The Gorilla Press, Issue 99

SBG Podcast Eppisode 16 Featuring Rory Singer and Chris Conolley

Henry Akins Coming To SBG Athens

SBG Athens is excited to host Henry Akins for a two day seminar June 30 and July 1!

Henry was only the third person to be awarded a Black Belt by Rickson Gracie and even taught at Rickson’s academy. He is presently the head coach and founder of Dynamix Martial Arts and can be found sharing his wealth of knowledge at hiddenjiujitsu.com

This is only the second time Henry has come to the great state of Georgia. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to train with one of the best BJJ coaches in the world today.

There are only 26 spots remaining for people outside of SBG Athens. As the seminar gets closer, a few more spots may open up, but nothing is guaranteed. Don’t wait as this is one seminar that is sure to fill up quickly.

 

Former Navy Seal on BJJ

When one of the toughest men on the planet praises your sport’s pioneers for their control and poise under pressure, you know you must be on the right path… Former US Navy Seal, ultramarathon runner and pull-up world-record holder, David Goggins held up original UFC Champion Royce Gracie as the perfect example of control in difficult situations. He uses the example of Royce as a means to overcome the odds when life has you ‘fighting from your back’:

“Control!

I will never forget watching Royce Gracie (MMA fighter) on his back with a guy on top of him that outweighed him by sometimes 200-300lbs. This 160lb man would look like he wasn’t even fighting let alone getting crushed by the weight of the guy on top of him. Gracie would always end up getting the guy to tap out.

He always knew his opponent would make a mistake and he would capitalize on it. Even when life puts you on your back, have the mental discipline and control to know you can still win. You have to know that life is going to make a move and you have to capitalize on it. Some of the best fighters in the world do their best fighting while on their backs.

Just because you are on your back doesn’t mean you still can’t choke the mf’er out! The mf’er is life. Learn to fight from your back so when life puts you there you still have the tactical advantage!”

Stephen Whittier On Why He Opened SBG East Coast

Head of SBG on the East coast, Stephen Whittier has been studying martial arts for over two decades. He holds a black belt in BJJ and the honorary title of Kru in Muay Thai. He is also a black belt in Jeet Kune Do, Shotokan karate and a second degree black belt in Filipino Kali/Eskrima. Essentially, he is someone who has gone to near unparalleled lengths to acquire knowledge and expertise in mixed martial arts. So when Coach Whittier opens up on his motives behind starting SBG East Coast, it makes for fascinating reading:

“From the first day I started learning martial arts, I knew I’d be doing it for the rest of my life.

Like a lot of us, I started off in more traditional martial arts before my interests led me to Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee’s martial art) and ultimately functional training through “alive” arts like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing, boxing, and wrestling.

It was my desire to find the best (i.e., the most proven, efficient, and effective) physical systems and training methods that led me to studying these arts, even when it meant leaving behind the accomplishments and status associated with my ranks in other disciplines.

 I was, first and foremost, interested in the truth.

When authenticity leads, you tend to attract like-minded and authentic people. You start to build a healthy Tribe, and this was the basis of my vision for Nexus Martial Arts, which we later changed to Straight Blast Gym East Coast, or SBG East Coast.

At the time that I initially founded my own club back in the early 2000s, my vision was to create an inclusive martial arts program that offered a high level of instruction in all of these functional arts to a wide variety of students, all of whom had their own unique reasons for training.

This was a pretty unique proposition at the time… there were literally only a handful of places you could learn “MMA” (the term was still quite new) and its subsidiary arts all in one place, and these tended to be more fighter gyms than professional academies.

But I knew that with the right training methods, anyone – from a child to a soccer mom, a professional fighter to a 60 year-old ex athlete with knee replacements – can learn and practice martial arts and reap all of the physical and personal benefits that are so life changing. The material is the same for any of these demographics, the only thing that differs is the presentation and the intensity.

SBG is about authenticity, self-knowledge, building true confidence and the discipline to achieve your goals and accomplish what you want in life. It’s about developing lifelong friendships, having fun, and challenging yourself.

In short, it’s about everything that decades of martial arts training and evolution has done for me – and my desire to share those same incredible experiences with my students of all ages. And help them to achieve those benefits much faster than I did.

Want to be part of something amazing, to do things for real (not in your Hollywood action movie fantasies) that you never really thought you could do?

Come see us. We enhance and change lives, and will help you do the same!”

 

Jei Kennedy On Tribe

Last month, Jei Kennedy, SBG brown belt and the manager of SBG Burien, shared his thoughts on the importance of tribe, embracing your role within it, and directing your efforts into improving those around you as the best way to achieve self-improvement. He succinctly outlines the ethos that makes SBG, no matter where you go in the world, a truly special and welcoming place to train:

“Want to shatter your jiu-jitsu goals? Here’s how: Pour your energy, time, and knowledge into your tribe. You don’t have to be a senior level student either. Start by checking your ego, showing up consistently, and giving your best effort. As you improve, start caring about other people’s progress over your own. Do this and the people around you will reciprocate the same level of love, respect, and care.”

 

Matt Thornton On Leadership

SBG president Matt Thornton has turned a small BJJ and MMA gym in Oregon into a global organization; one home to world champions and some of the greatest fighters and coaches in the history of the sport. Perhaps an even greater achievement, he has developed a strong tribe with a sense of community that transcends borders and offers the same welcoming vibe the world over.

An essential element of this success is strong leadership. It is not just enough to have one strong leader at the top, but to develop and nurture it throughout the organization as students become coaches and gym owners themselves. This month, Matt took to his blog to discuss the five essential traits for effective leadership. Be sure to read this blog post. Not only is it fascinating for those aspiring to learn more about leadership, and the process that has aided in the huge success of SBG, but it also provides keen insight towards a path of self-improvement.

Martin Stapleton, an SBG athlete who, as a former Royal Marine, MMA champion and gym manager himself, knows a little something about leadership, had this to say about Matt’s article:

“I would highly recommend anyone in any position of leadership read this article. 
It’s the ‘cool’ thing to do these days to post a quick motivational quote or meme, very rarely do people go to the lengths Matt Thornton has here in breaking down very precisely what is essentially a roadmap to good leadership“

 

Matt Thornton at SBG Elko

SBG President headed down to Elko, NV last month to continue this year’s seminar tour. Matt continues to revolutionize the way SBG approaches both individual BJJ positions, and also the way seminars are conducted. Contrary to the popular seminar approach of showing countless cool techniques over the course of a few hours, Matt spends a full two days breaking down the critical details of one position and how it works. Likewise, instead of teaching a different technique with every class, the SBG founder is committing a full year to the meticulous study of that one position being taught in his seminars. As such, Matt Thornton’s seminars are BJJ on a whole other level of fundamental understanding. SBG Elko was the latest to be on the receiving end of this knowledge.

Matt Thornton had this to say about this year’s seminar tour:

“I promised everyone at my weekend of mount seminars last year that their mounts would be much better at the end of Sunday. Judging by the results, that proved true. 

This weekend was the first time I spent the full two days on closed guard bottom, and I can now safely say this will do the same for your closed guard game. 

I’m looking forward to sharing it with all of you.”

While in Elko, Matt awarded coach Ray Price with the first stripe on his BJJ black belt! Congratulations to Coach Ray on his achievement!

SBG Portland in Local Newspaper

The SBG HQ in Portland, OR made the Oregonian newspaper this month as part of a feature on alternative workouts. As usual, what stood out was the tribe’s welcoming vibe. Despite her trepidation, the author wrote “…it turns out, I had nothing to worry about, SBG might have a tough guy name, but it has a super accepting ethos”. Once again, the importance of tribe has created an environment that is friendly and provides the perfect environment for new students to learn in a comfortable atmosphere.

SBG Manchester Fighter Wins Amateur Title!

Congratulations to George Smith of SBG Manchester for his impressive first round victory last month. A victory that saw him win an amateur middleweight title! George secured an anaconda choke just ninety seconds into the first round of his title bout with Chris Hill, and forced the tap to become the Almighty Fighting Championship’s amateur middleweight champ. George takes his total number of wins into double figures, extending his record to 10-1.

Earlier on the same card, SBG’s Tom Field earned a unanimous decision win over Tori Parchment in the lightheavyweight division. That win takes his unbeaten record to 3-0 in amateur bouts. Amazing job Tom!

 

Registration for SBG Ladies Camp is open!

Registration for the much anticipated annual SBG Ladies Camp is now open. This year, the camp will be held at SBG Edmonton up in Canada and promises to be the biggest ladies camp to date!

The camp will take place June 22nd-24th, and signing up early allows you to save on the price. You can sign up here.

If you get a chance, be sure to attend this event. Reviews from each are always incredibly positive and the bonds built are incomparable. SBG is home to a huge number of women competing at the highest levels of BJJ and MMA, as well as some amazing female coaches.

Sign up and learn from some of the best ladies in the world of combat sports!

Click Here to register.

 

Two Podcasts featuring Matt Thornton

Last month, SBG President Matt Thornton was invited to speak on two separate podcasts. The first was the Stoic Solutions podcast, in which Matt and the host, Justin Vacula, discuss the parallels between Stoic philosophy and mixed martial arts, particularly Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The podcast is close to an hour full of fascinating tidbits, covering mental toughness, discipline, goal-setting, personal development, handling adversity, challenging yourself, open-mindedness and ego, and how both BJJ and Stoicism can help improve these aspects of your life.

For those unfamiliar with the concepts of Stoicism, SBG Portland Coach Cane Prevost’s brother, Mike, recently penned an excellent article about Stoicism and the pursuit of happiness. It provides a great introduction to some of the essential ideas, and the article is also fantastic advice for anyone seeking to live a happier, more fulfilling life!

Later in April, Matt sat down for an interview with Rokas Leonavicius; a martial artist who recently spent time trying to make Aikido more functional. In this talk, Matt goes back to basics on the difference between traditional and modern, functional martial arts, and what makes one effective in real life situations compared to the other. It is a conversation that Matt has been having for decades but remains as true as ever, and clearly need to still be heard.

 

Matt Thorton, and 4 New Black Belts, in SBG Idaho!

Shortly after his stop in Elko, NV, Matt Thornton headed to Boise for a seminar at SBG Idaho. There, Matt spent another day breaking down the fundamentals of closed guard with the students:

“Another great day on the mats, spent with great people. And another day of closed guard.

Each seminar minor changes are made. Different progressions are involved. Different things are added or omitted. No two seminars are the same. An ongoing experiment in the never ending pursuit of the perfect curriculum.”

At the seminar, a huge special event took place, as Matt Thornton and the SBG Idaho coaches awarded four new black belts! Just the introduction of one new black belt to the tribe is reason for massive celebration, but four at once is truly something incredibly special! Congratulations to Ryan Morgan, William (Bill) Pate, Brad Bentley, and Freddie Arteaga for their amazing achievement. As Matt put it:

“All these men have shown the technical skill, character, and empirically testable ability necessary to wear this belt. I’m proud to have them representing the Tribe. SBG”

In an effort to improve the BJJ of practitioners across the entire globe, Matt Thornton’s next stop on the tour is a return to Africa in May. Beginning with a seminar at SBG Cape Town, Matt will then spend time at Renzo Gracie and then Tapout Academy, improving the closed guard of South Africa’s capital city.

SBG University Coming Soon!

As SBG continues to revolutionize it’s online content, and produce some of the highest-quality, in-depth features and instructionals in it’s history, it now prepares to begin a whole new chapter. Coming soon, SBG will open the SBG University; an online platform for the very best of SBG’s videos.

The jewel in the crown of SBG University will be Matt Thornton’s instructional videos that will bring his seminar material to a huge audience the world over. This will be the first set of instructional videos that Matt has produced in well over a decade, and will begin with Mastering Mount Top. If you have been following this newsletter at all over the past year, you will know that Matt spent 2017 breaking down the mount top position to a point that revolutionized the game of anyone who learned from him. At SBG University, this content will be available to all. Watch this space for the official release of SBG University!

 

Glyn Powditch On Rickson Gracie’s Videos

One of the biggest announcements in the BJJ community in recent months was that Rickson Gracie was releasing a set of instructional videos, promising to teach the ‘Invisible Jiu Jitsu’ that made him the greatest BJJ practitioner and fighter of all time. The first module of his videos are now available to buy, and SBG black belt Glyn Powditch had this to share in review:

“In Rickson’s latest release, he has shown us that breathing is number 1 (breath), your head and feet position in relation to yourself is 2 (base), and 3 your posture is either a) a pelvic tilt or b) a hip in (core posture). My observation is that this isn’t just in stand up or in closed guard too but in every single position and in precisely that order. Everything else is just an extension from here. And I’m putting this into a framework I gleaned from Matt Thornton et al.

If anyone disagrees and can prioritize some missing gaps in my analysis, I am all yours”

 

Qualified Coaches at SBG Niagara

SBG Niagara shared a little of what makes SBG’s training so special the world over this month, with a short post about its qualified coaches:

“Straight Blast Gym Niagara provides a fun, challenging, and safe training environment for people of all ages to be successful…both on and off the mats, and that is in big part because of the coaching staff. Qualified Coaches that care. 

Hell yeah!”

Regardless of which SBG you happen to visit, be it in Africa, Ireland or Australia, you can be assured that the coaches there have all undergone a rigorous process to ensure they understand the core teaching concepts that allow SBG to be a world leader in functional martial arts. SBG has world class systems in place to produce coaches that are qualified in teaching every aspect of the SBG curriculum, covering not just class material but on how to really connect and improve with each student.

Longevity & BJJ

Click here for video.

“Goals: we should all hope to move this well at Grandmaster Helio’s age. He did Jiu-Jitsu to the end.” – Matt Thornton

Unlike most martial arts, age is rarely a defining factor when it comes to ones ability to enjoy the art of BJJ. While correct training partner and intensity selection may be important, it is true that the gentle art can still be mastered by those heading into old age. For evidence, look no further than the grandfather of jiu jitsu himself, Helio Gracie. Helio was still rolling with younger opponentswell into his 90s! While the founder of BJJ may set a very high standard, it is still inspiring to know that this sport is something that can bring joy for our entire lives!

John Kavanagh At SBG Illinois

SBG Illinois had the pleasure to greet John Kavanagh last week. SBG Ireland’s Head Coach was in town visiting with Paul Sharp, and spent some time dropping some jiu jitsu knowledge on the SBG Illinois students.

In the video, Coach Kavanagh is wearing an “Invicible Silent Warriors” t-shirt. “Invicible Silent Warriors” is a community program run by SBG Illinois striving to give kids and young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities a chance to meet fitness goals, discover a new sport, learn to protect themselves, meet new people, work on confidence and most importantly see themselves thrive! The program is completely free and an effort to help an under-served section of SBG Illinois’ community.

Blast From The Past

Much has been said in this newsletter and throughout SBG about the importance of tribe. The SBG tribe has built lifelong partnerships and friendships that survive long years and long distances apart. The below photo is great evidence of that, with a host of familiar faces (albeit much younger) that are still found in prominent positions in the organization even today. Viva SBG!