Elite Training Center St. Petersburg Florida

A break from the cold, rainy weather sent me to Sunny Florida. It’s supposed to be warm there, event though I heard recent stories of it being so cold Iguanas were falling out of trees. But just because I am away it doesn’t mean I can stop training, especially if I want to enter the Tiger Balm Tournament in March 2010. So I asked Sensei Ali if he knew of any where to train in the Tampa Bay area and he found Elite Training Center. So I fired an email their way and the response back from Phil Beatty, the owner and chief instructor, was, “You are certainly welcome here… No attitudes here, just great training with friendly people.” That sounded just great. Elite Training Center is a fairly big martial arts school in the heart of St. Petersburg, being one of the largest and best schools in the whole Tampa Bay area. The school offers Karate for adults and kids; it’s also a Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu School; they have a Muay Thai and Kickboxing program, and have plenty of room for crossfit training, a weight room, and Elite Training Center also offers seminars in Self-Defence on a regular basis.

So on Saturday morning I found my way across St. Pete with the TomTom and met up with Kathy at the front counter and joined the Muay Thai/Kickboxing class. Many students from that day are already in a MMA mindset, since they were in the BJJ class immediately before Muay Thai/Kickboxing. The class instructor was a very capable Roger Patrizzi, who has over 20 years experience in martial arts, a background in Close Combat training with the Marines, and a number of Muay Thai and Vale Tudo fights to his credit. The course plan when I attended class was punching and kicking combinations in the first half and light sparring during the second half. My impressions from the class were that the open and relaxed environment enabled the instructor to keep moving about the class and allowed the students to share some of their thoughts as well. The mat is open after class and I got some sparring in with Alex Cruz. I heard later that Alex is on the card for his first pro MMA fight on February 26, in RFC 20 (Real Fighting Championships) in Tampa (note last I checked the RFC website, they had not updated the info with his fight).

I came back the following Tuesday for another class. This time I managed to borrow some fancy sparring gear ahead of time so I could train with the group that had gear. I was in for a real surprise when I sparred with Jeff Bullock, who had some of the speediest punches I have come across in a while. Turns out he was so hot because he was training for a fight on the 23^rd of January! I had to compliment him afterwards for being such a good boxer. He was really amazing. I have since heard from Sensei Phil Beatty that both their fighters from that night, Jeff Bullock and Alyssa Bellini won their fights. Congratulations to both fighters. I understand also that Elite Training Center is set for further expansion to support its growing student base and future programs.

Here are a few photos from my time there.

Link to full set on Flickr.com

BJJ training

Kickboxing and Muay Thai Class

Jeff Bullock (blue)

Instructor Roger Patrizzi with student

students discussing the fine points of techinque together

Fancy Loaner Shin Pads!!!!

Alex Cruz and Jeff Bullock Sparring

Link to full set on Flickr.com

Capital Jiu Jitsu In Dulles Virginia

If I ever miss a martial arts class, I know that the next one is going to be that much harder. So I dont like to miss a class, unless it cant be helped, like when I am going out of town.  I will even try to find a way to train while I’m on the road. In October I had a conference to attend in Alexandria, VA., and would be staying in Centerville, Loudon County, basically. That’s way out there from D.C. and Alexandria, I know, but that is not really part of the story.

I did a bit of looking around on the web to find a gym to train at. My criteria would be to find a place that would allow me to train the way I like and be located in the general vicinity. I finally settled on Capital Jiu Jitsu and I sent an email introducing myself. I was given a very welcome reply to come and train while in the region.

They turned out to be a good fit for me because I am accustomed to a very contemporary approach to training. My idea of a good gym is one that offers a range of programs, with kickboxing and BJJ as the core curriculum, some form or another of cross fit training harsh enough to make you puke, and some gentler things like Pilates and Yoga. It turned out that the kind of gym I picked out was not unlike the one I go to regularly in many ways. That meant that when I got to Capital Jiu Jitsu, I saw lots of things I know and love (or dread) and that made me right at home. Its a combination of an up to date curriculum combined with the brutality of things like kettlebell weights and monster truck tires. It happened also that I had come to the ‘Mothership’ location of this three location franchise, with over 10,000 square feet for martial arts and 2000 square feet for cross fit training. They even have a half-octagon cage for MMA training for the pro fighters.

Blogging about martial arts is one of my own reasons to try another school, but there are other reasons as well. By dropping in on another school, you get a different perspective on your regular training program. You get to see what you know in a new light, you find out what other people know or are training in, and its a chance to see how much different martial arts schools actually share in common. Another reason you might want to try another gym is because you may be moving, or you aren’t happy training where you are currently. I hope the last case wouldn’t be the case. Or maybe you want to expand your training by going to more than one gym.

I came to the advanced Muay Thai/Kickboxing class, led by sensei Japheth Brubaker, who is also the BJJ instructor at the school. But as it turned out, there were only two other guys at the class that night, Eugene Catedral and Leo Perrucci, who are also training assistants for the beginner/intermediate classes which they told me are much larger. I regret that I ran out of time and was not able to train on one of those days with them.

The one hour class began with typical grinder of a warmup with light jogging, some burpees, push-ups and sit-ups and crawling around on all fours. Then we got into roundhouse kick defences, as you see in the photos, with variations on trapping a kick and dropping the opponent to the ground. We then moved on to Thai clinch escapes and variations. Towards the end of the hour, we did some very light sparring, with lots of fast moves but hits were kept as light as possible, power to a minimum. In a second round between Leo and Eugene, they were able to incorporate the clinches and leg holds into the free sparring, which was really nice to see. They learned something and then applied it. That is the whole point of this exercise of learning martial arts, isnt it?

There is a fairly common practice among martial arts schools is to offer a first class for free. That might just spark your interest in trying out another school for fun. But such allowance, whether there is one or not, does not exclude from rules, expectations, or the traditions of martial arts. Its to see if there is a good fit for both you and the school, with no risk for either party. With that in mind, here are some pointers for you if you want to try a new gym. I’m assuming you have done your research and are ready to try them out:

• phone or email ahead of time, ask permission politely to try out their facilities. Tell them about the school you go to now, how you train, your age, your weight, your personal experience training. Be honest about what you can do and expect that a good school might allow you to come in at a level lower than what you can do.

• Bring what gear you can. There are probably some loaner gloves you can use.

• Show humility and respect to the sensei, or sifu, the students and staff alike. Pay attention to the lessons.

• Don’t be a dick. Being arrogant in anyway could be a total turn off. Not everybody knows what you know. In an informal sort of way you are representing the gym you come from, so remember that it is about more than just you when you go in there.

• Respect is the most important thing in martial arts. So bow when you step on the mat, even if the way you have been taught to bow isn’t the same bow the gym uses. You bow to the sensei when you see him the first time, and then introduce yourself politely to him or her and the other students. Go on those assumptions and they will tell you otherwise if needed.

• Don’t go with something to prove. Just try to fit in and go through the exercises. You are just there to work up a sweat and keep some kind of regular schedule in the gym.

• A gym is more than some big equipment or space or great this or that. Keep an open mind and you might find that things that detract from your experience are more than made up by other qualities.

• Consider writing a thank you email or note, or even better, write a review for them for Google reviews or one of the other web sites for reviews, like Epinions,  about businesses and services. Even recommend it to a friend. People who operate martial arts gyms in general are there because they love what they do and they give fully of themselves. So pay them back at least by sharing your positive experience with others.

• If for some reason your experience was negative, try to communicate politely through more discrete ways to the Sensei or other representative what you did not like about the school. At least try it that way first, because hopefully it was just an off day for someone there. This does not need to present itself as a point of conflict. Letting the school know about what your concerns were may help them improve their services and the programs they offer. Remember, no matter what, its supposed to be a learning experience for everybody concerned.

• If they don’t offer a freebie class, respect that. Perhaps they offer a free week or other new member program that you might go for. A good school costs money to run and you shouldn’t be adverse to spending something that helps them in some small way to keep the lights on.

So there you have it. One way or another, just keep on training.

Osu!

Thanks to: Eugene Catedral, Leo Perruci, Japheth Brubaker. Photos by Audrey Foo.

Versus 21 just took down their big dividing wall and doubled the size of the place. Originally, the wall divided the facility. Half was for martial arts and heavy training, and the other half was for yoga, pilates, and bicycle. Well the martial arts side of the business kept on growing. We got together one Saturday Morning in August to take down the wall, which would more than double the space available for martial arts.

Drywall and insulation pulled out

Cutting apart the steel studs

Cutting the mirrors out carefully

Apparently, there is such a thing as world record for demolition of a house by a martial arts team. In Prince Albert, Saskachewan, a karate school run by Wolfgang Manicke holds the world record for housewrecking. Its even featured in an episode or Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, and it is noted in the article that the feat will be registered in the 2002 Guinness Book of World Records. An online search of http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/ didnt return a result on this but the site states clearly that not everything is in the online database. However you can certainly see the video record for the “Most Impressive Breaking Demonstration“. It is very impressive. I cant do that.

But unlike some karate team that shows total wanton disregard and disrespect for abandoned houses, demolishing them in 2 hours, 15 minutes, we tried to be much more careful. Safety first. We were volunteering our time for the improvement of our dojo, we had to deal with tons of icky drywall, insulation, steel studs, wiring, and four large glass mirrors which would be reused. Then we had to sort out all this stuff and hump it down the stairs. I hope this doesnt sound totally wimpy, but we took 3 hours to get the wall down, and we were using tools. Of course we tried a few punches to the drywall, a few elbows, a few kicks to begin with, but say what you will, tools are the way to go. Call it a weapons training day or something. We used cro bars, pry bars, sledge hammers, cutters. and grinders. Actually, it was kind of a weapons day. Any of those would be good for self defence in a real fight. Maybe not the grinder or cutter, they were electric.

Its a common principle among martial arts that a student takes care of the dojo as part of the duties of training in the martial art. In some martial arts like Aikido, the class ends with dutiful sweeping and wiping of tatami. So it was not too terrible at all to put in a little time to help the gym along that I go to train in.

Now look what we have, this big wide open space with tons of room.

New Gym View

A big wide open space

Double the space double the gym

A story came out on reddit.com recently, about a video that somehow surfaced on YouTube.com from about 25 years ago where a mentally unstable man makes his way into a Karate dojo in Quantico, Virginia, and ends up dead. So goes the story that he was a bit of a pest at the local mall, and was definitely known around town.

He dropped into the local Karate dojo to teach them some moves that he said ‘Jesus taught him’. In a case of extreme bad judgement the men from the gym took the opportunity to teach the guy a lesson. They beat him to death, it appears.

Reddit.com, being what it is, a massive clearing house of information, gets the word out. The media got on it, and the law is now on it, and so it should be. The owner of the dojo, Bobby Joe Blythe, has been tracked to where he lives now in Hanford, California.

So we can call it good news, the power of the Internet coming to expose a horrible wrong from 2 decades ago. But the actions of these men, committing murder, is all the more reprochable because the actions were taken in a dojo wearing gi and belt. They are dishonouring all martial arts by their actions. Isnt it obvious that you dont fight people who dont want to fight? That you dont entrap or lure people into a situation where they are subjected to an unfair fight? Its an obvious concept that you dont just inflict injury on anyone, least of all someone of some diminished mental or intellectual capacity. Its so profoundly wrong on so many levels.

If you find yourself in a martial arts dojo of any description and you find the other members or instructors are mean, insensitive, cruel, bullying, or humiliating in anyway, get the hell out and never come back.

Ill spare showing you the original video on my blog, its real faces of death stuff. But if you want to see it, its a related video to the YouTube video link I included in this post.

Aikido Dojo North Vancouver Aikiaki will be welcoming in 2009 in traditional Aikido fasion with Kagami Biraki, a japanese new years traditional ceremony that involves a special rice cake offering, often performed in martial arts dojos. North Vancouver Aikiaki will be offering an open house on Saturday, January 17, 2009 with a Kagami Biraki opening ceremony and demonstrations by students and weapons from noon until 3:30 PM. This event is a great opportunity for the public to become more familiar with the Martial Art discipline of Aikido. The opening ceremony will be followed by demonstrations by children and teens. The presentation will continue with demonstrations of Aikido weapons, Kobudo weapons presented by Shintokokai Karate and Kobudo dojo, and Iaido, or live sword drawing, presented by Shin Ken Kai Iaido dojo. That sounds exciting – its not every day you get to see real katana swords in action. Its a special occasion to see so much at an event like this – a traditional ceremony, student and special weapon demonstrations. That is why if you are interested in marital arts, you should not miss this event. The day will finish with an open house until 3:30 PM.

North Vancouver Aikiaki is a registered not for profit society dedicated to the teaching of Traditional Aikido, and is a member of the United States Aikido Federation. Dedicated to the art of Aikido, the lessons are lead by Chief Instructor Joel Posluns, 6th Dan and Shidoin who volunteers his time.

The website for North Vancouver Aikiaki, http://www.nsaikido.org, features more information about Aikido, their programs for kids, teens and adults and a gallery of videos related to the discipline.

Some more info about North Vancouver Aikiaki is also available at this CL posting:
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/com/966151884.html

Here is an Aikido demonstration video passed along to me from Joel Posluns:

More info about Kagami Biraki:

http://www.shitoryu.org/heritage/kagami_biraki.htm

http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=156