The striking class on 11/11/08 at 8:30pm will be canceld tonight. We apologize for the inconvenience and the class will be held on its normally scheduled time slot next week.

I would like to congratulate everyone who competed this weekend especially the guys who have never competed before. The first time entering a tournament can be a very trying event. The day is very long and the waiting can be very nerve racking but it helps you deal with adversity. Again i would like to congratulate everyone who fought hard this weekend and hope it was a positive experience for all the newcomers to competition.
We had two tournament going on the same day this weekend. The NAGA tournament was in New Jersey Saturday and the highlight of the day was James Accarino. Accarino jumped into his first tournament this weekend and did great. He placed 2nd in the Gi division, which is excellent considering this was his first time competing. Congratulations and keep up the hard work.
We also had the Grappler’s Quest going on the same day down in Florida. Our own instructor Tom Muller flew down and competed in three divisions that day placing in all three of them. Tom placed 2nd in the no-Gi Super Heavyweight division, 3rd in the no-Gi absolute and 3rd in the Gi absolute division. For a more in depth description of some of his matches please check out the forum and stay tuned because all of the matches were recorded and will be posted to the website soon.

The advanced class on Saturday 11/8/08 at 12:15pm will be canceled due to a tournament on the same day in New Jersey. The North American Grappling Association (NAGA) is holding a tournament the same day and some of our guys are competing in this event. If you guys want more information about this tournament please go to www.nagafighter.com.

Congratulations to Owen Piccirillo and Kevin McCarney for receiving their first stripe on their blue belts. This promotion took place during the afternoon class on 11/3/08. Keep up the great training!

The Seminar of Champions was back in Superior, WI, raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with world-renowned talent heading up the seminar, including Jeff Monson, Shonie Carter, Marcello Montiero, Joey Scarola, and Logan Clark. Returning in its fifth edition, the Seminar of Champions builds upon the success of its previous events. The last event raised over $6,000 for the charity and is hoping to have similar, if not better numbers this year. We would like to thank all the instructors who donated their time for such a great charity.

Due to the Columbus Day holiday we will only be conducting an afternoon class today. The noon class is going to be the only class of the day so if you would like to get some training in on the holiday please come down this afternoon. Thank you and have a happy holiday.