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.
hout a doubt there were many days when it was tough. A battle as much with myself as with the hard training we were doing. Through athletics and martial arts I have developed a mentality that enabled me to continue to push myself and be persistent. The habit of sticking with something until it is complete. Being persistent has enabled me to get through most everything that has ever been thrown at me. As martial artists, we are fighters, combat athletes and by our very nature… is to be persistent.
to take on what life decides to throw at us. When it happens
Everything starts with a good attitude, and that is a good start, but you need to be committed to optimizing your health. Health is far more than simply just working out and getting in shape. To be in the best health there are a number of things that you can do. Most of these things will allow you to be more effective at what is most important to you. Over the past year I have been learning more about high performance. Physiology is a major part of being your best. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The world belongs to the energetic.” Now let’s see how we can all be more energetic.
Third, unless you are seriously training you should eat 2-4 meals per day. One of the reasons America has a growing obesity problem is the amount and kind of food people consume. The average person should eat more greens, veggies, fruits, but less meat and carbs. Eat less things out of boxes and cans and more things you can grow and grill. Simply put, eat real food as much as you can. Next, keep the One Plate Rule. The amount of food you eat should fit on one plate and at one level. Eat better, cleaner and less.
‘Hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard’ Talent is a gift, skills are learned and when combined with hard work that is where the magic happens. We have that saying painted on our walls because it is truth. The mechanics of kicking, punching, knees, elbows, takedowns, submissions, etc… are all skills that are won through hard work, repetition and continual practice. Skills affect your growth as a martial artist just as talent does. If your technical skills are sharpened through hard work you can be very good, maybe even great! However, we have seen countless Academy members with no special talent and average mechanics become some of our best students and even successful competitors.
Creating the habit to work hard starts with simple steps. First and foremost, you have to decide to work hard…it is a choice. Next, you must create a schedule and stick to it. Consistency is key! Stay disciplined, come to class and do your best. Do that every class, week after week, making a habit of pushing yourself and let your hard work speak for itself.
Yoda knows what all successful people know, it is about ACTION! But, so many, including myself, have created barriers and blocked our own paths to getting started and just simply taking care of business….whatever that business is. “Life was never meant to be a struggle, just a gentle progression from one point to another, much like walking through a valley on a sunny day” But, for many they often create their own mountain of doubt and make even the simplest task so much worse than it really is. On the other hand, for others the climb is an adventure, the harder it seems the more they want to do it, the struggle to get from one point to another is how they want to spend their sunny day. No matter what your goals are, the truth is either you get after it or you don’t.
At some point you will get good, it’s going to happen if you put in the time. The problem is once that happens you might find you stop getting better. You might find you’re bored with your training. So what can you do to keep advancing? Avoid some simple mistakes.
Why are you training? The answer varies, but whatever the answer you are going to face some challenges to your training: injury, loss of interest, new job, new family, and anxiety. Whatever the reason there is one thing that you must never do….stop training. When you stop training the habits, the strength, technique, timing, and confidence are all going to fade away. You will start finding more reasons not to come in and soon martial arts will be something you did once upon a time.
