Wow,
What a great week it's been. We just completed our largest Kids and adult Kickboxing testing to date. Congrats to all of you on your well deserved rank.

Per Ethan's request, the kids got to work Weeping Style on Thursday for a break after testing. I promised Tyler and Shane a pic on the blog, but only if they grimmaced in pain for my amusement! And Tyler pulled off a good #1 Wristlock! We learned a little about wristlocking, falling, rolling and throws. Good stuff for a change up from the regular.





We've also been working a lot of speed and conditioning training in the last 2 weeks between testing and awards. It's always good to spend time on athletic development so that you'll be able to do the skills you learn in class. It's good to see these kids valuing health and fitness. It starts early!

In Hot Springs we learned that French Fries aren't Vegetables! Although it would be nice if Chocolate, French Fries and Cheesecake were in the fruits and veggies category.....


This weekend it was a great honor to be training and rolling with ROBSON MOURA. Robson is a 7x World Champion, 8x Brazilian National Champion, a member of Team Nova Uniao and one of the greatest grapplers of all time. Many of us were able to take advantage of his time with Private lessons, training sessions and a Gi and No-Gi seminar on Saturday. I tried getting everyone in the pics, but its a bit difficult with so many folks!

Congrats to the following folks who received Rank:
Chris, David, and Buddy all got 1 Tip on their Blue Belt.
Grant got 2 tips on his Green Belt and Jason got 1 more tip on the White. Congrats to you all for your hard work.

Last but not least, congrats to Abby on her Faixa Marrom.

Great training tonight. We're working some fun stuff in Kids class after testing. We did a lot of agility work today and some strength work, and we're making the young Revolutionaries strong and fast! Keep up the good work kids!

The early Advanced BJJ class on Tuesdays was a hit. It's great to have all the blue belts and high ranks in to train with.
They're doing a great job with all the new folks we have in, and it's great to see everyone's progress. Stay focused for our upcoming tournament!

The later Advanced Kickboxing is a hit as well. We had a lot of good work on partner drills tonight. I must say Shelby Kicks hard! And why does Wes always have such bad luck?

**Please note** We'll have awards next Thursday not this Thursday. We have quite a few folks to work in Make up testings for, so we'll be working them in until then. If you want your handwraps with your award, please tell Abby ASAP!

Here shortly we'll work the changes in Hot Springs to accommodate all of the new folks we have there as well.

This weekend we're taking the team to another gym to train! This is a great experience for some of you to test yourselves. Many times training with the same partners isn't always the best test of progress, as they learn your game. Grappling with new folks allows you to see your strengths and weaknesses and come back to the gym with more to focus on. Kickboxers and BJJers welcome! We'll do both!

Next weekend ROBSON MOURA 7X World Champion and Nova Uniao Teammate will be here! He'll be available Friday for privates and Saturday we'll have an all day gi and no gi seminar. This is the best opportunity to advance your game. And what an honor to be on the same team as one of the all time best ever grapplers!



Custom Fairtex gloves and gear is coming soon. Get in on it if you want to.
Clinch Gear has some fancy Desert Camo shorts in. 15% off orders $50 or more. Wear them to the gym, wear them hunting, wear them in the desert. They're versatile!

Congratulation to Brandon Hawkins for Taking 3 World titles at the Arnold's. We appreciate him coming down to be a sparring partner for some of the newer kickboxers. Congrats to the other members of Team LDMA who brought home title belts and won their grappling divisions!

Great testing tonight Kickboxers.

We'll have awards next Thursday!
Make-up testings are next week, please get with us if you need to schedule one.

Reminder: 7x World Champion and Nova Uniao Team Member Robson Moura will be in Arkansas March 21. We'll be having a seminar in Sherwood. Class times and prices are announced in class. He is also available for Private lessons. Please let us know if you'd like to schedule one. Not only is Robson one of the greatest grapplers of all time, but he is also an excellent teacher.

We are having a schedule change. On TUESDAYS, the Kickboxing and BJJ class will flip. We will have BJJ at 6, then Advanced Kickboxing and Sparring at 7. This will allow the BJJ folks 1 night of early classes and the kickboxers an extended class for sparring.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Well, Testing is coming this Thursday. We'll do a makeup next week for those who can't make it.
I am excited about this testing, especially because I see all of the progress our Advanced Kickboxing class is helping you all make in your game. Everyone's sparring is coming along nicely. It's great to see everyone getting to spar, not just the competition folks.

In BJJ it's back to basics this week. I know a lot of you fighters are off after your fights. There is no stopping Grant however, who trains daily. He's gonna be a Machine when he's 18. On the BJJ front we have a tournament April 18, and Robson Moura is coming March 21. I'm quite excited about this. We had a few of the newer folks get tips at the last seminar, congratulations to you all.
Keep up the good work everyone.

Eh, so far our new mascot has proven to be scared of shadows, the dark, the cold, being alone, the carhops at sonic, people with hats and sunglasses on...you name it. He does however show no fear, barking and charging at every large dog he sees. Let's hope he doesn't get his face bitten!