Kru Aarron 'Juice' Veverka Promoted to Full Instructor

At the closing of the Pacific Northwest Thai Camp 2014, Kru Aaron Veverka was honored with a brief ceremony elevating him to Full Instructor for the Thai Boxing Association.   You can see part of the his instructor test in the video below.  Kru Aaron Veverka is the only certified Full Instructor in the State of Ohio.  In addition to this honor, Juice was recently appointed State Director of Ohio for the Thai Boxing Association.

GriffonRawl is very proud of its long association with such a dedicated and talented man and to have Juice as the Co-Head Instructor of the Thai Boxing program.

Congratulations Juice on this latest achievement!



Written by:  Bob Donaghy

Not Your Typical Summer Camp Experience

The Thai Boxing Association 2014 Camp is over.  For those of you unfamiliar with this annual event it’s five days of intensive Muay Thai training in the wilds of Oregon.  30 miles from the nearest cell tower, about 150 very dedicated Muay Thai practitioners set up tents and sleeping bags among the mountains, pines, creeks and mosquitos of the beautiful NorthWest.

Mosquitos and mountains are the least of the challenges.  Getting up before dawn (and coffee) every morning for the 3 mile run, then stance drills for an hour before breakfast, then 5 hours of constant training..  This isn't your typical Summer Cap experience, or even for those who just want to show up, this camp is invitation only.  Classes are taught by the highest professionals, including but not limited to : Grandmaster Surachai Sirisute(Founder), Ajarn Bryan Dobler, Ajarn Bryan Popejoy, Ajarn Rex, Ajarn Kim, Ajarn Greg Nelson, Khun Khru Scott Elliott, Khun Khru Sam Adams, Khun Khru Natalie Roy Brown, Khun Khru Scott Anderson.  You have to earn your way in.

This was the 9th year GR’s own Kru Aaron “Juice” Veverka attended, and recently he’s earned the additional right to bring a guest.  This year it was standout MT Assistant Instructor, Russ Herbert.  For the last two years GR has been sponsoring the experience, helping to defray some of the costs for the trip and fees.  Investing in Juice's skills helps everyone at GR.  The camp will be in Portland again next year, anyone thinking about upping their game in Muay Thai should think hard about attending.

At the end of camp this year Kru Aaron was awarded Full Instructor Rank in the Thai Boxing Association of America.  Juice is the only Full Instructor in Ohio.  Congratulate Juice when you see him at the Academy on his achievement.  The very interesting video of his test is below.



Juice shared with us a typical day at camp:  You start with a 1 to 3 mile run in the morning followed by stance drills, then an hour for breakfast. Then it is time for extreme drills and/or station training, then an hour for lunch. We received boxing training that took up between 1 to 2 hours a day immediately followed by station training. Stations are as follows: Heavy bags, Shadow Boxing, Thai Pads, Timing sparring and Plum (clinching). Often some of the stations were doubled or tripled.  Thai Pads were at least doubled daily, other times tripled. Every station was a minimum of four rounds at 3 minutes a piece. Other days it was 8 rounds per station. You can see where this gets a bit tiring after a while. After that we often did 3 on 1 drills followed by 8 count body builders. We did 140 8 count body builders alone at the end of the day after our workouts.

As far as camp, the weather was rainy for the first two days, then cleared and heated up on the third and fourth days.  The intensity level was incredibly high! On the first day after trading all day we did 170 8 count body builders!  We worked plenty of rounds on the stations, averaging 70 to 74 rounds a day.  Usually we have a heavy bag station, Thai pad station, shadow Boxing station (which is much harder than it sounds), timing sparring and clinch stations.  We had 7 people test for Apprentice, which is a new record for camp testing

Russ Herbert had a few notes also:  Thai camp was as grueling as it was technically  beneficial.  Learning from legendary Muay Thai and boxing legends such as Ajarn Chai Sirisute, Ajarn Leonard Trigg, Ajarn Greg Nelson, to name a few, was a privilege and honor .  4 days of intense technique, conditioning and discipline defined the camp...not to mention the 180 8-count body builders that ended the first day of camp.  Techniques covering stance/footwork, kicks, knees, elbows, and boxing were explained in detail, and then group stations drilled them into us for hundreds of rounds and reps.  Similar to running a marathon, just to be able to finish Thai camp is an accomplishment...and your conditioning, technique, and knowledge are greatly improved!  A great experience!!

GriffonRawl is proud to sponsor Kru Aaron Juice Veverka's annual trip to the Thai Boxing Association of the U.S.A. camp.  It's rare to have such motivated and dedicated coaches that want to not only improve the gym and its members but actually make the time to better their own skills and rankings nationally and GriffonRawl MMA Academy is proud to have Juice on staff.

Written by:  Bob Donaghy

GR Adds Personal Training Program

GriffonRawl grows again with the addition of the Personal Training Program. Jason has named five instructors as sanctioned trainers for the gym. Jason and these five are the only people allowed to use the GR facility for private lessons.

If you're looking for a way to bring your game to the next level, to polish up some detail or just to get in better shape, a personal trainer can be a great investment.  The focused attention of GR's experts can put your training over the top.

In all, there are six trainers:

• Jeff Starr
• Donny Walker
• Chuck Schilling
• Aaron 'Juice' Veverka
• Jason Dent
• George Comer

Three Simple Rules:

1. Anyone can book time with any of the trainers, GR membership is not required.
2. Book your time directly with the trainer, not the gym.  Use email, Facebook or, or book with them face to face at the gym.
3. All lessons are pre-paid, no exceptions.  

Rates: 

All trainers, with the exception of Jeff Starr, are $40 per hour.  Jeff Starr is $60 per hour for GriffonRawl members, and $80 per hour for non-members.

Meet the Trainers:

Jeff Starr may have the deepest experience as a trainer of the group.  Jeff started in martial arts in 1988 and specialized in BJJ in 1993.  He is now a Relson Gracie Black Belt. Dozens of his students have gone on to win awards and accolades in both BJJ and MMA. His private lessons cover not just sport BJJ, also self defense (with and without, weapons). Jeff has been Head BJJ instructor for GR for the past 5 years.

Donny Walker can do it all.  A  pro MMA fighter with several fights in the UFC and titles in several promotions Donny has been Head Boxing instructor for GR for the past 6 years as well as been coaching/fighting for GriffonRawl for since its inception. Donny is a key member of the gym and his training and experience in law enforcement gives him excellent qualifications in self defense.

Chuck Schilling is a member of the GR Amateur Fight Team.  For 10 years Chuck was a coach for the Mentor High Wrestling Team, one of the best in the state.  He is currently Head Coach for GR’s Jr MMA program. Chuck tells us his instruction will  focus on grappling and strength and conditioning.  Chuck’s long background in coaching ensures a careful and complete training experience.


Kru Aaron “Juice” Veverka has been with GR since the “Danny days” (about 15 years)having fought under both Danny and Jason.

He is a certified Muay Thai instructor in Muay Thai in the Thai Boxing Association under Master Surachai Sirisute and has traveled the country to attend training seminars and camps to get his training.

Jason Dent is, of course, the owner of GriffonRawl, and one of the most experienced fighters and instructors in the Academy.  Jason was Head Instructor for the MMA program until turning the day to day responsibilities over to Chuck and George earlier this year. Jason has fought and won pro titles, won on the ultimate fighter, won in the UFC, and is currently a Brown Belt under Jeff Starr/Relson Gracie. Every current member of the gym has experienced Jason’s instruction at some point.  He is famously careful with detail and he remains the most requested instructor.

George Comer runs the GR Adult MMA program.  George, like Donny, can cover all the bases he’s another ‘do it all’ instructor with a formal certificate in personal training to back up his experience in the cage and in the gym. George was a 2x National Amateur NAAFS MMA Champion, is currently a 3-1 Professional MMA fighter, and has an extensive wrestling background both in high school and college.  If you're looking to take your conditioning to the next level, George is your guy.

Written by: Bob Donaghy