US Grappling will return to Webster, NY (just outside Rochester) on Saturday, July 17th for another no-time-limits, no-points tournament!

Fastest submission!
The competitor with the fastest submission of the entire tournament will win free admission into all US Grappling Submission Only events for one full year!

Free T-shirt for All Pre-Registered Competitors!
All competitors who register online and pay before 7/15/2010 at 8 PM will receive a free t-shirt.

Men’s Gi Division Absolute Winners
Winners of the men’s black, brown, purple, blue, and white belt absolute divisions will win a gi.

Saturday weigh ins will be held from 8 AM to 10 AM for anyone competing in no gi divisions, and will be extended to noon for anyone that will only be competing in the gi. Competitors can also register and weigh in Friday night (more info coming). If you weigh in Friday night, you do not need to weigh in on Saturday! Competitors do not need to wear the gi during weigh ins.

Note: This event is for adults only. Teens may compete with permission of their parents and coaches.

Willink Middle School
900 Publishers Parkway
Webster, NY 14580
MAP

More information on the official site.

US Grappling will host our annual Junior Championships in Ashland, VA (just north of Richmond) on Saturday, July 10th, 2010 at Patrick Henry High school.

This tournament will be DOUBLE ELIMINATION! All kids will get at least two matches in every division.

Juvenile divisions at US Grappling events now use the Madison Bracketing System. There will no longer be preset weight classes for juveniles. Competitors will be divided by weight, experience, and age (whenever possible).

Using the Madison system means children and teens will be less likely to cut weight since they won’t know the weight classes in advance.

Competitors can also register and weigh in Friday night.

Weigh ins will be held from 8 AM to 10 AM for all juvenile competitors.

All competitors that pre-register (and pay) by Thursday, July 8, 2010 at 8 PM will receive a free t-shirt!

Patrick Henry High School
12449 W Patrick Henry Rd
Ashland, VA 23005-3152
MAP

More information on the official site.

Meet director JJ Thomas has indicated that Canadian Glendy Randall won the women's best lifter honors at the AAPF Raw National Championships that were held on April 16-18 in Detroit, Michigan.

In response, David Gratton asks: "How can a non us resident/citizen win a US Nationals Championship?"

Michael DiSanto, UFC - It's the most significant featherweight fight in history.
Jose Aldo currently rules over the division with vicious efficiency. Since entering the US mixed martial arts scene two years ago, the reigning featherweight champion is a perfect in six fights. Each of them ended inside the distance due to strikes, including stopping highly regarded contender Cub Swanson with a double flying knee eight seconds into the fight—yes, a double flying knee.

US Grappling returns to Caravel Academy in Bear, Delaware on Saturday, June 19, 2010! This gi and no-gi event will have divisions for men, women, and 30+ men.

The first 50 pre-registered (and paid) competitors will receive a free event t-shirt!

Diamond State Games T-shirt

Saturday weigh ins will be held at the venue from 8 AM to 9:30 AM for anyone competing in no gi divisions, and will be extended to noon for anyone that will only be competing in the gi. Competitors can also register and weigh in Friday night from 6 to 8 PM (night before weigh-in location TBA). If you weigh in Friday night, you do not need to weigh in on Saturday!

Competitors do not need to wear the gi during weigh ins.

The rules meeting will be held at 10:45 AM, and the first matches will begin at 11 AM. The full event schedule will be posted closer to the event date.

Note: This event is for adults only. Teens may compete in adult divisions with permission of their parents and coaches.

Check out our Rules, Weight Classes, and FAQ.

Preregistration is now open!

2801 Del Laws Rd
Bear, DE 19701
MAP

More information on the official site.

US Grappling returns to Savannah, GA on Saturday, June 26, 2010 for our tenth Submission Only event! Registration is now open!

Saturday weigh ins will be held from 8 AM to 10 AM for anyone competing in no gi divisions, and will be extended to noon for anyone that will only be competing in the gi. Competitors can also register and weigh in Friday night from 6-8 PM at the venue. Competitors do not need to wear the gi during weigh ins.

Fastest submission!
The competitor with the fastest submission of the entire tournament will win free admission into all US Grappling Submission Only events for one full year!

Free T-shirt for All Pre-Registered Competitors!
All competitors who register online and pay before 6/24/2010 at 8 PM will receive a free t-shirt.

Submission Only T-shirt

Men’s Gi Division Absolute Winners
Winners of the men’s black, brown, purple, blue, and white belt absolute divisions will win a gi.

Check out our rules, weight classes, and FAQ.

Note: This event is for adults only. Teens may compete in adult divisions with permission of their parents and coaches.

Tentative Event Schedule
Note – Due to the nature of submission only events, the schedule is tentative. The schedule will be updated as the event date approaches.

Weigh ins begin for all divisions – 8:00 AM
Weigh ins end for ALL No Gi divisions – 10:00 AM SHARP.
Rules Meeting – 10:45 AM
Not before 11:00 AM – Men’s Advanced No Gi
Not before 11:00 AM – Women’s No Gi (all skills)
Not before 11:00 AM – 30+ No Gi (all skills)
Not before 11:30 AM – Men’s Intermediate No Gi
Weigh ins end for all Gi divisions – 12:00 Noon SHARP
Not before 12:30 PM – Men’s Beginner No Gi
Not before 12:30 PM – Men’s Novice No Gi
Not before 1:30 PM – Men’s Purple/Brown/Black (these are separate divisions)
Not before 1:30 PM – Women’s Gi (all belts)
Not before 1:30 PM – 30+ Gi (all belts)
Not before 2:30 PM – Men’s Blue Belt
Not before 3:00 PM – Men’s White Belt

The absolute divisions will begin when the weight classes for that belt or skill have finished. For example, when all of the men’s advanced no gi divisions have finished, we will begin the men’s advanced absolute. The last divisions of the day will be the men’s white belt absolute.

Supergoose Sports Complex
3700 Wallin Street,
Savannah, GA‎ 31404
MAP

More information on the official site.

Tonight’s “Strikeforce: Nashville” event is already underway from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The main card is being shown on CBS, with the broadcast featuring three title fights beginning at 9 p.m. EST (6 p.m. PST).

The main event of the evening features Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields, who will defend his title for the first time against former PRIDE champ Dan Henderson, who will make his promotional debut.

The co-main event features a light-heavyweight title fight between champion Gegard Mousasi and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

The third title fight sees lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez meeting DREAM lightweight champ Shinya Aoki, who fights on US soil for the first time.

**Spoiler Alert** The event is being broadcast via tape delay across North America and The MMA News is providing the live results for the event.

Main Card

- Jake Shields def. Dan Henderson via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-45, 48-45) – to retain middleweight title
- Gilbert Melendez def. Shinya Aoki via unannimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) – to retain lightweight title
- Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal def. Gegard Mousasi via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45) – wins the light heavyweight title

Preliminary Card

- Ovince St. Preaux def. Chris Hawk via TKO (strikes) – R1 0:47
- Andrew Uhrich def. Dustin West via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 1:36
- Jason “Mayhem” Miller def. Tim Stout via TKO (strikes) – R1, 3:09
- Cale Yarbrough def. Josh Schockman via TKO (strikes) – R2
- Zach Underwood def. Hunter Worsham via unanimous decision
- Dustin Ortiz def. Justin Pennington via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 4:27
- Cody Floyd def. Thomas Campbell via KO (strikes) – R3

The creators of the US Open, Claudio Franca Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, are honored to announce the 3rd American Cup Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament.

On Saturday, May 1, 2010 the first day of the tournament, is exclusively for kids year born 1995 – 2006 and purple belt ranks of all weights. The cost for kids early registration until Thursday April 22nd is $50.00. From April 23-26, 2010, registration changes to $65.00.

On Sunday May 2, 2010 the second day of the tournament, will be for competitors in the Juvenile, Adult, Master, Senior I, Senior II and Female Age Divisions of white, blue, brown, and black belt rankings. The cost of early registration for Juveniles, Adults, Masters, Seniors and Females until Thursday April 22nd is $65.00. From April 23 – 26, 2010, registration changes to $80.00.

Los Gatos High School
20 High School Ct
Los Gatos, CA 95030
MAP

More information on the official site.

By Christian Simamora

A quick conversation with Henry Akins, one of Dynamix’ founders.

Where did the name Dynamix Martial Arts originate from?

We wanted to come up with a name that had a lot of meaning and didn’t sound super cliche and cheesy. The word Dynamic is pretty descriptive of the martial arts we both teach here and how we try to teach them.

Dynamic – 1. pertaining to or characterized by energy or effective action; vigorously active or forceful; energetic; 2. a. of or pertaining to force or power, b. of or pertaining to force related to motion

Then we decided to change the spelling a little once we decided on calling the gym Dynamix Martial Arts so when we write it out people could also see “MMA”, which of course is a very popular term right now.

How did you and Antoni Hardonk meet? How did the idea for the school come about?

Antoni and I met in 2004 when he came to LA to train at Rickson Gracie’s Academy where I was the main instructor at the time. After that we became close friends. The idea for the gym didn’t really come about until around January of this year. Antoni made the decision to move to the United States and wanted to start teaching because he noticed a very big demand for high level stand up in LA and the US in general. Most of the kickboxing in the US comes from Muay Thai, but the Muay Thai style and Dutch kickboxing style are very different in the way they use their hands, the way they throw their kicks and the footwork. I also needed a place to start teaching group classes, so I thought it would be a great idea to open a school together and offer people a place where they can go and learn very technical Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Dutch kickboxing.

What was the opening like?

Even though it was a big holiday weekend, we still had around 250 people come out. A lot of good friends came to support, such as black belt and owner of Hollywood Jiu-Jitsu, Sean Patrick Flannery, strength and conditioning guru Chad Waterbury, rapper Young Dre, clothing designer and owner of RVCA Pat Tenore and denim icon Jerome Dahan. We also had several well known fighters come out such as Fabricio Werdum, Vladimir Matyushenko, Jared Hamman (just won “fight of the night” in UFC 111) and Gabe Rudiger.

Describe the facilities for our audience.

We have about 1000 sq ft. We didn’t really have any expectations so we didn’t want to open a huge gym and have a ton of overhead. The location of our gym is amazing! It’s 7 blocks from the beach with tons of available parking, close to all the nice hotels, restaurants and shopping in Santa Monica.

I think what makes our gym really special though is the high level of knowledge of the instructors.

Antoni and I both spent 15 years training with the best people in our respective martial art. Antoni comes from the Vos Gym in Holland. He trained under and lived with one of the founders of Dutch Kickboxing, Johan Vos. During his time there he trained on a daily basis with Ivan Hippolyte, Ernesto Hoost and Jerrel Venetiaan.

I was trained of course by Rickson Gracie.

Who is teaching and what is the curriculum, currently and soon-to-come?

Right now Antoni and I are teaching all the classes, and at the moment the classes have been really small, so every class is almost like a semi private. Antoni is teaching all the stand-up classes and I am teaching all the jiu-jitsu classes. Antoni’s classes are Dutch kickboxing and he has an MMA class that is mostly how to use the stand up to close the distance safely and set up take-downs and he also goes over some ground technique.

The classes I am teaching are all Jiu-jitsu classes with a little different focus. I have a gi class, a no-gi class and a self-defense class that teaches people how to use Jiu-jitsu when you are in a situation where an opponent is trying to grab or subdue you or attack you with strikes. It’s the side of jiu-jitsu that doesn’t really get trained so much anymore now that sport jiu-jitsu has grown so big.

We will also be offering yoga classes, which is a great combination to kickboxing and jiu-jitsu because it helps to develop strength, flexibility, and is really beneficial in balancing the body and helping with recovery from training. Another thing we are hoping to have available as soon as we feel we have the demand for it is a strength and conditioning class, and we are really blessed to have access to two of the most well respected strength and conditioning coaches in the country – Jon Hinds and Chad Waterbury.

When will the website launch and what type of content will you present there?

We should have some more information on our website soon about all the stuff I just mentioned. Its a work in progress, but you can keep checking back at www.dynamixmartialarts.com as we add stuff.

What’s the drop-in policy for visitors and non-members?

Everyone is welcome to come and train as long as you have a good attitude and are coming in to learn. If you are coming to a gi class though just make sure to bring a clean white gi.

What does this school mean to you?

The school is first and foremost a martial arts school where we try to pass on the values of true martial artists such as honor, respect, courage and humility; but, it is also a place where people come to have fun, train hard and learn martial arts from very high-level instructors.

Any closing thoughts?

Many people get the wrong impression when they hear the term MMA or Mixed Martial Arts. They think MMA is a style, but actually its a combination of several martial arts that participants in the sport of MMA practice. We are really proud to offer some of the highest level of instruction in two of the martial arts that make up MMA – Kickboxing and Jiu-jitsu. Antoni and I have spent almost half of our lives learning, training, and teaching these arts and would like to welcome everyone to come and train with us.

“The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) has received an early present for his 34th birthday on July 3rd, he’ll face Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1) at UFC 116.

Fighters Only Magazine reported the news on Wednesday noting that “One of the fighters has signed and returned his bout agreements and the other is expected to be returned this week, making the clash official for UFC 116.”

It had been rumored that both men would meet at UFC 110 but that was changed to a match between Silva and Michael Bisping.

Silva defeated Bisping by unanimous decision in that bout last month. The victory erased a two fight slide for Silva who dropped matches to Rich Franklin and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Since returning to the UFC after the fall of Pride FC, the Brazilian fighter has gone 2-3.

Akiyama, a highly decorated judoka fighter, has won 12 straight bouts with 2 ‘No Contests’. The match against Silva will be his second in the UFC and on US soil since making his debut against Alan Belcher at UFC 100. In that bout, Akiyama earned a split decision victory that earned both men the “Fight of the Night” honors.

Also scheduled for UFC 116 will be the return of heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar who will step into the octagon against the winner of this weekends interim title fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin.