Extreme Combat Challenge "Ho - Ho - Ho - KO ! "

Muncie, Indiana

The Delaware County Fairgrounds was the site of Saturdays latest installment of Extreme Combat Challenge. GriffonRawl team members Donny Walker (4-3), Mike Russo (7-5), and Jason Dent (12-4) were all on the card. Mike was involved in an 8 man 170 pound tournament, Donny in a single bout at 155 and Jason fought for the ECC 145 pound title. The night for the team started off with a bang as Mike made short work of his first opponent Kreg Lajoy, tapping him out with a armbar 36 seconds into the first round. They exchanged leather briefly before it went to the ground and Mike took over. Mike’s second bout was against a very game Reinhart Fighting Systems member. However, Mike made short work of him tapping him out early in the first via rear naked choke. In his third and final fight of the night Mike was matched against a jiu-jitsu fighter. Mike showed his superior striking skills pummeling his opponent for nearly two rounds until he slapped on a rear naked choke to end the fight and capture the 170 pound tournament championship. Mike showed why his nickname is “The Bull”. Donny however, hit a snag in his fight. Matched against hometown boy Adam Bass(9-1), Donny got caught by a straight right in the first round and never quite recovered and the referee stepped in after a series of stomps by Bass. Donny, like the true warrior he is, will fight another day.Jason was matched against a huge 145 pound competitor named Joe Voisin for the ECC 145 pound title. The first round was pretty even back and forth. Jason did find himself on his back most of the round but showed his skills defending strikes and nearly catching Voisin in an armbar. The second round however, was all Jason. After a brief exchange on the feet Jason got the clinch and threw some great knees. Voisin countered by scooping one of the knees and taking Jason down but landed right in Jason’s triangle. Jason locked it in and forced him to tap, capturing the title. So, between Jason winning the title and Mike winning not 1, not 2, but 3 fights in dominating fashion to capture the tournament championship, GriffonRawl had a good trip to Muncie for ECC: Ho Ho Ho KO.Written by:Josh Burton

Training in OC with Team Next Generation

Los Angeles, California

GriffonRawl globe trotters Jason Dent and Richard Catalano recently headed west to visit Chris Brennan’s Next Generation Team located in OC, CA. After battling two hours of LA traffic during rush hour we knew the hitting the gym would be a would be a much needed break and stress reliever.Russ Miura, a recent brown belt taught an advanced Jiu-Jitsu class Wednesday evening. Jason had no problem keeping up with the advanced boys from OC. Later that evening we crashed at Zack and Jakes Brennan’s place.We got up early Thursday and met Chris Brennan at his Lake Forest Gym and finalized the details of our seminar NOW set for Feb 25&26th, 2005 right here in MENTOR! (Book your space NOW as the seminar is limited to just 30 students each day). Chris and Jake plan to sell NoGi wear (http://www.nogiindustries.com/) at King of the Cage Friday the 25th at the CSU Convocation Center as well as during seminar hours at GriffonRawl. Our first class was kickboxing covering many combination and blocks taught by Chris. Right after class Jason spared with Adam Lynn a Next Generation Team member from Pittsburgh, PA. The second class also taught by Chris, Jiu-Jitsu we did a few drills, escapes and counters. Later rolled with Chris and other students of the Next Generation team. That afternoon we headed to the Pacific Coast Highway to what Chris refers to as 1000 Steps… www.chrisbrennan.com/steps.htm . Steps so steep when you look down from the top you can’t see the bottom step. It’s a challenge everyone should try given the opportunity. After the “Steps” some relaxation was in order. We headed over to Venice Beach to check out the vendors, other tourists and So. Cal sights. Later that evening we went to Hollywood and Vine to see the ECC fights in the Henry Fonda Theater. Congrats to Josh Smith of Next Generation on his 27 second KO win in the cage. Early Friday morning we headed back to Cleveland after an action packed few days in OC. Thanks to the Brennan family for their hospitality. Written by:Richard Catalano