How to win a street fight against a crazed scientist / doctor with the help of a manly looking woman(?) with an injured wing.

They don’t make classic martial arts films anymore. Oh wait! this was filmed in 2008…. I guess crappy cinematography and coreography still exist in our modern world.

See you in class soon where we will be learning the “hook” technique. And im not talking about a punch. See you in class!

Savannah Martial Arts Academy now has two more classes available for new students:

Women’s Muay Thai Kickboxing and Freestyle / Folkstyle Wrestling

These classes are available as individual memberships or together with your unlimited membership. If you are interested in either of these classes, please read over the information below about each class.

Women’s Muay Thai Kickboxing:
This class is a structured kickboxing class for women which focuses on the fundamentals of the style as well as implementing a strength and conditioning aspect to anyone interested in training. The class is for women only and allows you to work with other women, most of whom are beginners, in Muay Thai techniques and drills. The class is taught by WKA North American Champion Kickboxer Camilla Meshiea who has been training in Muay Thai for over 6 years. This class is $50 per month and meets Saturday Mornings from 11am-12noon. Gear for class includes hand wraps, boxing gloves, and athletic clothing. Mouthpiece and shin guards are also recommended. You can purchase this equipment by visiting our gyms website at SavannahMartialArts.com.

Freestyle / Folkstyle Wrestling:
This class instructs youth and adults in the sport of wrestling. The class focuses on Folkstyle and Freestyle Wrestling but can be a great benefit for mixed martial arts fighters who want to improve their takedowns, take down defense, and ground control. The class follows a standard high school or freestyle wrestling practice outline and technique is emphasized. This class is available for all ages, and no previous experience is required. The class is taught by 3 time state champion and 1st place National wrestler Cory Grizzard who has been wrestling competitively for over 12 years. Class price for Wrestling Club Membership is $50 per month but is included at no extra cost for unlimited training memberships. Required gear includes wrestling shoes, wrestling headgear, and a mouthpiece. Athletic support is recommended.

With these great new courses, you can learn new techniques or hone your current techniques. Come by or call the gym at 912-412-4653 for more information. Or you can email us by visiting our website: Contact Us Now.

Saturday, March 7th, 2009 Split Lip Fight Wear will be hosting a Gi and No-Gi Grappling Tournament in Macon Georgia. There will be 73 divisions of No Gi Gi and Absolute submission grappling.

This event will be held at the following address:

Windsor Academy
4150 Jones Road
Macon, GA

Cost for the event is $40 for one or two divisions. Doors open for Registration at 8:00am.

Try to make it to this event and grapple against some great MMA schools in GA, SC, FL, TN and NC. If you are planning to attend this event and are a member of Savannah Martial Arts Academy or team member of Savannah MMA, talk with me about travel options and other information about this event.

I have heard many discussions regarding whether children should learn mixed martial arts as to the sport being too violent or too aggressive for younger students, but I have seen from our own students that children are more than capable of separating mixed martial arts training from day to day activity.

There are also instances where children will benefit from MMA over other martial arts systems because of the well rounded techniques and overall simplicity of the moves. Each student learns how to use his or her body in the most comfortable and natural way for their potential.

Sometimes you hear of a child defending themselves from another child, fending off a bully, or even defending themselves or others from an adult attacker. But the following story is about a young 9 yr old boy who used his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training to save his friend from an attacking pitbull.

Taken from BakersfieldNow.com:

Boy Stops Pitbull Attack With Jiujitsu Choke Hold

A 9-year-old Bakersfield boy is being called a hero after he saved a girl and her dog from a pit bull attack.

Drew Heredia said he and a friend were walking a small dog Dec. 30 when a pit bull jumped on the dog. The unidentified 12-year-old girl reportedly tried to save her dog, prompting the pit bull to turn on her.

Heredia said he jumped on the pit bull and applied a choke hold that he learned while taking classes at a Brazilian jujitsu studio in southwest Bakersfield.

“It was kind of a [heart-pounding] moment,” Heredia said. “It was very scary.”

He said he held the dog for 20 minutes until an animal control officer arrived.

“At first, I wanted to kick it, but then I thought it’s not a good idea, because it could get my leg,” Heredia said.

The girl was taken to Mercy Southwest Hospital where she was treated for puncture wounds.

The pit bull was quarantined at the animal control office, where it will be euthanized after 10 days. No one has claimed the dog.

The girl’s dog was injured, but it’s expected to survive. The dog ran away during the attack but returned home Friday afternoon.

So here we have a young boy with the foresight and training to know that maybe applying a kick was not the best technique for the situation and then applying a much more controlled choke hold while controlling the animal until help arrived. You just don’t find that kind of training in a traditional martial arts style like karate or tae kwon do. Mixed Martial Arts for Kids just allows them more defense options and is better suited for self-defense for children in almost any circumstance.

Albany, Georgia will be host to a large scale mixed martial arts competition on November 8th, 2008. The card is hosting a big card of Pro and Amateur fights with about 8 pro mma bouts and 8 amateur mma bouts.

Savannah MMA will have 4 fighters competing in the card including 1 professional and 3 amateurs. Georgia amateur mixed martial arts rules do not allow for ground and pound to the head and limit the stand-up to knees to the body but not the head. Amateur fighters are also to wear protective gear including shin guards and safety training MMA gloves. Amateurs are also prohibited from applying any twisting leg or ankle locks. This can be a disadvantage to the overall progression of the fighter, but it has its safety benefits especially in the event that the fight has been mismatched in experience levels.

Our three Savannah MMA amateur fighters include Sam Grosse, Demetrice Turner, and Frank Joseph.

Sam Grosse has never fought in mixed martial arts competition. He will be facing another 145 lb. 0-0 mma fighter who has been kickboxing for a while. Sam will be training hard and if he sticks to our fight game plan, he should come home with his first mma fight being a success.

Demetrice Turner is fairly experienced now with a record of 2-3 in amateur competition. He faces an 0-0 opponent at 155 lb., but is not taking this fight lightly. He will work hard to fight to the win and has a full grasp of what it will take to win and get the attention he deserves.

Frank Joseph is 1-0 in amateur competition and hopefully will face another game 205 lb. fighter on November 8th at the Albany GA MMA fights. He has just come off a quick knock out victory and hopes to do the same in Albany on the 8th.

Our professional fighter, Richard Aquino is 2-3 as a professional fighter and is facing Heath Davis at 180lbs for the fight night. Richard has been training hard and has been working on strategy and conditioning for this competition. “Regardless of what happens, he is going to remember he fought ‘Da Pitbull’” is what Richard has said of his fight against Albany local Heath Davis.

Hopefully we will all fight well and come home with minimal injuries and some strong wins to bolster our experience. See you all there for the fights and God bless.

I don’t know if you got a chance to visit the All Weather Training Facility last Saturday night, but there was quite a great competition in that very building. Several students from Beaufort Martial Arts and Savannah MMA competed in the event and did very well in the home town environment. Our team went 50% on the night with 2 losses and 2 wins, but everyone did a great job and showed plenty of heart and determination.

Mike Shannon opened up the event for Savannah MMA against a very game Chris Scott from Champions Training Center. This fight was chosen before hand to be broadcast on HD Net sports (check local listings for event times.) Mike stuck to the gameplan and opened with a quick combination followed by a huge slam and even passed to sidemount. Chris’s ground game was very solid though and he pulled guard and eventually secured a tight armbar on Mike in the first round. Mike tapped out and was disappointed but he showed lots of potential for his first mma fight with Savannah MMA, especially after only training 10 weeks before fighting.

Frank Joseph brought a victory to Savannah MMA with a 12 second knockout of his opponent. We had been training for a stand up fight, but Frank’s opponent was changed at the last moment and instead of fighting a 5′8″ opponent, Frank faced a 6′2″ opponent. We stuck to the original gameplan and Frank pushed forward with a strong combination and knocked his opponent to the ground in stunning fashion.

Demetrice Turner faced Beaufort MMA’s Colton Rucker at 155 next and won a minute and a half in due to strikes from the mount. Colton had been training hard for a different fighter, but Demetrice took the fight on a days notice to help Colton stay on the card and to give both schools a chance to shine in front of their local fans.

Travis Shiflett finished the night for Savannah MMA, but his long fought battle at 170 lbs ended in a loss by unanimous decision. Travis fought hard and escaped every submission attempt, but control gave his opponent the victory. He did impress with his heart and will to finish, but his opponents takedowns proved too much during the fight.

Overall it was a great card and all the Savannah MMA and Beaufort MMA students did a great job fighting hard and training harder for the fight.

Frank talked to me this week and mentioned how he trained so hard and cut weight and prepared so much and his fight only went 12 seconds. I reminded him that is why we always say “Train hard so you won’t have to fight hard.” We will continue to train hard and continue to prepare for future competitions and we all feel priviledged to be part of South Carolina’s first ever mixed martial arts event.

Great Job Guys!

For Everyone Else:

If you would like to fight on the Savannah MMA team there are a couple of stipulations… First of all, you have to train and train hard. Second, you have to earn a spot on the team. Come by and try a class out and see how you do. Check out directions to our school by clicking the location tab at the top of the page.

Classes are Monday and Wednesday from 7-8:30pm and we train 5 times a week for fights. Come on in and see if you have what it takes.

Thanks to everyone that showed up to the Dean Lister seminar last Friday night. We got to learn some great techniques and hopefully we will get to use them very soon in the next mma event or grappling tournament that our team competes in.

If you were not available for the seminar, don’t worry, we are looking to have plenty more seminars in the future and hopefully, we will get other UFC fighters to come train with us like Dean did.

If you are interested in being alerted about upcoming seminars, I would recommend that you subscribe to our RSS feed or email us and let us know that you are interested in upcoming events.

Once again, thanks to those that visited for the seminar and please come back later to see some pictures posted and possibly some videos.

On October 17th, Dean Lister will be teaching a mixed martial arts
seminar at our school in Savannah. Dean is a world class grappling
champion, King of the Cage MMA champion, and is a current UFC fighter.
He was one of Tito Ortiz’s guest coaches during the Ultimate Fighter
and is well respected as a fighter and grappler to all who know and
study the sport.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to train with a phenominal grappler and mma fighter in Dean Lister.

When:

Friday October 17th at 6:30pm

Where:

Savannah Martial Arts Academy at 904 East 70th Street near Memorial Health Center.

How Much:

$70.00

What will I need?:

Bring whatever MMA gear you have, as well as a drink or cash for
drinks at the school. (Gear is not necessary if you do not have it.)

On September 27th, Crossfit Hyperformance in Savannah Georgia held its annual “Fight Gone Bad” workout as a fundraiser for the Wounded Warriors Project where disabled veterans and their families receive help via donations. This fundraiser included the BJ Penn inspired “Fight Gone Bad” routine consisting of three 5 minute rounds of intense workout. Each round has five 1 minute stations with a different workout at each station.

Overall the event went very well with several Crossfit Hyperformance regulars doing very well. We also had several of our students from Savannah Mixed Martial Arts participate and put up some good scores. Mike Shannon scored the highest of the day with a combined score of 365. Drew McKenzie (Crossfit Highperformance Owner and Trainer) was not in attendance during the event but scored in the 380s when he returned.

Here are some pictures of the event (compliments Jennifer and Drew of Crossfit Hyperformance in Savannah GA):

Fight Gone Bad Rounds and Exercises.

Mike From Savannah MMA killing the Fight Gone Bad Workout

Demetrice Rowing to the Finish

Savannah MMA and Crossfit Hyperformance Complete a Successful Fight Gone Bad

Dean Lister will be visiting our school on October 17th. the day before the MMA fights on Parris Island, SC. He is one of the guests of the ICF show on Saturday at Parris Island and will be teaching us some techniques and strategy he uses to win in MMA and grappling.

Here is a quick Biography about Dean Lister borrowed from Wikipedia:

Dean “the Boogeyman” Lister is a two-time U.S. National Sambo champion, a four-time U.S. Machado National Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Champion (weight class and open classes), and a National Gracie Jiu Jitsu champion.

Dean was invited three times (2000, 2003, and 2005) to the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) championship, a prestigious grappling tournament consisting only of top 16 grapplers in the world of each weight class. Lister won the Abu Dhabi Absolute Division championship in 2003, as well as two Superfights in 2003 and 2005; in addition, he set a tournament record by defeating 4 of his opponents consecutively (3 by submission) in 2003.

It is worth noting that one of Lister’s MMA losses is against Nathan Marquardt whom Lister submitted in the 2003 ADCC tournament.

Dean Lister was a King of the Cage middleweight champion, and defended his title several times before eventually losing it to Jeremy Horn via decision.

Dean’s overall record includes 11 wins and 5 losses, with over 9 of these wins coming by submission. Dean Lister has never been knocked out or submitted in an MMA competition. 9 of his victories have come by submission.

UFC 79 on December 29, 2007: Lister wins by unanimous decision of 30-27. This bout was not aired on the broadcast.
Dean avenged his loss in the TUF 7 finale by submitting MMA veteran Jeremy Horn by guillotine choke.

Come by next Friday for our MMA seminar with grappling champion and UFC star Dean Lister. Bring some friends too, this is a great opportunity and you do not want to miss out on it!

Please email or call for more details. Call 912-41-CHOKE.