Jeff Curran Seminar a Big Hit

It took Dent, Swift and Walker together
to do it, but they 'submitted' Curran

Jeff 'Big Frog' Curran actually delivered two seminars on Saturday.  The first, a two hour gi session brought 22 onto the mat, and the second, a two hour no-gi session brought out 24 with about 50% overlap in attendance. 

Both seminars were very detailed with lots of direct coaching.  Jason said, “Jeff's hands on approach went over really well with the classes.  It was very technical, and the guys learned a lot.  It's clear why his seminars are so popular.  We will try to get Jeff back here again for sure.”
With the great support shown for this seminar Jason intends to continue the GR tradition of bringing in big name famous fighters to meet and train with our members.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Jeff Curran Seminar Rescheduled to May

Due to the pressure of being a highly successful and in demand fighter and trainer, Jeff Curran has been forced to reschedule his seminar at GriffonRawl.

The original date was April 6th.. since that date was set, Jeff's calendar has filled up with unavoidable obligations.  On Thursday, April 4th, Jeff will be in Atlantic City to corner one of his students at Bellator, and on Saturday the 6th, he will be in Stockholm, Sweden cornering another student for the UFC.  At his request we have rescheduled the seminar to May 18th. 

We apologize for the inconvenience, and will gladly pay refunds to anyone unable to attend on the new dates.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Dedication Pays Off for Tony Reel

 

About two months ago, long time GR member Tony Reel had a major disappointment.  When Relson Gracie visited GR, he administered belt testing for several members.  Tony was trying for his Black Belt.  Master Gracie felt there were one or two details in Tony's technique that needed polishing before the belt could be awarded.  Rather than dwell on his disappointment and let it turn into useless anger, Tony doubled down on his training and made the suggested adjustments.  This is how progress is made.

In April he broadened his exposure to new technique with a trip to Miami for the Rickson Gracie seminar.  On May 3rd you could find Tony on the mat at the Rodrigo Medeiros Seminar.  May 11th  Tony traveled to Pennsylvania with GR's BJJ coach, Jeff  Starr and he was retested by Relson Gracie.  His hard work paid off and Tony is GR's newest Black Belt.

Congratulations Tony, your dedication is a lesson for all of us.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Tim Stafford Wins Boxing Debut

Tim Stafford & Ron Conley

Congratulations to GR Team Fighter "Psycho" Tim Stafford on winning his Boxing debut fight Saturday night (May 11th).  The event was 'Battle in the Ballroom IX', organized by the West Side Boxing Club.

This was Tim's second outing against this fighter, Steve Traczyk.  They faced off at a Mauy Thai smoker hosted by Evolve MMA in February.  On that night, Traczyk got the nod. 

Tim had this to say about the fights, “It was my second fight against him. The first was a Muay Thai smoker that I lost. Ron, Donny, and Jason really helped me to understand the point scoring in boxing which really helped me understand that straight jabs score. My thanks to all at GriffonRawl.“

Everyone at GriffonRawl is very proud of you, Tim.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Josh Bell Makes the GriffonRawl Fight Team

With his win by armbar at the April 27^th NAAFS event Josh picks up his first official GR win and makes the Fight Team.  Josh has been showing up, and putting in extra time in preparation for this fight.  Dedication to training pays off.

Be sure to congratulate Josh on his achievement when you see him at the Academy.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

GR goes 2-1 at NAAFS Caged Combat 24

Three GR warriors made the trip to Akron on April 27th for NAAFS Caged Combat 24.

Congrats to GR Team Fighter Joe Callari on bring in yet another big win with his decision over Jonathan Flores

Also a BIG CONGRATS to Josh Belle on making our OFFICIAL FIGHT TEAM! Josh not only won but got the W in style as he finished his opponent via triangle choke in round 1.

Cody Lewis  may have lost the decision but his is a true warrior and fought from start to finish. Cody almost finished his opponent a half dozen times via armbar. It was a great night of action and learning for our ammy's. Thanks for the support of all those that made it down.

Everyone went in healthy and came out healthy. We picked up two W's as well. Pretty solid night for GR! We have an AWESOME TEAM of fighters, members, trainers, and fans.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Pros Pick: Jones vs. Sonnen

One of MMA’s top pound-for-pound fighters meets its premier self-promoter, as Jon Jones defends his Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight crown against Chael Sonnen in the UFC 159 main event on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The two men coached opposite one another on Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Sherdog.com touched base with a number of professional fighters and trainers to gauge their opinions on the UFC 159 headliner

Jason Dent: I’m picking Jones in this one. Jones is too skilled and athletic for Sonnen.

For the rest of the article, click HERE

Edited by: Bob Donaghy

Khalil Khalil Represents GriffonRawl at Vanyo Smoker

GR member Khalil Khalil gloved up and represented the gym well in his Muay Thai smoker debut.

The event was at Vanyo' s Martial Arts (Strongsville).  Khalil's opponent had 15# on him.  The fight went the distance.  He showed heart, conditioning, and skill. Way to go Khalil!

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Ahmad Douglas Knows that Good Decisions Lead to Good Results

Amhad Douglas (tank top) and Ron Conley (far right)

Ahmad Douglas fought this past weekend at the Golden Gloves tournament in Cleveland.  Ahmad is a 17 year old member of GriffonRawl aspiring to membership on the fight team. He does not let his age get in the way of his training, both in and outside the Academy.  Last fall Ahmad made his kickboxing debut and came away with a win.  Saturday was his first try at competitive amateur boxing.  He came away with a narrow decision loss, but that's beside the point.  This early experience puts him ahead of the game.

Ahmad decided, since Ohio restricts MMA to those 18 or older, to spend his time wisely and expand his training horizons.  Ron Conley, who helps out with the GR boxing program under Donny Walker cornered for Ahmad at the Golden Gloves.  While this was not an official GR Fight Team effort, the Academy supports Ahmad's efforts and looks to the day when it can welcome Ahmad officially onto the GriffonRawl Fight Team.

Written by: Bob Donaghy

Brad Bukovics Promoted to Purple Belt

At the start of evening BJJ class on Monday, 4/1/2013, head BJJ Instructor Jeff Starr pulled Brad Bukovics to the front of the class and promoted him to purple belt. 

Purple is the step beyond blue belt, and is the intermediate adult ranking.  Purple belts are qualified to instruct lower ranked students. In other martial arts, students with a similar amount of experience would often be ranked as a black level belt

Be sure to congratulate Brad when you see him at the Academy.

Written by: Bob Donaghy