SBG President Matt Thornton was back on the road this month, heading to Ireland, where he attended the SBG Ireland Camp, to the UK where he attended SBG’s UK Camp, and finally Canada, where he hosted seminars. Along the way Matt spent time and trained alongside many SBG legends, including SBG Ireland’s John Kavanagh, Travis Davison, SBG Manchester’s own Karl Tanswell.

 

The trips to Ireland, the UK and Canada, are just the latest stops on Matt’s almost-year-long spell perfecting and simplifying one of BJJ’s most dominant positions; the mount. Back over the ocean to Canada, at seminars for SBG Niagara and Toronto, he revolutionized the games of ever more jiu jitsu students. SBG Toronto even celebrated the warm, fall weather by hosting their seminar outdoors!

 

SBG Bury’s Glyn Powditch Receives Promotion

During the UK Camp, SBG Bury Coach and BJJ black belt Glyn Powditch was presented with the first stripe on his black belt! Congratulations to Glyn on this amazing achievement! SBG Bury is one of the newest gyms in the expansion of SBG into the UK, spanning out from the original SBG Manchester, and Glyn has been among those instrumental in its success. Glyn Powditch had this to share on receiving his stripe:

“This weekend was one in an incredible year that still stands out. Having been on planes for much of it, it was great to reconnect with my team and coach at SBG UK. Graduating with the legend that is Coltrane to my 1st stripe is a great person to share it with, at a great facility surrounded by so many top class players from UFC Vets to world renown black belts. 

Thanks to everyone who came down to the event and to Stapes Stapleton for hosting it. I’ve attempted to tag everyone I spotted. Apologies if I missed you off”

New Black Belt At SBG Ireland

 

I wish to thanks for everyone I meet on my jiu jitsu journey, I love to meet with you guys on the mats, bjj for me is a best healer of body and soul and I just love to do that every day and enjoy every single moment of teaching and learning that beautiful martial art, I wish to thanks for my great coach @coach_kavanagh for believing in me! And for whole knowledge I get from him! Great mind! Thanks for @aliveness_ape for make such a great society of warriors around a globe!!! . One tribe one vibe! Viva la SBGi.!!!#sbg #sbgireland #silverbackjiujitsuacademy #fitfun #fitnessmotivation #mma #ireland #bjj #dublin #bjjlifestyle #jiujitsu #whitebelt#training#coach#healty#lifestyle#coaching#sport#rathcoole#citywest#lucan#Ibjjf#ueajjf#adcc#silverback #beginnerjiujitsu#irish#polish#friendlyenvironment#bowandarrow#collarchoke#competitor#ironman

Congratulations, Mario!

SBG Bully Proof Seminar

SBG Alabama played host to the SBG Bully Proof seminar last month. The seminar, aimed at kids, seeks to improve basic self-defense knowledge, along with confidence and social awareness to make the kids in attendance “Bully Proof”! The event was an enormous success, with 148 childen of all ages attending!

“Final total was 148 kids on the mat that are better prepared to deal with whatever form of bullying they may encounter! I cannot say enough about how proud I am of our coaches and our staff as a whole. This was just one of the many things our tribe does to give back to our community. I love my job and I love my tribe! #SBG #onetribe #onevibe”

SBG At The Oregon Open

The annual Oregon Open came around once again on September 16th, but unlike previous years, only one SBG gym could compete. As a result of the wild fires ravaging the northwest, the usual small army of competitors travelling from the east, in the form of SBG Montana, SBG North and SBG Idaho were unable to make it, and so it was left to SBG Portland to represent the tribe in their own back yard. Despite the deficit in sheer numbers, SBG performed admirably. SBG took third in the Overall Team competition, as well as third in the Adult/Masters Gi & No Gi competitions. Notable individual performances include Eddie Zeigler, who won gold in his brown belt weight class, along with Andrew Gundlach, who took gold in his own weight class at brown belt, despite only having received his belt promotion a few short weeks prior! The pair also closed out the brown belt Absolute division, with Eddie beating Andrew to take gold in the final.

SBG Coach John Diggins took double gold in the Elite No-Gi division, winning both in his weight class and in Absolute. Aside from the higher level medals, the Oregon Open is always an excellent opportunity for those newer to competing to test the waters. Indeed, many newer athletes did more than that, with a huge number of tribe members at white and blue belt level, as well as kids, bringing home medals of all colors! For the full results, click here.

Congratulations to the whole SBG team, from beginner to elite level, for testing yourself!

“So proud of each and everyone that left everything out on the mats today. Your results aren’t what define you. If you won or lost a match, I don’t think any different of you. As a coach, I’m just proud that you chose to challenge yourself. See you on the mat tomorrow.” – Amanda Diggins

Wimp2Warrior Finale in Portland!

Last weekend finally saw the culmination of six months of incredible effort, as the contestants of the USA’s first Wimp2Warrior contest took to the Roseland Theater in Portland, OR! Wimp2Warrior Portland saw members of the public, along with a few, newer SBG students, sign up for an intensive 6 month fight camp that taught them the basics of MMA and fitness, and for those that felt comfortable, gave them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to test those new skills against teammates on the big stage; an MMA cage at the Roseland Theater! Everyone who competed put on a hell of a show, and showed professionalism and composure beyond their modest training level.

Win or lose, the incredible strength you all showed to wake up early every morning for 6 months, tirelessly train, and push yourself in this new test, is truly remarkable. Congratulations! SBG Coach Brian Walsh shared his thoughts on the event:

Just a quick note to say thanks.

First to the athletes. Max and Peter both had their debut against tough opponents and came out on top with style and sportsmanship. The W2W guys walked into the gym 6 months ago for the first time and last night walked into the cage for their first bout. You all climbed the mountain. Take a second to enjoy the view, then pick out a new mountain, a new goal that you can achieve now with the grit you developed over the last 6 months.

Nothing proves that this is a team sport like having 7 fights in one night. Nothing would have been possible without all of the coaches and teammates at SBG. Countless hours of preparation, early mornings and sacrifices went into this.

The W2W family provided the framework for onboarding and development.

The Full Contact Fighting Federation (FCFF) Kevin and Chael for their professionalism and hospitality over the years.

The Oregon State Athletic Commission and the referees for their dedication to the safety of the athletes and integrity of the competitions.

Coach John Kavanagh for convincing me the W2W thing could work.

Coach Matt Thornton for creating the petri dish that allows individuals and systems to evolve and the vibe makes the whole thing rock.

Coach Ricky Davison for years of friendship (and 1000s of guard passes).

My wife Julie for the support and the day to day early mornings, schedule juggling and craziness. Love you.

#W2Wfamily

The Legend Chris Haueter In Alabama On BJJ & Control

 

SBG Fall Camp Is Almost Here!

…and SBG Fall Camp is almost FULL! We’re a mere 9 days away from what promises to be one of the best SBG Camps yet. From October 13th to 15th, SBG Idaho in Boise will host SBG students and coaches from the world over for another SBG Fall Camp. Perfectly situated between some of SBG’s biggest gyms, including Portland, Montana and SBG North, it is likely to be a who’s-who of SBG faces. You can see the full schedule above, but some of the names that will be gracing attendees with their knowledge include SBG President Matt Thornton, Masters World Champion Amanda Diggins, self defense expert Paul Sharp, SBG East Coast’s Steve Whittier, Adam Singer and Vice President Travis Davison!

The card of coaches is truly stacked, and doesn’t let up on the learning from 4:30PM on Friday afternoon until 5PM on Sunday! Do whatever you can to make it to what promises to be a truly spectacular event. Miss it; miss out!

 

Big Pro Wins For SBG On the East Coast

In true SBG fashion, September saw athletes from SBG picking up major fight victories within multiple rulesets.

MMA up-and-comer Jeff Perez secured his second professional win. Advancing his pro record to 2-0 in the process, he scored an emphatic first round submission via RNC, against Shawn Ralls, on the Cage Titans 35 card in Plymouth, MA. Meanwhile, Nicholas Lopes earned himself the NEAK Light Middleweight Muay Thai title.

SBG is once again showing that whether the fight in on the ground at an IBJJF world championship, in an MMA or Muay Thai title bout, the focus on fundamentals means the approach to coaching and training is always effective. Congratulations to Jeff and Nicholas on their impressive wins! The whole tribe can’t wait to see you in action again soon!

Finally, a few more photos from this month’s Seminars…