At class yesterday, we were counting up the number of competitors from Reaction MMA who will be competing at Arnolds this year in either grappling or kickboxing. We estimated the number to be greater than 14, dispite some of our team having unfortunate injuries. This will be the largest team yet fielded at an event so everyone is looking forward to making this milestone. We will have competitors at brown, purple, blue, juvenile blue, and white as well as kids ages 6 through 12. The Arnolds will allow walk-up registrations, so if any plans change we could yet add more to our numbers. Saturday night, the plan is to gather together somewhere to watch the Strikeforce event. A good time is sure to be in store.
We are two weeks out from the ADCC event at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH. Many have been especially admiring the training of two serious jiu-jitsu practitioners. Chad in prep for the 169.9 purple belt division has been adding a speed and tenacity to his rolling that would cause anyone to take notice. Coach Rob has been rolling with intensity and purpose. Instead of his usual cat and mouse experiments in which he toys with everyone to see what they have learned and need next, he has been a tapping machine, cold, calculating, and tight. This will be a milestone event for the Reaction MMA grappling team.
Come to Nashville with us for a fun day of competition at a nice venue in Gallatin, TN. Last year the event was a two day event but this year it will all be on one day which should make for our best tournament team photo yet. Competition is where we get validation of skills and valuable information about our ground game. BJJ is really taken off in TN over the past year with the Ribeiro family opening three new schools in Nashville. Let’s show them how Kentucky rolls.
The North American Grappling Association (NAGA) is the world’s largest mixed grappling tournament circuit with over 150,000 competitors worldwide! On Saturday, March 31st, 2012, NAGA returns to the Nashville area for the NAGA Nashville Grappling Championship No-Gi & Gi tournament. The tournament will be at the Gallatin Civic Center, Gallatin, TN. Come as an individual or as a team to compete. This will be a one day event. This event is nationally RANKED!
PRE-REGISTER ONLINE HEREor download the registration form, print it out and mail it in to the address on the form along with your check. 1 Division = $80; 2 Divisions = $100, Spectators = $10 ($15 after pre-reg closes). For family rates, download the event flyer/registration form, or click the Pre-Register Online link. Pre-registration closes at 5PM on Friday, March 23 .
Professor Ware and the OGC have announced that on June 9th, at Dunbar High School, they will be hosting a grappling tournament. The event will be Submission Only for the adults, with the usual rules for kids and teens.
If you have never competed in “Submission Only” events, this means that there are no points and no time limits. The match goes until someone taps, snaps, or naps. This form of competition is thought by many to more closely resemble the dynamics of an actual unarmed fight between two people. This can be a real test which can give you a great deal of insight into the effectiveness of your ground game. We’ll be there in force, so come on out and take part in what is sure to be an epic event.
Professor Gurgel always puts tremendous energy into his seminars. If you take your ground game seriously, and you are anywhere near Michigan, do yourself a favor and reserve your space on the matt while it is still available.
We are in Kentucky, but some of us are seriously considering making the drive.
On March 3rd and 4th, in Columbus, OH, as part of the Arnold’s Martial Arts Festival 2012, our team will compete at The Arnold Grappling Championships. This event is expected to grow bigger and better in 2012 as The World Grappling Circuit manages the popular event for the first time. The WGC runs grappling at the Europa Supershow in Dallas and several other large events. In addition, in an effort to increase the level of competition, the Arnold Grappling Championships will run an official ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) expert portion of the show. The Expert or Advance no-Gi divisions of the men’s and women’s adult divisions will compete in ADCC style. Click here for rules. The winners of this advanced adult competition will receive free entry into the ADCC North American Championships held later in the year. The ADCC World Federation will bring its head referee from the Abu Dhabi Combat Club to oversee the competition in the Arnold Grappling Championships. (Note: this is only the Men and Women Adult Advanced division. All other divisions will have normal Gi and no-Gi rules.) REGISTER HERE
To see a great highlight video from last year’s ADCC, Check this out!
You might also like to compete in other related events that many of our fighters enjoy. We have some fighters competing in the kickboxing events. We also have some fighters competing in the Pankration events. So make sure you go to the Arnold Sports Festival site and check it all out. There you will find information about divisions, rules, etc.
On Feb 4th, at Hardrock43 in Shepardsville, KY, Reaction MMA Amatuer fighter Mark Morris won his debut MMA fight via arm-bar in the first round. In the videos below you can see the effectiveness of marks striking, and then his submission game finishes the fight. The first video is from a fan’s perspective and the second is the cage camera. Mark trains extremely hard and was more than prepared for a successful debut. Congratulations Mark from all of your team members and fans. We can’t wait to see what you do next.
Tyler Voth def Jason Carrier via Submission (rear-naked choke) 00:23 into Round 1
On Saturday, Feb 11th, at Spartan Fighting Championship 12, in Morehead, KY, we watched Tyler Voth of Reaction MMA make his Pro MMA Debut. Tyler’s first Pro MMA fight might just go down as one of the most action packed 23 seconds in MMA history. Tyler’s opponent, Cody Osborne, obviously had a game plan to apply immediate and intense striking pressure on Tyler, perhaps expecting him to crumble. Tyler answered with counter strikes which knocked Cody to the canvas. Tyler then quickly took Cody’s back and cinched in a Rear Naked Choke. The choke was tight and Cody Osborne quickly tapped. Congratulations Tyler on an impressive start to your Pro MMA career. We did not yet get good video footage of this fight, but it was captured at http://www.gfl.tv/fighter/Tyler_Voth/9372 which should have the fight archived.
Jack Podgorski, improved his amatuer MMA record to (6-2) at Hardrock MMA 43 in Shepardsville, KY on Feb 4th, 2012. Jack won convincingly using his combined striking and grappling skills. Jack spent much of the fight on his opponent’s back. We look forward to seeing great things from this young man! The video of each round as shot by the cage cam are below.
Mark Morris Wins Debut Fight at Hardrock MMA 43 Via Arm-Bar
Congratulations to Mark on winning his debut fight via Arm-bar (Juji Gatame). As you can see in the video, he begins the fight with effective striking which eventually causes his opponent to drop to the canvas. He then finished the fight on the ground. Mark is going to be a scary opponent as he is getting better every day. There are two videos below. The first video is from a fan’s perspective. The second video is the cage cameras.
