2022 Competition Results

MMA:

John Castañeda went 1-1 in the UFC last year, including a tough fight which resulted in Castañeda taking home the victory via arm triangle choke in round three at UFC Fight Night.

Sean McPadden had two wins in 2022. Starting the year off with a win via rear naked choke, McPadden finished the year with a second win via Guillotine choke at LFA 142.

Reshal Malik went 1-1 last year with a unanimous decision victory at LFA 129.

Quang Le fought twice last year, winning both times. One win came via neckcrank

while the other was a unanimous decision victory at LFA 129.

LFA 142 was a big event for athletes out of The Academy. Noah Gasho, Mitchell Wilson, Shamar Williams, and Griffin Parriott, all took him wins.

Mike Richman had a big year in which he went 2-1. After beating David Rickels and Isaac Doolittle, Richman became the interim BKFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

 

TBA Classic 2022:

Twenty-five fighters from all of the The Academy locations competed. Andy Kieker, Juanita Shingles, and Clayton Murray, fought and won in their brackets making it all the way to the championship fights. Shingles and Kiecker both won in their championship fights.

BJJ Team Results:

Grappling Industries had a lot of athletes compete from The Academy. Vincent Alm, Hudson Rivera, Michael Sayers, Cyris Eagle Tail, Derek Broden, David Rasmussen, Michael Doubek, Greg Ahlberg, Trenton Weston,and Ryan Wright all competed and medaled. Shamar Williams and Mac Kukowski won gold in their respective divisions.

Fight 2 Win saw Will Kieth, Tyree Overton, Kelly Johnson, Anthony Rose, Ryan Wright, Travis Crawford, and Zac Lundberg all compete.

Obey The Laws Of Nature

There are Laws of Nature that govern all of us. The more you understand and follow these natural laws the more successful you will be. When I was in 8th grade, I decided I wanted to be a better athlete and student. So, I started to do extra training outside of practice. It was nothing crazy at first, just getting up before school and running 3 miles, doing push ups, sit ups and stretching. The training was not the difficult part: having the discipline to get up day after day was the battle.

Eventually, the routine became a normal part of my life. I knew what I wanted: to be a better gymnast and wrestler. I wanted it bad. Once I acknowledged what I really wanted, I knew getting up and doing extra work was essential. Doing more work and doing it everyday was what all great athletes did. If great athletes did it, I was going to do it too. I started to understand that there were common denominators that all top athletes and students followed. Only later did I find out about how this was part of the Laws of Nature.

The Law of Action

The first ‘Law of Nature’ is pretty simple: you need to take action towards what you want in order to get it. It is often doing the simple things that make the biggest influence in our lives. We have to do a few simple things consistently to see improvement. When I got up 40 minutes earlier, I started to see improvement. That motivated me to stay after practice and do a few extra reps. Overtime, the numbers went up. I started to do the same thing with my school work and my grades went up! Do you really want to be better at something? Do you want to be in better shape? Do you want to look more fit? Do you want to get that promotion? Do you want to….? Once you know what you want you must follow the Law of Action…. ACT NOW! Start simple and small, do something extra to be better at what you want and make it consistent. Little by little, a little becomes a lot!

The Law of Cause and Effect

The Law of Cause and Effect simply says that things don’t just happen coincidentally. Everything happens in your life for a reason, no matter if you see how or why it happened. The Law of Cause and Effect can also be related to the concept of ‘you reap what you sow’, ‘what goes around comes around’…karma…whatever you want to call it, you get what you give. The more I started to create training routines in my life, the better athlete I became. The more I studied and asked for help with things I didn’t get, the better my grades became. I am sure in your own life there are plenty of examples you can find where you see the Law of Cause and Effect. Now, this works both ways, positively and negatively. If you have things happening that you do not want to happen, you have to find the ‘cause’ and start to replace it with an ‘action’ that will change it. Look at your life right now and be honest, are there areas that are working well? Are there areas that are not going the way you want? Now look for the root cause. What are you doing that is causing it to either be good or less than you want. Once you find the cause you have to go back to the Law of Action and get busy doing something that is going to change for the better what you want to change. Take charge of your life one simple small act at a time.

Recent Team Academy Fight News

MMA Results:

  • John Castaneda has gone 1 – 1 since April 2018 with Combate Americas, winning his last fight at Combate 35: Combate Estrellas 3 defeating his opponent by an Arm Triangle Choke.
  •  Kazim Kahn Turned pro back in April 2018 and has gone 1 – 2, with his one win coming by unanimous decision with HFC 37 in Hammond, IN
  • Kaitlin Young Is 3 – 0 in her return to MMA winning her first fight by unanimous decision at Rizin 12 and her most recent win coming at Invicta FC 35 by referee stoppage in the 3rd round
  • Anthony Kromvig is 1 – 1 since March 2018, losing a tough decision at A-Town Throwdown 13. But he bounced back for a win at 3 River Throwdown 15
  • Grant Bolduan Lost his first fight at LFA 61 by decision but bounced back in his second fight to win at LFA 68 by referee stoppage in the 2nd round
  • Josh Fleck is 4 – 0 in his amateur career with his most recent win coming at 3 River Throwdown 15 by unanimous decision
  • Ryan Ferguson Has won his last 2 fights; at No Mercy 9 by unanimous decision and at A-Town Throwdown 14 by neck crank

Muay Thai Results:

  • Troy Jones: Is 3 – 0 since signing on with Glory. His 3 wins coming by 2 unanimous decisions and a KO 1:00 min into the first round
  • Tom Jenkins Is 3 – 2 since turning pro and lost a tough first fight with Glory at Glory 58: Chicago Superfight series by KO in the 3rd round
  • TBA’s 2019: Josh Fleck, Josie Lidberg and Bryan Beck all fought hard but lost their first fights of the tournament. While Sean Nonhof won 4 fights in decisive fashion to win the title in the Novice Light Heavyweight division

Being a Good Training Partner

Coach Greg Nelson talking about the importance of helping our partners train and how to be a good training partner

 

 

Energy

Who doesn’t want a high level of energy, happiness, and joy. Who doesn’t want to be more alert, engaged, fully present and alive? We all do! Energy and vitality, health and well being are all at the top of my life goals. Having more energy alone will make you more optimistic and positive: you are going to be more patient, productive, and more happy person. More energy benefits everyone in your life, because it is such an important part of being the best that you can be. I am going to have a series of articles breaking down some of the best physiological practices used by the highest performing people in the world.

Taking care of yourself should be your highest priority. Being a lifelong athlete and martial artist fitness has been a huge part of my life. In the last few years I have dedicated myself to increasing the fitness of my brain, body and breathing. In each article I am going to focus on one best practice for your Brain, Body and Breathing.

The brain is your body’s priority and requires a lot of energy to run the body. oOne of the most important things we can do is sleep 7+ hours a night. There is tons of research on the importance of sleep. Here’s what I did to sleep 7+ hours, increase my energy, focus and productivity.

  • I started going to sleep 30 – 50 minutes earlier. Over time adding 3 hours more sleep.
  • My room is completely blacked out. Blackout curtains and all light sources covered or removed. I also have a nice padded eye mask. Any light seems to wake me, so I take no chances.
  • I do not look at any screen 50 minutes before I go to bed. No phones, computers or TV. Instead I will read or listen to fiction, write and/or listen to relaxing music.
  • I lowered the temperature of my house to 67 degrees.
  • I try not to eat 3 hours before I go to bed.
  • I go to bed and wake up at the same time as much as possible. I haven’t heard my alarm in my house in a long time.
  • I do not drink coffee or any caffeinated drink after 2 pm. Caffeine has a half life of 8 hours and I do not need any caffeine after my morning mushroom coffee.


Regarding our body, we need to make sure we drink a lot of water all throughout the day. You should drink clean water immediately after you wake up. You usually haven’t had any water for 7+ hours so it is necessary to drink when you wake up. Throughout the day it is important to drink at least every hour. If you sweat a lot you have to replace that water and continue to drink every hour. , I do not drink sodas only kombucha or vinegar drinks besides water. Most people do not drink enough water, so…drink a lot more water.

Breathing is often taken for granted. When we sleep we breathe deeply yet, when we are awake most people do not breathe as well. One of the easiest ways to get a jolt of energy that will pick you up is to bounce and breathe. Close your eyes, make a light bounce up and down in place, like you are doing basic footwork, and breathe. You should inhale completely and exhale audibly.

All of these ideas are connected. As we investigate more best high performing practices. You will find that you too will start to increase your energy, focus, health, happiness, productivity, & well being.

Bring Up Your Energy with Greg Nelson

 

The Evolution Of Combat Sports

Talking about how the different combat martial arts, such as Thai Boxing, have developed as sports especially in the United States

 

What Is Hard Work

Tkickboxing-minneapolis-minnesotahere can be different interpretations of what hard work is.  First, who’s asking? A professional or former college athlete? A high school athlete that hasn’t done much for 10 years? A person who has never done sports but has excelled in academics?  Is it me asking as a man in his 50’s that at one time pushed my limits on a daily basis? Bottom line, what hard work is for one person may seem crazy to another. Vince Lombardi said, “The dictionary is the only place success comes before work.  Hard work is the price we must all pay for success. I think we can accomplish anything if we are willing to pay the price.” You need to know what you want before you will be willing to work hard for it. Everyone has different goals in the martial arts; get in shape, relieve stress, build confidence, make friends and have fun, compete, become a champion….and everyone has a little of the above at varying levels.

Until you understand what hard work is and accept it as part of the process, you are likely not going to achieve your goals.  Being your best is about wanting it enough to do what is required and more. You have to be willing to pay the price of commitment, with consistency and discipline; you have to form new healthy habits if you are going to succeed in reaching your goals.  The key to reaching your own version of success means you have to accept what it will take. After that, you have to develop the habit of doing what you know you should and what is necessary. To be your best you must have the will to prepare to win the day.

“The dictionary is the only place success comes before work.  Hard work is the price we must all pay for success. I think we can accomplish anything if we are willing to pay the price.”

 

Most people think they have the will to be great at some level.  However, many do not acknowledge the price that must be paid. At the beginning levels the cost is minimal. You have to begin by creating some consistent training habits.  As you improve that price goes up. If you know why you are training, you will be willing to do the work. A martial artist knows that victories are won in the classroom and through training with consistency.  It is by making a choice to get up and get into The Academy to train on a consistent basis that little victories are won. Your body and mind become accustomed to your routine and you will eventually start to ask more of yourself.  By knowing why you want to train and then following through over time, you become ever closer to becoming that confident, disciplined and hardworking individual you have always dreamed you could be.

Opera Non Verba, Deeds Not Words…..Just Do It!

Martial Arts Goals As You Age

Listen to Coach Greg talk about how your goal for training can evolve over time as you get older

 

 

 

Bringing The Martial Arts Mentality To Everyday Life