Same As It Ever Was

Well not really, but sort of. Ok so the new year has started out great and brought us many new students. Many of our new students have come from other fight gyms which is great. We are happy to have them and their experience. They have left because of changes there - increased tuition, decreased parking. Whatever. Somethings are unavoidable with the times. Aren't all the candidates running on Change?

That made me think. Have we changed?

We have produced a few fighters. You have probably heard of them. They trained in the exact same way we do today. They led class. They took classes with Tony leading them, myself, Steve Medina, Chris Page. They took classes with Roberto who smiled and treated them like everyone else. They competed in tournaments, busted their asses in tournament class and went through the ranks, just as you are doing. They didn't take any shortcuts because there aren't any. There is no trick or secret to this art. The people who are good did it through mat time and study.

Nothing has changed here.

Well maybe a few things. Roberto is on the mat more. We have classes seven days a week - morning (you guys are hardcore), noon (big thanks to Al), and night. We have a bunch of crazy kids that run around at 4 every Monday , Wednesday and Friday with all sorts of colored belts. (Big thanks to Joel, Jonny, G, Rob and Ika with them) Chris Page and many of the black belts teach extra tournament classes for free and they are free to attend. (Pssst they don't count as one of your classes). We are having an in house tournament to help people get their feet wet with competition before jumping in head first. We have top guys coming through here like Tussa, Renzo, Carlinhos, Daniel Gracie...I can go on and on...

We don't care what you do with what you learn here - get in shape, make friends, take it and go somewhere else (don't do that - I will be sad), compete at the lowest and/or highest level. Its yours. We are gonna give everyone who walks through the door the same training opportunities - whatever their goals are. We give it pretty freely and hope you will do the same with it. Because once you learn it, its yours and that is how the art grows and changes and evolves.

...and we have lots of free parking. And if you can't find a spot, put it behind my car.