked choke in round 1
Chris Biddle lost due to armlock in round 1

Brandon Harrington beat Swackhammer Jiu-Jitsu in round 1 by triangle choke knockout of the Night). I’m especially proud of the BG guys. This young crew of fighters has been training especially hard and it showed. TJ Barber has steadily improved and will be making his pro debut soon. Biddle has already been back in the gym several times to roll and examine/correct mistakes. He will come back stronger. I’m especially proud of Brandon Harrington for stepping up and smashing Swackhammer Jiu-Jitsu for what was, and always will be, an easy win. Creontes get what they deserve.

Mike Baskis
Mike recently made a ten day training trip to Sacramento, California for some intensive training. While there he trained with Cassio Werneck Jiu-Jitsu and Navorone Kickboxing. He also stopped in the Ultimate Training Center and Uriah Faber’s gym for some classes. Mike reported that it was an excellent experience and he really learned some great things. Thanks to Submit (http://www.submitmma.com) for sponsoring Mike’s trip.

Chris Biddle
Chris also made the trip to Sacramento for some great training. I think Chris spent a lot of time at Navorone’s gym and got some great sparring and drilling in. The Navorone brothers are very famous kickboxers and are tied in very closely with some of the top mma guys in California.

Long time student and advanced blue belt, Jared Clemons is now running 3 classes a week in the Central City Community Center that he operates. The classes are Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 6:30. Joe Baize is training there on Wednesdays and Fridays and Mike Baskis has been training there on some Fridays. In other words, there are some incredible guys already taking advantage of the opportunity. The facility is incredible with a smoothie bar, full gymnasium, pool, racket ball courts, kettle bells, steam room, sauna, and full compliment of new Hammer and Life Source Equipment. Check it out.

For your information in UFC 1-100 there were 240 wins due to submission. An average of 2.3 per show. Way higher than the average for knockouts. All this despite an ever evolving set of rules that clearly favor the striker and look to disable the grappler. Jiu-Jitsu baby!! You either have it or you hate it.

"We just had a great trip to Rio De Janeiro, Brasil. We stayed in a very nice beach front hotel in Copacabana. Rio and specifically Copacabana is the center of the Jiu-Jitsu World. That was my 8th trip to Brasil. Each trip is fun, refreshing, and a special experience. We trained at Fernando Pinduka's academy (http://www.fernandopinduka.com). Pinduka was a pupil of Carlson Gracie's and once fought Marco Ruas in a 20 minute draw. Pinduka is very famous in the jiu-jitsu world and is a great honor to have trained with him on two trips. The people in the academy were great and the classes were very different that what I usually run here in the USA. Warm-up on your own and only sparring is the norm at Pinduka's. As a result of these training methods, the outstanding attendance of the students, and the fact that most are brown or black belts, everyone is a tough roll. Robin had a great time and had the opportunity to roll with many purple, brown and black belts. Robin's blue belt held up well. He was astounded at the level of our gym compared to the top gyms in the world. I have told you guys, we are second to none. We train as hard as anyone and smarter than most. As the academy matures it will produce champions at every level of competition in the world. Also, we had a chance to sample some local color. We drank some Brasilian beers, experienced nightlife in Atlantica bar, and danced at Clube 00. We had the chance to go atop Sugar Loaf Mountain. The view was incredible and was really something to remember. There were monkeys running around everywhere on top of the mountain. My Brasil trips alwaysserve to refresh and rejuvenate me to train harder and push you guys to the next level.”
-Josh

Bluegrass BJJ Open Results for October
Tyler Young 1st place
Junior "Cabecao" Dennis 2nd place
Chad Deener 2nd place
Jimmy Kopher 3rd place
Patchz 3rd place
Jarret O’Hearn 3rd place

Nice Guys
Joe Baize 1st place purple heavy and 1st place Purple Open
Kevin Button 1st place blue belt and 1st place Blue Belt Open

Debandi is Combatives Champion
Brandon Debandi text messaged Josh to say he is the Alpha Company Combatives Champion after winning the tournament in basic training. He's tough as nails, so no shocker there. He won 50 matches in 3 days to take the title.

Mike Baskis defeated John Bedford in the 3rd round of their fight in Dallas, TX September 18th!! Bedford was 20-7 going into the fight and Baskis dominated from start to finish. He bloodied Bedford with strikes throughout the fight before securing a takedown and guillotine choke in the 3rd round. Mike continues his climb to the top of the 145 pound food chain. His work ethic and technique are second to none. His success is a product of his commitment to be the best, wonderful and skilled training partners, and a supportive family!!! Thanks to everyone inside and outside the gym that supports our Bowling Green and E-town Academies!! Baskis now stands at 4-1

Ron Roundtree from our BG Academy has been tearing up the grappling scene. He has won 2 NAGA tournaments this year. Last weekend he won his division which included 17 people. He won 2 matches by submission and 2 by points. Here is a video of Ron gutting out a tough decision win this year in NAGA competition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERe4-FG1uW0

James Brasfield agreed to take a last minute fight so that Razor Rob, who sold over 70 tickets, could fight someone in his own weight class. Brasfield looked good in the first round dominating his opponent from the rear mount. In the second round however, he injured his foot against the cage and the fight was stopped.

Razor Rob Thompson, who could possibly be the biggest 185 in the Universe quickly caught a round kick, tackled his opponent to the ground, passed to mount, and sunk in the rear naked choke after some punches to the ribs. I awarded The Razor his blue belt in the cage. He is more than capable and will represent the academy well.

Donny Wallace opened a can of extra strength whoop ass on Brandon Howard. Donny landed a hard left hook on the chin from the start and then clinched took the mount and landed at least a dozen short elbows to the face and numerous punches to the head. The ref stopped the abuse at about the 4 minute mark.

Vanessa Bohleber fought Heather Corder in a rematch. Vanessa opened up quickly with some hard punches and kicks. Vanessa dominated the striking throughout the contest. Vanessa looked good in the 1st, clearly winning it. However, in the 2nd and 3rd rounds Vanessa landed strikes only to be quickly bullied to the ground. Heather was able to stay busy, avoid the triangle attempts and pass the guard several times. In the end Heather was awarded the decision. While I am disappointed with the outcome, as is Vanessa, she didn't quit and fought hard to the end. I think it's a wonderful learning experience. Now it's up to her to accept the results, make adjustments and become a better fighter and person.

Also, Chad Rimzec is back from Afghanistan for some leave. He was training in a bjj/mma school in Germany. He passed up an opportunity to get his blue belt in Germany so he could receive it from me. I honorably awarded him his blue belt tonight (9-16-09) in class. Congrats to him!!

As a team we went 6-2.
Bryant Barnhill won by gullotine
TJ Barber won by Mata Leao choke
Chris Biddle won by arm triangle
Dirty Dave won by decision (announced as a draw because the score card was read wrong)
Rob Mooney won his pro debut by kimura
Adam the Igg won his pro debut by rear naked choke

Chad Deener lost due to knockout from a knee
Steve Osmun lost due to knockout from a barrage of punches
Congrats to Louisville MMA and AJ Jenkins. One of the toughest fighters in Kentucky.

Jarrett O'hearn won his gi division back at the Soneca tournament some time ago. He was AWOL from class and was our sole competitor at that tournament so I wasn't aware of the results. Congrats to him.

The In House tournament at Nice Guys was a lot of fun and very good for everyone that participated. Although, the E-town guys completely and totally ducked out on that one (not a single one showed up) , we did have some guys from Bowling Green.

Everyone that competed did a great job and showed some good things. As always we also discovered some areas we need to work on.

Jon Rigdon looked very good, especially with his single leg.
Donny Wallace scored a nice triangle.
Patchz actually won two matches. I've always said you can teach anyone jiu-jitsu!!
Danny Kelly showed some good positional dominance.
Big John Centers turned it on in the heat of competition and looked like a beast.

Probably the most impressive performance of the day was by Brandon Harrington. He looked great. He narowly lost by sudden death takedown by the eventual winner of the category. But he came back to win 2 tough matches against some very game competitors. He sunk in 2 nice triangles!! Awesome stuff. Thanks to Warren Brooks for putting on the tournament and Joe Baize for his spectacular reffing.

In the first promotions of the 2009 we graduated a total of 10 students to the next belt level!!! This class of blue belts is particularly strong and they certainly earned their belts through hard work and a touch of love from the gauntlet!! Check out this youtube video of the promotion ceremony!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwX_cDMyeC8

Congratulations to:
Logan Bryan Yellow Belt
Blue Belts:
Tom Hamilton
Matt Hutcherson
Josh "Johnson City" Riddle
Gay Scott Fremming
Rob "Irish Bully" Mooney
John Bailey
Ashcon Karbasi
Danny Kelly
Robin Friedley

Tournaments:
May 2nd EGO Nashville
Brandon Harrington 2nd No Gi

NAGA Atlanta
Ron Rountree won his No Gi Division and came in 3rd in Gi

Tri-State Tournament ran By Dustin Ware. We took 7 competitors and did quite well. I always use tournaments as an evaluation of where we are as a group and where we need to focus and improve. It was clear to me that we dominated the No Gi portion and did good in the Gi divisions. While, we did have some success in the Gi divisions I saw several areas that need work. Here's the breakdown.

No Gi:
Rob "Irish Bully" Mooney 1st place Solid performance!

Cody Gibbons 1st place typical solid wrestling.

Trinity Holbert 1st place with 4 straight heel hooks! He was losing a tough match in the finals and managed to secure the heel hook with only 5 seconds left!!

Adam The Igg 2nd place

Gay Scott Fremming 2nd place (nice kimura in one match)

Mike Baskis competed in the absolute division and was the lightest competitor. But placed 3rd! In one match Mike destroyed a Jorge Gurgel purple belt (been purple for 4 years). he eventually faced 250 pound black belt Cliff Fonseca. The match was mostly standing. Baskis attacked the legs with double and single attacks and had Cliff lifted off the ground a couple times but was unable to finish. Cliff ended up with a takedown and passed the guard to win by points 5-0. Cliff ended up winning the division and tapping everyone else out.

Gi Division
Adam The Igg 2nd
Mike Baskis 2nd
Robin Friedley 2nd place
Cody Gibbons 2nd place

MMA Action!! Iron Warrior Fight League
We had 4 fights in Kokomo, IN last Saturday Night.
TJ Barber came back from a flash knockout to win via heel hook submission. He has now reached the 10 win mark.
Jon Rigdon won via triangle armbar to retain his 145 IWFL title
Danny Kelly won via belly down armbar in route to earning the 205 IWFL title
Paul Tipton dropped his opponent with a crisp left hook before taking his back and finishing with the Mata Leao. He is now the 135 IWFL Champ

4 fights. All first round wins by submission. 3 titles brought home. We have now won 20 titles in various organizations. We currently stand at 198 wins as a team. 71 percent of our wins are by submission. You can teach a gorilla to strike. But it takes skill to finish submissions.

Scott Porter, Gay Scott and TJ Barber just got done training at Team Oxendine's in Johnson City, TN last week. Team Ox, much like us, is a grassroots team. They have produced some good guys and they have a different approach than us. They have some great guys to train with and they have some solid Muay Thai, MMA and Jiu-Jitsu going on down there. I encourage anyone interested in training down there to hit it up when possible. Talk to me or Mooney and we can set it up!!

On a side note, Diablo is looking skinnier than ever!!!
Further more, I can see TJ Barber's ring worm in the pic

We had 3 fighters do battle in Kings Mountain on June 6th. Gay Scott Fremming won via triangle armbar. He looked impressive and easily transitioned through dominate positions and moved from sub to sub. He received submission of the night honors. TJ Barber took on an undefeated Wendell Hurless. Wendall was 5-0 coming in and proved to be game. Barber dominated the striking and positions but Wendal constantly attacked the legs, neck and arms. TJ finally caught his back in the 3rd round and sunk in the mata leao and passed Wendall completely out. Chad Deener took on the well established and always tough Bobby Carter for the Hardrock MMA Light Heavyweight Title!! I think to most people's surprise Chad was content to stand and strike. Both exchanged strikes throughout the fight. Carter appeared to fatique and Deener started to impose his game. In round 3 Deener was able to land a hard blow and finish the fight. Deener brings the title home! The atmosphere was electric and I think it was one of the most exciting fights in awhile. 3-0 on the night. All 3 fighters fought hard and showed their great preparation. Deener is in a new generation of BeatDown Fighters that enjoy striking as much as grappling and have really worked hard to become proficient strikers. Contrary to what many may think, we have some of the most well rounded fighters in the region. Our Bread n Butter will always be BJJ but our striking and wrestling will be on point as well. Thanks to kickboxing instructor Cliff Levan and wrestling instructor Rob Mooney.

Dan Christison Seminar Pics

Post Fight Party Pics. Notice Josh is not in any of them. hahaha

We had our first Relay for Life Team this year!! Relay for Life is a walk-a-thon fundraiser for cancer research. It was a lot of fun and big thanks to Vanessa for putting together a wonderful event. Also thanks to everyone that participated. Our on site event was a pie in the face. For 1 dollar you could throw a pie in Josh's face. Here are some pics from the event.

UFC Vet Dan Christison

The Dan Christison seminar was great. He taught some great footwork drills and other striking tips that will be implemented immediately. The ground work was great. He worked on some punch to pass strategies that will be very helpful. Overall it was a great time. Great attendance as well. Thanks to Dan and everyone who attended.

Hardrock MMA Fight Results May 23rd.

8-1 on the night. Awesome performance. Really proud of everyone!!! We had a lot of support from our teammates and fan base. The after party proved to pack as much action as the actual fights!!! I'll think long and hard before it is ever at my house again!! haha

Matt Hutcherson by Rear Naked Choke

Ashcon Karbasi by Mounted punches

Gay Scott Fremming by Rear Naked Choke (Got him from behind)
Paul Tipton by Rear Naked Choke completely out!!!!

Danny Kelly by Ground and Pound

Jon Rigdon by triangle
Chad Deener by decision
TJ Barber lost by armbar in a great fight he was winning. Really exciting fight with a big contrast of strengths. Phil was obviously better in the jiu-jitsu department and Barber was winning the striking easily. Congrats to both guys.

Steve Osmun over Brandon Howard by americana at 1:49 of Round 1 to become the new Hardrock MMA Welterweight Champion

Hazard Martial Arts Club has their first Blue Belt!!! I awarded Jon Helton his blue belt today. He has worked very hard to improve his BJJ and it certainly showed. I conducted the first seminar in Hazard back in March of 2008. They guys had already been playing with BJJ positions and had experience in Judo. I think I have conducted 5 seminars total there the last year and few months. It has been incredible to see the guys over there progress and develop. I'm very proud of how hard they have worked. Gay Scott and Tipton went with me today and they were able to roll with the guys over there. They can tell you just how tough they are!! They are true students of the game. There is a white board in their gym with about 40 BJJ positions broken down into categories. Evidence that they are not only working hard but working smart. Sam, Joe, and Travis are looking very very good as well. Congrats to all the guys in Hazard. Everyone shares in success. So you should all be proud of yourselves!! Good Job Hazard Martial Arts Club.

Brodie Simmons from the Bowling Green School competed in the Smokey Mountain BJJ Open down in Knoxville last weekend. He won 4 out of 6 matches and came in 2nd in both the Gi and No Gi!!! Congrats to him!!

We went 3-0 in the Campbellsville Hardrock MMA show on Saturday night. Chad Deaner won his 3rd fight in what was reportedly total domination. He looked slick and technical and finished his opponent via armtriangle in the 1st round. This is the Chad we were waiting to see. TJ Barber won in a very smooth fashion. He pulled off an awesome takedown when he flipped out of an armlock (he had) and turned to a double leg takedown. He finished with a side choke of some sort.
Campbellsville had Ryan Cruz fight and win. He has been training with them since they started I believe. Congrats to him and his instructors!! I think some of those guys are starting to understand the pressure of coaching guys!! haha

Jon Rigdon put on a terrific performance in IWFL. Unfortunately, his opponent was struck in the back of the head after Jon dropped him with a straight right, and declared "no mas" and said he couldn't continue. No Contest was declared.

Matt Morgan: Purple Belt student, training partner, friend, and soldier! By the way, Matt just got back into town and will be training in Bowling Green again soon. Matt was one of the original guys that moved to E-town for the purpose of training. He has competed in more tournaments then can actually be recalled. Probably over 100. He wrestled in high school and has also fought MMA. I know a lot of you don't know him but he is great to train with and very tough. You'll be seeing him on the mat.

I just sent out a mass email with class news and info. If you didn't receive it then please email me at ezekial2003@yahoo.com and I will put you on the list.

This school year Josh held an after school Judo club at G.C. Burkhead Elementary School. 48 students participated in the club!

Josh is now Crossfit and Kettlebell Certified

UFC Lightweight contender, Hermes Franca recently conducted seminars in E-town and Bowling Green. Thanks to Hermes and Ron from SSF in Clarksville, TN. The seminars were among the greatest we have ever hosted. The techniques were great, the attendance was awesome, and Hermes has a very dynamic and enthusiastic personality!!!

We had 25 attendees in E-town and 28 in Bowling Green!!! We will for sure have Hermes back to conduct more seminars!!!

Josh is Kettlebell Certified! Josh attended the Crossfit Kettlebell Certification in Lakemoore, IL April 25th and 26th with Jeff Martone. Not only did he pass the certification performance test but he had a perfect score! He is now a Level I Instructor/Trainer in Crossfit and a certified Kettlebell Instructor. If you are interested in implementing kettlebells into your conditioning program get with Josh.

Mike Baskis suffered his first lose to a very very tough and game Daniel Mason-Strauss. Strauss was very impressive. We knew he was one of the most accomplished high school wrestlers in Ohio's storied wrestling history. But he proved to be more than adequate in submission defense, striking, and strength. The fight was very competitive with Baskis working his way into 4 solid submissions. Baskis also managed to land some kicks and punches. Strauss did damage with big takedowns and some knees to the head. Strauss took this one by decision. Look for Daniel Strauss to fight his way to the top very soon.

Dan Christison fought multiple time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion, Abu Dhabi Champion and UFC vet Pe De Pano. The fight was very technical with Dan having great success with Pe De Pano in the 1st round. In the 2nd and 3rd rounds Pe De Pano gained advantages on the ground. Dan was able to escape dominate positions and keep the fight going. Dan even reversed the position and played in Pe De Pano's guard for a while. In the end Dan lost a tough 3 round decision.

Both guys looked good. At that level of competition anything can happen. We should all be very proud of these warriors.

Top pro fighter and Team Ox representative Nate Jolly spent last weekend training with us for his upcoming fight in the XFC. Nate had some great training sessions and it's always nice to see someone of his caliber on our mats.

Remember quality not quantity is important. The hallmark of any great team is:
Trust Love Commitment

We might come from different backgrounds, enjoy different things, or just have different personalities. However, we all share and addiction to Jiu-Jitsu and we are all striving for technical excellence and mutual welfare and benefit. An instructor is not judged by his best students. He is judged by his least. Leave no one behind and we all move forward together!!! Jiu-Jitsu is our vehicle to make ourselves better physically, emotionally and spiritually. Jiu-Jitsu de Brasil is a way of life. It is a lifestyle. The discipline, commitment, respect, honor, and responsibility helps us to be better people (husbands, girlfriends, workers, friends, etc.) Lately I have begun to feel that I have neglected to share and teach these elements of Jiu-Jitsu. While perfection is unattainable, it is still important to set our goals high. Progress through the belt ranks is not as easy as a physical test. A physical test can show you execution and level in the physical sense for sure. However, only through daily,weekly, monthly, and yearly observation can one see the progress made as an individual. This is, has been, and will always be a strong determinant of when someone is ready to move on to the next belt. Our Academy is much more than just another Jiu-Jitsu Academy. It is an institution you can count on for friends, help, conversation, enlightenment, and just about anything else you want. It is also my heart and soul!! I have been accused of being very stingy with compliments in the past. Let it be known that I am very proud of everyone that comes to train with us. Each of you have touched me in a different way. I appreciate every student past and present.

Trust Love Commitment
-Josh Johnson

New Classes at Energy Sport and Fitness. We are now offering classes at Energy on Mondays and Thursdays. Monday is kids Grappling from 6-6:45 and Adult BJJ/Judo from 7-8:30, Thursday is Submission Wrestling from 7:30-8:30 We still have are normally scheduled classes at the Victory Martial Arts location on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Our initial experiences with Energy are great. They are a great group of people and they have been really cooperative and willing to work with us to meet our needs. Our first classes in Energy on Monday had over 30 students!!

Check out this Dan Christison interview for Fight Ticker. He makes a reference to training with us inside.

Dan Christison Interview

Cool Interview with Professor Luiz Palhares!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhPoVBTXulQ

Kentucky State Judo Champions!!!
We had 26 competitors enter the Kentucky State Judo Competition yesterday in Bowling Green. Hosted by our Bowling Green Academy. We won over 20 medals and easily won first place in the team standings!! There were too many great performances to name them all but Rob Mooney won both his weight category and also was awarded the trophy for being the outstanding competitor of the entire tournament.

Bluegrass BJJ Action
Also in action was Brandon Kessinger. He chose to compete in the Bluegrass BJJ Open. He won his blue belt weight category and also the open weight.

Western Kentucky MMA
Jared Wright fought last night in the H B Dick Promotions show that took place in Russellville. He won easily in two minutes by mata Leao choke. Congrats to Jared. He trains hard and is a good loyal member of the Academy.

Mike Baskis fought in Louisianna last night against a tough Doug Frey of Texas. Baskis spent most of round 1 working from his guard and attacked the arms and neck unsuccessfully. In round 2 Baskis took the back from half guard, secured the hooks, and finished with the Mata leao choke. Baskis has been widely considered as the best pro fighter in Kentucky. With strong support from his training partners, sponsors, and some high profile fights coming up, we look forward to seeing just how good he is!!!

March 14th

Chris Biddle defended the middleweight Hardrock MMA Title with a 2nd round TKO against Shawn Hogan who is now 4-2. Biddle uped his record to 9-2.

Paul Tipton also won via TKO in the 1st round to up his record 5-2. Congrats to both of these guys!!!

Also in action was Dan Christison who won via TKO due to knee strikes in the 1st round of his fight. He is now preparing for his big showdown with Pe De Pano April 11th.

Bowling Green BJJ and Judo had 5 grapplers in action in a grappling tournament in Bowling Green. As usual they competed well and brought home some hardware.

1st place:
Brandon Kessinger
Brandon Debandi
Donny Wallace
Ashcon Kabasi

3rd place:
Danny Kelly

Scott Porter and Chad Corvin fought in the XFC on Friday the 20th.
Scott got caught early by a very good fighter from Highlander. Scott was well prepared and learned some valuable lessons that will make him stronger in his next fight.....which is coming soon. Chad Corvin had a very game opponent in Scott Barrett. Scott came out and imposed his wrestling game on Corvin and actually made Corvin work from his guard for the first time ever. Corvin came out on top after Scott Barrett blew out his ACL trying to contain Corvin in the head and arm position.

Saturday night the 21st saw Chris Biddle and Mike Baskis in action.
Chris was easily winning the stand-up before being caught square on the chin as his opponent was leaning on the fence absorbing blows. Chris spun to the ground and his opponent quickly put hooks in and choked him out. Baskis dismantled his opponent in typical fashion. Mike fought at 155 and was outweighed considerably by his opponent. Mike easily landed some great shots in the stand-up and forced his opponent to take it to the mat. Baskis went for attack after attack from the guard wearing his opponent down. In the second round we saw more of the same as Baskis outstruck his opponent and forced the groundwork. This time Baskis easily secured the armlock and the win early in the second round.

Congratulations to these guys for fighting hard and representing the school well!!

Earlier that Saturday we also had some competitors in the Haystan Grappling Tournament.
Marie Luttrell won her division
Adam Arebalo finished 2nd
Chris Kent finished 2nd
Donny Wallace finished 1st in his division and 3rd in the Absolute

Great Job!!!

http://www. hazardmartialarts.com Check it out guys.

Congrats to the following students from Hazard who have worked hard and recieved stripes.
Jon Helton-1 more (3 stripes)
Joey Ucozuglo- 1 stripe
Mike Asher-1 stripe
Sam Hall- 2 stripes
Travis Pennington- 2 stripes

Vanessa Bohleber on Fight Ticker
Good solid interview about Vanessa's career in the fight game!! Read and enjoy!!! http://fightticker.com/story_0123092310_interview_with_womens_mma_fighter_vanessa_bohleber

Donny is CrossFit
Congratulations to Donny Wallace for completing his level I CrossFit Certification. We need more crossfitters. Hit it up www. crossfit. com

Josh's seminar in Hazard
I just got back from Hazard, Kentucky where I taught a seminar at our Eastern Kentucky affiliate. I had a great time and the seminar was awesome. The guys are really improving and impressed me with the progress they have made. At this rate they will produce their first batch of blue belts this year. Adam Arebalo in Campbellsville
Adam just started running his own BJJ and MMA school in Campbellsville. Steve Osmun, Chris Kent, and Chad Deaner are now training closer to home. The school is operating as an affilitate to the Main E-town school. Located in the Campbellsville Health and Fitness Center. 111 Central Shopping Center http://www.myspace.com/campbellsvillebjjandmma

In MMA Action Saturday Night.

Adam The Igg won by rear naked choke in the 1st round.
Chad Deaner won by ground and pound.
Big Steve Harris fought a very powerful and dangerous PK Parker. PK was able to connect his right hand and put Steve to sleep in round 1. We are very proud of Steve for accepting such a tough fight and coming in ready to fight. Steve was in the gym the next day training hard and helping Chad Corvin prepare for his upcoming fight!!! Keep training hard guys!!!

I have some catching up to do.
First off Congratulations to Dirty Dave Gray. He competed in the Coral Classic BJJ tournament up north a few weeks ago and came in second place in the purple belt division. Dave lost by toe hold to the experienced Dan Hornbuckle. Dan is couple time no gi world champion at blue belt and also a A level pro fighter.

Also we had some competitors in the Tri-State Tournament.
Marie Luttrell and Shannon Montgumery went 1 and 2 in the Women's Gi. Shannon game in 2nd in the no gi. Landon Morgan came in 2nd in the Gi and No Gi and Gay Scott Fremmming came in 2nd in the Gi. All competitors we sent placed. Congrats!!!